On Friday we visited a home that is the size of a typical American garage (minus the electricity).  In it was a family with 8 kids.  One of our team members sponsors Claude, a six year old boy in kindergarten. We brought his family a months worth of food, a goat, and a small bag of toys. Overwhelmed under-describes the families’ response.

When asked, “How can we pray for you?” The father, who was blind in one eye, and who’s children walk an hour to school, responded, “I pray that the Lord blesses you so that you will continue to bless my son.”  I found these words awkward. They rub against my highly westernized-American value of independence as the pinnacle to personal achievement.

I found myself wanting to correct the nature of his prayer. “No sir, you shouldn’t pray like that.  You should pray for employment so that you can provide for your family and be independent of us American’s.”  You see, I like that kind of prayer.  Teach a man to fish, right?

As I reflected on this, and the nature of my need to correct, God showed me the true nature of why I prefer this corrected prayer.  I don’t want to be looked to as a means for survival.  Which then surfaced how I understand God’s blessing in my life.  I subtly believe that His blessing is for me…not for others.  And that’s an ugly thing.

And we are working to “teach them to fish.”  That’s the whole point behind child sponsorship.  Break the cycle of poverty by providing basic means that allow a family to let their children go to school.  If we can get them an education we can position them for future success.  It’s an approach that is sustainable over the long haul…which is why it’s hard.  It requires the long haul, not the quick fix.

But it requires that I see God’s blessing as a presentation of love. Not a promotion of my personal lifestyle. God’s overwhelming blessing in my life isn’t for me exclusively.  It’s for others. “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” –  Philippians 2:3

As anticipated, this Rwanda trip is wrecking areas of my soul that God longs to transform.  And I am blessed to be wrecked.

Healing
Last weekend, while camping with some friends, Milo broke his ankle. He had surgery yesterday to have 2 screws put in. The doctors have said he needs to be non-wieght bearing for the next six weeks…our Rwanda trip is in less than 9 weeks. Pray for a speedy recovery and that everything heals according to plan so that he has the most mobility possible on our Rwanda trip.

Finances – 75% to goal
We’ve been amazed by the generosity of our friends and family. To-date we have raised 75% ($5,185) of our goal ($6,905). We have $1,720 left to raise by next Saturday, June 23. If you’ve given to our trip, thanks! We’re thrilled and humbled by your investment. If you’ve been waiting to give towards our trip, see the info at the bottom of this email about how to give.

Our next Rwanda team meeting is next Saturday and we will have some fresh info for you.

Thanks again for being a part of this adventure with us. You’re friendship and support mean the world to us.

We love ya,
Bethany & Milo

www.facebook.com/milocurtis  |  www.facebook.com/bethanycurtis

How To Contribute
We really appreciate your investment in this adventure. As you can imagine, this is a big step of faith for us. Once we’ve received notification of your contribution, we will contact you and let you know how things are going. Thanks!

Mailing in Support
Step 1: Make your checks payable to Africa New Life Ministries (please do not write our names on the check, but DO enclose a note that your support is for Milo & Bethany Curtis)

Step 2: Mail the check to…
Africa New Life Ministries
Att: Missions/Angie Rettmann
7145 SW Varns Street, Suite 201
Portland, OR 97223

Online Support Link
Step 1: visit www.AfricaNewLifeMinistries.org
Step 2: Click the “Donate” in the top right corner
Step 3: Scroll down the page till you find PDX-August-Milo-Bethany-Curtis and follow the onscreen instructions

We’ve got another update about our Rwanda trip this August!  We had our third team meeting recently and were able to dial in a ton of more details.  Here are some of the highlights:

Cost of the trip drops 14%
The largest expense of our trip is airfare.  Typically costing $2200-$2400 per ticket.  We were fortunate to get our tickets for $1692.  The lowest fare Africa New Life has ever seen during this time of year.  We’re pretty excited since that drops our combined trip total to $6,905 instead of $8,000.

Preaching in Churches
I’ll be preaching and teaching alongside Mike Tatlock (our lead pastor) in several churches in Rwanda.  I can’t tell you how excited we are to come alongside the church there and serve their efforts.  Working with churches cross-culturally is a gift.  It quickly aligns the priorities and focus that is often lost in our more affluent western churches.

Men’s Discipleship Training
Our team will be leading some discipleship clinics for men in the area.  A tremendous need in Rwanda is men of character who will pursue Jesus, lead their families, and be positive examples in their community.  We’ve been asked to provide some key teaching/learning opportunities to challenge guys in these areas.

School Development
During our Rwandan stay, we will be visiting 4 communities that Africa New Life Ministries is actively involved with child sponsorship. ANLM has 4,000 children sponsored for a Christian Education, healthcare and a meal each day.  While we are visiting these communities, we will be painting an orphanage (built by our church), teaching Sunday School to several hundred children, taking books for their school libraries, playing games with the kids, and having 2 special times assembling their own books of “Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do you See?”

Basketball camp with LA Laker Steve Blake
We’re putting together a basketball camp and tournament that will draw students in and give us the chance to provide a positive character building experience.  A highlight for us is to have our friend Steve Blake (former Blazer and current Laker) and his wife on our team.  Steve and his family attend our church, so it’ll be great to serve with him in this passion of his.

Meeting Sponsored Kids
Along with meeting our sponsored child we will also be hand-delivering letters and gifts on behalf of friends of ours that have sponsored kids.  We are really looking forward to the chance to meet this extended family of friends.

Ways you can pray
Keep praying for all of the details.  There are a lot of moving parts and we need all the wisdom we can get.  You can also pray for our finances.  We’ve raised 58% of our support, which means we need another $2,870 by June 23.  A GIANT “Thank You” to our friends and family that have contributed to the adventure.  Your support is dear to us.  If you’d like to play a financial role in helping us get to Rwanda, check out the giving instructions at the end of this email.  We’re confident God wants us on this trip and we can’t wait to see how He supplies our needs.

As always, feel free to contact us with any feedback or questions you have.  We deeply appreciate your support and encouragement.

We love ya,
Milo & Bethany

Milo’s Contact info
www.facebook.com/milocurtis

Bethany’s Contact Info
www.facebook.com/milocurtis

How To Contribute
We really appreciate your investment in this adventure.  As you can imagine, this is a big step of faith for us.  Once we’ve received notification of your contribution, we will contact you and let you know how things are going.  Thanks!

Mailing in Support
Step 1: Make your checks payable to Africa New Life Ministries (please do not write our names on the check, but DO enclose a note that your support is for Milo & Bethany Curtis)

Step 2: Mail the check to…
Africa New Life Ministries
Att: Missions/Angie Rettmann
7145 SW Varns Street, Suite 201
Portland, OR 97223

Online Support Link
Step 1: visit www.AfricaNewLifeMinistries.org
Step 2: Click the “Donate” in the top right corner
Step 3: Scroll down the page till you find PDX-August-Milo-Bethany-Curtis and follow the onscreen instructions

Back in February we posted some information about our upcoming trip to Rwanda.  This last weekend we had our 2nd team meeting (pictured above).  We have 35 traveling with us!  Since we last wrote you we’ve been dialing in the details of what we are doing.  Here’s a quick overview:

Visiting Jovia
It’s confirmed that we will be visiting our sponsor child Jovia and her family.  When we visit, we have the option of delivering her family food for a month or buying a goat.  Thoughts?

Basketball Camp
A BIG part of our trip is putting on a basketball program with the local orphanages.  The cool thing is, we have an NBA player going on the trip with us!  It’s pretty exciting to see how God is lining up the right people for a great cause.

Work with the Local Church
We’re going to be working closely with the local churches, worshiping with them on Sundays, and helping with their weekly ministries.  We’re very excited about this chance to come along side our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

As you can imagine, we’re getting pretty excited!  and it’s been amazing to see the support we’ve received.  To-date, our friends and family have given $3,140 towards our trip!  This puts us at about 40% of our need of $8,000.  We need all of our funds raised by June 23, 2012, so if you have been waiting to see how our fundraising is going, we still need your help!  Words cannot express how encouraged we are to have your support.

Between now and August we’ll send out a monthly update.  In the mean time, don’t hesitate to contact us via Facebook, email, or phone.  Our info and links are below.

We love ya,
Milo & Bethany

Milo’s Contact info
www.facebook.com/milocurtis
milocurtis.online@gmail.com

Bethany’s Contact Info
www.facebook.com/milocurtis
bethany@captureyesterday.com

How To Contribute
We really appreciate your investment in this adventure.  As you can imagine, this is a big step of faith for us.  Once we’ve received notification of your contribution, we will contact you and let you know how things are going.  Thanks!

Mailing in Support
Step 1: Make your checks payable to Africa New Life Ministries (please do not write our names on the check, but DO enclose a note that your support is for Milo & Bethany Curtis)

Step 2: Mail the check to…
Africa New Life Ministries
Att: Missions/Angie Rettmann
7145 SW Varns Street, Suite 201
Portland, OR 97223

Online Support Link

Step 1: visit www.AfricaNewLifeMinistries.org

Step 2: Click the “Donate” in the top right corner

Step 3: Scroll down the page till you find PDX-August-Milo-Bethany-Curtis and follow the onscreen instructions.

Putting these things together is a struggle.  How do you begin?  How do you ask for money (which always feels weird)?  How do we adequately cast vision?  I’m not sure we adequately answered those questions, but here is our letter.

We’re taking a trip to Rwanda in August and this is our pitch to close friends and family.  If you didn’t get a paper version in the mail, we’d still love to have you a part of our support team.

Dear Friends & Family,

This is one of those letters that struggles to find a good place to start.  It’s a struggle for us because we’re incredible thrilled, humbled, and don’t want to appear presumptuous.   Your friendship means the world to us, and we wanted to let you in on something big that is happening in our lives.

On August 8^th we are boarding a plane and embarking on a 12 day adventure to Rwanda.  Yep, Rwanda, a country in Africa that has experienced some of the most horrifying violence of the past century…and we are asking our closest friends and family to help us get there.

If you’re like us, the details about Rwanda were fuzzy at best.  Here’s a quick snapshot of what caused so much turmoil there: In 1994 Rwanda was thrust into a 90 day genocide that took the lives of 800,000 men, women, and children.  Amidst the violence, an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 women were raped. These dark days has left Rwanda with an estimated 600,000 orphans, a tremendous AIDS epidemic, and thousands of families displaced in refugee camps.

Two years ago our church introduced us to Africa New Life Ministries, an organization that has been serving Rwandan children and families who were devastated by the genocide that took place there.  Through Africa New Life Ministries, we started sponsoring Jovia Mutamba, an 11-year-old girl in Rwanda.  Her family was displaced by the genocide and she lives with her mom and 4 siblings in a refugee camp in Kageyo (near the Tanzanian border).  Our sponsorship provides school fees, scholastic materials, a uniform, shoes, basic medical insurance and the opportunity to participate in positive community activities.

This August Africa New Life is leading a team of us to serve local churches and schools who are helping families who are fighting and working their way out of these dire circumstances.  It’s been a dream of ours to visit this country, meet Jovia (which we are thrilled about!), come alongside the good work that is happening there, and express the love of Jesus.  Words cannot express how excited we are!

The 12-day adventure will cost $8,000 ($4,000 each).  We thought of you and wondered if you would help us get there.  Any measure of financial generosity you can provide will go a long way to making this dream of ours come true.  If you can help, see below for details.

We are chronicling our preparations and adventures on our website www.captureyesterday.com/rwanda. Check out the site, or look for updates on our Facebook feeds.  If you’ve got any questions/comments, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thanks for looking this over, considering helping us, and being a source of encouragement in our lives.  We deeply appreciate you.

Blessings,
Milo & Bethany Curtis

Want to help?

• Visit AfricaNewLifeMinistries.org by clicking here
• Scroll down the page till you find PDX-August-Milo-Bethany-Curtis and follow the onscreen instructions

Got questions?  Feel free to email us at milocurtis.online@gmail.com

In the autumn of 2010, my Friday morning Bible study group started using the book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun.  She has a chapter on writing your own “Rules for Life,” which I found very helpful.  She asks tons of questions for you to consider as you reflect on your journey with Christ, how you listen to the Holy Spirit, and what you are focusing your life on.

Out of the pages of quotes and references have come my current rules for life.  I share them with you to show that it isn’t rocket science, but it is intentional language to describe my life and goals.

Teaching Series Synopsis
When was the last time you heard someone say, “Fight for your faith” who wasn’t a raving crazy person?  But that’s what the book of Jude is about, fighting for the faith that God has entrusted to us.  In this teaching series we consider what it means to “contend for the faith.”

Hey Jude Poster
Below is the slide background that Aaron Scamihorn made for this series.  He’s an amazing artist with a keen eye that invested his gift of graphic design to several teaching series.  You can check out more of his work atwww.ronlewhorn.com and follow him on twitter.com/ronlewhorn.

• About Pathway
• About Milo

Pathway was a church plant located on the NE side of Indianapolis, Indiana. Started in 2004 and closed in 2009, this short and amazing journey was filled with joys, sorrows, victories, and trials. While we were deeply grieved that we had to close the organization of Pathway, we are eternally grateful to the many families that became life long friends who, to this day, walk the path with us to God’s best.

Many of the resources on this site were developed during the life of Pathway.  Our hope is that these resources will further serve to extend God’s Kingdom into the minds and hearts of all that find them useful. 

Approach to teaching
With 11 years of pastoral experience, I’ve had the opportunity to be on the bleeding edge of what God is doing and how He is expanding His Kingdom today.  One of those opportunities has been to pastor 2 different churches.  When teaching in these contexts I regularly ask, “How do I live this on Tuesday?” I believe every teaching should draw from the authority of Scripture, leverage the wealth of wisdom in church history, while speaking to the circumstances and rhythms of our day.

• Ordination: The Evangelical Church
• Graduate: M.A. from Ashland Theological Seminary.
• Undergraduate: B.A. from Kentucky Mountain Bible College

You can email Milo be clicking HERE.

A Study Guide for Small Groups
Written in 1962, A.W. Tozer’s classic, Knowledge of the Holy offers timeless truths in a simple structure that can formatively shape the theological underpinnings of a person’s faith.

“What possible meaning can the self-existence of God have for me and others like me in a world such as this and in times such as this?”  To this I reply, that because we are the handiwork of God, it follows that all our problems and their solutions are theological.  Some knowledge of what kind of God it is that operates the universe is indispensable to a sound philosophy of life and a sane outlook on the world scene. (Knowledge of the Holy, p. 27)

The study questions below use Tozer’s structure, with the Bible, to ignite thoughtful conversations that will extend our beliefs, attitudes and walk towards God.  Feel free to use these questions and let us know what you think.  Your feedback is welcome, so please contact us by emailing.

Here is a link to the specific edition we used for this study: Knowledge of the Holy

Study Question PDF download

Chapter 1: Why We Must Think Rightly About God
Chapter 2: God Incomprehensible
Chapter 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God
Chapter 4: The Holy Trinity
Chapter 5: The Self-existence of God
Chapter 6: The Self-sufficiency of God
Chapter 7: The Eternity of God
Chapter 8: God’s Infinitude
Chapter 9: The Immutability of God
Chapter 10: The Divine Omniscience
Chapter 11: The Wisdom of God
Chapter 12: The Omnipotence of God
Chapter 13: The Divine Transcendence
Chapter 14: God’s Omnipresence
Chapter 15: The Faithfulness of God
Chapter 16: The Goodness of God
Chapter 17: The Justice of God
Chapter 18: The Mercy of God
Chapter 19: The Grace of God
Chapter 20: The Love of God
Chapter 21: The Holiness of God
Chapter 22: The Sovereignty of God
Chapter 23: The Open Secret