JANUARY 1 | STRANGE FAMILY ADVENTURES | One of our favorite parts of the New Year is to take some time to go through and remember the Strange Family Adventures from the previous year. We have a huge Mason jar in the kitchen that we toss things in all year long. We dump out the jar and then go around the circle with each person picking up an item as we remember something special about that time. Sometimes it’s something that only one of us attended, just the guys or girls, Mom and Dad, just the kids, or with the whole family and friends.
We have movie tickets, mementos from mission trips, plane tickets, tickets from ballgames, wristbands from various activities, programs from @nccseagles and @nsckennesaw events, memorial remembrances, hotel keys, restaurant receipts, schedules from @tritheparks , concert tickets, maps from national parks, camp bracelets from @woodlandscamp, and that’s all just this year! This is a great way for us to be reminded of how much we have to be grateful for and to dream a bit about the year to come. Believing God has some fun Strange Family Adventures in store for 2026. Asking Him to lead us! #7000days
Revelation 21:5
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
JANUARY 10 | NCCS SPRING TERM 26 DR 🇩🇴 | It is a gift of grace from the Lord that going to the DR to serve with our friends @timemissions always feels like “going home”. Our time there is always a beautiful picture of Acts 2 gospel friendship. This week, I had the privilege of serving with 21 NCCS students and 2 dear friends who happen to be our School Nurse and Head of School. We had a blast and truly saw the Lord at work in many ways!
The main purpose of our trip was to build a chapel for Pastor Valentin and his congregation in San Cristobal. He has a really incredible ministry to men who are recovering from addiction. In faith, he has continued to be faithful to growing his church and serving his community. We were excited to be able to help him realize the chapel portion of the vision God had given him.
We were also able to help out with sports ministry in Villa Mella at a beautiful new recreation center. It’s been a long time since I’ve played 5-on-5 full court basketball, but I am still alive and can walk, so that’s a plus! We also got to share testimonies with the kids and teenagers that were there, and just enjoyed spending time together. It was a joy to see the way that our team overcame the language barriers to find ways to make friends.
When our team signed up in June, it was a wide variety of kids. At our first team meeting in October, we wondered how this would come together and what God had in store. This past week we witnessed God’s hand knit our hearts and hands together in a way that we won’t ever forget. Lots of stones of remembrance (Joshua 4) were celebrated this week.
One great thing about leaving the DR? The knowledge that I’ll be back soon! We love our TIME friends! To God be the glory! Jesus Te Ama 🇩🇴
Psalm 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
JANUARY 17 | POLSKA 2026 🇵🇱 | I’m so thankful for the opportunity Emma had to travel to Poland with our @nccseagles Spring Term mission trips the first week of January. They had quite the adventure with their travel over. Originally they were to fly Atlanta > Amsterdam > Krakow. Due to some winter weather, they flew Atlanta > Amsterdam > Vienna and then missed their flight to Krakow. They spent the night in Vienna and then took a train from Austria to Chechia and then to Opole, Poland their original destination.
She learned a ton on her trip with their sobering visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was a powerful reminder that ideas have consequences. The team enjoyed checking out the salt mines and all the artwork and sculptures there. Her favorite part was working with the kids and teenagers as usual. She also mentioned so many fun snowball fights with friends, dinner in a really cool igloo, and how much she enjoyed Dr. Truesdale, Mrs. Clark, and Mrs. DeSousa. Lifelong memories made with friends serving others in the name of Christ. What a cool adventure! #7000days
JANUARY 18 | WINTER JAM | Emma loved the opportunity to get to go to State Farm Arena for Winter Jam. It is an annual Christian music concert that features a variety of types of Christian artists and bands…this year it featured Chris Tomlin, Matthew West, Katy Nichole, and a bunch of other folks including our very own NCCS Academy Singers! Emma spent the afternoon with friends and had a blast! #7000days
JANUARY 27 | GEORGIA STATE CAPITAL VISIT | Emma and Eli enjoyed visiting the Georgia State Capital today with a group from NCCS lead by our Head of School Todd Clingman. Their visit was to help lobby state lawmakers to see how the funds from Georgia GOAL are really making a difference in private schools helping parents have a choice on where to educate their children. The finances are a big deal, but the bigger deal is giving parents an opportunity to select a biblical worldview as the framework for their child’s education even if the finances are tight. I’m grateful for our friend, Georgia State Senator Ed Setzler who gave the kids a great behind-the-scenes visit and overview of what state government is really all about. The group got to meet the governor and several other lawmakers. It was definitely a great “learning in action” day! And then Mr. Clingman took everyone out to lunch on the way home…so that was a fun treat as well! #7000days
