Where is Pastor Isaiah? Hint: It’s the first stop on our travels to the East Coast. (Feel free to Google!) We took this photo in Victor, New York, a quaint town in the Finger Lakes region of the empire state. Lynsey and Anthony Mandela, my niece and nephew, and their two children hosted us in Victor and commended PPI to their church. We enjoyed our time with the Mandela’s, their friends, the Tuttles, and the Lifespring Church Mission team. We sang happy birthday to Kayleigh (her 6th) and did our best to keep Isaiah warm! 🙂
Rena and I just returned from some vacation time in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (Michiganians call it “the U.P.” and its hardy inhabitants “Yoopers.”) We started our sabbath with a Michigan history conference in Iron Mountain. After that, we moved up to the town of Calumet and dove deep in the copper mining story of the the Keweenaw Peninsula. Of course, that included coffee shops, restaurants, and some hiking and biking and sunsets on Lake Superior! [If you prefer, you can watch a video of this post HERE.]
It really hit home for us when we toured the Quincy mine. Our tour guide told us that, for 10 hours a day and six days a week, men worked a mile underground in near-total darkness. Without safety gear, they teetered on angled ledges of the mine to hammer, drill and gather mineral-laden rock. In most years, 1 in 3 workers died or were injured. The tour guide ribbed us, “Once you go down in the mine, you’ll never complain about your job again.”
As we toured typical miners’ homes, I said several times, “They use that in Haiti.” Charcoal for cooking, simple tools for sewing or baking, one light-bulb for the home (usually solar-powered in Haiti) – so many people in poor countries live now like people did in the United States a century ago. And like the Michigan miners, these people are hard-working and creative. They enjoy their friends, love their families and want their children to have a better life. Each person displays the creative work of a loving God, just as we Americans do.
In a word, Partnership of Pastors International gives 
Thank you for participating recently in our Shop and Share (SAS) project. You “shopped” and gave toward Bibles (especially!), course workbooks, team T-shirts, a communion set, and more. Thank you! We have purchased or are in process of purchasing each of these items for our next training courses or for our Haitian team members. (They’re excited!)
You’re invited to PPI’s Summer BBQ on Sunday, August 13, from 5:00-7:30pm. We’ll gather at Ken and Rena’s house (465 Mayflower Drive, Saginaw, MI) for good food and conversation, a PPI update, and QA time with Ken and Pastor Isaiah. (Isaiah will be with us from Haiti.) We will provide meat, drinks, condiments and all paper products. Please bring a dish to pass and RSVP
We helped our daughter, Katie, move from Dallas to Columbus last week and, along the way, met some very cool people. Can I be Dad for a moment? We’re super proud of Katie! While working in Ann Arbor, she engaged with young adults for Christ through her church, company and living situation. As she did that, she realized she needed more Bible training to effectively reach her generation for Christ. So, during COVID, Katie moved to Dallas to pursue a master’s degree in Evangelism and Apologetics at 
Before the heavy lifting, I got to hang around the seminary for two days to work and engage with old and new friends. I engaged with a number of American students on everything from what DTS was like when I was a student (!) to the Rapture to the “big picture” of the Bible. I especially wanted to hear their thoughts on the church and their part in Jesus’ global mission.
While working in the Student Center, I also met Sam Skaria, a pastor from India and, since January, a master’s student at DTS. I learned that Sam and his wife, Febe, lead a network of churches in Bangalore, India. After 20 years of church planting and pastoring, Sam believes the Lord is leading him to go deeper in the Scriptures, Christian theology and church leadership. He told me, “I’ve been good at planting and growing churches. We have worked hard at that. But now I must grow more in making disciples and training church leaders.” Amen! More and more, the government of India is passing laws to restrict even outlaw evangelical Christianity.
After getting back home, I talked by phone with Pastor Isaiah and Pastor Jasmin, key members of the PPI training team in Haiti. I love these brothers! We caught up on our families then finalized details for our next training courses in Haiti. We also looked ahead to 2024. Both told me that many pastors thank the Lord for PPI training and that so many pastors are asking about our training!