There We Were Minding Our Own Business When A Video Camera Walked Up

We've Been Yelped
Most of you, our faithful blog followers, know that God blessed us with an amazing donut shop just down the street from our house here in Graham, NC: Daily Donuts. You've seen pictures of their donuts, apple fritters, and bake staff right here in this very blog. Well...there Karen and I were inside Daily Donuts last week quietly having an apple fritter and a ham, cheese, egg, and bacon breakfast crescent when a video camera walked up to us and we were were Yelped!

See us live, in person, eating and talking about Daily Donuts!

Click the link below to get to Daily Donut's Yelp Page, then click the video button in the photo row, OR open the "view video" tab.

LINK: Keith & Karen Eating Donuts

Thanks for following our blog and yes, FREE DONUTS for everyone who comes to visit us!

Who Let The Dogs Out?

Tucker and Tanner dropped by our office this morning. Tucker took a short nap while Tanner hopped up to help me work with missionaries in Central America and Africa, and to field some emails from our headquarters in Ontario, Canada and Buffalo, NY.

Tanner takes control of GOMEX. 
Be wary of a Techno-Cocker with a mouse in his paw.

After pounding out the emails, Tanner and Tucker went for rides in their private elevator.

Cross-cultural Culinary Creativity: Ugandan Restaurant Menu Selections
One of our Global missionaries serves in Uganda. She recently shared menu selections from a restaurant whose staff is working very hard to attract English-speaking customers. Here are the selections:

Potato Wage

Pepper Stake

Banana Frutters

Sweat Potatoes

Claw Slaw Salad

Egg Sand Wish

Bonlles Beef Muchoomo

I think, all and all, the restaurant staff did a rather good job of it. I'd know exactly what I'd be ordering and wouldn't be afraid to order it. Okay, I'm a little unclear on the "muchoomo" part but I can't imagine how bad it would read if I ever tried to translate an English menu into a tribal dialect! I think everyone would probably choose to go hungry.

Thanks for your friendship, love, gifts, and prayers--Karen & Keith

GOMEX Action Shots! Click 'Em Quick Before They're Gone!

Here we are deep inside GOMEX helping prepare our missionaries for the field, send them to the field, and keep them on the field.

Karen's taking-on so many of our personal ministry responsibilities has freed me to keep a Global ministry calendar like this, loaded with video conferences with missionaries around the world. (Yes...those tan areas are coffee stains...it's a WORKING calendar!)

Thank you, Karen, for creating the time for video conferencing to be such a large component of our international ministry. Here's a quick shot from Monday's weekly video staff meeting.

And speaking of hams...here's a turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving from Keith & Karen, Tucker & Tanner!

Be watching for our next Global Flyer coming soon to a mail box or an in-box near you!

Dad Goes Ahead

Appreciation
Thanks for all your prayers, well-wishes and cards regarding my Dad's recent passing away. We were blessed to gather as a family and enjoy quality time with Dad before he went ahead of us to be with Jesus. Dad lived life to the full, met challenges head-on, and insisted on having a good time doing it! He never lost his sense of humor, his love of ice cream, or his heart for serving people.

You might enjoy visiting my sister's blog to see a few photos of dad having a good time. Click Here.

Me and Dad, October 2014

Back At GOMEX
This past week I spent Monday morning (training missionaries) in Manitoba, Tuesday morning in Quebec, Wednesday morning in Texas, Thursday morning in Costa Rica, and Friday morning in Honduras while having lunch in Graham, North Carolina each day.

It's amazing how fast and how far my desk chair can travel with just a video camera and a high-speed internet connection.

The ministries reflected above encompass youth discipleship in Uganda, church planting in Indonesia, radio production & medical administration in Republic of Congo, camp outreach in Costa Rica, and childhood evangelism in Honduras.

Thanks for being part of helping us help these missionaries get to the field through your prayers and gifts on our behalf.

Meanwhile In Belize...
Global's Dental Clinic in Belize is now up and running! Here's a quick summary of our team's first month serving the people of Belize. Thank you Dr. Ugai for leading the team and compiling these initial statistics!

BONUS BLOG: A Contrast In Cocker Spaniels

Okay, here's one contrast between our two Missionary Mutts:

Tanner likes the Salsa Pepper Patch before the fence is up and the peppers are planted.

That's one happy Cocker Spaniel!

Tucker likes the Salsa Pepper Patch after the fence is up and the peppers are planted.

That's one happy Cocker Spaniel!

(A Missionary Mutt Canine Adventure especially for you, Barbara G!)

GOMEX: A Visual Tour

Returning home after August's candidate orientation up in Buffalo, NY, we finally had the time to finish moving our home office into the office office in downtown Graham, NC.

We lovingly refer to our second floor location as GOMEX:          
Global Outreach Mission EXtension Office.

GOMEX: A Visual Tour

In the beginning...

Here I am with John Harris: pallet engineer extraordinaire!

 East wall

Bench upholstery by Karen

 North Wall

Looking West

 At my desk in the West

Hat & coat rack on the south wall behind the door.

Well, that concludes our visual tour. Anytime you're in the area you're welcome to stop in for a personal tour and a chance to explore downtown Graham!

Thanks for making our ministry possible through your love, your prayers, your gifts, and your encouragement!

End Detour

Praise The Lord Our Organizational Detour Has Ended!

What a week. What a Spirit-filled week. Global Outreach Mission's Summer Candidate Orientation, August 9-14, in Buffalo, NY has drawn to a close. We wish you could have experienced this event with us and met the people with whom we now serve. Not only that, we wish you could have met those whom we're preparing/sending into service, but never forget--it's YOUR faithfulness, prayers, love, encouragement, and support that enables us to continue our own service. 

A Journey Only God Could have Foreseen

We're so thankful for your walking with us through the spiritual and missional "re-construction zone" God led us through this past year. Thank you for loving us as God loves us...unconditionally.

Preparing Others To Serve

Leading the first of my three missionary training sessions at Global's Candidate Orientation.

During orientation, Karen and I were blessed to help prepare missionaries for service in Bangladesh, Belize, Canada, Congo, France, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda, and the US. With ministries as varied as church planting, literacy, children's outreach, construction, evangelism, discipleship, agriculture, music, dental and medical services; with personal experience ranging from brand new to nearly 30 years already spent on the field, our candidates were focused, passionate, and eager to contribute and to learn. Here are several of the missionaries you had a hand in sending:

 Tim & Diana: Tanzania

 Karen: Uganda

 Kate: Congo

 David: Belize

Joseph & Savannah: France

Global's Personnel Team

Karen and I are very excited about the ministry team God is assembling here at Global Outreach. We're the newest additions to the team and we look forward to experiencing how God is going to use us, AND USE YOU, in expanding His Kingdom through enabling others to go and be His light in a dark world.

Global's Personnel Team: (Front row) Keith, Partnership; Mel, Mobilization; Tom, Member Care; Karen, Mobilization. (Back row) Karen, Partnership; Greg, VP-Personnel; Diana, Member Care; and Don, Mobilization. Not pictured: Edith, Short-Term Coordinator; Don, Project Manager.

Thanks for sticking with us. Stay-tuned.

We've Arrived for Global's Candidate Orientation

Thanks for your prayers as we made the drive to Olcott, NY to take part in next week's Candidate Orientation with Global Outreach Mission. We arrived at Niagara Shores Retreat & Conference Center last night and jumped right in this morning with compiling orientation materials.

Designing the cover sheet for the orientation manual on Tom's computer. Tom is Global's Member Care Coordinator.

Karen punches holes, organizes, and assembles the twenty seven binders.

Finished binders ready for use.

Tom and I are making an airport run in a few minutes to pick up one of our presenters and will spend the afternoon organizing the registration area and orientation hall with Karen.

We'll keep you updated as we can. Orientation begins tomorrow afternoon. My three presentations are from 11:30 to 12:30, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Thanks for being part of preparing and sending missionaries to the field through your prayers and support!

Opening An Office, Prepping For Orientation, Salsa, And Grilled Okra?

Global Outreach Mission's North Carolina Extension Office
While there's still quite a "to do" list before Grand Opening, we've signed a lease agreement for a small office on the second floor of a historical building in downtown Graham, and with that...Global Outreach Mission's North Carolina Extension Office is one step closer to becoming a reality!

There's nothing like free pallets to unleash a missionary's office design creativity.

We're working on internet access; constructing office furniture; purchasing pens, pencils, legal pads, and paper clips; and laying an operational foundation that will reach around the world from central North Carolina. And you're the earthly means behind the Kingdom dreams God's placed in our hearts.

It's totally exciting. Like, TOTALLY, DUDE!

GOM Candidate Orientation: Buffalo, NY
In a few short weeks, Karen and I will be in Buffalo, NY to participate (as both new candidates and as Training Staff) in the week-long August 2015 Candidate Orientation. I'm in the middle of preparing three training sessions for the event.

As Director of Partnership Development, I serve as the support raising trainer and coach for Global's missionaries...new and field-experienced. As soon as I pull the third hour of PowerPoint together, I'll move into creating a corresponding training manual. Having too much free time doesn't seem to be an issue right now.

Doesn't three hours of THAT sound exciting?

While we'll drive up together, Karen will fly home after the orientation while I remain in Buffalo to work with our US & Canadian staff for another week or so.

Salsa Making: Our Summer Tradition Continues
Well, it's been a great season for our southern salsa garden. Last year (our first planting season in NC) was an agricultural struggle, but this year our tomatoes and pepper varieties are coming in like gangbusters. Lord willing, Batch #2 will simmer on the stove this coming Saturday.

Karen's Southern Side Street Salsa, 2015 Batch #1

Southern Food: Okra
Since my last plate of pork brains and eggs, I've tried deep-fried alligator bites (tastes like chicken), and most recently, here at home, we grilled some Okra out of our garden. We've never grown Okra before but our neighbor, Glen, gave us a seedling to experiment with. Once it gets started...the stuff grows really fast. I've tried Okra deep fried at restaurants (kind of slimy), sliced and dehydrated over at Glen's (seasoned and crunchy), and now grilled. We'll keep working with it. At this point, I'd say Okra will taste like whatever you season it with.

Grilled Okra (internet photo)

Financial Thanks and Reminder
For our financial supporters who have already switched your gifts to Global Outreach Mission: THANK YOU! For our supporters who have yet to make the shift: Now is the time to do so! If you haven't already used the Global partnership slip we sent with our newsletter, or used the slip MMS sent with your most recent receipt, you can very easily transition your giving through visiting our donor web page by clicking HERE then clicking the "personal support" button.

Special Donations
And if the Lord has placed it on your heart to help us set up the office and organize our new ministry operation by giving a special donation...we'd be thrilled. Blessed. Overjoyed. It's the same simple, convenient, spiritually satisfying process of clicking HERE and then clicking "personal support"!

We couldn't be here serving Him, without you there serving with us through your faithful friendship, love, encouragement, prayers and gifts.

THANK YOU!

New Newsletter, New Prayer Card, News, News, News

New Newsletter
Here's the first run of our "new" newsletter. Recognizing the fact that we have lived in North Carolina for two years and now serve with Global Outreach Mission, we've renamed our quarterly missive "Global Flyer" retiring "Coshocton" from the banner after 18 years. Be watching for some fun (and dare I say exciting) design changes coming up with our Fall/Winter issue.

To see the pages in a larger format, click on the pictures here to move to the image viewer. Then "right click" on the image and select the option to "open in a new window". That will allow you to zoom into the image!

New Prayer Card
And with a new mission comes a new prayer card! Woohoo!

If you'd like actual hard copies of our newsletter and/or prayer card, just let us know and we'll give a snail a stamp.

We're Staying In Graham, NC!
An additional blessing of service with Global is that we've been authorized to open an "extension office" right here in Graham! I've signed a lease on a small office downtown from which I'll help Global's missionaries develop, maintain, and nurture the relationships necessary to fulfill God's calling on their hearts.

That's enough news for now with plenty more to come!

Thank you to each of you transferring your financial support over to Global, those of you joining us financially for the first time with Global, and everyone praying for us and our new "global" adventure!

Our Global Web Page is UP!

Transition Update, June 19, 2015

Our new prayer cards are ordered.

We're working on our first newsletter under its new banner.

I'm seeking office space from which to base Global's NC operations.

Our financial partners are shifting to Global Outreach Mission.

AND OUR GLOBAL WEB PAGE IS UP!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR PARTNERSHIP PORTAL!

We're being totally blessed by the hard work conducted on our behalf by the Global HR & HQ Teams as they incorporate us into their operational system. Whether it's Finance, HR, Member Care, Administrative Support, Donor Communications, or Media, everyone on Global's staff has treated us like family since our first communication with them back in March.

There's lots more news to come!

Stay Tuned!

Here's a shot of God's color pallet in the western sky this morning.

Things are rather tropical (HOT & HUMID) around here right now. 

Thanks for your prayers!

What Next? Preparation, Communication, & Orientation

Preparation
Now that we're back in North Carolina, Karen and I are processing all the ministry information we received during our visit to Global's headquarters in US and Canada. There's much to take in: a new mission, new roles, new personal and ministry budgets, different administrative processes and procedures, understanding our fit inside a diverse international organizational structure, and completing all the documentation enabling our personal web page and digital communication platform to be established. Right now we have so many different "To Do" lists, it's rather intimidating. Aren't we getting too old for this? HA!

Communication
Key to this whole process is to update you on changes as we make them, answer your questions as you have them, and walk hand-in-hand with you into this new season of ministry. Lord willing we'll have all the pieces in place to get this ball rolling in the next two or three weeks.

Candidate Orientation: August 9-14
One thing we know for sure is that we'll be back in Buffalo for Candidate Orientation, August 9-14. Held at Niagara Bible Conference, in Olcutt, NY, this will be a week of training, team building, and relational development as we help prepare Global's latest group of missionaries to purse God's calling on their lives through ministry around the world. Not only will Karen and I be oriented as new Global missionaries, but I'll also lead several sessions helping our new missionaries better understand the challenges, joys, and blessings of Ministry Partnership (support development).

Global Outreach Radio

Reaching Bangladesh & West Bengal, India with the Gospel.

We've Been Appointed As Missionaries With Global Outreach Mission!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

We've Been Accepted For Full-Time Service With Global Outreach Mission
Karen and I have been accepted for service with Global Outreach Mission where I'll join the human resources team and lead the Ministry Partnership program. That means I'll have the privilege to train, coach, and mentor Global's new missionaries as they develop the financial partnerships necessary to begin ministry around the world!

In fact, we just returned from a three day visit to Global Outreach Mission's US headquarters in Buffalo, NY and their Canadian headquarters in St. Catherines, Ontario (situated on either side of Niagara Falls).

Global Outreach Mission
Global Outreach Mission (GOM) has over 70 years of experience "facilitating people to accomplish what God has called them to do." To put it another way, GOM serves as a portal for Kingdom people to pursue Kingdom purposes. With approximately 500 missionaries in 50 countries, GOM holds something of a unique position within the mission community. Below is a photo of us with Global's leadership group outside the headquarters building.

From left to Right: Al Voth, VP Finance; Dr. Brian Albrecht, President; Greg Constable, VP Personnel; Tom Turley, Member Care Coordinator; me & Karen outside Global's US headquarters. Not pictured: Rev. Dennis Campbell, VP Development.

Human Resources Team
As part of Global's HR team, I'll work closely with Greg and Tom toward making sure our missionaries are as effectively prepared and as lovingly cared for as possible.

Here's a snapshot of me, Greg, and Tom on the Canadian side of Niagara with Horseshoe Falls behind us. Thank you Karen, for taking the picture!

We'll Continue Living in North Carolina
We will remain here in Graham and serve remotely as headquarters staff, traveling nationally and internationally as best meets mission need. Once I get settled into my role a bit, we'll be better situated to explore how the Lord may wish Karen to be involved.

Our Next Newsletter & Additional Info Coming Soon
Our next newsletter should arrive toward the end of June and provide details and information related to completing this organizational transition. Along with that (for all our gift givers and monthly financial partners) we'll send everything you need to safely and securely shift your financial support from MMS over to Global Outreach Mission.

Thanks For Your Continued Faithfulness
Thanks so much for your prayers and faithfulness as we've sought God's leading and waited on His revelation for this new season of ministry. We're excited about being part of what He's doing through Global, its missionaries and its field programs around the world.

The newest members of Global Outreach Mission!

Sunset on Lake Ontario