paul and amber

Married Life!!!

2006-09-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Oh, what joy it is to wake up next to the person you love. Hello friends!! It has sure been a while since you have heard from us married folk. Just wanted to write a quick message telling of the joys which marriage has brought to us. Amber and I have been doing great. We not only had a gret wedding, but we had a wonderful honeymoon in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Also we have wonderful friends and family. If we didn't have you guys praying for us and helping out, who knows how everything would have went. We are so blessed, and ever thankful. Amber starts school up again on monday. I'm busy job hunting. How Fun!!!!! Applications and interviews. Back to the good old life. It's times like these wehen I wish we were back in Mexico soaking up the sun. Right now there's the hurricanes though, not such a good idea. I can't nelieve it will be almost three months that we have been married. Time goes by sooooo fast. But just to let everyone know, we are doing great!!! We love each oter so much, and look forward to sharing more special moments with all of you. Many many blessings to all of you!!!

Paul and Amber

HELLO OUT THERE!!!!

2006-04-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a long time since last making an update!!! January!!! Well, Amber and I are doing fantastic, just extremely busy as usual. I graduate May 6, with my Bachelors degree in Business, and Amber just started nursing school a week ago!!! All that plus we're planning a wedding!!! Less than three months and Amber will be my wife!!! It's going to be so nice to be able to share my life with her. I've got to go!! I'm supposed to be working on a project for Business Policy. Take care you guys, and I'll try harder to keep everyone updated. By the way, the wedding is July 1 for those who didn't know. God Bless!!!

We got the park!!!

2006-01-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, we got the park for the wedding!!!

We're still alive!!

2006-01-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Wanted to write and let everyone know Amber and I are still kickin. Amber just started up her first term of nursing school, and I am completing my last term for my bachelors in business. It's almost over!!! We've been studying and working non-stop, so things have been just a little crazy. I'm trying to get those pictures of my house on the blog. I'm just not trying hard enough I guess. They'll be up soon!!!

2005-12-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

Quick update

2005-12-14T17:14:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Amber and I are just doing fantastic. We've been super busy. Amber is working two jobs, one at Kindercare, and one at the hospital. I have been studying for final exams like crazzzzy!! Only one more term to go and I'll finally graduate!!! Yeah!! I graduate in April and get married in July! 2006 will definately be the year of change. I'm trying to get some good pictures of the house I bought in August, I'll get those posted as soon as finals are over!!

The Wedding Date?!?!

2005-11-09T12:33:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know we are planning the wedding to be on the 1st of July 2006. It's going to be at Fallen Leaf Lake Park in Camas. However, we are not able to reserve the park until after the 1st of January so things may change if the park is already booked. We may have to change it to the Fairgate Inn on top of Prune Hill for Sunday the 2nd, but we'll continue to keep everyone informed!!

Love,
Paul and Amber

2005-11-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

moon pic.

2005-11-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

hohn and hulia

The Engagement pArTy Pictures

2005-11-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Studly Men..................
Pretty Girls!!!

PaUl and aMbEr the engagement party............

Our Engagement

2005-11-08T17:04:00.000-08:00

August 2005

"Finally, We're Engaged!!!!"

August 17, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

I just wanted to let everyone know that last night the 16th of August I asked Amber Davis to marry me! With little if not any hesitation she said yes!! We've known each other for almost four years now and started courting last October, however, from the day I met Amber I knew something was special about her.

I had planned for an awesome Hot Air Balloon ride for Wednesday, but due to bad weather I had to cancel. Freaked out at the last minute, I decided I would do it Tuesday evening instead. I arranged to get off of work (fortunately someone was willing to pick up my shift) and went to get some flowers (Amber's favorite kind), some pink grapefruit soda (Amber's favorite), and some tasty Turkey pannini's (she likes turkey sandwiches). I bought 100 tea light candles and went to the pet store and picked up the sweetest grey and white Persian kitten I could find (we're still trying to think of a name for it). So, I got all the items together went home to finish up a DVD I was making of all our past pictures. After everything was coming together, I asked for my father's blessing. I told my mom and sister what I was about to do, and they were very supportive of me and the decision I was making. Amber was working until 7:00 pm so I planned with her parents to have their house all to ourselves. (Amber's parents were so excited they had to leave before Amber got there so they wouldn't give it away.) We put the kitten (with the ring on it's collar) on the swing outside and I left to go set up the picnic. Amber got home clueless to what was going to happen. I called her and told her I didn't have to work, so we could go out to a nice dinner. She got ready while I set up at the park we plan to get married at next summer. It's a beautiful place with tall evergreens, and a serene lake with ducks and geese. I laid everything out all nice, the blanket, flowers, and food, then I started to light the candles. I had about fifty of the darn things lit, then a gust of wind came and blew them all out. I tried lighting them again, but a second gust came, and I got fed up with the whole thing. I was stressed out enough as it was. Fortunately the caretaker of the park saw my situation and gave me some candles that wouldn't blow out.

After everything was set up I went to pick up Amber. When I got there she was finished getting ready and looked absolutely gorgeous. I walked her out to my car, and as we drove away I told her we were going to a nasty Italian restaurant called Dragoos. She was not thrilled at my decision, but she went along with it. On our way to "Dragoos", we stopped at the park. She got out, and wondered why we were there. I took her by the hand and led her down to the water where everything was set out, and the sun was just setting. She was so happy to see the picnic I had set up for her. We ate and talked, and admired the flowers I had bought her. It was starting to get a little too dark, so we picked up out things and drove back to Amber's house. We got to her house, walked in, and I dimmed the lights for the slide show I had made for her. We sat down and watched all the pictures of our past go by to a song called "You and I" by Stevie Wonder. I started to cry for some reason. At the end of the video I wrote for Amber to come outside with me because I had a surprise for her. We went outside and on the back porch swing the baby kitten was crying in a basket. Amber began to get really emotional, because she wanted a kitten so bad. She picked up the kitten out of the basket and admired its cute little features. She didn't notice the ring on the collar for quite a while, so I said to her "look at the kittens collar isn't it cute". When she looked and saw the ring I just lost it, I took the kitten, undid the collar, and got on one knee with the ring and asked her "will you marry me". She said yes, we hugged for a long time crying, and practically crushing the kitten.

I can tell everyone, by far this was the most surreal experience I have had so far. You think about this day for such a long tome throughout your life, and when it finally comes it just doesn't seem real. It's awesome, and I am so excited that I am going to spend the rest of my life with Amber. She is such a blessing to me and I am waiting to see what God has in store for us!

Thank You everyone for all of your prayers and support!!

I'm a blessed man
Love,

Paul

Uganda 2005

2005-11-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

October 2004

Dear Friends and Family,

Mucama Yaba Zeebwe (Praise the Lord)! I just got back from my second trip to Uganda, Africa and again I came back more blessed than ever. It’s good to be home in America with everything from a hot shower to back to driving my Jeep Wrangler. However, I have to say all the materialistic things in this country could never amount to the importance of the Great Commission to go out and make Disciples in a country so full of hopelessness and need. I am called to the country of Uganda and hopefully in a few years I will be venturing into the southern part of war torn Sudan.

This trip was so wonderful. It was great to see all my Ugandan friends from our first trip in early 2003. Everyone was so happy to see us again and anticipated what the Lord had in store for this trip. Our mission this year was to start up three major soccer camps. These camps were held in Masaka, Llwaji Island, and Kasambu.

Our first camp was in the city of Masaka which is about a three hour drive from our home base in Segaku. Masaka’s camp was a training ground for those young men who were interested in coaching. We trained almost sixty young men the rules of the game and all of them received their coaching certification. Coach Derek Stanton from England came to help train everyone. He was a professional player in the 70’s and 80’s, playing for the team Aston Villa in Europe. With your help we were able to give each new coach a ball. Those who scored perfect on the written test also received soccer clothes for their entire team and markers for their field. All the coaches were so happy to become certified and are all looking forward to starting their own teams and reaching their players with the good news of Jesus.

Our second camp was held on Llwaji Island in Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria is the second largest lake in the world. I went to the Island a year earlier, so it was neat to see how much it has progressed. Many of the houses which used to have thatched roofs have metal ones, and it seems they are starting to clean up more now around the island. The village is still pretty much the same; most of the women are prostitutes, and the men get drunk and fish all day. My heart broke when I saw the children again. All of them had smiling faces although they were covered in dirt and their clothes were torn to shreds. The parents do not care about their children, because each family has anywhere from 5-10 of them. The parents buy their own clothes and then think of the children last. I saw a few kids this trip still wearing the same ragged shirts they were wearing last year. Another thing is 50% of these kids are living with AIDS because most of their mothers are prostitutes. It’s sad to see such poverty and despair, but one thing I know is true is that me and so many others can go there and love the kids, tell them about Jesus and give them a future to look forward to. The soccer camp at the Island was great. We ministered to about 300 people and 60 of the young men came to the Lord. I learned how to play a game called net ball, which is very popular in Europe. We played that game with most of the women. Soccer is a men’s game in Uganda, while net ball is for women. They liked the fact that five American guys would play with the Ugandan women. I had fun with it!

From Llwaji we went to the town of Kasambu where we started our third camp. We split into teams and I played net ball with some of our guys and the Ugandan women. Another group ministered to the children and the rest played soccer. Some of the servers at Red Lobster, where I work at home gave me Beanie babies and bubbles to give to the kids. The children loved the stuffed animals and were so thankful. Many of them have never even seen a stuffed animal let alone owned one. Kasambu is in a major drought. It hasn’t rained there in almost three years. This means that everyone is rationed with drinking water. On our third day a little girl passed out from heat stroke and dehydration. We gave her a bottle of water and she downed it in about ten seconds, so we ds of children die each year because of these parasites. The girl was still not feeling well so I picked her up and carried her to her homgave her some more and gave her some worming pills. Worming pills cost only fifty cents yet thousane. I had one interpreter who’s name is Joseph with me. On our way there I felt in my Spirit that the Lord wanted to save the little girls family. We asked and discovered that her parents were Muslims. When we got to her house her parents were overwhelmed with the fact that we would bring their child to them. I told them how much I loved them and how Jesus is love and that’s why I cared so much. I gave the children bubbles and gave some trail mix and water to the mom. After giving a message of salvation, the entire family accepted the Lord as their Savior.

While in Kasambu I met a little boy named Derek. Derek was only about two years old. He came out of a field covered in dirt. Derek was very shy and didn’t say anything; his pants were torn and soaked in urine. I picked him up and held him, and then my heart broke. I started to weep for him and so many of the small innocent children. Through my tears I felt the Lord say “This is why I brought you here – to reach the children.” I carried Derek around with me and cleaned him with some baby wipes. His fingernails were caked with dirt and he had clumps of dirt in his eyelashes. I wondered to myself, “How could anyone do this to their kid?” On the second day we noticed Derek had some witchcraft tied around his waist. We cut it off and prayed that Jesus would protect him. I kept telling him Nkwagala which in Lugandan means “I Love You.” He just smiled and went “mmmm”. By the third day Derek was laughing. We would tickle him and he’d squeal. The Lord kept reminding me to show Derek “the Father’s Heart”. I went to town the last day and bought Derek some worming medication. I knew he had worms because his little belly was swollen. We gave him a furry little animal before we left. It was so difficult to say goodbye we just sat him on the ground and drove away; most of our team left in tears.

I knew God wanted me on this trip for a reason. Yeah, it was difficult to choose Uganda over going back to Concordia University this fall, but you know my life isn’t really mine – It’s God’s. He taught me something on this trip which I will never let go of and that is the fact that where there is a need we need to fill it. I found a need in Uganda and that is the need of hundreds of little boys and girls to know the love of a father and mother. Uganda is the size of Oregon and it has over 1.5 million orphans who have lost their parents to HIV and AIDS. Those kids need love; they need Jesus because without him they have nothing. Our lives are short, a blink of the eye compared to eternity. We need to share love where there is no love and give hope where there is no hope. This is our calling – to find a need and fill it.

Thank you so much for Blessing me with this opportunity to go to Uganda. I have been changed by this experience I am planning to go again in the near future. The Lord wants to use me to reach the orphans, so I plan be moving to Uganda in about five years. Currently I am finishing my degree in business with a minor in Non-profit management. Thank You for your prayers and encouragement. I love each and every one of you so much!

Love,

Paul