Celebrating Christmas

We had our first “home” Christmas with the boys.  Overall, a great, relaxing holiday at home.

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Thanksgiving with the Cooper Clan

We packed up the kids and Aunt Bee and followed Lettie and Chief to KAA Kamps retreat center on Table Rock lake. We had the whole place to ourselves. Thankful for time with extended family and warm weather, we spent most of our time laughing, playing outdoors, and partaking in some friendly competition.

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Back from Africa

Kate and I had an amazing trip to Ethiopia and we’re so thankful for those that allowed us to go.  I was a far cry from last year’s inaugural scouting trip.  For one, there were more of us.  Which was good because we crammed a lot of things into a short 10 days in country.  Several nurses and a local doctor put on a free clinic for four days in the villages of Dubancho and Lissana.  While the gals were doing that, four of men held a leadership summit for nearly 200 church leaders in the region.  And again, while the clinic and leadership summit were happening, there was a small group of us at the Dubancho church helping with various construction tasks, namely putting in a concrete floor and building more benches for their newer church building.

There’s obviously more to tell, but for now, here’s some of the photos from the trip (42 of the 600+):

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Chicago

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We love you, Aunt Mo!

Ethiopia Letter

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Dear friends and family,

Kate and I have the opportunity to return to Ethiopia, along with several friends from our church, to again invest in the lives of those living in the tiny rural village of Dubancho…

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