We Bought a House!

Ever since we arrived in Ithaca back in 2008 we have rented homes.....4 of them to be exact!  And we've lived in some really great places -specifically the house right next to campus.  When Cornell decided to sell that house, we were really, really bummed!  For a whole slew of reasons, we did not think it was the best decision to purchase that house, and so we had to move.  That began the journey that ended us up here - over a year later, with a house purchased on Ellis Hollow Road.

I have said for years now, that if I ever did end up buying a house in Ithaca, I would want it to be on Ellis Hollow Road.  I love this location because it is close to campus and yet out in the forest at the same time!  The space behind most of the houses to hang out, play, hike and even hunt deer is amazing!  

The house was owned by a wonderful family for over 50 years.  They actually built this house and raised 8 kids in it.  There was a lot of old school wall paper inside though, so we've been ripping it off this week and doing a little painting.  

One of the funner parts of actually owning the house is that you get to choose paint colors!  

The house has 4 bedrooms, but my main concern was garage space!  Haha.  This house does have some pretty good garage going on, which is really great!  

And, we are tearing down a small wall to make the living room more "open" as they say:)

Our Housing Stuff

Our housing situation has recently become unfortunately complicated!

4 years ago we moved into this house right next to campus.  Cornell University actually owns this house (166 Pleasant Grove Rd.)  and we rent it via a third part management company.  

 We love being close to campus for a lot of reasons.  The whole endeavor of our ministry here at Cornell is to make the good news of Jesus Christ as accessible as possible.  

Ever since my first international mission trip in the summer of 1997, I have been convinced that the best way to connect  people with God's gracious love is to go and live among them. God originated this idea; walking with Adam in the garden, dwelling with the Israelite's in the tabernacle and then sending Jesus to earth as the ultimate missionary. Jesus lived as a man, with men in order to reconcile men to himself. He came to earth and gave his life so that we could have a personal relationship with him forever. And he has invited us to participate with him in this same mission.

This house has served us very well in our ministry here; it has enabled us to live very close to the students we minister to and with.   But it seems now we must live somewhere else!  Please pray for us as we look for another house that will serve our family and our ministry like this one has.  

If this stuff is interesting to you, you can read on.  

Fun With Broken Glass.....

We’re finishing a week in Florida with our Cornell students at CRU’s Big Break in Panama City Beach.

Our students traveled from Ithaca by bus and We left New Mexico about 10 days ago caravanning in two vehicles.

We left a day later than anticipated both because packing up took longer than expected and because Joe wanted to squeeze in a quick trip to the Emergency room.  While we loaded up the cars, our kids and their cousins were out in the desert playing with some empty beer bottles they found.  (typical kid stuff)  They were filling them with sand when Jack convinced his brothers that breaking them would be fun!  (Isn’t it?)  Titus smashed one like an angry drunk in a bar brawl holding it firmly by the bottle’s neck.  Joe wanted a turn and instead of finding a fresh one, he reached for Titus’ newly fashioned weapon.  He grabbed hold, Titus jerked it away and the blood started flowing from Joes thumb. 

So there we were in the midst of stressfull packing when a kid comes running towards us with his hand covered in blood.  Good timing!  It was actually pretty hard to determine who won the “foolish” award amongst the three competitors.

Hangin' in the ER

We went to the E.R. and thanks be to God, he didn’t need stitches.  So, we were able to leave the next day. 

Packing up in New Mexico was both arduous and emotional.  The last several months have been filled with so many different situations and experiences; care-taking for my dad, the Holidays, time with family, my father’s death, my sister’s wedding and other events along the way.  We lamented leaving our families, church friends and home town because we love them all.  But, we left with sustained conviction and confirmed sense that our calling to Cornell is from the Lord. 

We got to meet up with some family in Amarillo, TX and an old Spain (our first staff assignment) team mate –Kelly Skrapka (formerly McCarthy) in Norman Oklahoma on the way out here.  

And it was awesome to re-join with our students here! 

Bill Betts; At Peace with God

It’s been 10 days since my father, Bill Betts passed away.  He went to be with our savior and God on the night of January 19th, 2012.

My father loved Jesus, and by God’s grace, he was saved by faith.  His sins were forgiven –paid for by Christ’s blood, and so his soul entered God’s glorious presence covered by the righteousness of Christ. 

I am grateful that I got to be with him as he died, and I am very thankful that he was able to go so peacefully.

The night before he died, I had been reading the Bible to him.  We were reading thru a yearly Bible plan, and we were off schedule according to the date.  But, by God’s providence, we were right where we needed to be. 

Jesus’ words in John 14 bring truth and comfort.

¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

My mom and I were at home along with my sister Rachel and her fiancé Bryn.  My dad had been bedridden for months, and we were in the process of changing his diaper and linens when his breathing slowed, his eyes closed and he began to fade out.  My mother was holding his head in her arms and with our hearts racing and tears in our eyes, we held him and told him we loved him and prayed to Jesus; thanking him for his grace and mercy and reminding our dad of God’s great love for him.

In the moment, there was a certain tranquility, and yet it was possibly the most intense thing that I’ve ever gone thru in my life.   And although we’d lived in expectation of that moment for months now, I’m not sure you can ever be truly prepared.  The passing of an eternal soul from one place to the next is simply intense.  

As his life slipped away, we called my brother and other sister Leslie and they came over right away.   My Grandma and aunts and uncles and cousins arrived quickly along with Stephanie and our kids and we all grieved, cried and prayed together. 

We take great comfort knowing that my dad was ready to go.  The cruelness of Lou Gehrig’s disease had prepared him mentally (and certainly physically) to go, but he was also ready spiritually. 

Romans 5:1,2

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

My dad was a wonderful dad and a kind, loving man who touched many peoples lives.   He will be missed by me and those who loved him for the rest of our lives here on earth for sure.  But there is hope and joy even despite our grieving because of Christ.   Our hope is sure, not because my dad was was a pretty great guy, but because our God is a really great God. 

Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we can confidently assert that our dad is in a better place and his suffering is over. 

Why we join Community Groups

 In order to truly be growing in our relationship with God, experiencing Gospel-centered fellowship and participating in the Christ-exalting mission of the Church (Matt 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8) we must be a part of a small group.

We’ve been back in town just over three weeks now and so this past Wednesday we attended our first community group with Blaze Christian Fellowship.  We would have attended sooner, but the week before was Stephanie’s birthday and I decided to take her out to dinner.    It’s important to get plugged into the local church right away, and I fundamentally believe being part of a community group is the best and most effective way to do that.   Since being back in town we have consistently attended the worship services as well as a large outreach/service event.  When we were around this summer, we went to the annual church picnic.   Those are all very important venues for connection, but I am convinced that in order to truly be growing in our relationship with God, experiencing Gospel-centered fellowship and participating in the Christ-exalting mission of the Church (Matt 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8) we must be a part of a small group.   In our CRU ministry at Cornell, we uphold Community Groups as our primary vehicle for both discipleship and evangelism. 

We picked a great week to start because it was Frito-Pie week!  Once a month the group eats together and has a more informal hang out time.   We all gathered in one of the members homes and I chowed three full bowls of fantastic red chile and beans while talking and getting to know other people.  Our kids were with us, and they too got to eat and make new friends.   It was fun and familial and everybody seemed really cool  -as people usually do when you first meet them;)  After eating we simply chilled and eventually someone started up a game of Mad Gab.  I don’t like games really, and I would have preferred to remain on the couch talking about trucks and chainsaws with some of the other guys, but playing together is a great way to get to know others and have a shared experience, so I jumped in with both feet.   Sadly my team got destroyed! 

A more typical meeting will include time studying the Bible, sharing about life and praying together.  Joining this new small group I have some specific hopes, desires and things I want to see.   

First of all, we are joining a small group for our spiritual health.  A Small group is a place where we are reminded of the good news and enabled to live in light of it.  

Our God is a glorious and amazing God.  He loves us and he has created us to live life intimately connected to him.  He is the source of life and joy and satisfaction.   He also created us to live in fellowship with all the other people he loves.  The Christian life is meant to be lived in community, like a family, with God as our father. 

We are created in God’s image and that is why we are such relational beings.   Our Trinitarian God himself dwells in community; God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist within a loving fellowship and he made us to do the same.   God is a loving community and he created us to live life in loving community and he has declared plainly that it is not good for man to live alone.   Sin decimated our relationship with God and completely jacks up our relationships with others, but Jesus’ death on the cross conquers sin, and thru him and with him we can experience the joy-filled fellowship with God and others that we were made for.   In a small group, we get together with others to live rightly remember the truth and worship our amazing God. 

In a small group you get to sit with people who know you and who know you who can help you apply the gospel to your life.  It’s easy to show up to a worship service, sing some songs and hear some good teaching, but we need more than that.   I heard one teacher explain that we can experience conviction at a church service, but it’s in a small group that we experience repentance and thus real transformation.  I think we can receive exhortation during corporate worship, but in order to really live Christ-like we need the encouragement that comes in the small group setting.  

A small group is a place where we can be around older wiser Christians who can help us follow Jesus and experience his power in our lives.   

We really want to be a part of a group with some older married couples.  I asked to be in this one because I know one of the couples and I think we could really benefit from some time with them.  Not only are we currently walking thru difficult times, but Stephanie and I are in sort of a difficult and complex stage of life!  We need role-models and people around us who can support us and coach us and help us.  Words like discipleship, accountability, challenge and discipline all come to mind, but it all boils down to truth and grace.  We need people around us pointing us to God’s words of life and we need kind, loving, help –even when we don’t deserve it.

A small group is a place where we can participate in mission.   

Jesus has called and commissioned and empowered us as his followers to spread his name and advance his kingdom all over the earth.  A month ago we were living in New York, and today we are in New Mexico and in both places we are called to witness for Christ.  While here in Santa Fe we are praying that God would use us to advance the Gospel and I have specific friends and relatives who I am praying for intentionally.  But again, as the Christian life was not meant to be lived alone, the Christian mission was not meant to be done alone.   Jesus himself, as God did ministry in community with the Father and the Holy Spirit as well as his group of disciples.  Whenever he sent his guys out, he sent them in pairs or small groups.   In order to spread the good news and see people come to salvation we need the power of the Holy Spirit and the support of the body of Christ.  I want to be a part of a small group where we are praying together for people to see God’s glory.    I want to be a part of a small group where we can invite friends and relatives to experience gospel fellowship and see God’s grace in action.   I want to be a part of a small group where I can bring people to encounter Jesus. 

I’m joining this small group because it’s a connected to a church that I really love and believe in.  (It’s important for there to be some structure and helpful to maintain order to have the group leaders connected to and accountable to the elders and church leadership etc.)   Though I have not lived in Santa Fe for many years now, I have known the pastoral staff here for a while and have been attracted to the vision and potential of Blaze Christian Fellowship since the beginning.  The vision of Blaze is To spark a passion for God through His Gospel in the hearts of people so that they inturn ignite the world around them for Jesus Christ -but I before I read that on the website, I saw it being modeled in the life of the pastors and members.  My heart beats for that, and I want to join with others to se that happen!   I want to see thousands and thousands of people in Santa Fe, NM come to know God.  And the way to effectively be a part of all that is to be in a small group. 

The group I went to the other night was a little bit too big I think.  There were probably enough people in that group to form two healthy community groups.  But to be honest, I would rather have a group that’s kind of big than a group that’s too small because we have a big mission!  And since our God is big and our mission field is big, I like having a team that’s big. 

A current ‘buzzword’ is Missional Community.   A missional community is just a group of people who love Jesus, who worship Jesus, who trust in Jesus who are following Jesus together,  on mission –making disciples of all nations.   Fundamentally, I believe a small group should be more than a bible study, more than a small group of people who like each other, more than a weekly accountability time, more than a class.   I think this group will be a missional community and that’s why we joined.   

Visiting Santa Fe 2

Today we drove from Windsor Colorado where we had been for the past three days visiting Stephanie's parents and some of our cousins and other relatives.  I'll post some pictures from those three days soon, as there are many good ones!

But right now, we are back in Santa Fe for two nights before we had back to Ithaca.  We came back down here so that we can accompany my mom and dad to the UNM hospital tomorrow to meet with a team of doctors.  It's a big appointment with a team of specialists that my dad goes to every three months.  We'll get a lot of information related to my dad's rapidly degenerating health.

Two weeks ago, when I wrote a post my dad was feeding himself.  But at this point we must feed him.  Two weeks ago when I wrote, my dad was still walking around the house without any real assistance,   but not this week.   His confidence is down after a recent fall off the bed and so now he is using his walker around the house.  We borrowed a wheel chair from the neighbors, and when my dad goes out we are using it.  In the coming weeks, he will get one fitted specifically for him.   We acquired a motorized hospital bed from a friend, and hopefully in the coming weeks my mom can put that together.

Over the past few weeks we've been modifying the house in little ways to make it more ready for the wheel chair when it comes.

We love spending this time with my dad, and as we get ready to head back to NY we feel extremely burdened as we strive to figure out what exactly we should do to best serve and help my mom and dad.  Please pray for us as we learn more and walk together thru this season of difficulty.

A glorious and helpful passage comes from Nehemiah 8:10 -The joy of the Lord is your strength...


Tonight we also read Psalm 111 together.  My dad has been going thru the One Year Bible for sometime now.
[111:1]  Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. [2] Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. [3] Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. [4] He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. [5] He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. [6] He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. [7] The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy; [8] they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. [9] He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name! [10] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Visiting Santa Fe

We have been in New Mexico for 5 days and it has been good to be with family. 

In January of 2011, my dad, Bill was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) Disease.   For the past few years he had been feeling more and more ‘run down’ and found it necessary to sleep a bit more and schedule in a daily nap in order to make it thru the day, but otherwise he seemed in pretty good health.   He began working part time in 2003, and he visited his doctor more frequently during the past few years, always suspecting something wasn’t quite right, but his day to day life was not drastically altered really until last fall.  

Since we saw him a year ago, much has changed.  Last summer Bill flew to NY to pick up my sister Rachel and together they drove across the country to NM in a car with no A/C.  That was an adventure and a fun memory for them both.    Our whole family met up and spent time together in Alamogordo, New Mexico before my brother and his family moved out to England with the Air Force.   We went to White Sands, NM and had a picnic, took family photos, and went to the (Holoman) Air Force Base pool with Uncle Dave.  We went up to the mountains, had a camp-fire.  We had easy late night conversations and played games together.

We hung out at White Sands last summer. 

But as summer the summer of 2010 ended and fall came along, my dad’s health began to decline more significantly.  At times his speech would slur in conversation and that prompted more doctor visits.  Something was certainly wrong.   Tests were run and specialists were consulted.  In time, the numerous symptoms left no room for doubt in anyone's mind that my dad has ALS.  

This summer everything is drastically different.    Now his speech is slow and he is very difficult to understand.  It is a labor for him to communicate.  His fingers are curled and no longer useful.  His walk is slow and unsteady.  His neck muscles struggle to hold up his head. He has lost significant weight.  He can no longer button his shirts or zip his pants.  Though the disease has progressed much in the past 6 months, there is still a lot Bill is able to do.   We are grateful that his is still walking!  He is still able to feed himself with the use of a special grip on his utensils.  We praise the Lord that we can still communicate some.  Bill has a good sense of humor and has joked that his speech is a new “foreign language” for us to learn.  We love to see him smile and hear him laugh at our stories!  Just this morning we took the kids to nearby park today to launch rockets and Bill joined us.  He was able to walk there on his own and got to enjoy his grandkids run around.  We are grateful for each new memory we get to make, and keenly aware that each day we have is a gift.

Shaving is difficult, so when we showed up, Bill was sporting a nice white beard.  I helped him shave it off the other night.  We called it "manscaping".

Some Wildwood Pictures

Here is the group picture of the Wildwood Summer Project 2011

This is the summer project house in Wildwood.  Around 40 of the students live in this house an another 6 are across the street.  We utilize the driveway and the back yard for events and hang out.  

Jack Critiques Alan Jackson

On our way out to Wildwood, NJ the other day (for our summer project) we were listening to the radio; Country music as usual.  The Alan Jackson song "Where I come From" came on and Stephanie and I were talking.  I like the song and I've heard it often, but I wasn't listening intently to it when my son Jack yelled from the back seat -"Is this song based on lies?"  


I wasn't too sure in the moment what he was talking about.   Thinking about verse two I said "Well, I think he's just talking about some good food bud."  
But then the Chorus came on again, I turned it up and I knew exactly what he was referring to.  Here's how it goes:


I said where I come from
It's cornbread and chicken
Where I come from a lotta front porch sittin'
Where I come from tryin' to make a livin'
And workin' hard to get to heaven
Where I come from


I asked leadingly "What was the lie that you heard in there bud?"  And Jack proceeded to expound the theological truth that we don't work hard to get to heaven.  Salvation is free -a gift from God because he loves us.  "God doesn't love you because you work hard" he said.  And then I asked my boys "So why does God love us?"  And Joe shouted with passion and authority "For no apparent reason."  


Amen my sons.  Sorry Alan Jackson -bad theology! 
We've been talking about Grace a lot in our home and how God saves us not because we are "good" or because we "earn it" or because we are "better than anybody else" or because we are religious, or because of anything that we do, but simply because of his loving kindness -which we totally don't deserve. 


Ephesians 2:8,9 ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.


Titus 3:3-7 ³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 

Lou Gehrig's Disease

Today I got a text message from my sister Leslie telling me that my dad was going to the doctor to check out his nose. It might be broken because he fell yesterday and knocked his face really hard. He got a cut and maybe his nose is bumped pretty bad. .

My dad has actually been going to the doctor a lot over the past few months, and has recently been diagnosed with ALS or "Lou Gehrig's Disease."

I love this picture here. We took it this summer the last time I was hanging out with my dad in Alamogordo, NM before my brother and his family shipped out to England. It was a wonderful time, we were all together. I'm not sure what my dad was laughing at here, but I love the joyful look on his face.

This was in July, and though my dad wasn't feeling 100% we had no idea that anything serious was going on inside. For the last several years, he's felt increasingly run down and low on energy. But, besides that, he was still operating fairly normally. Last year he drove around working for the census; cruising northern New Mexico in his truck, knocking on doors and taking surveys.

When my brother left in November, he had told me that our dad seemed to be talking more slowly. But, despite a slightly slower drawl, I was still having perfectly normal conversations with him on the phone. Even at Christmas time, my conversations with him were normal, though he was beginning to sense something going on with his throat and vocal chords and stuff.

We took this picture at White Sands this past July.

And we went out towards Cloudcroft and had a hilariously chaotic campfire. There were so many of our little ones around it was madness!

Today, my dad is experiencing lots of muscular deterioration and he is barely able to speak. I don't know exactly why the ALS messes with the throat and vocal chords, but it seems to be a pretty common symptom. We talk on the phone a little bit, but unfortunately it is hard to understand him; which is very sad for all of us.

Leslie and her husband Brad are living in Santa Fe, which is really cool. They are able to hang out with my mom and dad which is wonderful.

We are praying that the symptoms would be alleviated -I pray especially for my dad's ability to talk. Please join us in praying for his condition, and for my mom as she takes care of him during this time.