Faithful partners and friends. There is so much to share with you as we are coming to the end of 2019. Most of you know that for me the Holidays are a huge deal. I absolutely love the lights, food, music, the decorations, family gatherings and of course the spiritual focus of what this time of year brings us.
Years ago I was introduced the ancient liturgical Advent celebrations and I can tell you that spending time with my family weekly celebrating Advent has enriched our understanding of Jesus and the gift He is to us and to the
world. Although, I know many of you are rolling your eyes right this moment because you are receiving this and haven’t even considered what you are serving for Thanksgiving. But that’s ok,
I’m secure in my elfness and think that somehow Iranians are somehow descendants of the North Pole.
Regardless if you are a Pre or Post Thanksgiving “Christmas person” we can all agree that this time of year causes us to pause, reflect and think about our lives. For Allyson and I (and our children) the Fall semester is our busiest time of the year. I often say, if I were an accountant then Sept – December would be my “Tax Season” (Lets all be thankful I am not a CPA, I’d never be able to retain a client because of my lack of organizational skills). We hit mid- August with a sprint and haven’t slowed down yet. We are incredibly thankful for all we get to be a part of and yet at the same time long for the peace and tranquility the holidays bring to us.
In this newsletter I look forward to sharing with you all what we have been up to and what your prayers and financial investment have allowed us to engage in for the sake of the Kingdom.
A few of the non-traditional ministry opportunities that I’ve had include preaching at various churches. I spent a weekend preaching at Thrive Church in Parker, Colorado and at Mission Hills Church in Littleton, Colorado I’ve preached 3 times in the past 4 months. In September I was invited to preach at the Plum Creek Church (Castle Rock) Men’s retreat.
When football season hits, I spend a lot of my weekends facilitating chapel services for the Denver Broncos at home games. This season I also had the opportunity to travel with the team early in the season and do chapel on the road (more on that in my Broncos update). When the Broncos are on the road and I am not preaching at a church I sometimes get approached to do chapel service for college teams that play against Colorado teams. This season I have done chapel for the USC Trojans (my favorite team growing up) and Stanford Cardinal.
I share all of this with you to let you know how widespread our ministry reach is. And when I say “our” I do not speak of Allyson, Reza, Macy, Owen and Olivia (Team Zadeh)... I speak of “our” as in “us”, You and Team Zadeh. We are in this thing together. Without the personal, emotional, relational and financial support from each of you, we would never be able to step into the unique environments the Lord allows us to.