So many things converge on us this week, specifically today. Tonight is the first official Run for God class. We’re going to miss it, because we’ll be starting our first PLI conference. And today is the first anniversary of the day Samantha got sick. Such a lot going on.

I can’t wrap my head around all of these things. April 19th was just another day last year, and then my little girl started screaming and stopped eating. It wasn’t until two days later that we knew how serious it really was. Ugh.

And this year, so many things begin on the day that something else ended. The convergence of beginning and end is not lost on me. We say goodbye to our daughter and say hello to new things in life – running, Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI), a world without Samantha.

Pastoral Leadership Institute is a learning experience/community that we’ll be part of for the next four years. The conference starts today, and I’m excited and nervous. So is Travis. We’re both looking forward to the learning opportunity and the community of other pastors who are eager to refocus the church on mission.

I hope to write more when we get back. Meanwhile, please pray for us, especially today, tomorrow, and Saturday. Saturday is Samantha’s baptismal anniversary. It’s the anniversary of the day she stopped breathing the first time. The day she was intubated and taken to the ICU for ten days. These are hard days to relive.