He made it! Dan and team are safely on the ground in Uganda – let the fun begin!


All week, Dan will be in Africa leading a trip for SixtyFeet .If you’re a regular around the Crazy Blog, you know that this is not unusual. Most nights, Dan is somewhere or doing something for SixtyFeet. People ask me sometimes if this bothers me.

Before I go any further, let me just say that Dan is a serious family man. He arranges his schedule so he can eat both breakfast and dinner with us every day. He’s very intentional about making time for the kids and me. He always prioritizes recitals, soccer games, swim meets and date nights. And, unlike a lot of men, he knows when it’s time to put down the iphone.

And yet, SixtyFeet keeps him crazy busy. Sometimes we want more of him that he’s able to give. So does it bother me that Dan has to take so much time away from our family to help run this beast of a ministry?

The honest answer is this: Sometimes, yes.

SixtyFeet is not Dan’s “real” job. In real life, he manages multiple software development teams. This is a job he is very good at and one that requires a great deal of his time, energy and focus. And then there’s SixtyFeet. It’s like having two full-time jobs.

Sometimes it also bugs me because it seems like Dan gets to do a lot of the “fun” stuff related to SixtyFeet. He travels to Africa, to speaking events, to film showings and so forth… and I usually am stuck at home with have the privilege of staying home with five young children.
But I’ll say this, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart… I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I’d so much rather have a man that cares about orphan causes and puts his faith into action than one who is complacent and hides behind his family and his career as an excuse not to get involved.

I’d rather be occasionally inconvenienced and to sometimes have our conversations and plans halted or put on hold in order for my husband to serve where he’s been called.

Truly, I’m blessed to follow Dan in this work. And I’m blessed that it’s not the other way around. Because ultimately, our homes and our ministries are only as strong as our men.

One of my favorite aspects of SixtyFeet is that it’s a ministry run by the men. Us wives sell our cupcakes, write some blog posts, schedule the film showings and so forth. But it’s the men who run the show. They call the shots. They do the heavy lifting. And that’s not a hugely common thing in the orphan care ministry world.

So this week while I’m “stuck” at home, I’ll be counting my blessings and rejoicing that I have a husband who leads, who serves and who’s not afraid to somtimes leave his family, his cushy life and his comfort zone to "man up" and get his hands dirty.
Stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted on the latest in Uganda throughout the week. Also, check the SixtyFeet blog for more updates.