training time

Unfortunately I ran out of computer time last Wednesday and no one was going into town until Saturday so I could get more. We got Saturday and downloaded a bunch of emails, processed through them Sunday, and now here it is Monday! Sorry! I am really trying not to go so long in between! I have a bunch written and 6 more to write! The fun stuff of what’s been going on lately is what I have to write, the more “serious” ones are ready now. And a newsletter will be out in the next week!! YEAH!

Sooo…For the next few posts, we are going to have some lessons on burnout, transition and culture shock for two purposes: 1) so that you better understand some of what we are going through, and 2) as a review for ourselves to help push through this rough time.
Remember the purpose of our blog: to give you an honest account of our walk of faith. This ain’t all roses people! I doubt anyone’s walk is-God works through our trials. Believe me, we censor ourselves and edit and reedit every post we write-many go through 4-8 edits/drafts. We want to give you an honest look at our lives and how things are going, without saying things we don’t need to or shouldn’t. And to be honest, yes, we will mess up and say things wrong. Please forgive us as neither of us claims to be wordsmiths or the best at restraint! (but that’s another post…) This is our personal blog, and we will of course publish some of things that happen around the college (like the new students here!!), but first and foremost this is about US. (You can link to our bi-monthly reports/newsletters on the right.)
But as much as this blog is about us and what we are going through, it is also about you. It (hopefully) will be an encouragement to you (no, not just ‘cuz at least you don’t have it this bad… :-) ) and a challenge for you. This is about growth for our friends, our family, our church, and strangers around the world. This is about LIFE. So, yes, there will be some negative posts; *hopefully* the positive will outweigh the negative-but it may not seem that way sometimes, especially right now. We haven’t had too much time to write lately, so a lot of what’s come has just been newsy without much explanation. Sorry about that, but then again, that’s the reality of where we are at.
We have been so blessed by the many people around the world that pray for us and check in on us through this blog. Within hours of posting some discouraging or even just blah thing, our spirits are often lifted as we are reminded by many of you of how you have already seen God at work in our lives and in theirs. We get emails with Scripture promises and love sent from around the world. THANK YOU. Thank you for reading, thank you for following, thank you for understanding that our journey is not all going to be “pie in the sky” just like your everyday life too. We have never said we were the typical missionary family! We want to record for you what answering this call to obedience means for our family as we walk it out!