The "M" Word

The Families Best Friend

This little pooch has found her way into our hearts.  She is one of the family now.  She loves to play in the snow.  In fact, every fresh snow T'Pol is the first outside to make her little prints in the snow.

She has learned a number of tricks.  She can sit, roll over, speak, shake, and give you a kiss. 

The neat thing about T'Pol is that she came to us from the street.  One of our daughters found her wandering into our courtyard and then another daughter came and asked if we could bring her inside because the kids on the street were hitting and kicking the poor puppy.  In other words, T'Pol is our first refugee. We never thought she would survive the first night, but she did and has been one of us ever since. 

Feeling kind of Goth

Could it be the cold that is settling on the city?  Maybe it is the black boots that everyone is sporting these days?  What about the snow that has already fallen once?  Nope, it is none of these things that makes my thoughts tend toward Edgar Allen Poe or maybe some Johnny Depp movie. 

It is the crows.

The crows have descended on the city and the evenings make me want to color my hair black and sport some mascara.  They fly over the city in huge flocks and settle on the trees making filling the air with their sounds.  Each evening just before dusk it is a ritual to step outside and watch the sky turn black as the crows fly over.

So put the cold, with the boots, with the snow, and add in the crows and you have all the makings of some dark tale.

Sometimes Central Asia is just strange.

Friends from Afar

This weeks has started off like every other weeks since we arrived in Central Asia.  We have a plan, but we have no idea how the week will actually unfold.  This week, I am starting with a new tutor.  My previous tutor is an excellent teacher, I just needed to change things up a bit.  My new tutor is a "like-minded" man of faith so I am looking forward to learning a whole new vocabulary from him.

This week we should get the plates for our team vehicle.  They should be ready tomorrow.  It turns out that when you get your plates from the government, they are stamped with your vehicles numbers, but the plate is not painted.  That is what we are waiting on now, getting our plates painted.

This week also brings us friends from afar.  Our buddy, Conrad, will arrive on Thursday.  We are praying for his time here as we explore what God wants from each of us. 

We have found some routines that seem to be working for our home.  Meryl is a local man that is going to the big market for us once a week.  This helps us because he can buy more things in bulk at a cheaper price because he is a national.  This is saving us money and most of all it is saving Carla time. 

Another routine in our house is the milk lady.  Three times a week we get a delivery to our door of fresh milk (just a bit over a gallon) from the country.  Carla then has to boil the milk and scoop of the cream.  She doesn 't mind though, the milk is great tasting and the cream is handy to have for some of our meal choices.

The final new routine of our family is Taekwondo.  Annika and Aaron are going to Taekwondo three times a week at the central club in the city.  They study under a national champion and are working very hard.  Classes last an hour and half and it costs just $10 a month.  We are so pleased and they like the classes.

So what does new challenges and regular routines bring to our family?  New opportunities.  Pray for us as we seek to share the message that changes lives with those we are coming into contact with each day.

An Average Day in the Life of an Avant Missionary

One aspect of my blog will be to give you glimpses into an average day for a missionary.  Today is much like many other days for a missionary raising support.  Right now I am working out of our International Service Center (ISC) in Kansas City.  These last few months have been an incredible time of learning and applying new concepts into my philosophy of ministry.  Having a mentor is unlike anything I envisioned.  I always wanted someone to mentor me, not only teach but correct.  Scott has been that for me.  Imagine getting up in the morning knowing you get to wrap your mind around complex problems and look for solutions that could impact peoples lives for eternity.  THAT'S MY JOB!

Today the ISC is busy with running our Candidate Orientation Program (COP).  This is the moment we get to meet the new recruits and pour into them all we can to help make them successful missionaries.  More importantly for me, I am getting a chance to get know our newest team member.  You see, I am a team leader of an all-star team of dedicated church planters.  We are going to a Central Asian country using Avant Short-Cycle principles in order to start churches where there are none.  If you want to learn more about these principles follow the link on the first column pointing to "My Mission."

Now that our team is complete we will go through one more phase of training in two weeks.  Building a high performance team is a difficult process, but the rewards or immense.  We will share each others stories, we will learn about each others personalities, we will learn to trust each other, and together we will search for that God given strategy that unlocks the hearts of men and women to the Gospel.

So in other words, my day is filled with wrapping my mind around complex problems; being a small part of training the next group of missionaries that will help change the world; and looking for new ways to invite people to participate with us financially in the ministry of changing one country in Central Asia with the power of Jesus Christ.

I do want to here from you.  Please comment on any of the posts you read here and I will be sure to make sure they get posted. 

What can you do today to change your world with the power found in the Cross of Christ?