Friday, May 25, 2007
Here I Go...
Alright, alright, I'm joining the 21st century and starting a blog. I don't know what I think and feel about this, but I'm trying not to dwell too much on it and am just going for it. Blog and internet culture is completely lost on me, so who knows if my posts will fit the proper "blog mold," but last time I checked, I could care less about fitting into molds. This will be more of a story to read, as I like writing them and hope you enjoy reading them.
To begin and paint a picture, I'm sitting at Panera which has become my new office since the hacienda in Waco does not offer me any kind of internet connection. The Mac Geek t-shirt wearing man who likes to strike up conversations about Macs (as if I know anything while he has two set up on a table) and also apparently uses Panera as his office too has left; which means, I can now concentrate on current tasks at hand rather than averting eye contact. Current tasks include updating my France support list, writing thank you notes, responding to oodles of way overdue emails, and doing some airfare and insurance research for my time in France. Oh, and starting this blog. The background music I'm piping from the ipod is from my playlist entitled "Melancholy Mellow", not because I'm melancholy but because after a harsh and good Texas thunderstorm last night, in usually sunny Texas, it is grey. And I like it as I sip on my cooling coffee. Whoops, too cool...must refill.
And I'm back. I have just begun full time support-raising to serve with Greater Europe Mission beginning hopefully July 1st this summer. All the books and missionaries out there will tell you, support raising is hard and scary, and they ain't lyin'. It's nerve-racking, really, picking up the phone to call and ask for a meeting to discuss the possibility of a friend, colleauge, acquaintance, stranger, etc. becoming a supporter. But, let me share my high from last night's support raising venture.
With all due caution I rolled out Highway 84 to McGregor, Texas, as sheets of rain rocked my car and pecked at the windows. I cannot see well at night and the blinding weather did not help; as if going to two small groups of strangers from my church was not nerve-racking enough, the thunderstorm and Rusty Garrett's (trusty Central Texas weatherman) breaking into my radio every two minutes with warnings to stay off the roads did not help. That's okay though because here's the great part--I read yesterday morning of God's parting the Jordon for the Israelites to cross and enter Canaan. I read too of the strength and courage to which he called their leader Joshua and thus the people to live, and I claimed that as my own as I faced both the physical storm of night and spiritual/mental storm of support-raising. I belted out my own tunes saying "I bind you Satan in the name of Jesus" and "He has the victory this evening" as I turned off the highway and out into the developments wherein I would find two lovely groups of people who in love received me and with genuine eagerness and curiosity asked questions about my upcoming departure and needs for France. I left both homes excited to have shared but equally excited to have been in the presence of saints whose sweet spirits left me blessed and smiling--I realized when I got to my car that my face hurt from smiling so much.
So, it's only appropriate that the first blog entry be one of new comfort and joy with support-raising. It's still hard, I'm still not excited about the upcoming phone calls of today and tomorrow. But God is good, and if he can part the Jordan (I happen to believe he actually did this as opposed to it being a nice story), he surely can gather together his resources to help me get to and serve in France.
To begin and paint a picture, I'm sitting at Panera which has become my new office since the hacienda in Waco does not offer me any kind of internet connection. The Mac Geek t-shirt wearing man who likes to strike up conversations about Macs (as if I know anything while he has two set up on a table) and also apparently uses Panera as his office too has left; which means, I can now concentrate on current tasks at hand rather than averting eye contact. Current tasks include updating my France support list, writing thank you notes, responding to oodles of way overdue emails, and doing some airfare and insurance research for my time in France. Oh, and starting this blog. The background music I'm piping from the ipod is from my playlist entitled "Melancholy Mellow", not because I'm melancholy but because after a harsh and good Texas thunderstorm last night, in usually sunny Texas, it is grey. And I like it as I sip on my cooling coffee. Whoops, too cool...must refill.
And I'm back. I have just begun full time support-raising to serve with Greater Europe Mission beginning hopefully July 1st this summer. All the books and missionaries out there will tell you, support raising is hard and scary, and they ain't lyin'. It's nerve-racking, really, picking up the phone to call and ask for a meeting to discuss the possibility of a friend, colleauge, acquaintance, stranger, etc. becoming a supporter. But, let me share my high from last night's support raising venture.
With all due caution I rolled out Highway 84 to McGregor, Texas, as sheets of rain rocked my car and pecked at the windows. I cannot see well at night and the blinding weather did not help; as if going to two small groups of strangers from my church was not nerve-racking enough, the thunderstorm and Rusty Garrett's (trusty Central Texas weatherman) breaking into my radio every two minutes with warnings to stay off the roads did not help. That's okay though because here's the great part--I read yesterday morning of God's parting the Jordon for the Israelites to cross and enter Canaan. I read too of the strength and courage to which he called their leader Joshua and thus the people to live, and I claimed that as my own as I faced both the physical storm of night and spiritual/mental storm of support-raising. I belted out my own tunes saying "I bind you Satan in the name of Jesus" and "He has the victory this evening" as I turned off the highway and out into the developments wherein I would find two lovely groups of people who in love received me and with genuine eagerness and curiosity asked questions about my upcoming departure and needs for France. I left both homes excited to have shared but equally excited to have been in the presence of saints whose sweet spirits left me blessed and smiling--I realized when I got to my car that my face hurt from smiling so much.
So, it's only appropriate that the first blog entry be one of new comfort and joy with support-raising. It's still hard, I'm still not excited about the upcoming phone calls of today and tomorrow. But God is good, and if he can part the Jordan (I happen to believe he actually did this as opposed to it being a nice story), he surely can gather together his resources to help me get to and serve in France.
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