Back in the saddle

Last week was great...except for my bum back. Not being able to run is what hurts most, everything else is really doable. It was great to have friends here, a rare thing really to have people here for a week and really desire they did not have to go at the end.

This week is back to normal, in as much as there is such a thing for us. Valerie and the kids back at work and school, all three happy with that for sure. Still in the afternoon the kids are especially enjoying the pool...and Soren is very much enjoying discovering my legos that I still have...he spends hours playing with them, and is looking forward to getting some of his own in the future...seeing him build something from instructions instead of doing it himself (I have helped him some as well without trying to get him to do it the way my imagination had me do it as a kid) will be interesting.

I had a very interesting and long time coming meeting with the Church leaders Monday night...four and a half hours long, this after they had a meeting about some of that which they brought to the meeting until midnight the week before. I had little clue about what to expect, but mostly it was stuff that had built up for a long time...questions, comments, anxieties, etc. about the clinic (they see us as "the clinic" since they know and are concerned or involved less with the other aspects of the mission.) It was overall a good meeting...really it was, but I believe that to be God answering prayer on both sides, and especially in my case because I could have felt attacked several times without some maturity, grace, listening, and trying to understand.

It was not all news I wanted to hear for various reasons that have nothing or something to do with us (robbery last week....stole $2,000 worth of equipment there...so new focus is probably going to be finishing the fence around the property (which they want our help), then they will look to the new Church building (where they want our help), the bakery appears to officially be dead, with the future of that endeavor yet to be seen, CHE will not be coming for them, problems with the Sunday Schools rooms falling apart and ways for the clinic to do favorable pricing for the Church membership.) Some good news from the meeting....evangelism ministry continues, and they seem to be taking the clinic on more as a place to do outreach, even with a full plate right now with their Colonia plan of targeting certain areas for work, one at a time for months at a time (most of that possible because of the proceeds they generate from the clothing ministry.)

There is so much more happening that I just do not have space to include, good and bad....both could be in quotes because that is the way we see them, but ultimately we know they will all be for God's good.

More to come probably tonight or tomorrow on different things going on (like video from the air show...it is any good), just wanted to update on that while I could.