The End (of November) Is Nigh!

I totally intended to post today so I could have bookended posts in November. Really.

Oops.

You can rest assured that (this time) I have not been not posting because of a lack of things about which to write. It has, alas, been an incredibly busy month, fraught with deadlines and projects and prayer cards and printing and then, to top it all off, Thanksgiving.

I trust yours was excellent.

Mine also excelled. It is (mostly) always a pleasure to take some time out to visit my parents and not have to worry about work for a bit. Plus, my mom makes awesome food, and always has enough for an army. This is good, because it means I get to bring the leftovers back to my apartment.

So, November.

I spoke at a WMF meeting in Ohio and had a lovely time with the ladies. I first spoke there when I was just starting to fund, and they have been faithful supporters since, so it was nice to be able to update them on life at OMS. I haven't been speaking much lately, which makes me sad because I actually really like to talk about what God is doing around the world. (Hint Hint) I am in Communications for a reason.

Please ignore the fact that I hated Speech class in high school. I liked it much more in college. I'm practically a pro, now.

Or not.

But I really would be happy to talk to you one on one about my missionary life. I don't post even half of it all on here or write about everything in my letters. And trust me, a lot of weird stuff goes on around here.

Moving on.

Remember that whole waiting thing I posted at the beginning of the month? Turns out that's really hard to do. I'm not that patient, and I like having everything set and secure and ready. I guess it's a good lesson in patience and faith.

What else happened in November?

Oh! We had our second Crockpot and Craft night for the ladies at OMS. Actually, they would probably allow guys, but I don't know many guys who craft. Of course, I don't really do crafts either. I made jewelry the first night. This time, I colored. With crayons and everything. It was very relaxing.

Almost forgot - I went to a seminar on setting goals. It was actually very informative, but a little over my head. As in, most of the people attending were the jefes around here, and my goals usually end up being whatever they need to be to support their goals. It's very interesting, though, to see how things trickle down from an organizational level to the very lowest level of bottom feeders. (My words.) I've always had very different perspectives on organizations in general.

I don't know why I'm telling you this. Oh well.

The next big thing was Thanksgiving. I've already kinda talked about that. I did get to see my nephew, which was lovely. I haven't seen him in quite awhile. We were supposed to go to PA for his birthday in September, but then the Bloomsburg Fair flooded and was cancelled. I just can't believe how tall he is now! Crazy.

And that's it. The rest of the month was spent printing and preparing to print and putting together prayer cards and editing and cleaning and recording radio ads and writing bios for the Christmas party and probably a couple other things I'm forgetting.

I'm looking forward to my long Christmas break. I'm tired. I need the sleep.

November 1

Okay. So you need some backstory.

I've been printing non-stop for a couple days now. Like, two printers going, plus the cutting machine, plus the folding machine. I'm going deaf from all the clacking and clattering. I don't even technically have time to be writing this. But that's not important.

What is important is that for one of the print jobs, I have to be physically present to keep feeding paper into the machine. This means standing (or sitting) in a small room with a bunch of machines and no other source of entertainment. This has caused me to go slightly nuts.

Except... Directly adjacent to the printing room is the book room where we store the books we are selling. As I didn't bring any other entertainment with me, I have taken to reading from these books while I wait to feed more paper.

Which brings us to today.

Today's selection came from Streams in the Desert, which, if you didn't know (but you really should), was written by Lettie Cowman, co-founder of The Oriental Missionary Society, now known as One Mission Society. Yeah, that's right.

Anyway.

It's a 366-day devotional (I don't get it, either), so rather than start at the beginning, I decided to read the entry for November 1. This turned out to be an excellent selection.

An hour of waiting!
Yet there seems such need
To reach that spot sublime!
I long to reach them--but I long far more
To trust His time!

"Sit still, My children"--
Yet the heathen die,
They perish while I stay!
I long to reach them--but I long far more
To trust His way!

It's good to get,
It's good indeed to give!
Yet it is better still--
O'er breadth, through length, down depth, up height,
To trust His will.

F.M.N.




Yeah, 'cause this isn't what I've been thinking and praying about for months now.