The Weekly Wrap-Up: April 26-30, 2021

Is anyone else looking ahead at the next few months and wondering how you're going to get everything done? I am definitely there. I guess I'll do it the same way I've always done it - one step at a time. But some of those steps will feel an awful lot like lava, so, you know...

Okay, belaboring the metaphor a bit. But there is a ton to do, and I always feel like there's not enough time. This week has been largely focused on the boot camp. I would really appreciate your prayers for this event (May 11, 13, and 18). I don't know that I ever feel fully prepared for these, but this one in particular has me concerned. Two members of my training team are very new to this process, and the other has a lot of personal stuff going on at home. I want this to be a good, informative event for the trainees, but I'm feeling the stress big time!

My other project this week has been Telugu. It's been somewhat bittersweet working on this language. Telugu is primarily spoken in India. If you've watched the news at all, you know that India is being hit hard by COVID. Many of our national coworkers have been quite ill, and I know a few have died from the disease or the lack of available care. It's so easy to narrow our focus to what is going on in our own country and forget that there is a whole world out there experiencing tragedy and upheaval of their own. Quite often, I pray for the countries and people who will be using the booklets as I'm working on them. This has felt even more pressing this week. 

There was some palaver in my own personal life this week that started with a bulb burning out and ended up with the possibility of having to move my fridge, stove, and cupboards out of my kitchen. Fortunately, I have been spared that, but it was quite the nail-biter for a while. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy all of the sleep I get this weekend.

Happy Orthodox Easter!

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: April 12-23, 2021

Yes, it's true, mea culpa, I didn't do a blog post last week. I had to go up north to do some visiting. I had a lovely time and saw many wonderful people. It was exhausting, though, moreso mentally than physically. It's the most traveling I've done in a while. 

So, last week, I was able to publish that group of Russian. I did some proofing for the magazine, which will be out shortly. I hope you'll recognize my handiwork. 

Boot camp prep continues apace, and that has been somewhat challenging. We're all approaching Zoom and facilitation with different levels of comfort, so patience and practice are the key words. These are not my favorite words, however, so a little humility comes into play as well. I'm confident we'll be able to put on a good training event, but I'm also glad we have plenty of time beforehand. 

This week, I was able to finish a group of Telugu and send it back to the proofreader. I also got a prayer letter written, so that will be going out next week. 

Of course, the big news is that I got my first vaccine shot on Tuesday. My arm was a bit sore, but I felt okay after. We'll see what happens after the second shot. 

That's about it for me this week. 

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: April 5-8, 2021

Yes, it was another short week. We had to be out of the office on Friday because they were upgrading our Internet. I will happily hang out at home for that purpose. I did do some work, of course, but a lot of what I do is dependent on having access to the world wide web. 

I was able to publish the rest of the French group, worked on Telugu and Russian, and did a ton of stuff on Zoom. There's always something new to learn about the platform, and Sarah and I seem to spend some time each week testing something. There are a lot of features that it will never occur to people to use or even ask about, but I always like knowing exactly what is available. 

There are a lot of discussions going on about things that are still half formed or not ready to be announced. For some of them, I don't know why I'm involved in the discussion. But others have been quite interesting, and it'll be fun to talk about them when I can.

That's what I've got for you. Stay warm!

Bye.

The Weekly Wrap-Up: March 29 - April 1, 2021

Yes, it's a short week, and for sleep reasons and for historical reasons, I am thankful. Once again, this is not how I would prefer to spend my Easter weekend, but since when does anyone get exactly what they want all of the time? SO, we press on.

This has been a fairly productive week. I finished my group of Russian, and once that is approved, I will move on to publishing. I also completed a group of French, which will also be published. So, if all goes well, two groups will be published next week. 

My team is continuing to work on preparations for boot camp in May. We're making good progress, but there's always a lot to think about. At least we now have a full complement of team members, which makes our lives easier. We're reaching out to more parts of OMS, including our literacy program, so I'm excited about that. 

I'm ruminating on some prayer letter ideas for April. It can be a struggle, so pray I find the right words. 

One of my side projects is creating videos for my mom as she leads the children's program at her church. The last few weeks have been all about Easter, and one thing she keeps saying is that the saddest day ever led to the greatest day ever. I think about that a lot. For all that we struggle and go through painful experiences, we will never know the agony of dying on a cross with the weight of past, present, and future sins of billions of people. I know of no way to repay that debt, and thankfully, I don't have to. My job is to love Jesus and pursue him forever. I encourage all of you to explore that thought and discover the joy of the Lord in your own lives.

He Is Risen!