The Weekly Wrap-Up: September 20-24, 2021

I'm on page 70! I've spent quit a bit of this week working on the Camel Method in Portuguese. It is slow going. I am able to do some of the finalizing as I go (making sure there's no overset text or weird breaks), but this is still going to take at least another week. Maybe. It all depends on what else crops up around here. I had to fix a Tamil file this morning that I had apparently started and never finished. I do try to write myself a note if I start a new project before the end of the day or on a Friday. But some things just slip. Fortunately, it's not a big deal as it was only a proof file. But it would still be annoying for translators, so they should be able to do their job more easily now. 

I had a few meetings this week. One was a debrief of the missionary council. I think we had some good takeaways from that. It will definitely mean more work for us as we learn some new systems that should help with hybrid events. Honestly, life is just easier when we can do all online or all live for events. But we're not there yet, so we do what we must. 

We had a really cute couple in chapel on Wednesday. Tim McGill and his wife Karen were here after retiring from working at a school in Taiwan. Karen actually retired in 2019. But after being in the U.S. for a while, she got an email from Tim. He asked her if she'd ever thought about marriage. 

That is one heck of a pick-up line. 

A few of us got to thinking about how we'd respond to an email like that. I honestly don't know (I do know it would likely involve a very unfeminine snort). But then we also figured out that there aren't actually any single male missionaries available to do something like that. Single guys rarely become missionaries, and if they do, they rarely stay single for long. 

I'm not saying I'm looking for a husband. I'm perfectly happy being single. But it is an interesting phenomenon. I could comment further, but I doubt it would be edifying to humanity, so I won't. 

It's weird how quiet it has been this week. Compared to the last few weeks, this feels abnormal. Honestly, it feels a little bit like last summer when we were in lockdown. I don't mind having fewer people around. But it is weird. Maybe I should get out more.

...

...

Yeah, nah, I'm good. 

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: September 13-17, 2021

Why is it already the middle of September? I'm not ready to be cold again. Make it stop!

Unlikely. But oh well.

This was a crazy busy week. I told you last week that I would be helping with tech stuff for Missionary Council. And honestly, the actual running of it was fine. Very few surprises. What it takes is time. I was in the meetings probably 7-8 hours - a full work day. I did hear some interesting things and it was definitely interesting to have a front row seat as leaders discuss the future of OMS. But it was a lot. 

When I wasn't down the hall, I was working on my normal stuff. I FINALLY finished Tamil (for now). I am immensely happy to have that off my plate. Now I'm working on converting our guide on the Camel Method into Mozambican Portuguese. This one is actually more time-consuming because it's part of the VCP course, and I don't have the resources that I normally have with T&M. So I'm copy/pasting the text into the correct position. I'm on page 20 of 108. 

That's what I've got this week. I hope you have had a fantastic week and that this weekend brings you everything you need.

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: September 6-10, 2021

20 years ago, life was pretty normal. Monday, September 10, 2001, I probably had the usual Monday blahs. I don't actually remember anything about that day. Why would I? Nothing remarkable happened. And then Tuesday. I was moving from one class to the next. There was a weird undercurrent. Mr. Weaver was late to Geography. When he arrived, he told us that there had been a plane crash in New York City, a big one. The school started to realize that something bigger was going on, so we were all herded into the cafeteria to watch the news. My timing is all mixed up, but we were definitely watching when both towers fell. We watched the Pentagon in flames. We watched plumes of smoke in Pennsylvania. 

I'm pretty sure we were sent home early that day. I remember going to the gas station and seeing endless lines. At school, my best friend had asked what the World Trade Center was, and I said it had something to do with finance. I didn't really know. But I knew something fundamental had shifted. My mom was flying somewhere a few weeks later, and our car was searched for explosive material before we entered the airport grounds. The airport had checkpoints now. We couldn't go in with her. When I took my first flight ever a few years earlier, my sister had come with us all the way to the gate. No ticket required. 

I don't think I'll ever forget where I was when I first heard the news. But other memories are fading. Unity gave way to tribes and factions. Our love for the first responders turned into distrust and fear. A war that started when I was 16 turned into something undefined and "ended" in disgrace. 

The echoes of what happened on September 11 will be felt for decades to come. I will likely never know in my lifetime everything that happened before, on, and because of that day. But I know what it did to me. I know how it made me feel. I know that for one brief moment, this country was unified in a common grief. I will never forget that. 

It seems a bit cheap to talk about my week after that, but another thing I learned that day is that life goes on. There was a September 12. The world didn't stop turning, and so, neither must we. It is appropriate, though, that we started our week with Rosh HaShanah. Or Labor Day. But I prefer a good shofar. 

I FINALLY finished my thank you cards and prayer letter this week. They have been long delayed, but I hope the content will be worth the wait. 

A good part of my week has actually been spent talking about next week. We will be having Missionary Council. Many of our top regional leaders will be in Greenwood to discuss the future. This typically happens every year, but, you know, 'Rona. Normally, I have very little to do with MC. But we did such a good job of running the CMF Seminar that our glorious leaders asked us to do the same. Of course, it's next week. Running a successful Zoom call isn't simply a matter of clicking a button. We'll be fine, I'm sure, but I do appreciate slightly more warning. 

Otherwise, I've been working on Tamil. I'm getting so close to being done! If I was a better employee, I'd stay and finish it. But I'm exhausted. And any work I do right now would be pretty much useless. Maybe I'll come in this weekend. 

Bye!

(Where were you 20 years ago?)

The Weekly Wrap-Up: August 30 - September 3, 2021

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to read my blog. It is a blessed arrangement. Perhaps even a dream within a dream. 

Moving on. 

Honestly, we're still recovering from last week. I did some clean up of my desk and file system before working on my prayer letter. I wanted to share some of the stories we heard last week. I took notes, but then I was out for a couple of days, so I wanted to watch the recordings of what I missed. It's pretty good stuff, I must say. That will probably get mailed the week after next, so be on the lookout for that. 

Tamil continues to kick my butt, but what else is new. I'm hoping to finish that up next week. I feel like I'm never going to run out of things on my to do list. In some ways, that's nice - job security, right? But in others, it's a depressing, never-ending series of tasks. It's hard to take the time to feel a sense of accomplishment when the next thing is waiting and equally important and time-sensitive. 

I did some more training with Lynae. She's learning how to publish T&M booklets, which is fun. There's always something new to learn about T&M. 

I gotta say, I'm looking forward to the long weekend. I hope you have fun plans, or at least a chance to do something you really want to do. 

Bye!