Secrets and Ninjas

Way back when, I mentioned a super secret article I was writing.

Before I get to that, though, I have to explain the ninja thing.

I've decided to become one.

Why? Because they are awesome. And they carry things like this:

But mostly because James has stolen the office I used for prayer letters, so I have to sneak past him to get to my printer. 

(Do you see the ninjas?)

Anyway, he didn't really steal it. It's quieter over there.

As for the other thing. The super secret thing. 

If you ignore the mess behind me, you'll notice that I GOT PUBLISHED.

Not by OMS, either. Though they rock.

Nope, that's my article (unfortunately not my photo) in The Connection, the official publication of the Evangelical Methodist Church. What did I write about? OMS work in Myanmar.


This article took ten years off my life.

But it looks cool!

Wherein I Yet Again Reveal More Than I Should

It occurs to me that I've completely forgotten to mention where I will be next week. It's not actually a surprise that I've forgotten to mention it. While it has been in the back of my mind for about two months, I haven't really had a chance to give it proper thought because I've been writing a lot for Outreach and then a secret article that I'll tell you about later. I think.

Anyway, next week I will be attending the CLA conference in Orlando! Woohoo!

(Okay, it's probably not that exciting. It's for work, so I won't exactly get to enjoy much of the scenery, but still...)

CLA stands for Christian Leadership Alliance. I don't actually know what they do, but this conference is for non-profit organizations to come and learn about new strategies and marketing and social media and a whole ton of other stuff. I'm really excited about this, actually, because I've been on the fringes of email marketing and social media, and I want to learn more. It's quite fascinating stuff. Also, this is my first real business trip. It reminds me of the days when my dream was to be a lawyer/librarian.

Yeah, it's weird for me, too.

But we're getting away from the point. Upon realizing that this trip was a week away, I also realized that I needed business cards to be all networky (my word, I'm stuck in my snarky teen years! that'll make an impression), so I asked Foster to print some up. Then we had one of our impromptu department meetings.

(It usually starts when Susan starts yelling for Lori, or Lori starts yelling at Susan for giving her more work, which usually draws me in because I want to know what the fuss is about, then I start laughing, then Foster comes to see what could have possibly made me laugh, and that's usually where it ends unless Ben or Jason are passing by. We eventually settle somewhat and discuss - loudly - what brought us all there in the first place.)

(Is that not how everyone else does it?)

Anyway, we were discussing QR codes. You know, those odd looking squares that remind of you bar codes, and until you bought a smartphone, didn't really care about. Except now, a significant portion of the department has a smartphone, so we're more aware of them. So I started playing around with my QR reader on my iPhone and realized that I could actually create one. So I did one for the blog. And I started to think about the conference and my business cards and had a brainstorm.

Why not put the QR code on my business card?

So I did.


Fancy shmancy, eh?

Except here's my problem. I'm going to give out all of these cards to people I don't know. Those people are (presumably) going to be so impressed by my QR code that they rush to visit my blog. And when they get here, they are going to see words like 'networky' and that's probably not a great first impression.

I really don't know. I'm not the best with impressions.



I really need to do more with this thing.


...

Whimsy

So here's the deal. Last week, I was still dealing with some issues. And because I have not yet resolved the internal debate about exactly how much I reveal on this blog, I hid behind my dear, dear friend Arika. And she was kind enough to let me. However, the time comes when all must confess and receive due judgment. So, with a penitent heart and a much-healed spirit, I return to you, my faithful friends, and beg your dispensation.

I'd like to introduce you to my department. I've mentioned a few members in passing, but at the risk of calling down their ire, I'd like to fully divulge the ins and outs of the lovely people with whom I work. To a point - I can only say so much before they refuse to exculpate me and drum me out of the department like a proper militia.



And there they are...

Please excuse how horrible I look. I was sick that day, and was only there because my lovely coworkers called me in for the picture. We made the hearts because the picture was going on a shirt for another coworker of ours as a going away present.

Now that I think about it, I'd better just give you their names and move on. If you want to know more about them, we'll have to meet in a secluded location where there is no chance of being overheard. (I'm just kidding, they really are awesome.)

Right.

Left to right, then: Sarah is a wonderful videographer; Foster, behind me, is our graphic designer; Lori (in pink) is a fabulous editor and knows everything about OMS; Lon, in the back, is another videographer who gets very lonely in his cave; Susan, next to Lori, is my boss, and is generally pretty amazing and forgiving of my many mistakes; Pat, down front, works on prayer letters and printing; Jason, in back next to Lon, works with One Mission Kids and has been helping me with radio advertising; and last, but most certainly not least, is my dear friend Beka. She started when I did and has been an excellent source of encouragement and journalistic know-how.



On rare occasions, we have fun in our department. One such time was National Punctuation Day. It was pretty amazing and as you can see, I tried to dress for the occasion. We had punctuation cookies and decorated the office. While some people didn't appreciate our merriment, we persevered and had ourselves a lovely time.

It's not all fun and games, though. We do end up doing actual work. In fact, I've had a couple stories rotate through on the OMS website. You should check them out: Stories! It amazes me constantly the people I get to talk to and meet - true spiritual giants of the faith. It is easy to see the impact Jesus Christ has had on everyone in the office and in the field.

Last week, I got to travel to Huntington University with our director of Mobilization. It was nice to be back in the old stomping grounds. While I was more sure than ever that I really don't miss the college schedule, I did get to see how God is at work at Huntington. I met some wonderful young men and women who are exactly where I was just a few years ago. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about some options and share my journey to OMS.

Now for the exciting news. Ready?

I'M GOING TO SPAIN!

Next Tuesday, I'll be hopping on a plane for the lovely country of Spain to participate in an English camp for families in Madrid. This is new territory for me in more ways than one, so prayer would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure yet what exactly I'll be doing, but you can be sure I'll be taking as many pictures as possible and blogging about it when I get the opportunity. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this. I love traveling to new countries, and I love meeting missionaries and hearing their stories. This is a fantastic opportunity to do both.

Before I sign off, I have to apologize for this post. I've been a little distracted at work today, and I needed to deflate my brain a little. The result: this thing, which I'm pretty sure is only legible because I had to type it. So, thank you for your forbearance, and look forward to the next post when I will hopefully be less circumlocutory.

No guarantees, though.