Wow what a crazy week we’ve had!

• Photo Book: I wrapped up a project on Friday that had taken the priority for the majority of my week - an MMC photo book to give to the new candidates going through the candidate orientation program at Avant headquarters for the next two weeks. It was a crazy week, I still can’t believe it was finished by Friday, seeing how I was still having the text written and proofed on Thursday, a statistic checked Friday morning, and the final pages approved Friday afternoon! I love seeing things get done, it was a good feeling to send it off. I only hope the printed result is as good as I’m expecting.
• Multi-language DVD: Tim helped out a lot by troubleshooting some problems for the DVD on Friday while I was finishing up things on the photo book. By the time he was finished working on it, he’d solved the problems! I will need to go through and test things again to be sure, but that is a real encouragement to know that the main issues with the DVD are now taken care of. Finishing up this DVD is the “real” priority for January, and with these major issues solved, I now need to make a credits video, test things again, complete the DVD cover art, and put it all together for review! Hopefully that can all be finished very soon.
• Publications materials: Along with the photo book, our Publications team is putting together several informational documents to provide to our up-and-coming staff who are now going through training at Avant headquarters. Once things are written and approved, I will be laying them out in a text design program and creating .pdfs that we can reference and send to others. I anticipate that several of these documents will be ready for layout soon.
• Home Assignment: We are readying ourselves for our trip in a few weeks, back to the US! It is crazy to think it is so close to happening. There will be a lot of planning, praying, packing, and other crazyness going on before we leave, I am sure of that.

Prayer Requests

• Please pray that we could have the strength and ability to complete the projects that are before us, while preparing ourselves to be away for several months. It is especially difficult on me, since I want to do the best I can and complete as many things as possible before leaving; but I also want to have time to be at home to clean, sort, organize, and pack our things with enough time before we go. It is hard to find a balance of how much effort to put into each thing I want to accomplish.
• Pray also that God would be preparing contacts for us to make, new friends to meet, old friends to renew friendships with - overall that His hand would be on our travels and our plans, wherever they might take us, that we may always be in the right place in His timing, surrendered to His will.

The universe is a marvelous piece of art.

Tonight Tim will be away at an all-night video game party (or evangelistic outreach, if it sounds better!) with a bunch of kids from the youth group of a nearby church. The youth group kids who come usually invite some of their friends, who don’t attend the church, so it is a good laid-back opportunity for an outreach. Imagine getting saved because you were invited to play video games all night! I’m just waiting for a great testimony to come out of it - God can use all manner of things to accomplish His will.

Since Tim will be gone all night playing with the guys, I’m taking the opportunity to host another Girls’ Sleepover for the MMC missionary kids! Since the last time I did it, I’ve gotten numerous requests for another, and let me tell you, at least one little girl I know is VERY excited! Every time I’ve seen her this week she’s said, “I can’t wait till Friday!” When we joke, “Why? What happens Friday?” all we get is a glare, of course. She’s been looking forward to bringing her glowsticks…although for what purpose, I’m not sure. I guess I’d have to be 9 to understand entirely. On the schedule for tonight is Cola Cao batido smoothies, some x-box games, and a movie! Followed by pancakes and homemade syrup in the morning. We’ll see how it goes. Odds are, the girls will all have fun. At least, that’s the goal!

I’ll end by saying, TGIF. Thank God it’s Friday! Bring on the fun.