Latest News First...Of travel by land and air

Let's start with the latest news first: we have our tickets for the US this summer. We leave July 27 and return August 30. Family reunions are planned for both sides of the family, first Abbie's family, then later in August for my family, when Mom celebrates her 90th birthday. Somewhere in between, we'll celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.

These are the most expensive tickets we've ever bought...something on the order of US$1600 each (ouch!). For one thing we're travelling in the high season, rather than going a month or so earlier and just catching the lower rates of the shoulder season. Secondly, I can appreciate what it must cost to pull one of those large passenger jets up to the pump and say, "Fill 'er up!" Gasoline just went to 1.41 euros a litre here, so the last time I filled up it cost me 60 euros. In US lingo: $6.85 a gallon, $77.50 a fill-up (at current exchange rates...the dollar has dropped). At those prices, the $1600 airline ticket is still cheaper than driving my Opel to the US and back.

So if it only takes 10 minutes.....

It really doesn't take long to put something on the blog. In fact, 10 minutes a day would be enough to publish something. The problem is that I want put out something of worth, something of substance, and that would take me more than 10 minutes.

Long days, short nights...the translation work has kept coming. The jobs overlap, as I haven't finished one before I should have started the next. I'm finally down to working on the "last" one. I really expect that others will come in before I get this one out of the way. I could take 10 minutes a day, like I'm doing now at an hour when the clock says "a.m." rather than "p.m.", but after hours at the computer, my mind wants a break. Even another 10 minutes can seem a daunting mission. So I let a day, days, a week, weeks pass.

Marcia is halfway through the series of chemotherapy treatments originally programmed for her. The hair loss is very noticeable, but perhaps it has peaked. Time will tell. Now other side effects such as intestinal problems are more evident.

Other news will have to wait: our recent trip to Barcelona and Seville, and our upcoming trip to the US. My 10 minutes are up.

I'm writing, really I am

You couldn't tell it from the postings but I have been writing quite a bit the past few days. Practically simultaneously I was given two 10,000-word translations, not counting other jobs and duties to squeeze in. So the last couple of days I've done something like 4,000 words of translation per day (which in the case of the first document is pretty heavy going, since it's a contract with all sorts of legal terminology). The coming week is going to be more of the same, but on a different theme: a 20,000-word, 165-page report on farm subsidies and policies. Fortunately, approx. 1/4 of that is in tables and charts that I won't have to bother with, and another 1/4 is text that I translated last year and which has been incorporated in this final report. That still leaves 10,000 words.

All this translation has kept me from filing reports on what went on during the three weeks I didn't write, which included trips to Barcelona and Seville. That news I will report with some pictures. The other news is the blessings of the services last Sunday, in which God was touching lives and moving hearts. Above all, and despite the crush of other responsibilities in our day-to-day lives, the blessings we await from the Lord in the presence of His people in His house on His day are more important than all else. For the continued manifestation of His power and presence we earnestly pray.

First Things First

At last report (April 10), we were awaiting the arrival of Pastor Neilson and family.
They came, he preached, she sang, we enjoyed...the church was blessed. That was the week before Easter and there was good attendance for the services each night. It was especially good for the church to get to meet the whole family.






















In the picture at lower left, Marcia is sitting next to Abbie. Marcia is about halfway through her 6 months of chemotherapy treatments, and she is now attending the services. For the first months she stayed very close to home to avoid catching any sort of infection. In the row behind Abbie and Marcia is Pastor Neilson's wife, Esther and their children, Junior and Hadassah. The men in matching vests sang in the the choir, which presented an Easter cantata that day.

Thought for the Day

Don't expect anything earth shattering or deeply spiritual. First of all, this is a way to get back into the blog with a small entry. The news in the intervening three weeks since my last posting is TOO much for a brief summary. I may try to break it up into smaller segments. We'll see.

In any case, even though it's not what would be called a devotional thought, it has a ring of truth to it that cannot be denied. I'm sure you'll agree with me.

From the tag inside my boxer shorts: (So why hadn't I read it before?)

Designed in France
Made in China
Keep Away From Fire