I know you're out there

Recently, through various comments made via e-mail or by visitors to our Sunday morning services, I've been told that people check in on this blog for news. Looking at the archive list on the blog, I see it goes back to June 2004, almost 8 years. The frequency of the postings reflects the ups and downs that are a normal part of life. We grow by spurts, we pass through phases where little seems to happen; feelings and emotions are often as steadfast as a ride on a roller coaster, on which the important thing is to keep moving and not get off while in motion.

Not a lot of exciting news to report in recent weeks. I did get over the flu and my roller coaster is picking up speed. Kirstin continues to do well, but her parents have decided to take her to the US for further tests and possible treatment. Andrea will be headed for California before Easter with their 4 children (accompanied by her cousin, who has come to visit), and Kris will stay on to complete the school year at the language school where he teaches.

Upcoming events:

Ambassadorial Visit to Madeira later this month -- Ambassador Katz and his wife will be here for 4 days; these visits always require extra planning, some of which never seems to get ironed out until the last minute, no matter how much effort is spent in the weeks and months before that.

Consular office downsizing -- I was given the first hint of this last summer, but it took until last month for the major details to get resolved, by which the two ladies that assist me in the consular agency have fallen victim to a procedure called "reduction in force." Sounds like Governmentese, doesn't it? One lady has been in this job for 40 years and the other for 23, but as of May, it'll all be up to me. Changes in law and the use of the Internet have reduced the amount of paperwork that has to be physically processed by offices such as ours; in a time of budget crisis, such measures for "reduction in force" are not unusual.

In the church, upcoming baptism -- Catia left the island and spent a few months in Holland. While there she got work at a Christian hostel and accepted the Gospel. She's come back to Funchal and wants to go forward with baptism. Pray for her, as her family situation is not easy. Many times we have seen people come from abroad, where they began to follow Jesus, but when they get back in their family and social environment on the island, their faith withers like the shoots Jesus spoke about in the parable of the Sower: the seed fell on stony soil and sprouted quickly, but could not stand the sun of persecution and opposition. Pray for her. Young believers do not always understand that even in our Christian faith we should be prepared for ups and downs. But then, neither do a lot of older believers.