Sounds like a good time for a blog

This sounds like a good time for a blog! Sometimes I feel like all I write about is servant events, not the normal ho-hum part of my life. It's Friday around 2 and I'm just chilling in the office. My life has been kind of slow lately, the calm before the storm. Starting on Tuesday at 2:10 pm when the first group of summer gets here, I know my life isn't going to slow down, except for maybe a week or 2 here and there, until August. I am not complaining one bit though, I am actually really excited for the fast-paced insanity that will constitute the next three months of my life. I leave for my LBT conference in Chicago in less than 2 weeks, the day before the first group leaves. I got an e-mail with some more details today which is another reason I am writing--to share my excitement! I was envisioning a much larger group but apparently there are only going to be 18 of us! I know I personally will get so much more out of it with a small group like that. The e-mail also asked what our favorite kind of Panera bagels were :)

Yesterday was Bible study/staff meeting day (like every Thursday), and I was rather pleased with how it went. In Bible study we are talking about how to truly live as Jesus lived. We've already covered how Jesus lived a life of prayer and of forgiveness, and now we are discussing Jesus' life of love. Yesterday focused on how Jesus manifests himself in the lives of those who loves him. In the meeting I learned of a need that one of Pastor Tovar's mission sites has for baseball equipment. Apparently the kids there are very interested in the game, but don't have gloves, bats, balls, helmets, etc. Elvira also pointed out that it's going to be crunch time for school supplies pretty soon. After the meeting I talked with Stephen about some details for Language Plus, the intensive Spanish course I am helping plan for August. We're going to label EVERYTHING in the dorms, church, kitchen, vans, etc. with the Spanish words, kindergarten classroom style: "door," "table," "television," etc. That's going to be my job, as will be collecting Spanish CD's, books, and DVD's to have available on the tables in the conference room, compiling a list of commonly used words from the Spanish service bulletin and their definitions, and putting together a welcome packet.

My afternoon consisted of responding to a few servant event leader e-mails, although not as many as I have had in the past at this time of year, tennis-shoe shopping, the first of many, many Lowe's trips in the next 3 months, and wrapping my goddaughter's birthday present. She's going to be 1 on the 28th! She recently started pointing at things and people she recognizes; it kind of looks like E.T.! She crawls everywhere and pulls herself up to standing, but isn't quite walking yet.

I had leftover tator-tot casserole (or "hot-dish") for dinner. Apparently it is a very Lutheran recipe, especially for Minnesotans, but I got the recipe from my college friend Erica, who is neither Lutheran nor Minnestotan. This is the second time I have made it: ground beef, cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup, frozen corn, American cheese (I've been using shredded cheddar), and tator-tots. Layer in that order in a 9 x 13 pan, and then bake! I read and played with my kitten for the rest of the evening. You can tell it's getting hot because he is getting lazier, but he's still energetic old Freddy. I am currently reading The Kite Runner. I feel like I have been a) reading a lot lately, and b) reading a lot of books from that part of the world: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. It just started getting good; the sequel is next on my list.

This morning Chris and I started off our day with a conference call with the Wheatridge Foundation. We attended a webinar they hosted last week, and after e-mailing a couple of questions to the lady in charge, she recommended that we apply for a major grant instead of the Congregational Health Ministry one the webinar dealt with. Then it was off to Lowe's again, and Dollar Tree to pick up some toothbrushes, antibiotic cream, and soap that a June servant event leader ordered online and had shipped to the store by the mission. Oh I sent some more support-raising letters too, to servant event leaders and participants. I drafted a special letter for these individuals that I have bonded with via my job with the mission since I'm about $11,000 short of being fully funded for both terms, and about $1850 short of being 70% funded for my second term, which ideally needs to happen by June 30. And now I'm blogging. Tonight Chris and I are going to have a Chicago-style pizza that some servant event participants from near there mailed us, and then I think we may go play tennis; the courts are lighted until 10 pm and hopefully it will have cooled off a bit by then. It's the hottest day of the year so far.

FYI for those of you who got the e-mail version of my newsletter, the Cardinals are indeed back in first place.

Until next time, blessings!