Increased support and travel preparations

The VBS in Dryden concluded well.  I spent each evening with a different class, from 5-6 year olds through 8th grade, plus the adult Bible study.  The evening with the adult Bible study went especially well.  As the church has already seen my usual presentations, I decided to do something new and created a PowerPoint presentation about some of the challenges that translation teams face when translating from Hebrew or Greek into their own languages.  This kind of topic can get pretty complicated and technical, so I wasn't sure how it would go, but it actually went extremely well and the group was interested and asked thoughtful questions.

In the middle of the VBS week, I had an exciting phone conversation with a pastor right before one of the evening sessions began.  I now have another supporting church - my third church in Iowa!  I really enjoyed my two visits to the church, and I am really looking forward to visiting them on furlough in a few years.  My support is now up to 85%!

I'm now in southeastern Pennsylvania, staying with my grandmother.  She and my grandfather (who died 11 years ago) were missionaries in the Congo many years ago, so we enjoyed looking at photos from my trip to Chad earlier this year and comparing some memories from our different experiences in Africa.

In just a little more than a week, I will fly out to Michigan for BI's annual retreat and consultant seminar.  It's the one time each year that consultants, office staff, and prospective consultants are together in one place; usually we are all scattered around the US and the world.  I'm looking forward to spending time with my coworkers again.  Pray for a profitable time together as we discuss various important matters related to our work in Bible translation.

I'll be flying to Chad for my two-week trip right after the seminar, so I'm preparing for that as well as for the seminar.  One thing that makes it easier is that I just went to Chad about 6 months ago and am still up to date on all my vaccinations.  All I need to get this time is antimalarials - a necessity for anyone going to Africa, unless you want to increase your risk of getting malaria.  I soon got a prescription for the same kind that I've used on previous trips, and took it to the nearby Walmart pharmacy, thinking that I would have to order them, but to my surprise, they had them in stock!  Tropical medications are not normally in stock in Pennsylvania, USA, so I counted it as a blessing to have gotten them so easily this time.

Other preparations for traveling will continue this week.  As I fly out on August 15, please pray for good flying weather, smooth connections, and most of all that the Lord will use these next weeks of seminars and workshops for His glory.