We’re going to Veracruz! Although not on the original list of necessary trips, we have decided that it would be a good idea to go to a trip to Villahermosa, Tabasco, in April. During “Semana Santa” there is going to be a youth conference called COJUBASUR with around 300 young people from the south of the country attending.
We will be participating in it for one day only on the 11th of April, but it’s a great opportunity. We’ll be presenting the same information that we will use in May and September, but in a different format. It’s going to be a great opportunity to promote the seminary.
So, on the way to Tabasco, we will pass through the state of Veracruz. Instead of driving the 12 hours straight to Villahermosa, we’re going to stay on the beach on the way there and back in Veracruz. There’s no way we would want to travel the whole way through with Nathan, so we’re better off stopping for the night and spending some time resting while we’re at it. We’re pretty excited about both the time with the young people and the time at the beach.
Step 1: Kneel down
Step 2: Pull up
More pictures of Nathan: click here
Video of him pulling up here
Here’s another preview of one of the trips on the list of necessary trips: July 22-28: YMI International Trainers Summit
This trip will be a time for all the YMI trainers to get together and talk about the ministry. We will be staying in a castle in Salzburg, Austria, during this meeting time. This meeting is required for all YMI missionaries, as we will be discussing many important things, including strategy for training trainers,updates from the various fields, and future work. There will also be a very important time of personal renewal and evaluation, which I am personally looking forward to.
The whole family is planning on going, and we are trying to add in a little vacation since we’ll be visiting places we’ve never been before. It’s also our anniversary during that week, so it will be nice to be somewhere cool for that.
We are estimating that the cost of this trip is going to be around $3,000 for travel alone. YMI is covering the in-country expenses, so we need to raise enough money to travel to Austria during high season. If you would like to help support this trip, please email us.
I was reminded today that I am not perfect (Not by Janell). I have faults. I have things that are in my personal blindspot. It’s a good thing I was taught this song when I was a kid:
He’s still working on me
To make me what I ought to be
It took Him just a week to make
The moon and the stars
The Sun and Earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
He’s still working on me
I pray that people have patience with me as I am still a work in progress. I don’t have all the answers, nor am I fully what I ought to be yet. God is in the process of shaping, molding, and transforming me. So, please pray for patience for those around me and for understanding for me to know what I need to change.
Today I got lots done. I finished up the grades for this quarter at the seminary. My students finally turned in their work, and I got to finish grading the papers and give final grades. It always feels good when you finish something like that. The highest grade was 95 and the lowest was 83. Those who turned the work in almost on time got much better grades than those who didn’t, as was to be expected.
I also had lunch with a friend who is working with the youth group at Capital City Baptist Church. I went downtown to meet with him, and we had some good conversation. I’m looking forward to seeing what God is going to do at that church. A crazy thing is that he works about 2 hours away from where he lives. I’ll have to post about that another day.
I also finished up the syllabus for next quarter’s class. It will be a continuation of this past class, and we will be covering some things in more detail. I got my schedule, and I’ll be teaching on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:25-11:10. That’s a pretty good schedule. Anytime there’s no class at 7 am, that’s a good schedule.
Janell also bought the tickets today to go to Florida for Kelle’s wedding. We’ll be going there the end of April, right around Nathan’s first birthday, so we’ll be able to have a family birthday party for him.
