Being Late is Sometimes a Good Sign

Notice that I did not say being late is a good thing. I said it was a good sign. I really don't appreciate when people delay contacting or meeting me, so I imagine you are the same way. The reason I say that it is a good sign is that I think it is a sign that I am settling in here. Let me elaborate....

For starters I didn't even think it was a noteworthy thing to write about when the kids caught grasshoppers and we all ate them as an appetizer on Thanksgiving before our turkey meal. I just ate them and thanked the kids for their hard work and generosity in sharing them with me. This wasn't my first time eating bugs here, and it won't be the last. They are actually kind of tasty! I especially like what they call "white ants". The kids say that they live in the termite mounds with the termites and sometimes they come out after a heavy rain. What I really think (and I only think so because I watched Animal Planet as a kid) is that they are the prince or princess termites that go out to supply the means of fertilizing queen termites or becoming new queens themselves. This is only a guess, but the kids say all sorts of things that didn't really make sense and later turned out to be false. So I don't feel too bad disagreeing with them. A quick Wikipedia search just confirmed what I thought. Feel free to skip the following paragraph:

In areas with a distinct dry season, the alates leave the nest in large swarms after the first soaking rain of the rainy season. In other regions, flights may occur throughout the year, or more commonly, in the spring and autumn. Termites are relatively poor fliers and are readily blown downwind in wind speeds of less than 2 km/h, shedding their wings soon after landing at an acceptable site, where they mate and attempt to form a nest in damp timber or earth.

Anyway, it feels nice to be settling in a little bit here. I have finished my second Thanksgiving away from family, and the next mile marker is my first Christmas away from my biological family, but I suppose I will be with family nonetheless.

I do have one more story I could tell quickly. You know those jokes where someone tells you it that it is hard to do something and they pretend it is hard, then they hand it to you and it explodes in your face and everyone laughs at you? Well I had an interesting experience with that sort of joke the other day. Here is how it went.

I we had a normal Sunday breakfast of the lovely pancakes Suzanne makes every Sunday. Things were looking up. It was going to be a relaxed day after a sort of crazy weekend of driving long hours so the kids could perform in a play they had been complaining about not wanting to do for over a month. Anyway, one of the three amigos, Francis, started talking about how you can't break an egg if you hold it a certain way. I knew that it was a joke, but by the way he and several of the other guys were so adamant about it I decided to just leave it alone. I knew that the joke was to just get someone to try squeezing the egg and then laugh at them when it exploded on them. I told them not to waste any eggs because they were being used for the pancakes.
So the day went on pretty normally, and later that afternoon I was recruited to make the hamburger patties. One of the thing I was putting in the mix was eggs. Now one of the older boys, Rick, was the most adamant about the egg thing and he took on of the eggs and put it in my hand just above the meat I was mixing. He told me to give it a try. All of my reason told me not to do it. I knew the joke after all. Yet, I was so frustrated by everyone telling me that it wouldn't break that I just squeezed the stupid egg. It was harder than I though, but suddenly the liquid contents exploded like a projectile in two directions. One part splattered backwards onto me, and the other just grazed Suzanne who was working on the other side of the island counter-top in the kitchen. Laughter erupted just like I knew it would, and I felt like the biggest moron in the history of morons. But the story doesn't end there. Everyone was still sure that I must have cracked the egg before I squeezed it, so they wanted me to do it again. How stupid do they think I am? I though. Then to my surprise, Rick picked up an egg and squeezed. The shock on his face brought a whole new light to the whole prank. He had fallen for his own prank and probably shot the stuff farther across the room than I did! They all really believed that the egg would not break! So, it was that the one person who knew how the prank worked fell for the prank, and the person who would have been the victim was, at least for a time, both the victim and the prankster. He me and himself into getting egg all over the kitchen. It was a very confusing feeling.

I was just going to tell the story, but it prompted a prayer request. All of the boys here have a very prideful be right attitude, and I think that was what triggered this whole event. They have a tendency to argue even when they know they are wrong. There is no point in trying to prove anything to them, because they just won't accept being wrong about anything. Well maybe not anything, but at least a great many things. It can be just a nuisance at times, but it can also be a problem. They can be very hard when it comes to correcting any poor behavior. For the three amigos (Vincent, Daniel, and Francis) have a bad problem of touching one another's butts for no good reason. I know that boys can be a little gross and stuff, but trust me when I say this happens in excess. It is a problem. I just need prayer for God to create willing spirits in each of these boys. Willingness to learn new things, to admit when they are wrong about something (especially when it is more serious than squeezing eggs), and an ability to have some self-control. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't at my wits end on a few things with certain behaviors.

I couldn't end this post on the note of the last paragraph, so I just want to remind you that things are going well here. Christmas break will be here at the end of next week! We will have a lot of fun when it gets here, and in the mean time we are all doing pretty well. I'm trying to do some review of math so that I can help the older boys with their algebra. I am surprised how easily I can remember these concepts. It has been a few years since I have done any math, so I am happy to be learning things so many times over with each student that they are getting ingrained in my head. I'm reading a lot of fun and thought provoking books. I'm trying to get out of the habit of only reading half of a book, but I can't seem to break the habit of reading like ten books at the same time. So they are all going rather slowly. I tried to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this past November, I was supposed to write 50,000 words but I only passed 20,000. It was encouraging though, and I hope to finish the story later. The boys and I are still reading through the story of David. Actually if someone could turn me onto a good study of the life of David I would appreciate it. I have an idea to write a TV series sometime, but I want to know everything I can about his life and Psalms before I develop any screenplays.

I hope all is well with you as you read this. May God bless you and keep you! Feel free to contact me at mjstanton21@gmail.com

Internet issues

It has been almost an entire month since I have arrived back in Uganda. The internet only just came back on consistently a few days ago. So I apologize for the late update. 

Things have been going well here so far. There have been some adjustments in the class room as we now have one of the youngest boys, Moses, joining us in the boy's class room. This adjustment was made because one of the one of the older Ukrainian daughters has decided to help out in the classroom for the time being. So we moved an extra student into the room to even out the workload. 

Another school related thing is that I am helping Rick try and get through his High-school subjects at an accelerated rate. 

I will try and post some more things later on, but it look like even as I write this the internet has gone out again.

I continue to write this post a few days later. I admit that the internet has been on for a while now, and I have no excuse for this late post. To be honest I have felt a little pressured to do a lot lately. I need to constantly lay my anxiety before Father. I’m learning to remember that God doesn’t ask me to do anything more than love Him. This love of course means loving the people around me, which means that this love I have needs to manifest and be worked out in certain things I do for others. The most important thing for me is constantly going back to the source of my strength which is found on my knees.

I’ve been doing some interesting things lately. We finished up Friday school a couple weeks ago. There was a final play performance which we filmed, hopefully there will be a viewable copy in the near future.

We just had a Birthday in the house. Francis (far left) has just entered his teen years. Now all three of these boys are thirteen.

Also, we did some work at a hospital a few hours out of town. I was in charge of measuring and cutting all of the new screens for the ward windows. We got about half of it done, and I counted 132 new windows now safely protected from mosquito invasion. This will greatly reduce the Malaria problem in the hospital. Many of the patients were getting Malaria from being at the hospital and would have to stay there longer than they would have.

I am just now starting to get my butt in gear for editing the videos for Eric. Please pray that God will help me to move quickly on those things. I also have a few writing projects I’m working on. Every day is a new day, and I look for the Father to help me overcome every obstacle as I grow in relation to Him.  

It’s Raining

It’s raining. The cool breeze coming in off of the lake is both familiar and profoundly new. It reminds me of some things I don’t want to remember. It shows me how puny I am before its power. The rain is passing and things seem as they were. I see the rocks. They are unchanged after the pelting of the wind and rain. It is hard to see if progress is being made in these kids. Some of their hearts are so hard, and I feel like everything I do and say is like water trickling down and off of them. How long will it take to soften their hearts? Who is strong enough to break up these stones? Was Apollos disheartened as I am by some of the people he watered? Lord, please soften their hearts. Make Your seed grow in this house. Help me to soften my heart. Use me as a conduit for your life giving Son. Let us drink of Him that a spring of water may well up inside of us. Lead us back to the source. Lead us back to you.

Sorry, I needed to get that all off my chest. I have actually been able to relax after so many crazy days. The kids started Friday School yesterday. I’m teaching three of the classes this time: Motion Media Production, Stage Combat, and Creative Writing. I just hope I’m not getting in over my head. The group is larger this time, and I’m missing some of the things I need for Motion Media Production. They seem to be a good group though.

I’ve begun work again on a really old novel of my. I started the initial idea sometime in middle school. The story has changed over the years, but I haven’t managed to get it all out on paper yet. For some reason I can’t quite explain, I really feel I need to finish this book. I’m not going to let the hobby get in the way of the other things I am doing while I’m here, but I would like to finish it.

Anyway, I’ve been a little bit melancholy lately. You may have picked that up in the first paragraph. I look forward to coming home for a few weeks. My prayer is that I don’t just suffer through my time here but that I really give it my all. My patience is tested continually, and I find myself giving out a lot of push-ups. I know, however, that I will miss pouring into these kids. Even just a few weeks away will be hard. I look forward to seeing everyone at home.

Good Old Oswald

I was doing a bit of reading and I found this passage about prayer. Considering that I ask many of you for prayer quite often I thought it might interest you. I thought it was helpful. Here it is,

It is not part of the life of a natural man to pray. We hear it said that a man will suffer in his life if he does not pray; I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.

“Ask and ye shall receive.” We grouse before God, we are apologetic and apathetic, but we ask very few things. Yet what a splendid audacity a childlike child has! Our Lord says—“Except ye become as little children.” Ask, and God will do. Give Jesus Christ a chance, give Him elbow room, and no man will ever do thing unless he is at his wits’ end. When a man is at his wits’ end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get into touch with Reality. Be yourself before God and present your problems, the things you know you have come to your wits’ end over. As long as you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.

It is not so true that “prayer changes things” as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man’s disposition.

–Oswald Cambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 28

Sorry I’m Late/God is Good

I’m not sure where I left you last time I updated this blog, so I will recap this entire week just to be safe. After about three trips to the emigration office, I finally was able to bring all of the paperwork that was required to request an extension on my visitor’s visa. It was actually a really productive day. I got a taste of what Suzanne goes through on a regular basis while she tries to keep things running at Father’s House. In order to acquire one piece of paper we had to drive across town several times. We visited banks and offices. We dropped off papers to be signed and picked others up. It was crazy, but it actually went pretty smoothly. Suzanne said that it was one of her most productive days in a long while; this all happened on Tuesday (Aug 21). I found out that same day that the filming people were going to be at our house on Wednesday. Wednesday was then busy because of the filming that needed to be done. It actually went smoothly, but it did take a long time. Thursday was Bosco’s birthday and it was sort of a normal day. Bosco got a new mp3 player and asked to use my computer to copy files onto it. The next morning I went into town again to try to pick up and pay for my visa. I went to the counter and handed in my receipt and my passport was handed back to me. The lady showed me the stamp and it said I had 40 more days. I asked, “What do I do now?” meaning, ‘where do I pay?’ and she said, “You can go. It is approved.” What a blessing! I was getting ready to hand out my last 50 USD. It is kind of tricky getting money out of the bank here, but I should have plenty to last me until I get home. That evening (Friday), when I sat down to write this blog, I found out that there was a fairly serious virus on my computer and stayed up late into the night trying to eradicate it.

The virus is now eradicated (at least I think) and it is back to work on editing and posting.

There was some inappropriate behavior coming from one of the boys tonight that I had to deal with a little harshly. I really hated doing it because it partly felt like being a bully, but it really needed to be done. Please pray that there will be no hard feelings between the two of us. He gave me a sincere apology not too long after it all happened. I just really hope that I am being a help to these boys in whatever discipline I give, and that I never do it out of anger or frustration. I want to see these boys grow and mature, and I know that it comes through discipline sometimes. Anyway…I’m a little torn up about the whole thing, so prayer would be nice.

During my year at Augustine College this past year I had a philosophy class which began in the book of Ecclesiastes. Last night I was looking at some outlines and things and one of the points of the lecture stood out to me. The professor made the point (and this may not be completely accurate) of taking joy in our work (Ecclesiastes 3:22). If we work just of ends that are seen here on earth (under the sun) then we find that we are chasing after the wind. We should rather see any work that our hand finds as a gift. The work we are given—whatever it may be—is given from God, and we ought to do that work well. At this time in my life, my work is to teach these kids here. It was encouraging to be reminded that this work is a gift. I do my best as a way of offering this work back to God, and by doing so I can in some small way bring it out from ‘under the sun.’ If I can get it out from ‘under the sun’ then it ceases to be vane. I ask that whatever you are doing that you do it with all of your might, offer it up to God as a sacrifice. Don’t go to work just so you can buy food to eat and then eat food so that you can go to work.  Instead, do what you do with joy; do it with perseverance. You are not doing it for some immediate gain. Rather, you are doing it for the glory of your Father in heaven.

I have everything I need to come home for my sister’s wedding. I would love to thank everyone that I can for helping me in whatever ways they did. Your prayers were fulfilled in ways that you and I could never guess. Please keep praying for these kids.

I want to work on some things that I can show to my home church when I get back, and part of it should end up on here too. I apologize that this post is getting up here so late. I pray that Father blesses you in this week, and that you can enjoy the work He gives you to do in it. God bless.

Power is Back! That little droid did it!

I'm sorry about the star wars comment. I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to those movies.

Anyway, the power really is back! After about 12 blisters and a sore back we finished digging a roughly 80m long trench from the main power line to the side of the house.

Then all we had to do was lay in the wire and call the power company to connect it. Now the power is even better than it was before! So that means it is time for me to get back to work on some editing and other projects.

The Mumfords could use your prayer. It seems that the cost of the wire will becoming out of their personal expenses. They have a daughter in college as well as many other expenses baring down on them presently, so adding this whole electricity thing is really stretching and testing them.

Just thought I would send a little update. Talk to you later!

Still No Power, Well, Regular Power

First off, you might be interested to know that this week’s post was first written in pencil. You may also be interested in why that is. Power outages are frequent here at Father’s House, so the fact that we lost power on Sunday [August 12^th] didn’t really upset anyone, and things went on as they usually do when the power goes out. What was odd was what happened when the power came back.

We first noticed something was strange when people were getting quite a in their hands from flipping the lights on and off. Then our dinner was slightly delayed because the stovetop was zapping everyone. Those of us who didn’t feel what the others professed were getting annoyed that the stove wasn’t getting cleaned. I was one of the doubters who for some reason weren’t getting jolted by the stove. I placed my hand on the stove and said, “See, there’s nothing to worry about.” I then reached out to take the reluctant stove-cleaner’s hand and show him everything was fine. I can only imagine the supprize on my face when the electricity suddenly passed through me and the young man’s well-grounded bare feet.  There was clearly a serious problem with our wiring. Today [Tuesday the 14^th] we have an electrician checking out the problem, and hopefully he will find a solution.

As long as I am on the subject of Father’s House maintenance let me briefly share another story. A problem of similar significance happened about a month ago. An extremely large crack was discovered in the water tank on the boy’s side of the house. This tank also serviced the kitchen and landry room. One afternoon (a Wednesday I think) we hulled jery-cans full of the remaining water in the tank to the girl’s side of the house. This simple task took 9 people around 4 hours to complete. Then the real work began. The entire surface of this enormous water tank had to be hand chiseled away so that new concrete could be poured. The entire process took close to two weeks and all the while we were without forced to hand was an enormous amount of clothes that piled up with two washing machines out of commission. We also had to lug water from the girls side to the kitchen. It was a little difficult to work around, but it was kind of fun at the same time.

Now we find ourselves working around no electricity, but by the time you read this it will already be fixed. In the mean time we continues to pray that God will give the gift of a soft, repentant heart to some of the boys here that they might grow father into God’s kingdom.

I have more good news. I have found out that I have plenty of funds to get home in September. I just need to send an email to affirm the purchase. The only thing I have yet to see God do is extend my visa until the departure date (I will need the ticket to do that).

Here ends the penciled update.

Now, to get things up to speed.

The electricity is still out, but we run the generator every once in a while for a few hours to pump water, wash cloths, charge computers, check emails, and various other things. This, however, is very expensive. The problem around the electricity has been discovered. It appears that the original electrician only used the proper wire on the visible parts of the house.  The longer portion of the wire is running under ground to the power company’s pole and is of subpar quality. It seems that the electrician swapped out a cheaper wire and pocketed the extra cash. This now has to be replaced at a great expense to Father’s House, and we are already pressed for resources as it is.

We went into town to request my visa extension, but we had the wrong form, so we will have to try again on Monday. I now know that there at least used to be a 10 day grace period to get an extension in, so my fears are greatly calmed. I am very happy that I waited on the Lord, and I am confident that He will take care of this matter. Getting another visa when I return will be another adventure.

I picked up I and Thou by Martin Buber today, and it made me reexamine the way I was looking at God taking care of things. He said, “Every means is an obstacle. Only where all means have disintegrated encounters occur.” I was thinking of God as a means to staying in Uganda among other things. I had completely forgotten that He called me to be here. He was the initiator of this adventure and that He wouldn’t just leave me such a state as needing Him for something else. I forgot that I need Him for Him. I forgot that I need to encounter God. I need relate with Him as a son to his Father. I’m no expert on Buber’s philosophy, and I often am confused by the things he said in his book, but I am often amazed by the things I do understand, at least a little. I find it very challenging in the right sort of way. I need to quit trying to use God out and begin to enjoy every grace filled encounter I am offered. 

Power is out

Sorry that there wasn't a weekly post  yesterday. Our power is out, and I am penciling a post. I don't really have time to type it out while we use the generator. There is a story that goes along with the power outage and it will be in the next post. Right now I need all of the prayer I can get concerning getting my visa extended. Mainly I need to just in God's word to me which was "Wait." I will be waiting on the Lord to work this out.

One Step at a Time

It looks like the internet isn’t going to let me post this evening. I’ll just write some things down and post them when I get a chance.

This week was good, but there have been some challenges. One of the boys is still having trouble with math, and I even caught him trying to cheat. The problem isn’t that he can’t learn the concepts; he knows how to do the problems. I’m not really sure what the root of the problem is, but I think it has to do with his general hard-heartedness. It is a struggle to get him to do anything that he doesn’t really want to do. These boys are in Father’s house physically, but I find it hard to believe that they grasp what it means to be in Father’s house spiritually. Just as the Israelites desired to go back to Egypt when they were delivered so too these boys seem to want to continue in their selfish ways. They don’t seem to want to go into the promise land. They are constantly pushing the limits as far as what they can get away with, and lately it is wearing me out. It makes me wonder if I act that way toward God in anyway. These boys often remind me of certain parts of myself that God is still working out of me. My prayer is that God will show me when I am wrong, and that I will be willing to be corrected by Him.

By request of one of the boys we have moved away from reading Proverbs to reading a linear story. My favorite Bible character is King David, so we are simply starting with I Samuel. They are reading a portion and then telling it again in their own words (that was a piece of advice from my mom). Supposedly telling a story in your own words is the first step toward learning to write papers and such. We’ll see how it goes. I partially wanted to keep reading the proverbs, but I’m not sure if the boys were understanding them very well. Typically stories, and the lessons contained within, are much more understandable.

In other news Friday was even crazier than I thought it would be. We had our grand viewing of the videos that the class made last Friday. It went fine, but then we began filming the teaching videos and that is when it got crazy. There lots of kids running around for the last day of Fridayschool, there were water-trucks coming in and out to fill the pool which had just been fixed, there were loud announcements broadcasted from the valley, the power kept going out which made one of our mics stop working, and there was even a disco party of some kind blasting away outside. All of these things made the filming quite difficult. I’ve been going through the footage (which is really difficult) and it looks like we may need to film some sections again. I had really thought we had finished, but I guess it will be okay. I would like to get behind one of the cameras myself next time.

I have a praise report! I have been informed that $700 has been sent to my account in Lifechangers. I am desperately hoping that will be enough to cover my plane ticket. I am going to need to get my visa extended before the 17^th rolls around. God sure likes to keep me leaning on Him, and I’m learning what David meant when he said, “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Psalm 131:2). I will continue to lean up against my Father and trust in His timing. He is faithful.

God continues to stretch and mold us here at Father’s House. I greatly appreciate your prayers. If there is anything I can pray for you please don’t hesitate to ask.

My email: mjstanton21@gmail.com

God Knows How To Stretch Us.

Hello Everyone!

This is the first time I am writing on a weekly basis. I have found a good time to do it in the evening just before going to bed. So, now Tuesday is my "get stuff done" day. Normally that means I clean up my room, do my laundry, and help clean the house with everyone. This week, however, it meant that I do several weeks worth of laundry (there was no water for sometime, but that is another story), finish editing the Friday school movies, finish touching up the script for shooting Eric's teaching tomorrow, and write in the blog. Needless to say today was a busy day and it isn't done yet.

God has been really stretching me lately in the area of finance for the past couple of years. I always feel that I need to go do my part with a job. If God called me to a job that brought in an income then I would do it with all of my heart. Right now He is teaching me that He will provide for me even beyond what I could ever do for myself. We read the thirteenth chapter of Matthew this past Sunday (the parable of the sower). Verse 22 says, "The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful." The deceitfulness of wealth seems to be the idea that if I just had enough money then I could stop worrying. So, we worry about getting money so that we can stop worrying. Why not just cast our cares on Him who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7)? 

To make a very long story short I have recently found out that God's children are awesome! I have a living cost of around $300 per month and I have around $800 in the Lifechangers account at the moment. That is so cool!
But, now I  find that my plane ticket will cost around $1600 (actually $1635) There was one I found for $1500 but that would mean I couldn't take the second bag back for the soccer balls because it is a mixture of airlines and the last flight would only allow one bag for free. Anyway, I find myself in another uncomfortable situation. I ask that you please pray carefully for me as I take the necessary steps to acquiring the money for these tickets.
You should know that the tickets are needed for two reasons: 1) I need to get home for my older sister's wedding, and 2) my visa is going to expire in August, but we can request an extension if I have a ticket home. The departure date is  September 23 and I will be returning to Uganda October 7. 
The bottom line is that I need help. I know that really my help comes from the LORD the maker of heaven and earth, but perhaps you could pray along side me as we watch God do something cool with the children he loves. 
The financial resources that God entrusts to us can be used to teach us a great deal. Please don't give to help me just because you feel sorry for me or something like that. There are plenty of other much worthier things to give God's money to. I remember a time when I was first working and saving for my first car God prompted me to give $500 to two different organizations. That was almost all of the money I had saved for my car. I still don't know why I needed to give it to those two organizations. I knew the money wasn't really mine so I allowed God to bless someone through me. If you feel prompted to let God bless someone through you be sure you pray about where He wants that money to go. We are all being shaped into good citizens of the kingdom of God. For me at this time it is trusting God for something which I cannot take for myself. I have to learn to receive from the Father who knows how to give good gifts to His children. At other times in my life it was learning how to freely give what he had given to me. Whatever phase God has you in I pray that you continually surrender into Him. 


I'm sorry that so much of this update is about money. Now that I have got this off of my chest I'm going to try and not worry about it anymore. Next week's update should be good. We are going to watch the Friday school movies on Friday, we are starting shooting for Eric's thing tomorrow, and we are hoping to do some more experimenting with film this Thursday. The boys are really getting into the filming so I think I'm going to teach them some combat stuff when we have a chance. There might be some action movies appearing on here in the future. There are so many things I could talk about, but I don't want to waste anymore of your time, so I'll save it for next week. See you later! 

Wow! Has it been that long?

Again another long period of time has gone by without me saying anything. So, once again I have many things I need to catch you up on.

I'll start with the mildly disappointing news. The Friday School kids will not be doing the play. One reason is that only about half of them were really disciplined enough to sit quietly whenever we practiced. Another reason was that I could never print enough copies of the script for us to have a descent practice. Usually either the power went out, or we'd run out of ink or paper. So practices have been a disaster. On the up side we have switched to doing some filming instead. We will probably be winging it this week, so I NEED your prayer. I'm hoping that doing something new will keep kids quiet and interested long enough to get some stuff done. I will try to put the finished product up on here.


The other news is interesting too. Eric (the founder of Father's House) is going to be recording some of his teachings on video. There is a good friend of theirs who will be supplying the equipment, and I will get to help with the shooting! I will also be the chief editor for the project. For those of you who don't know why I am excited about this, allow me to explain. My plan when this year is over is to either find a job in the film industry or go back to school for filming. My hope is to one day be an editor and/or director in feature films. This will be some great experience to get under my belt. A friend of mine put the video I made for the medical team on youtube. The aspect ratio got messed up somehow... It used to be 16:9 (widescreen). Now it is a little squished, so I'll need to redo something. Anyway, enjoy!

I also wanted to mention that things have been going better in the classroom. There are still a lot of disobedient moments, but I have a lot of hope for these boys. We are reading a chapter of Proverbs every morning. I'm having a hard time getting them to talk about what they read but they are slowly getting the hang of it. I think a lot of it is slowly sinking in. I'm also having them read James because of how it talks about bridling the tongue. 

I haven't heard back about the soccer balls yet, but when I do I will be sure to let you know the details. I have started playing soccer every Saturday. I am meeting a lot of new people and I'm getting to know Ugandan culture a little better. 

The last bit of news is not very good. I am a little confused about how I am going to get a plane ticket home for my sister's wedding. I thought it was going to be much simpler than it is. It also looks like I will need to raise some extra support for the ticket. I hate asking for money, so this is especially hard news for me. I also need the ticket soon so that we can request an extension for my visa which expires in August. I could really use your prayer. I'm trying to find the balance between putting it in God's hands and doing what God would have me to do concerning the matter. 

Please pray for:

-The Boys-

I really long to see them flourishing in the kingdom of God, but we all have a long way to go. Mainly pray that they could learn humility. 

-The Futbols- 

Pray that the company will let me purchase just a few balls at the organization rate and that we could work out a way to get the balls back to Uganda.

-Plane Ticket-

Pray that I will be able to trust God to make the way for me and that I won't seek to make the way for myself (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Sorry...But Better Late Than Never Right?

Sorry I have not posted a blog in quite some time. The truth is that I have been a little lazy about it. Doing school from 8:30-3:00 every day is a little tiring, but I still should have told you guys what is going on with me lately. Now I have a whole bunch of news to catch you up on. Let me try to start as far back as is necessary. I’m sure you don’t want to hear all of the little details, but I can graze over all of the ‘important’ things that you missed.

In addition to the school that we do during the week we also do ‘Friday School’ (I may have told you this already). I teach drama to the kids 9 years and above. The week before last Friday I asked the kids if they wanted to do a play. With more excitement then I expected they said yes. Then, this past week I told them about my idea for a play about a road trip from Kampala, Uganda to a city to be decided in Nigeria. They were even more excited. My last idea was to not use any props. Instead we would use the other actors as our props! They didn’t really understand this at first. We then tried out a scene where the main actors ‘passed’ other vehicles on the ‘road’ as well as encountered ‘speed bumps.’ They then opened a ‘door’ and used a ‘payphone.’ It was really hilarious to see one of the boys dial the ticklish telephone as well as move in unison in their invisible car. So, if you wouldn’t mind praying that I would get the rough draft of the script done by 13^th I and the kids would greatly appreciate it. If we have a performance it will be on August 3^rd and I will be sure to record it.

There has been a lot of name calling and tardiness among the boys lately, so they have to do push-ups as punishment. It was an idea I took from my old youth leader Mitch as well as from a good friend Mr. Fair. It has been working really well for the tardiness, but the name calling is still pretty bad. Sometimes it is just them teasing and playing with each other, but other times it is really spiteful. For example one day the name calling was escalating without me knowing it because it was all in Luo (the language that the Acholi in the house speak). After it was done both of the boys looked really upset. Apparently the younger one was pestering the older more than he could stand so he said something to the effect of “Why don’t you leave me alone. Go and kiss your grandmother’s a**.” The younger one had lost most of his family in a fire some years ago and still has some burns himself. I assume his grandmother died in the fire too. So the younger one kept saying, “How could you say that? My grandma is dead.” I told the boys to do some pushups and tell each other they were sorry for what they said. The older boy refused and said he wouldn’t forgive the other (I’m being vague on purpose). I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I reminded them that Christ asks us to forgive even as we have been forgiven or something like that. Anyway, it didn’t seem to have any effect so I just sat down and whispered a prayer. Very shortly afterward the older boy said that he forgave his brother and then immediately did his push-ups and got back to his school work. There have been a few things like that which have been neat to watch.

In other news: we went and saw two soccer games of the Ugandan national team. One game was a qualifier for the 2014 World Cup which was a miraculous tie. Uganda tied the match in the last few minutes against Senegal. It was really crazy, fun, and LOUD. They take their football (soccer) very seriously. In fact, on the way to the game I saw a billboard that said, “This isn’t football, it’s war.” The following week Uganda creamed Congo 4-0 (not Dominican Republic of Congo, but the other smaller one). It was even crazier than the first game! The fans flooded the field, tore the nets off of the goals, and danced around like mad. It was so fun to spend that time with the boys. Two of them, Francis and Daniel (12 and 13 yrs.), both really love football. I taught all of the boys a game called ‘butts up’ which involves keeping the ball in the air for as long as possible and if you mess up you get a letter. Once you spell b.u.t.t. you have to let everyone shoot the ball at your butt. They loved that game so much that we wore out the very durable leather ball that I brought with me. So today I was looking for a more durable ball and actually found a neat organization that has invented an almost indestructible ball. It is called the One World Futball Project. The balls are made out of the same material as crocs (those rubbery slipper shoes), and it can even be punctured and still be played with. http://www.oneworldfutbol.com/about-the-ball/. There is also a rate for organizations to buy 10 balls at $19 each, which got me thinking that it might be fun to buy some for Ray of Hope. That is the school and aid organization in the slums of Kampala which hosted the medical team these past few years. I was asked by some of the ladies there to come and do like a bible study with the boys there sometime and have yet been unable. My plan today is to ask a few people if there would be any way to make it down to Ray of Hope every once in a while to play some football and read the scriptures to those kids. It would take around $250 to purchase the balls, and ship them to NC. I could then pick them up while I am home for a couple of weeks in September. Oh yeah! I’m coming home for a couple of weeks for my sister’s wedding! That is something to look forward to. I hope to see many of you while I am back.

Anyway, between the schooling, the Futball idea, and the drama I’m keeping pretty busy, but I will try very hard to make it a habit to write something down every so often. I also have some videos I would like to put on here but the internet won’t allow. And lucky for me the internet just turned back on and I can post this. 

Banange (My Word)

Banange is about the only word I have really learned in Luganda which is the most common language in Kampala. It means "my goodness" or "my word." I'm working on learning some other things in Luganda but it has been slow going so far. I don't get much exposure to it around the house because the kids all speak Luo because they are from other parts of Uganda. The most exposure I get is during Friday School, but banange, I have not even told you about that, have I? Again, I apologize that there has been little posted on here. It seems that the internet is finally stable enough to allow for more posting.

-Blessing and Cursing-
I think one of the problems (believe it or not) was my post that cursed the internet. The other night I was reminded that I 'cursed' the internet and instead I decided to verbally bless the internet. Since then I have had very few problems with the internet. I thought it was interesting because there has also been a lot of name calling among the kids, and Eric had to talk to them about the importance of their words.

-In other news-
The medical team is gone, and just before the last team member left I completed a short video about their time in Namuwongo (the slums of Kampala). I am hoping to put it up on here sometime soon which is easier said than done. Their time here was very productive, but it also consumed all of my time. However, it was a really blessing to be able to give of myself in that particular way. I helped in the various parts of the clinic as well as doing a lot of filming for the video. The best part was praying for people after they had gone through the clinic. The thanks and blessings that we received from people was abundant. We even were asked by Muslims to pray for them. There were several people who asked Jesus to become Lord of their lives for the first time and many other's who recommitted their lives to Him.

School is now in full swing, but we had a few bumps on the road. A detention punishment has been enacted, and the boys in my room have to do push-up if they are late or misbehave. By the looks of it they are either going to become very fit or very obedient by the end of this year. It seems to be working, and there has been a lot less burping in the class room.

I have been taking a lot of videos and I hope to to put some of them together soon.

That is all I can think of for the moment, but I will post again soon. If you know of anyone (especially at BECF) who would like to read my updates please send the link of this blog to them.

Things to pray for:
-Patience for myself and Lilian (the other teacher)-
There have been a lot of issues that keep piling up in the behaviors of some of the kids, and it is hard to turn those habits around.
-Provision-
My sister has gotten engaged and really wants me home for the wedding in September. The ticket is around $1,500 so that is something that I am trusting God will supply by some means.

Thanks for reading. Sorry if there are mistakes I really wanted to get this up asap.

Oops (again)

So it has been brought to my attention that I made another, rather large, mistake in this blog and in my letter.
I gave the wrong P.O.Box number for Lifechangers.
So, here is the corrected address:

Lifechangers 

PO Box 3709 Cookeville, TN 38502

Office phone: 931-520-3730 

(3709 not 3909)

I have also been working on some videos lately more that writing and will get those up as soon as the Internet permits. 

Whirlwind

The action here has been nonstop. Starting with a busy day of playing with the kids and packing for the medical team on Friday (18 May). This morning (21 May) everyone left at 6:15am which means that some of them were awake at 5:00am which means that I was awake at 5:00am this morning….

Let me see…how can I capture all of the wonderful things that have happened so far? Well, Jessica Mumford has been instructing me learning how to teach the boys (Rick, Bosco, Daniel, Francis, and Vincent), and that has been great. I had one day of training and now I have the boys to myself. It is pretty straight forward, but it is a challenge to explain things when to the boys when I am not completely sure what their books have taught them so far. I learned many of the subjects in a very different manner. Sometimes this is an advantage because I can tell the boys the way I learned something to see if it helps them. One of the boys is struggling with fractions in math, but I think that with time he will understand. It has been such a joy to teach them.

Our schedule is:

8:30am-10:30am              First Session

10:30-10:50                       Break

10:50-11:50                       Second Session

11:50-12:00pm                 Break

12:00-1:00                         Third Session

1:00-2:00                            Lunch Break

2:00-3:00                            Fourth Session

Sooo…our mornings are going to be pretty full, but the boys have a really good attitude about their school, so it should be a good first week.

It is strangely quiet here with the medical team out in Namuwongo slums. There are very few quite times here. Either we are doing school, or helping the medical team get ready, or cleaning the house, or cooking, or eating, or ‘mowing’ the lawn, or kicking a ball, or any number of things. It has been a blessing to see everyone pouring themselves into their work.

There is a rumor floating around that the kids will get school off next week so that I can go help on the Medical team! That would be great, but we’ll see what happens.

Please pray for:

-Our work

That in everything we would work hard with the love of God in our hearts. Pray especially for the medical team as they are working really hard under the hot sun.

-The boy’s schoolwork

So they too might work hard and eventually use these skills for the betterment of the kingdom of God.

A Long Ride...

I know it is typical for someone to complain about plane rides, but I am going to try and not focus on the fact that I got up at 6:00am on the 16th of May, barely slept on the planes, on got here at 12:00am on the 18th of May local time. I am going to overlook the fact that I had 34 hours of travel and maybe slept a total of 6 hours in little 10min and 1hr intervals. No! I am going to stand above complaining and speak positively about how I was stuck in a little seat size prison where I was given little rations to keep me alive and prolong my suffering. I refuse to talk about the screaming children, the constant 'bong bong BONG' of people 'in need of assistance', and the immense stiffness in my legs.

Really, it wasn't that bad actually. It was long, but I met some interesting people along the way.

I started the journey in the car with my super mom who got up early with me to take me to meat four of the medical team members who I rode the rest of the way to the airport with. Then they took off on another flight to Atlanta while I took a different route to Uganda…alone…. Well, along with the three-hundred or so people that I rode with on the different flights to get here.

The first flight—a dinky little flight from Charlotte to D.C.—was actually quite refreshing. The girl I sat next to was on her way to a concert. She was a double major in nursing and dancing which I thought was interesting. She said she was doing dancing because she loved it, and was interested in nursing because she wanted to help the very young and very old. I will keep her in my prayers as she continues on her way. Jessica Mumford--the one who is going to instruct me on how to teach the boys--is also a dancer and is actually leaving for a school in N.Y.C. next Friday (25 May). 

The next flight, across the Atlantic, I sat in-between Godlove and Coffee. I thought this was kind of funny. God's love on my right and coffee on my left; sounds like something that would happen to a writer or something. Anyways, Godlove was also training to become a nurse, and given that the first part of my time in Father’s House will be helping with the medical team I found that it was a good promise from God to have a nurse-in-training named Godlove sit right beside me. I pray that God—who is love—will be with the team and working through them to touch the people of Namuwongo Slums in Kampala. 

The last flight I sat by myself and was able to get a little bit of sleep. I chatted with a few people, but for the most part I read and slept, which was really nice.

When the plane landed in Entebbe I actually arrived before the four medical team members who left Charlotte before me. Getting straight to work and collected everyone’s check-in luggage while they got their Visas. Once everything was collected, we packed up the bus and started our African massage (thanks to the roads) back to Father’s House.

Now we are all tired and trying to rest before things get going tomorrow (19 May). I will be learning a bit about how the schooling works while the kids do their work today (18 May).

Please pray for:

-Rest-

So that everyone can be ready to work hard at whatever they are doing this weekend.

Curse You Internet!

The main reason I have not been posting lately is that there is no internet access! It is somewhat annoying because I have family who are trying to stay in touch with me, and I with them. The lack of internet makes that impossible. I barely had time to send one email today (24 May).

Anyway, I just needed to write a disclaimer concerning my lack of posts, and assure you that I will post anything I have as soon as I have internet. A lack of posts does not mean something bad has happened to me. It just means that the internet is down which is normal around here. I will be writing things in advance as much as I am able. I’m establishing a rhythm around here so I will have more time to write. It is still pretty crazy around here, and will be until the medical team leaves. Even then I will stay pretty busy, but like I said I will write as much as I can.

Finally!

Oh my goodness! I have been trying so hard to get on the internet here, and now I can finally send these old posts!

Facepalm...

Lesson learned. I cannot spell very well and I just sent out my letter without letting anyone read over it. I even caught some easy grammatical mistakes when I read through it again. Please learn from my mistake and allow others to proofread your stuff. Especially before you send to almost everyone in your contacts...
I thought I would take moment to ask for forgiveness for writing such a poor support letter.

Things to pray for:
-My weaknesses-
That in my weaknesses Christ's strength might abound, and that I would seek help from others who do not share the same weaknesses.

Update Letter Done/Time To Find Suitcases!

Well, I have my update letter done, and it looks supper long on the blog. I might be taking that off later. Anyway, Things are going well. I will be looking at our suitcases today, and am really hoping that I won't need to take one of the old cruddy ones... 

I guess once they get to Uganda I won't care what type of suit case they are. So, the packing and suitcase searching continues...

Friends and Family Update Letter

I am writing this letter as a way to express the path that God has laid out for me to walk at this time in my life. My hope is that through reading it you might be encouraged by the work God is doing in me, and that you might come along side me so that we may begin to venture farther into a relation with the Triune Godhead through the example of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

In May of 2010 I traveled to Uganda to assist in a short term medical mission in the slums of the capital city, Kampala. While in Uganda I stayed with the medical team in Father’s House Uganda where I was introduced to the Mumford family, including their 13 adopted Ugandan children. While at Father’s House, the medical team prepared for the days of outreach to the slums. I was part of one team which would spend half of the day making house calls to the various sick people in the slums of Kampala. My responsibility was to carry the medications and have them at hand whenever the doctor of our group needed to hand them out to treat the person. It was hard to imagine how a little bag of pills could really make much of a difference in the long term, but as the medication was distributed the people noticed that we really did care for their well being. Their hearts became more receptive to the love of God that we desired to flow freely through us and the various organizations which were working with us, such as Ray of Hope and others who helped us serve the people. It was not the distribution of pills that was our end goal, but through those simple pills hearts were opened to the love of God. After the mornings down in the slums the teams reassembled into new groups for an afternoon of clinic work. My group was a community health education team. We were training some women to be leaders in educating the parts of the slums where they lived. Part of what was taught concerned only health and sanitation, but our little team was often confronted by questions that dealt with the spiritual condition of the slums. Tribal prejudice was often the cause of the filthy living conditions in the slums. One of the days, while listening to one of the women’s story, I was reminded of Jesus’ story about the good Samaritan and realized just how pertinent it was. By the story I encouraged all of the women to be like the Samaritan and love their neighbors, no matter what tribe they were from, as they loved themselves. By the end of the sessions we were able to purchase sanitary equipment so they could clear the garbage clogging the drainage systems outside their homes which had often caused bad flooding in the past. One woman was able to put her faith to work as she cleared the area in front of her house. Her neighbors where often verbally abusive to her, but her accusers found themselves silenced by their own wives and children who joined to help clean the alley that they all shared with the women who decided to not shout back at her accusers this time and just love them with a servant’s heart. With the help of a simple gift, a woman in the slums of Kampala was able to follow Christ’s example to love her neighbors in a more concrete and meaningful way.

 The following summer I worked at a grocery store to save up for my first year of college. I was planning on staying at home and simply commuting to my classes every day, but God had a different plan. He prompted me to apply for housing on campus, and I did. I applied to the Service and Leadership ‘Learning in Residence Community’ (LRC) and was accepted. It was an additional $1,000 per semester to participate, and considering that I only had enough from financial aid to cover the tuition, additional housing was going to be impossible. However, God had told me to do it, so I trusted and prayed that He would provide. It came to the Wednesday before the bill was due. That afternoon I was reading Malachi 3 which says in verse 10,

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 

I prayed and then realized that I had forgotten to bring my tithe to church the previous Sunday. I decided to take it straight to my pastor who then invited me to talk with him. I told him how I thought God was calling me to live on campus, but I was also very willing to stay at home if it was His will. We talked for a little while about various other things and I felt a little better knowing that at least there was one more person praying for me, whatever the outcome. That evening my pastor gave an envelope to my mother with my name on it. I opened it and there was a check for the amount I was lacking to stay on campus. I was overwhelmed and gave thanks and glory to God for quite some time that evening. The thought that God would take care of the costs and in just the way I needed Him to was amazing. I really did need Him to come through at the last minute so that I could know that it was Him who wanted me on campus.

Then, while on campus, I became frustrated that I could not communicate the gospel in a way that my fellow students and professors could understand. There was one time in particular where a group of evangelists came to campus and where shouting at people to ‘turn from damnation.’ A few of them dealt well with the insults hurtled from students, but others resulted to insults such as calling certain women sluts among other insults. What shocked me the most was when I pulled people to the side and tried to discus with them the true message of the gospel. I was caught completely off guard by how I could not get even the smallest hint of a message across. I did not know what to say. I could not express the hope that was within me. I felt useless. The ‘evangelists’ spoke many words that were true but they were lacking the love of God which came from ‘The Word’ which became flesh. Because I found myself lacking in the right words to say, I concentrated on living out the love of God which was in me, failing at times, but always trusting that God was leading me where I should go.

There were many great projects that we did as the Service and Leadership floor that year which were worthwhile. Among them we raised around $30,000 in a dance marathon for organizations that reaches out to children, we also raised support and took teams out to organizations around campus to do some labor intensive projects, and my Christian roommate and I were able to encourage each other throughout the year. Despite the many great things I learned in classes and the faculty’s excellent work in developing my understanding of the subjects I soon found that I was lacking a good foundation on which to rest this knowledge. I was interested in the idea of becoming a director for film, but I wanted to do it because I thought God could speak to others through me. But If I could not even get a simple idea across in a conversation then how could I expect to communicate the message of the gospel through film?  I needed a better grounding in what my faith was and where it came from if I wanted to build anything on it.

In the spring of 2011 I traveled to the graduation of a good friend from Augustine College in Ottawa, Canada. I was very surprised by how welcoming everyone was and how quickly I found myself able to freely fellowship with this tight-knit group of Christians. While we explored the capital of Canada friends of mine offered a chance for me to come to Augustine if I wished to. During the following summer I prayed for guidance because several other doors were opening up to me at that time to concentrate on directing rather than writing for film, and some more last minute decisions had to be made. God came through again at the last minute and now I find myself still delving into things of my faith and its rich history which were brought to life for me at Augustine College. The year was well spent and now I feel that no matter where God sends me I will be more prepared than I was before. I hope to teach the things I learned to others in whatever small way I can, and I would encourage anyone to consider spending a year at the college refining their faith.

God is now prompting my heart back to Uganda, and over the Christmas break I sent an email to the man in charge of Father’s House expressing my interest in teaching. I let him know that I was interested in coming to Father’s House to help with the mission there. He replied quickly and was excited to hear about the things I have learned at Augustine College. He expressed that there was a need for someone to help homeschool the kids at Father’s House because they recently had to let someone go who was filling that position. I was excited to hear that because I was homeschooled and have always thought it was a good chance to use an understanding of God and His scriptures as a means for general education. The medical team which I was a part of in 2010 is heading to Uganda this May. The team leader suggested that I write this letter as a life update as well as a request to my brothers and sisters in the faith of Jesus Christ to join with me in prayer for direction and leading as I follow God’s direction; also for your prayerful consideration to help me bring the life changing gospel of Christ to those living in and around Father’s House in Uganda. I am leaving May 16^th and am trusting for God to provide for my time there. Currently I have the funds to travel to Uganda, but do not yet have everything I need for the year. The living expenses are around $300 per month and I will also require money for my return journey. I have been asked to raise roughly $5,000 for the entire yearlong trip. If you are interested in joining me financially or would like more information, you may contact either Mark Duggin at: mark@lifechangers.org or me at: mjstanton21@gmail.com. Tax deductible contributions can be made out to Lifechangers and sent to:

Lifechangers PO Box 3909 Cookeville, TN 38502

Office phone: 931-520-3730

(Please include a short note indicating that the support is directed toward me with your check). You can also donate online at: https://www.lifechangers.org/product_info.php?products_id=2604 (also include a short note in the “Add Comments about Your Order” box indicating where the support is directed to). For any questions regarding these methods please email me.

Whether it is in frequent prayer or through financial means I will greatly appreciate your support. God bless you as you seek to draw ever nearer to Him.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Stanton 

Church Yesterday

Yesterday I was delighted to attend my home church in Banner Elk. There were many familiar faces there to welcome me home from my adventures in Canada. I wish I had more time to spend with those men and women of God. I look forward to seeing them again next week as well as after my trip.

One thing that really struck me during the prayer service was how many families were being affected by serious illnesses. My prayers had been so focused on myself and my trip. I had hardly said a single word in pray for the body of Christ. I was convicted and now I will continue to pray for my home church in Banner Elk, and I ask for all of you to do the same for your churches.

Things to pray for:
-Your home church-
Pray that all of Christ's body here on earth will grow closer together, and that we will take each others cares upon ourselves to the glory of the kingdom of heaven.

Trip Description/Bantering

On 16 May 2012 I will leave with the same medical team that I traveled with in 2010. I will be on a different plane than everyone, but will arrive roughly the same time as everyone. As the medical team prepares for their outreach I will most likely be getting trained into my responsibilities as a teacher. There is mostly a set schedule that I will be following, but I think I will be trying to implement various other activities into the basic school work. There is also a possibility that I will get to help on a couple of the days of outreach which I look forward to. Hopefully I will get to take some videos, and Ben is talking about putting together a video for the medical trip which I might help with. It should be fun. In any case, I will be keeping up with this blog and trying to make it look nice.

Things to pray for:
-Packing; especially that I won't forget anything I need, and that I will be able to get everything together.
-Safety; for the flight over and the first few weeks of outreach.
-Guidance; in the things I say, teach, and do.

I think this will do for now. I'll keep posting as things go along.

Two passages that I have been thinking about lately

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

            and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

            and he will make straight your paths.

Be not wise in your own eyes;

            fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.                               —Proverbs 3:5-7—

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”                                                                                                       —Isaiah 6:5-8—  

To-Do List

Run a 5k   
Create a blog   
Actually post a blog worth reading    1/3
Finish update letter   
Swim with dolphins   

Oh well...can't do everything in one day I suppose.