July 10th 2010 – Trivial Tidbits

33 miles = 3 communities = 6 plus hours in the car.

The roads are horrible this time of year. Deeply rutted, washed out and a bit precarious in areas and lots of deep mud pits. By the time the rainy season is done I’ll be able to compete in some good 4x4 competitions!

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Conversation around the breakfast table the other day:
Magic Squirrels.

Yup.

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We have a new stove/oven. It still is not connected to the house. It is a gas stove but is hooked up to a propane tank because there is no such thing as a gas line here in Berlin. I made cookies last night in the new stove. And how cool is this: even the oven regulator now works! So if I put it at 200 degrees (Celsius) it actually is 200 degrees. I’m still afraid to light the oven by match though.

Cecilia … my hero.

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RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN.

Oh yeah… I forgot to mention … RAIN.

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I have been really busy this past week getting ready for my trip to the States next week. I have 5 days worth of classes to teach at Synod School. I’m excited that I was invited back this year. So I’ve been making some changes to my power point presentations and their outlines. I don’t put words on my power points for the most part. I prefer photos. And LOTS of them! They say so much more than words anyway. But they need to tell the story – give the testimony – teach the history lesson and share the realities here. So I am very deliberate in how I put them together. I actually enjoy this work. But it takes so much time. I want the most powerful photos – and I have thousands of photos to go through.

But I’m done. I have them loaded onto my new little ‘netbook’ (the netbook was an extravagance for sure – but traveling with my 8 pound laptop and all its accoutrements was not fun so I splurged). The little netbook is limited – but it will have all I need to work away from ‘the office.’ I have access to my email, word processing, excel and power points. I’m set. This will be my first trip traveling light!

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And I get to “preach” at my church (Heartland Presbyterian in Clive) on the 25th! Y’all are invited! So I’ve been working on that presentation as well. I think it is ready. Although knowing me – each time I go over it to become more familiar with the flow of it (so I don’t totally ‘read’ it that day) – I’m sure I will make adjustments. But it is basically done.

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Magic squirrels.

Yup.