Continuted preparations

As we continue the countdown to leave, we have many wonderful opportunities to be with family and friends. In the last week, we have been to three BBQs and a baptism. These are all greeted with a sense of joy, anticipation and some grief as we realize that we will not see some for another year. But grief is a healthy emotion - it ties us to community, to family and to our good friends that we leave when we move overseas. We will fly out in 10 days to our new home in Weil am Rhein. Today, Delynn is off with her sisters to the Nordstrom Anniversary sale; I am arranging preparations for the NWYM Friends Men Banquet which will be held tomorrow in Newberg OR and packing (Don't feel sorry for me, I got to sleep in)

It is a rather dreary summer day in Vancouver WA - it has been raining and unseasonably cool for several days, but we have lots to do so that's fine. Last weekend, Delynn and I took the opportunity to have a picnic with some friends up at Lewisville park to celebrate our baptism. As part of our joy in being a part of God's family, we were baptised in the Lewis River on July 15th, 2007. We are so pleased that all of our parents could be there to witness.

Last night, we celebrated with our Bible Study - Carl and Heather put on a wonderful BBQ for everyone. Jordan had class unfortunately, but Liz came all the way from Russia to fill in. The food and fellowship were great; we celebrated Lehlani's birthday and their new car! Yeah! Caleb brought his iPhone for everyone to say: "Oooooohhhh!". Seriously, it is pretty cool - good thing we are going overseas and away from the temptation... Well, I better get back to packing.

Last day at Intel

It is with very mixed emotions that I wrap up my last day at Intel. While Delynn and I are very excited about going to Germany, I also have to say that leaving my colleagues after 14+ years here is tough. It has been a great ride with a great company however, we are called to serve in Germany and there is no better place to be but where God calls. I'm already planning my lunch for next summer when we come back to the NW in July. I pared down all of my worldly Intel possessions to about 1/2 a box of awards and gave the rest away. There is something freeing about giving away stuff. I am going to so miss the carpool. I have had significant quality time with Carl and Kerry during those 2 to 3 hours a day, every day, week after week, month after month, year after year - what do they say, "It's not the years that make you old, it's the mileage..." I figure I have commuted about 7000 hours over the last dozen years from Vancouver. Hmmm - maybe I won't miss the carpool, but I will miss the friends. As a good friend of mine said: "I am one lucky guy!" Here's to leaping ahead.

To the four corners of the world

We have completed PFO and even got the certificate to prove it. This morning, we had a commissioning time with communion: what an incredibly significant time. We have met and made friends that will be going to almost every continent in the world. This week at PFO has been exhilarating and exhausting simultaneously. Delynn and I are really ready to get back home to the cool weather of Washington (not!). Hopefully, the humidity at least will be lower than here. Our school director has come to visit here at PFO for a couple of days, so we had time to discuss some things. Delynn has her contract signed and we found out that I may be responsible for the media center - including the library. Maybe we can talk Jan Kelley into coming over for a short term mission... The school is still in the process of finding our apartment in Weil am Rhein. Apparently, it is quite hard to find 1 or 2 bedroom apartments in our price range, so we may have to be a bit more flexible, but we will have somewhere to land when we get there at the end of July. We are praying for another teacher that may be added to the staff to help round out our team. We are preparing to get off to the airport now for the fun flight to WA. Off we go!

Home of the Blues

Last Sunday after church, the RIA group at PFO (along with our friends going to Kenya and Peru) went to Memphis for a walk about. We found the Peabody Hotel which is famous for the "walk of the ducks" - it takes too long to explain... Anyway, we found ourselves up on the roof of the hotel (read: hot and humid) for a view of the city. It was an ideal place to take a couple of snaps, so here is a picture of Kelly, Aubrey, Josie, Delynn and Michael.

Happy 4th from PFO

Greetings from Mississippi and the NICS Pre-Field Orientation. Delynn and I are spending two weeks in sunny (read: hot and humid) Southhaven MS. PFO is a two week course for all new NICS staff before they head overseas. We are in classes six days a week - with homework! It is like being back in school... However, we are learning huge amounts - working with Third Culture Kids, communication styles, educational philosophies, dealing with transition and stress, etc. Great stuff, but it feels like drinking through a firehose - it is often overwhelming and we have little time to process. I started coming down with a cold Tuesday. I pushed through today with plenty of cold tabs and tissue, but we decided to come back to the hotel after classes today so we can get some rest. Most folks will be watching the fireworks after dark, but I will be watching the Mythbusters marathon on Discovery.

We have been able to meet several of the RIA team during PFO. Kelly, Josie and Aubrey will be teaching with us in Germay - they are really, really great people, I am so looking forward to working with them next month. I have to say that I am a bit overwhelmed - this is stretching me a huge amount, moving from the familiar (USA, home, church, family, 14+ years as a SW eng) to the new (Germany, don't know where we will live, new church, new jobs, new team of colleagues). What I can say however is that God has given us such peace about this change that it truly passes normal understanding. Selling our home, cars, 90% of our household goods and moving to Germany seems natural - it is like this is what we are ment to do... Wow!

-Michael