On My Mind...

For some reason tonight (and lately) I have a ton of stuff on my mind. I just need to get it out and maybe then I can think more clearly on the stuff I should be doing. Cher is really good at listening to me harp, whine and complain about stuff but I don't think it is always fair for her to bare the brunt of that stuff. So I will attempt to "dump" it here and see if that helps =)

I am totally geared up for my mission trip to Uganda but in the same sense I feel like I am running out of time! I have so much that I feel I need to accomplish before then, sometimes I feel like I don't know how to get it all done.

Here's SOME of what needs to get done: medical stuff (shots, pills, etc.), VISA and other travel paperwork, fundraising, gear getting (for me and for stuff to take to the orphanage) -- side note: anyone with a trumpet or other brass instrument that you want to donate to the African Hearts boys home, please let me know ASAP -- communicating with team leaders from Colorado, figuring out money to take along (Canadian and/or American), Adoption paperwork, Sponsorship paperwork, finish taxes, sub plans, regular school work, yard work (hopefully planting a tree and grass seed plus the prep work to do so), Colony teachers' convention, Math Resource project for colony teachers, begin PAT review, begin photocopying and prepping for next year and most importantly making sure Cher and the kids are set for me being gone and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Speaking of praying, it sure seems like people we know are going through some very tough stuff right now. Please pray for Dan and Melody from our church. They are very heavily on my heart. Dan has been struggling with a VERY serious brain disease and medically it is not good BUT God can do anything, including heal Dan's brain. Pray for strength & endurance for Melody as she cares for Dan and their 3 kids through it all. Also pray for Pastor Dwight (the Pastor from Colorado leading the Uganda team), his wife Linn and their family. They are going through some major trials in their family! - house burning down, son Isaiah going through casting for his legs every week, daughter Autumn diagnosed with a tumor on her pituitary gland and more. You can read all about it on Linn's blog: A Place Called Simplicity Pray for me and the rest of the Uganda mission team that I am going with - pray for God's direction, open hearts, willing hands and God's safety while we seek to do His work in Uganda. Pray for Cher and the kids while we prepare for me being gone and while I am gone. I have never been away from Cheremi (except when she went to Jesse's wedding) since we were married and I have never been away from the kids for more then a day. This is pretty major, especially for Trae, who is already fretting about it! Pray for us as we plan for and carry out adopting one of the orphans at the Sanyu Babies Home in Uganda, where I will be doing some work. Pray for government favour both in Canada and Uganda as we go through the process. Man, there is so much more I could ask you to pray for, but if you even do some of these, it would be awesome!! Thanks! =)

What else? Well, some stuff has been bugging me about school lately - specifically some of my students. I just don't seem to be getting through to some of them and this can be quite frustrating! Some days I feel like "Why bother?" I need to find something that grabs their attention and makes them see that the things they are doing are not okay or acceptable. I believe their character is just as important as their academic achievement (probably more important) and try to teach them good character traits but it feels like an uphill battle daily sometimes. I will keep trying, but a glimmer of hope sometimes would be nice (and I do get these from some students sometimes, so that is good. It would be nice from other students too though).

Swine Flu is a huge topic right now. My question is: Why do they call it Swine Flu, if it didn't even come from pigs? (at least that's the info I am getting from some news reports - I haven't actually verified that myself) This has huge repercussions for anything involving pigs and the pig industry. For you non-meat eaters, it probably doesn't mean too much, since you weren't eating pig meat before this, but for those that do, it instills an unfounded and unnecessary fear of pork (at least for many, look at how different countries are reacting to North American Pork - closing imports completely until further notice). One thing I do know from my University days is that viruses, like the Flu, cannot survive when meat is cooked properly, so it is virtually impossible to get the Swine Flu from eating pork, unless you practice eating raw pig meat, which is disgusting and unsafe even before Swine Flu came around.

Anyways, that's what's on my brain tonight. I know I jumped around A LOT but the most important stuff to me was really the whole prayer part. God has really been putting praying for others on my heart lately, so thanks for listening!

Teach