Watch the Walk

I've got so many words, but very little order to them. 100%.  Fully funded. Wow. A million thanks to everyone who has been, is, and will be a part of this. You individually and collectively rock. PTL, I'm Africa bound!

It's pouring down rain outside, and today I'm sitting inside, nursing a mug of rooibos tea, supplemented by honey and lime. I had a cold this last week and lost my voice. Last night I had a meeting with friends in the Portland area, and by the end of it my voice was gone again. Tonight I've got another meeting, then another couple tomorrow. Please, please pr-y that my voice holds out a couple more days. I've got 90% of my monthly support now. With two days to go until the deadline, it's tight. But we serve the G-d of the impossible, don't we? I put a "shoutout" on Facebook this afternoon, asking if anyone had a question I should answer on my blog. This is the one that came in: How has my homeschool experience played a part in where I'm at today?  Man, that's a big question! I was homeschooled all the way from birth to highschool graduation, then after that I went to college. [And yes, the transition went well, I got good grades, and graduated.]...

I've got 6 days to go, and I'm at 78% of my monthly support, and 100% of my one-time expenses covered!  This means I'm still looking for $460/month in support. With all of the occasions I've had to talk lately, I'm running a little low on words. But I recently rediscovered the following book excerpt, so I'll copy it down for consideration. “There is an admirable air of humility about the statement that the truth is much greater than any one person or any one religious tradition can grasp. The statement is no doubt true, but it can be used against the truth when it is used to neutralize any affirmation of the truth .  How does the speaker know that the truth is so much greater than this particular affirmation of it—For example, that “J'sus Chr-st is the truth”? What privileged access to reality does he have?  In the famous story of the blind men and the elephant, so often quoted in the interests of religious agnosticism, the real point of the story is consta...

As I was wandering through a graveyard* the other day I told G-d, "If you're closing this door, you're really gonna have to slam it in my face instead of making things really difficult. 'Cause things getting difficult isn't going to stop me." The conversation continued and eventually I left for home. And then my support increased by 20%. Two weeks from my financial clearance deadline, I've still got $765 to raise in monthly support . But things are picking up, and it's neat to see how it all is pulling together. Oh, and when I mentioned in the last post that my support target might be higher than I thought?  It turned out to be lower. I'm still aiming at $2,085/month, but my one-time costs are actually $167 less. Surprise! This weekend I'm holding a fundraising dinner. In case you haven't seen the details on Facebook, here's the scoop: -- Time: 5:30-8:00 PM, Saturday the 21st -- Place: Willapa Harbor Community Center, South Bend -- ...

How do you walk on a tight rope? There's the hard way... teetering along, seemingly miles from any support. Then there's another way... with each hand on a friend's shoulder.  "That's cheating!" you say.  No, not really. It just makes the show less about the skill of the tight rope walker and more about the support and teamwork involved in attaining success. It takes commitment though, walking alongside someone for a long period of time. Crazy Horse Monument: great vision, even greater determination to see it through Sometimes life is less about showing off your balance and more about sharing the tension. This afternoon I was contemplating all of the things I'm trying to balance: -- work -- support raising -- planning a fundraiser -- making phone calls -- personal life and friendships As it turns out, this isn't a solo venture. I appreciate all of you standing with me in this endeavor, creating success with me.  Support raising: I thought I hit 50% of...

Hard to believe that it's August already! Around home, August has historically been a very busy month. This one will be no exception to that pattern. With my sister and brother-in-law expecting #1 any time now, the family is all making plans to be in California to meet the new addition. Besides that, brother #1 is moving to Michigan for grad school and brother #2 is returning to college in Alberta. Then, of course, there's me. I'm finishing up one job next week, getting things situated for taking a break from another job, making phone calls and finding places to speak, making a movie to share at places I can't speak in person, working on my outbound checklist, getting vaccinations... and the list goes on. Oh, and support raising. Support raising. I've got two months until my financial deadline. Two months to see G'od work in raising funds. Oh I'm doing my part. But it's going to require more than that. Some words today caught my attention. Charles Bridge...

I just got word this week of my official departure date: October 29th for Altlink headquarters to check out. October 31st I leave for Africa November 1st, Lo'rd willing, I'll be there. This means I have 2.5 months left for support raising and 3.5 months left on this continent. Yay!