old blog

Got an email from a GIAL friend and visited her xanga blog. Remembered that I had had a xanga blog myself a few years back. I kind of forgot about it. I guess I'll probably forget about this one too, someday.

Anywho, it's a neat little flashback - my old xanga blog.

we survived

So, we had a feast last night with all the VMS students and staff, potluck style. I had time after babysitting to whip up Italian lentils, then off to Jungle Jumpoff. People hung out until about 8PM, then went home. I took it upon myself to keep the fire stoked while Rob, Tom and I chatted, until about 9PM. Then, Rob set up our air mattress and sleeping bags. We both slept reasonably well; the bags insulated us. The only place on my body that even got cold when the temperature dropped was my nose. I even had an extra sweatshirt and socks in the bag with me, keeping them warm in case I needed them, but I never did.

It was hard to get out of the bag in the morning. We had turned our shoes upside down to keep condensation out but they were still chilly, not much could prevent that. But, we did crawl out at 7AM. Chet had come to relieve us so we could go home and grab a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, make lattes ... all the basics. The fire had gone out overnight but I managed to eke enough of a hot coalness to revive it before I left to go home.

Last morning of recording. Recording is exhausting work. I kind of knew this from my song-sessions for Rob in the past. But then I've been able to quit when I feel like it. For this project, everything was "go, go, go!" It's just reading, waiting, hitting buttons and acting but it takes a lot out of you. We were all well ready to call it quits at noon. They're tearing down this afternoon but I don't think I'm going out to help. In all the excitement, I kind of let the apartment go to seed over the past few days. I'll probably pop over to the classroom for debriefing, though.

We're planning on seeing "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" tonight; the first movie worth seeing that we've seen advertised in a while.

Jungle Jumpoff

What a morning! I was out at Jungle Jumpoff with the VMS class yesterday afternoon for the first round of recording sessions but I didn't spend any time in their makeshift studios because I was watching a couple of the kids while their parents did recording. This morning, though, I was a prompter and a recording assistant. I was also a chaser away of noisy birds at one point. Not much we could do about the planes circling overhead though, just wait for a break in the racket.

This afternoon, I'm going to do childcare back here at the apartments. Better access to potty facilities. Plus, no campfire to watch and the bonus of a fenced-in playground. But I'm going back to spend the night tonight. The VMSers are taking turns spending the night with the gear so they don't need to tear down every evening. Rob and Paul Closius are taking a shift for the evening and I've agreed to stay too. After all, we did get cool sleeping bags for the Guatemala trip a couple of years ago. Might as well get some mileage out of them.

Marshmallows ... mmm.

Solomon's prayer and the Lord's prayer

I was looking into the verse where Solomon says "you and you only know the hearts of man", which has been used to support the idea that only God can read a person's mind and that demons can't know what we're thinking. While I didn't make a whole lot of headway on that, I did notice how similar Solomon's prayer-before-the-people was to the Lord's prayer, albeit much longer (by at least 25 verses).

It's an interesting study, to see how they line up, side by side.

Solomon – 1 King’s 8:23-53
Jesus – Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4

It was also interesting to me how Solomon surrounded the prayer, in his addresses to the people before and afterward. Sort of a little model for corporate prayer:

BEFORE:

• Declaration of God's prior works; 1Ki 8:14-16
• Reminder of God's promise; 1Ki 8:17-19
• Assurance of personal place in the promise; 1Ki 8:20-21
• Turning eyes toward God; 1Ki 8:22

PRAYER

AFTER:

• Turning eyes toward the people of God; 1Ki 8:54-55
• Reminder of God's promise; 1Ki 8:56
• Blessing the people of God; 1Ki 8:57-60
• Reminder of personal responsibility in fulfillment of the promise; 1Ki 8:61
• Sacrifice; 1Ki 8:62

Color therapy

I've really been into light greens lately and was wondering what that said about me. Tripped over these little gems:







From Mariam Nour's website. Not that I know anything about Mariam. Just thought these pictures were fun. Some people may remember my orange phase. Rob is, as always, turquoise/blue.

Field trip

I went with the VMS class on Thursday to visit a couple of audio systems; a professional "basement" recording studio and an outdoor performance hall.

Jesse and Lyn in Rwanda

Some friends of ours have been in Rwanda for the last little while,
documenting the rebuilding process. Here's their blog
.

New photos

I'm putting photos in a flickr.com database as my earthlink website ran out of storage space. You can see new and old photos here.

Here's a sampling:

New week

Trying to stick to a schedule ... gak. Everything takes longer than I allow for it. But I gotta get cracking on some things that can't be done on a computer. Realizing that I am just a month away from moving again. Gotta reduce the stuff and make arrangements for where to put our boxes (and my person) for the time between this course and my Greek session this summer.

Oh, and apply for this aforementioned Greek course.

Photo album

To see larger versions of pictures displayed here (and more), go to our photo album site.

at the Crossroads coffeehouse

photo taken by June Veith, April 2, 2005

Radio ga-ga

Rob's first recording project finishes up this week. During the planning portion of the course, the group that Rob and I were in wrote and planned an 8 minute radio program. This week, a new group that he is in recorded and produced it. I got to be a part of the hullabaloo on Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday, I sang and played guitar for "You move me" (previously recorded by Garth Brooks and Susan Ashton, on separate occasions). Yes, you read right ... played guitar. Not a strength of mine. But they had to use different techniques for each recording session and for this one they were only allowed to use one microphone. That meant skillfull placement of the mike somewhere between the guitar and my mouth. And I had to do it through at least 3 times, for each member of the group to have a shot at prompting, setting levels and recording. My poor, tender fingies!

On Tuesday, they were able to use 2 mikes and Rob played guitar while I sang. We did a tune about the Good Shepherd by Elizabeth Stone, friend of ours.









It's been a busy week for me, oddly enough. Now that I'm gearing up for the next phase (post-VMS course), I feel like I have tons to do. I've even made a daily schedule, to make sure I don't go crazy with one thing and let the rest slide. For example, the next thing on my schedule for this morning is ... dishes. [sigh].

Chicago trip

So, on Monday morning, I got on a plane to go to LBT headquarters for the week.

Monday - Arrive around lunch time, go to lunch with Sharon. We spend the afternoon discussing our plan to get the most out of the week and answering whatever burning questions I brought with me. Stop at the grocery store on the way to the place where I am staying (with a friend of LBT, Betsy) to pick up breakfast and lunch items. I spend a quiet evening at the house.

Tuesday - Sharon picks me up at 8AM, we go to the office. This morning I am occupied with meeting with people around the office, getting a better feel for what they do, putting faces solidly to names and discovering how their job interacts with and supports mine. In the afternoon, I start watching videos done by other missionaries as models for the type of thing Rob and I could prepare to bring to churches when we start speaking. Sharon and I leave the office mid-afternoon to make it to south-side Chicago before rush hour. We meet with Jim & Pam, missionaries in Cameroon. They give me a personal picture of reasonable expectation and possibilities, based on their years of experience. We talk, listen and laugh until late in the evening ... a good time was had by all.



Wednesday - I spend the morning watching videos and reading informational materials. I also get the chance to ask more questions of anyone who is around, as questions come up. In the afternoon, more reading. I leave early to catch the Metra train to Oak Park, to meet with Paul & Ali for an early dinner. They are currently in the membership process with LBT so it was good to meet with them and debrief on our recent experiences at GIAL in Dallas. Plus, they're alot of fun so it was cool to hang out with them as much as it was possible.

Thursday - Meetings in the morning with the rest of the LBT office staff. Continued with reading in the afternoon. I was trying to get as much reading and watching done as I could, trying to cut down on take-home and ship-back materials. Sharon and I went to a bistro and brewery managed in part by her son for a yummy meal and tasty brews ... a nice "last night" dinner.



Friday - Last-minute questions answered and materials photocopied in the morning. I picked up a stack of informational books to take back to Waxhaw. We left just after lunch to get me to the plane.

A successful trip: I come away from Chicago with a clearer perspective on the direction Rob and I will be taking as his course ends this summer and a more concrete sense of the task at hand as we prepare for our "partnership development" phase, beginning this August. A big part of our apprehension was related to the idea that we wouldn't have a physical address following the end of May. Where would our stuff go? Where would we get our mail? Is it possible to function without actually living somewhere? I can see now that, with careful planning and prior clear communication with friends and family, this can be a great opportunity to have sort of a "bon voyage" visit with all the people closest to us prior to leaving town. We just need to learn how to pack light.

Rob's parents visit

They rolled into town in the evening on Tuesday, March 29. We had them staying in the apartment next door to us, which was convenient. That night, we had dinner at Mama Lena's in downtown Waxhaw. Rob was in class each day but I was free so I hung out with them most of the time.

Wednesday - Rob was off in the morning so we go a chance to chit chat over breakfast and walk the grounds before lunch. We all had lunch in the cafeteria with the rest of the JAARS crew. When Rob went back to class in the afternoon, we visited the gift shop and the housing office, were we got directions to the airport for the following Monday (they had agreed to drop me off for my flight to Chicago). Later, we went into Waxhaw and visited an antique shop and the bead store. Dennis was "very patient" in the bead store. We picked Rob up back at the JAARS center and headed for the gym in Monroe. Dennis did the PACE workout with me and June did the bicycles. When we were fully exhausted, we went to Chick-fil-a; a regular thing for Rob and I but a new thing for Dennis and June.

Thursday - Dennis and June and I left early in the morn to drive to Savannah, GA and back. Lola, Dennis' cousin, is moving to Florida where her husband-to-be lives so we were bringing down some of her belongings for her. It was a long trip but it was good to see Lola and her new beau. We had true southern food at the Holiday Inn buffet just outside of Savannah and were surrounded by what looked like military police. I couldn't decide whether to feel safer or not. We had dinner at the Outback steakhouse in Columbia, SC on the way back.

Friday - We had a pretty laidback day. Dennis and I went to class in the morning to hear my friend Kim give a presentation on "the recordist character". After lunch, I wasn't feeling so great so I spent the better part of the afternoon in bed. I stayed home while Rob and his folks went to Bojangles in Waxhaw for dinner.

Saturday - The big day! Rob and I were doing a jazz gig at the Crossroads coffeehouse in the evening so we didn't want to get too worn out. We had a practice in the morning with Ken and Karl while Dennis and June relaxed back at the apartment. Three of the four of us in the band weren't feeling quite up to par so we were debating whether to go ahead with the gig or not but, in the end, passion prevailed. We went to the Andrew Jackson museum and the 8 Legs Gallery with the folks in the afternoon before coming home to get ready to perform. It was a good show. Rob played upright bass and I percussed and sang. I did Autumn Leaves, Summertime and The Girl From Ipanema. People were amused by my lyric source; the coffeehouse has wireless internet access so I downloaded lyrics to my PDA. I even got and sang Autumn Leaves in French, which was a surprise (hopefully pleasant) for my bandmates. Our performance was well-received. We all went home giddy and exhausted.

Sunday - We went to Spirit of Joy church in Matthews. June particularly enjoyed the service. I think she'd be an attender, if she lived here. In the afternoon, we cleaned up the apartment as they were moving to another spot on campus for their final evening, one where they wouldn't have to clean up in the morning as we were headed for the airport way early on Monday. We just kind of hung out for the rest of the day, ending off with dinner at Mama Lena's in the evening. We called it an early night as Rob was sniffly and others among us were feeling slightly run down from the week's excitement.

Monday - Off to the airport at 6:30AM. More to come later ...

Aaaagh!

No, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth. Yes, I am way behind in my blogging. But I have great reasons for that:

• Rob's parents were here for a week and I was totally focused on them for the week
• The following week, I was in Chicago; I got back Friday night

So, I'm back now, trying to catch up on household things. Will blog in a more detailed way on the events of the last 2 weeks within the next couple of days. Tune in for more!