A lot to say.

You know, I’ve had quite a lot of things to say for quite a while now, and I just haven’t got to it.

 

And, so… here goes.

 

I’m starting to feel alive again.

 

Those first few weeks back were really rough. I was worn out and having a hard time getting excited in the fog of exhaustion. I was scheduled to chat with my church about my time in Sudan, and I was honestly a bit wary about it. I felt a little drained from answering the same questions over and over again and was worried I’d be giving pat answers and not really conveying how my time really was and how truly thankful I was for them partnering with me.

 

So, that’s how I went into my presentation. Not exactly on my game.

 

But instead of drawing more energy from me, being there with my church put a new fire in me. They were just so interested, so passionate. (And they hung with me even though I’m a bit of a bumbling fool.)

 

Our team was warned a lot before we left—as part of our re-entry prep—that we needed to have realistic expectations for our homecoming. More bluntly, that we should be prepared for no one to care. For no one to even ask about our two years in Sudan or about the plight of the people there. Even for people to avoid us.

 

But, I dunno… That’s definitely not been my experience. The basement of the church was full that night. People’ve been asking about my kids by name. They’ve been apologizing for asking too many questions. And I’m afraid I’m bordering on offending folks by not getting together with them yet to tell them about things.

 

I guess I’m just spoiled rotten. But thankful.

 

And, like I said, feeling alive again. I left that night with tired feet but an excited, energetic heart. I couldn’t wait to learn all about JESUS Film so I could get them in on that, too.

 

It’s safe to say it was a huge turning point for me. I’m back on the go. Thanks for running with me. :)

Hardcore.

Give ya a little idea of how intense this conference is.

 

The fire alarm went off during one of our meetings yesterday. The speaker looked skeptically at the flashing strobes, then back at us—and told us to stay where we were.

 

The building could have been burning down around us (though I’m not sure how that would be possible, since they keep it at approximately -20F) and he’s telling us we’re just going to wait it out, see if they’re for serious.

 

Hilarious.

 

Also interesting, in our notes there’s a schedule to help us get an idea of how many hours for support raising we can build into our week. It’s from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. Time is blocked off on Sunday for church, obviously. And meals. (I do enjoy eating.) And—this is the interesting part—a date on Saturday night at 9.

 

Haha.

 

How innocently optimistic. ;)

The Great Outdoors.

We had a 12 minute break just now.

 

I used the opportunity to walk out the hotel doors to the pool area, turn in a circle a few times and come back in.

 

I’m working diligently to make sure I haven’t come to Florida just to sit inside a hotel conference room all day.

 

It’s really a losing battle.

 

But, I’m learning a lot of good stuff about Cru and about trusting God to bring in everything I need to help bring the gospel to lots of lost people. Gathering up ministry partners isn’t really my favorite part of my ministry, but it certainly is part of the ministry, nonetheless. I’ve seen God use it in really interesting ways, and I’m anxious to see what He’s got up his sleeve this time!

Wow.

I’m excited. I’m really, really genuinely excited.

 

About what’s coming next, I mean.

 

The JESUS Film Project.

 

I’m writing from the chilly comforts of my hotel room down here in Orlando, where I’ve spent the last few days locked inside learning lots and lots about Campus Crusade for Christ and the JFlick. And I’m getting really, really excited. (And, yeah, I guess I already said that.)

 

I’m getting a bit suspicious that a lot of the future campus and international staff folks are jealous of me, because I’m going to have the coolest job—I’ll be helping lots and lots of people hear about Jesus for the first time.

 

That’s the kind of thing we Christians get jealous about.

 

We went on this tour at Cru headquarters that was all about the JESUS Film. They showed us how the recordings were done—what kind of amazing work the Travel Team does with getting clean recordings even in the bush and syncing the voices to the original film, despite differences in syllable counts and everything. It’s really amazing. But really hard to explain in this blog.

 

So I’ll give up trying. Alas, it’s all really cool. And I’m going to start blitzing through my schedule so I can meet with lots of you and show you the videos and give you a chance to get in on all of this. I think you’re going to be just as excited as I am!