Actually, so much has happened, and expanded, and changed that I am more convinced of the realty of God's grace than I ever have been. Even so, my practice and expression of what it means to be a Christ-follower has changed much over the last few years. Maybe it comes with age? I don't know. I do know that so far I have met the goal of not becoming a cranky old cynic. (Well, sometimes cranky and sometimes cynical, but usually not at the same time.) I love watching the Father work. I love enjoying his grace and joining with Him in His work. There is no greater joy.That brings me to today. It is 9:30 am, and I am sitting in the Vancouver, B.C. airport, having just finished the first two flights of an itinerary that includes fourteen flights, and two train trips from little old Corvallis, to Portland, then to Vancouver, B.C., then to Korea, on to China, around China, on to Vietnam, back to Korea, then to Canada, to Portland, on the shuttle to Corvallis, and finally to my bed! Yes, that's right, in fourteen days there will be fourteen flights, two train trips, two shuttle trips, and numerous bus rides in China.
Crazy, huh? Yes. Crazy and tiring and exciting and exactly what I am glad to be doing right now, because what comes of out of these trips is something that changes people forever. It is worth every miserable, horn-honking bus ride and every too-hot flight where someone is producing odors for the rest of us to endure. The ripples flowing out from this trip will have an effect I will likely never know on this earth. That's cool. It is also a privilege and I am thankful and humbled to play a part in this adventure.
If you want to follow what is happening on this trip, I will try to post to this blog. I'm not sure I will be able to post from all locations. Those little internet-watchers, well, in some places they can be pesky.
In any case, if I can't post from all locations, I will keep writing when I'm gone and update when I return. Thanks for praying and thanks for being a part of our lives.
