Update on Preparations (#1)

     The theme for the English camp this year is "Cars." This includes not just cars, but racing and road signs and highways. My mother has taken on the job of making two car-themed frames for photo opportunities. She is very proud of them.

Angel was an unwilling participant.

     Besides making these frames we have been working on the English and Bible lessons that we will be using for the camp. My mother and I will be teaching the beginners English class together.  Each day we plan to have a theme. Some of these themes include Transportation or Colors and Number. We also plan to have a day for action verbs, since most of our other lessons are noun-heavy.

Can You Carry Your Carry-On?

     Luggage is essential if you are traveling anywhere. If you are taking a road-trip it doesn't matter what kind of suitcase you decide to bring, as long as it is big enough to hold all of your belongings, but small enough to fit in your car. When going on a plane, and especially when going on a trip overseas picking the right piece of luggage takes a bit more effort. Here are a few tips I have learned along the way:

1. 'Tis the Season
     Apparently March is the best time to buy luggage. This is because stores often offer discounts on their suitcases before the heavy travel season of summer hits.

2. All Good Things to Those Who Wait
     If it is not March and you do not have time to wait for the big discounts you can still get a good piece of luggage at a good price. Keep on the look out for sales.

3. Make Sure You Are Getting What You Want
     If there is a 3-piece luggage set on a huge discount, but you know that you only need the largest suitcase, don't buy it. Even if the set is being sold for a fraction of what is was originally worth, if you don't need all of what you are getting, then don't buy it.

4. Weight Matters
     Go for a suitcase that is as light as possible without compromising durability. Every pound counts.

5. Spend Money When You Have To
     My mother and I leave for our trip in July and we needed to buy a new suitcase or two before the trip. We saw that a local retail store was having a sale and decided to check it out. When I went on my mission trip last year I took my Dad's old suitcase. It is by no means heavy, but we were able to find a new suitcase that was the size we wanted and at least 4 pounds lighter. It may not sound like much, but when you have a weight limit on your luggage and you are the one lugging it around you do not want your suitcase to be any heavier than it needs to be.

Update on Support (#2)

     My apologies for not posting at all these last two weeks. Life has been extremely busy with finals and graduation, but I am done with all of that now.

     Had I set aside the time to type up an update I would actually have a graph to post. As it is, our funding has sky-rocketed. Currently we are 113% funded and unfortunately, I know of no way to express that on a graph.
 
     It has been very humbling to see how God was providing for us on this trip. Your donations have been beyond generous and we really appreciate it. Thanks to your support we have been able to reach full funding. All the money that we are not able to use will go back to the church to be used for other missions trips, so no matter what your donations are being used for a good cause.

     Now that funding is no longer a concern (again, we have you to thank for that!) please pray that my mother and I will be able to complete our other preparations. We still need to work on our lessons as well as purchase supplies. Your prayers mean the world to us and we can not thank you enough.

An Artful Weekend

     This Friday I had the privilege of going to an art show exhibiting the work of graduating graphic design majors from a local college. It was a last-minute change of plans, but I am very glad I went. I am planning on majoring in Graphic Design at that college myself, so it was really cool to see what I would be expected to do my senior year and to gain inspiration from some talented designers.

     The next day was 'prom' (my school has a Banquet). It is put on by the Junior class and every year they choose a theme. This year's theme was an art gala, combined with the whodunnit mystery of a stolen painting. Besides the stolen painting (which we never did see) many other paintings and pieces of artwork were on display. My favorite piece was the Chihuly hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Instead of glass it had been made with plastic bottles, but it could have passed for the real thing!

     There was also a large-scale sculpture, a Calder mobile, and dozens of paintings. All of the paintings had been done by the teachers or members of the Junior class, but most were recreations of classic pieces. We had a Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet's "Water Lilies," and, of course, Van Gogh's "Starry Night". Even though the paintings were recreations I was impressed to see how close they came to the original artwork.

     Art is something that we so often take for granted, but it can have a profound enrichment in our lives. Art is humanity's attempt to recreate God's glory. I want to encourage you to seek Christ and make an effort to become more like him this week. As my fellow upperclassmen did in their paintings try to recreate God's love for others in your life.