Pablo & Jan in NC

Right now, we feel really close to our Mexico missionary identity since we are helping to coordinate Pablo & Jan's schedule in NC for the next 3 1/2 weeks. They are visiting churches, meeting with pastors, reconnecting with old friends and generally doing their part to enrich and grow the partnership between the Tzeltal Presbytery and Salem Presbytery. Their schedule is available on the Facebook group, Livin' on Pablo Time, but for those who don't have Facebook accounts, major church-based plans can be summarized as follows:

• Sunday, October 26th - Guilford Park Presbyterian
• Saturday, Nov. 1 - Hawfields Presbyterian's evening contemporary service
• Sunday, Nov. 2 - Starmount Presbyterian - morning worship
• Sunday afternoon, Nov. 2 - Caswell County Presbyterian churches at Red House Pres
• Sunday, Nov. 9 - North Wilkesboro Presbyterian
• Wed., Nov. 12 - Decatur Presbyterian, Decatur, GA
  
• Sunday, Nov. 16 - First Presbyterian Church, Boone, NC
• Wednesday, Nov. 19 - Rumple Memorial Presbyterian, Blowing Rock, NC
• Thursday, Nov. 20th - departure to return to Grand Rapids, MI

Feel free to join us at any of these gatherings and let us know if you have specific questions. As always, we're grateful to have these two incredible examples of Christian servant leaders in our midst, and we invite you to reconnect with them while they're here.

Is there value?

When we lived in Chiapas, there was an internal sense that people were genuinely interested in what we were doing, how our lives were being transformed through the missionary experience, etc., and so there was a sense that we should be writing about it. As time went on, we heard from people that they really did enjoy reading this blog, really appreciated the inside-look at life on the mission field, and so forth, so that internal sense was validated. Now though, being back in NC, it's really hard to know.

Does it make sense to keep writing? Do people still read now that we're back on American soil? Do the ramblings have value or should we share some kind of less-frequent email update about what's happening in Chiapas and leave it at that? Hard to know, y' know? So what do you think? If your here reading, you must have chosen to do so, and your input is valuable to us.

Life in NC is good. We are continuing to be challenged by the time-sensitive nature of this culture and other aspects of American life that we had come to gladly relinquish in Mexico. On the other hand, God is continuing to place important opportunities for ministry and service in our path every day. John's work with ECHO to help churches start medical ministries is exploding! Our consulting with Prodigals and Ginny's counseling at Trinity Center are keeping us both busy in Winston-Salem. And of course, Holly & Maggie are running in a hundred different directions being teenaged servants, students and friends. Young Life has proven to create the perfect vehicle for making new friends for Holly, and Maggie is plugged back into her lifelong best friend, Stephanie.

So, let us know your thoughts about the blog continuing (just comment on the blog posting).

God is good - all the time. All the time - God is good.
Amen.