Saturday, December 11th, 2004

We opened the new mission at the Ambers apartments today with a Christmas party sponsored by the youth and middle schooler at FBC Duluth.

We had a terrific time. 

Ash and I are still working diligently on the View from Heaven project.

Rainy, cold weather made it uncomfortable.

We went by to see Nick race.  I missed it AGAIN!  I went outside to take a break from the hot, chlorine gas indoor pool atmosphere.

Ash and Emily and I went to eat Thai food.  We had the coconut soup and I ate some Tiger Cry--which is a sirloin beef with this really strong sour/hot/red chili powder sauce.  Ex cell ente.

Peace.

We spent the last two nights in Dillard, Georgia at the Holiday Inn Express.  It has an indoor, heated pool with a terrific jacuzzi.  We enjoyed those!

A and I went shopping.  We ate at some local restaurants.  K and I went for walks.  Nothing too exciting, but needed.

We also went to the Tallullah Gorge overlook.  It's where I turned 30, at the bottom of that gorge--the deepest east of the Mississippi.

I got most of the labels and stuffing done for the Christmas mailout.  I still have to be the address on them and write the letters and then put in the gift.

Better get to it.

Peace.

We had such a good time at our Thanksgiving party.  We had Bill and Nell along with Orene, David, Ruth, Ali and Jason, Bob, Ann, Katie, Laura, Mary and our family.  We got a honey baked ham/turkey for the meat.  Lots of delicious vegetables.

After we cleaned up and rested, Ash and I went over to Stone Mountain to hike a bit.  We went to the encrypted section that we're trying to figure out what it spells.  I think it's a warning to the other Indians not to go up any further.  I found another symbol at the very bottom of the mountain that I had never seen before that looks like a door being barred from entry.  Anyway, may just be all in my imagination.

Nick came over to visit with Ashley. 

We enjoyed a good day with yummy leftovers.

Peace.

I spent a lot of time on the phone today.  Important conversations with Drew Grubbs about the future of youth ministry and on site missions.

I delivered the five Viewsonic monitors to Bennett at the Willow Branch mission.  I also gave them one of the overheads.

I decided on the number of gifts to give out to our sponsors this year and picked them out at Pho Loc in Asian Square.  I got some small Old Fishermen made out of clay.   I think they're cute.

Rainy again today.  Depressing.

Peace.

Monday

I took the van on a logistics shuffle.  I started at FBC Doraville where I picked up chairs and tables with the help of Mike Chandler.  He had a bed for the use of the mission at Glennbrooke.  They lost the key and had to drill out the old lock.  We got it all moved in before it rained.

Next stop the Ambers where I dropped off a table and 8 chairs.

Then over to the Learning Tree near Perimeter Mall to pick up 21 monitors and 5 overhead projectors.

Back to FBCD to offload all but 5 of the monitors. 

Over to Azlea to help the kids.  Did a lot of Spanish homework with Tabias and Jouvens.

Rainy day.

SUNDAY

The family went to Grace this morning.  Raining pretty hard.  Yuk.  Porter Grant, an Australian spoke.

We got Popeys on the way home, then went to Best Buy to pick J up a new mouse.  The other one wasn't working properly.

I rested then went back to Azalea.  Had a meeting with Kelly and Jason Pope.  Brought pizza to the kids at the mission.

We watched Young Frankenstein.  Love that movie.

Peace.

Ashley's friend Emily spent the night with us last night.  She broke up with her boy friend Cody and Ashley had to comfort here.  We got up around 8:30 this morning and then went on over to Golden Corral for breakfast.  We brought home some extra bacon for Thanksgiving.

I took a short siesta and then K and I walked to the park.  She went barefooted, I hope she'll be ok tomorrow.

I raked the yard and cleaned up outside for about an hour, then got cleaned up.

My whole family went to see National Treasure with Nick Cage this evening.  I really enjoyed it.  Full of clues and historical trivia.

One of the pictures I took on Stone Mountain yesterday had some unknown writing on it.  I thought it might be Cherokee.  Some of the letters look familiar, but not all of them.

I'm tired.

Peace.

I had an excellent "me" day today.  I dropped Jesse off at school (he had a field trip to Dahlonaga) and then went to Stone Mountain. I hiked the three miles up and down the Mountain, then felt good enough to change into shorts and ran the five miles around it in 49:10:16.  It's really not too hard a course.  Nothing like I normally run.

Eat a cheese steak sandwich then went home to check on the girls around 2:30.  K was pooped and went to take a nap, while Ashley and I went to Walmart to get the groceries and some supplies for the house. 

I got some vitamins.  I need to start taking a multi-vitamin regularly.

My achilles tendons hurt.  They feel fine while I'm running, but later, oh la la.

I picked up Jesse at the Ingles when he got back from his field trip, then took Ashley over to watch her boyfriend Nick swim in a competition against Shiloh.

Later K and I went back to Walmart to walk around (the weather was crummy outside) and we bought some new bed shoes.

Ashley has a friend over, Emily. 

Peace.

I met with Ron Owens this morning.  He's the co-director of the mission at the Corners with Anna Lisa.  It was good to talk about plans and strategy with a fellow field operative.

Got the Thanksgiving list of the Azalea kids together for my partners at First United Methodist Church in Chamblee.  I took the list over to the church.  If they want to we'll work in three other complexes as well.

I helped the kids at the mission this afternoon.  It seemed like they had a ton of homework today.

Looks like it's supposed to be rainy for the next several days.  I hope I can get a run in tomorrow.  I've been having sore achilles tendons, so I may not be able to run a super long way.

Peace.

I got the final word on the Ambers mission and we are green for go!  I took over the liability insurance letter to them this morning.

I also signed the insurance documents for our provider and took them to their office this afternoon.

We had our monthly manager's meeting at Sheltering Arms.  Rita couldn't come because of a shoulder injury.  The food didn't show up either!  Ay caramba.

After the meeting I ran 3 miles in Chamblee to Remington and back to Azalea.  Beautiful weather.  I'm so glad I didn't wait till I got back home.  I have a change of clothes and shampoo and stuff at Azalea now.

Didn't rest, however.

Helped Jouvens with his chemistry project.  I helped him find 5 magazine articles and 3 newspaper articles.  Not a lot in the paper on chemistry topics.

Today marks the 7th year we've been at the 1735 Pitty Pat Ct. house.  Great years!!

I got the next Stuart Woods set of tapes at the library tonight.  Almost finished Dixie City Jams by James Lee Burke.  Books on tape rock.

Love.

Tim

Got a haircut.  Clean cut, all American.

Did the shopping at Krogers.  Deposited check into the bank.  Got supplies for some kids at the mission.

I've enjoyed watching videos about Tai Chi.  I'm learng some Sun and Yang forms.

Cleaned up the mission at the Creek.  The kids got in and tore the place up.  I straightened for over an hour.

Picked up a computer for Jemillin's family.  Mike Chandler brought it to us.

The new Samsung 530 camera I got had a battery problem.  I changed it at Walmart today.

I took Ash and Kathy to El Torerro's.  Ex cell ente.

Pooped.

Monday

I had a lunch meeting with John Mileson at Craker Barrell.  He's with Marketplace Ministries.  I shared our vision with him for the apartment population.  He's a member of Mike Riggin's church.

Helped the Azalea kids.

Came home and ran 2 miles in the dark, 40 degrees.

Peace.

I had a great time preaching at FBC Doraville this morning.  I spoke from Hebrews 12:1-15.  Running the race with Determination, Discipline and Direction.

I spent the day with my family.  I gave Ashley the old Samsung camera to use since it's working erratically while I'm using the new 530 camera.

Ashley helped me fix the stove.  We took it out of the cabinent, took the back off, I rewired the lower heating element with new wire nuts, put it all together and it WORKED!  PTL!

I took my girls over to Provino's this evening for some delicious canneloni en bianca.  Excellente!

I worked on email and got ready for tomorrow. 

Peace.

Today we had the Johnson Ferry Disciple Now teams in forty locations around Atlanta with over 400 middle and high school students.  They had balloons and ball games.  Played with the kids and picked up trash around the complex.

I covered the missions around Clarkston.  Most were well attended.  The teams and the kids at the missions had a great time.

I walked to the park with Kathy just over 3 miles.

Nick took Ashley out for her 16th birthday today to the Hyatt with the restaurant that turns around at the top of the building.

I purchased a new camera this afternoon. I got the upgrade of the Samsung 420 that I bought from Walmart just under a year ago.  This version is the Samsung 530.  It has a whole array of manual controls.  I will really look forward to learning those, especially gaining control of the apeture and shutter speed.  I took over 8,000 pictures with the 420, and it still works, but it's started freezing.  I'll have to take the batteries out and then turn it on again or it gets stuck.  Won't do anything.  Bahd luck.  The new camera cost us $238--marked down this weekend from $278.  It's a 5 mp camera which is incredible!  Father, we ask a mighty blessing on this camera.  Thank you for helping us with the 420.  Lead me to take even better record of the work that You are doing!

Love.

FRIDAY

I spent this morning over at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church getting the leaders ready for the Disciple Now Outreach Events going on around Atlanta this Saturday.  Bobby led the training with the help of Alisa

I met Jerry Samuels and his friends Melissa a Katka (from Ukraine) at the meeting.  Then I took them over to the new mission at Glenbrooke.  I filed all the paperwork and got that ready to roll.  We took a look at the new apartment.  Looks great!

We ate at the Mediteranean Deli.  Love their Gyros!

This area of Franklin Road in Marietta is a real growth area for our ministry.

I got on home asap so I get help Ashley get ready for her party.

We had eight kids over.  TONS of pictures on the web site.

We enjoyed a mint chocolate chip ice cream and devil's food cake.  Tons of junk food was had by all.  The crew also enjoyed making balloon animals, playing with little squirt guns and bouncing in our mini moon walk.

I think Ashley really is having a good time.  She has three of her girl friends spending the night.  They're laying out in the moon walk right now.

I'm looking forward to our trip to New York together.

Groovy.

Today was rainy.  I dropped J off at school and then went over to IHOP for some pancakes and an omelette.

Then I shot over to Pleasant Hill Party City to purchase a jumping game for the kids.  It's a miniature moon walk that I can carry with me when we do Outreach Events.  It was on sale for $300.  Because it was on clearance and I also got 30% off I walked out of the store with it for under $150.  Excellente.

A and J got home early from school today.  A and I went over to the bookstore to look at books about New York.  We hope to go in January if everything works out.

K and I went to El Torreros tonight.  Some of the best chips and salsa ever.

I watched a Val Kilmer movie today, "Spartan."  Pretty weak.

Peace.

WEDNESDAY

Today was Johnson Ferry Day.  I went to the church to drop off the 40 bags of animal twisty balloons for the big event this Saturday with their Disciple Now group.  They have over 1,000 middle and high school kids participate in that event.  The big difference is that this year they are helping me at 40 missions simultaneously!  This will be the single biggest Outreach Event in the history of Metro Atlanta!

I had a long talk with Alisa Campbell and her boss Bobby Vaughn just to make sure they're all confident with what we're doing. He really stuck his neck out to do something community oriented rather than just blow up a bunch of moon walks on their game field.  It takes vision and courage to do that! It reminded me of Ken Whaley.

After making sure those guys were squared away, I went and talked with Ricky Wheeler and Paul Jimenez in the Missions Dept. to make sure they were aware of what is going on.  The prayer is to get the adults on board with this type of outreach early next year in their Share the Blessing day.

For lunch I met with Paul Gibbs who is a charter member of Johnson Ferry BC and is on the board of the Sandy Springs Mission with Felix Lora.  Both of these guys are just terrific and will be a real blessing to our ministry and vice versa.  Paul is very excited about what we're doing in missions and in the possibility to get this ministry into the local communities on site as well.

Next stop, Christian Index where I talked to Joe and Gerald the Production and main Editor for the paper.  I stressed the historic nature of what we are attempting this weekend and the newsworthyness of this event.  I really do think it's amazing what will be happening and I basically told them this is THE story of 2004.  Hopefully they'll have someone to cover it on Friday when we have the leadership training and the pastor speaks for lunch.

I went to help the kids at Azalea with their homework and then on to Party City for some supplies for Ashley's party this weekend.  She wanted black balloons, black light and a strobe light to make kind of a techno theme for her party.  She'll have some friends over and then her girlfriends will spend the night.  It's her 16th birthday.  I want to do something special for her.  We've talked about maybe going to New York if I can afford the flight for us.

I watched part of the DVD "Dude, Where's My Car?" but it was so stupid that I couldn't get all the way through it.  I like Ashton, but that movie was just dum.

Peace.

After dropping Jesse off at Trickum Middle I raced out to First United Methodist Roswell for a meeting with Tim Holt.  He's the Missions Pastor there.  We visited a couple of missions and talked about the strategy for getting his church mobilized.

Based around the Sunday School, initially starting out with the Fifth Level of Engagement:  collecting stuff.  This time it'll be shoe box Christmas gifts for the kids at several missions.

Then over to Concept 21--Roswell to drop off a 6ft table.  The manager couldn't find their key to the mission: 243.  So I'll come back and take pictures of the mission and sign the lease later this week.

On the way back in, I went to FBC Atlanta to pick up the balloon pumps for the Disciple Now weekend outreach at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. We will cover 40 complexes with over 400 students on the 13th--Ashley's Birthday (16!!)

Dropped the stuff off at FBC Doraville where my office is located. 

Then back to Azalea to teach math, science, reading and how to not beat each other up.

I waited in horrible traffic to get home, then Jesse called me and reminded me to pick up Halo 2--the biggest selling video game ever.  It's a first person shooter. . . my favorite. I don't play games much, but they're fun sometimes.

Kathy and I watched Michael tonight---one of my favorite John Travolta movies.

Peace.

MONDAY

I rushed over to Perimeter this morning to drop off the 26 grills and stack them up in the closet.  They were all clean and ready to use next year.

Then I beat it back over to Clarkston where I had an awesome meeting with the Executive Director of the LITE house program Melvin Morris, his admin asst. and the Chairperson of the board, Jane Creekmore.  We'll work out the details soon, but it looks like a very positive partnership with our two organizations.  They are definitely in an expansion mode and if we can piggy back on their efforts with volunteer staff dedicated to evangelism it could be incredible.

I helped the kids at Azalea this afternoon.  One of the girls told me her sister and baby were getting beat up in Mexico.  Their family is trying to get her back up here with them at Azalea.  It'll cost about $2,000.  Hope they can work it out.

I came home and ran my 2 mile night route in 22:17:84.  I've been hurting lately, so I decided to take a little lighter work out.

I helped Jesse put his computer together tonight that he's building.  It was a quiet night, talking with the kids.  I loved it.

Peace.

I spent the day at FBC Atlanta for the mission conference.  I talked to people from 11am to 2:30 pm, then again from 4:30pm till 9:45pm with about two hour break for a worship service.

Jouvens came with me to help, as well as the entire Huntington Terraces team: Pat, Ed and Luis.  We took over both sides of one hall and had plenty of candy, animal balloons and face painting for the kids.  We basically brought a block party to the conference.  We wrote Whirlwind on the balloons.  The kids became our walking bill boards.

I got packed up after 10pm to take Jouvens back to Azalea. Then we saw Bubba over there and I took him home.  It would have taken him over two hours to walk and it was too late to do that safely.  So I got home around 10:45.  Kathy wasn't too upset with me.  Fortunately, Ashley had called me to wish me good night, so at least she knew something.  It was just too long a day.

I made some really good contacts especially with Eagle's Landing FBC. 

Love.

Tim

Impact Atlanta 2004 was a tremendous success.  We had over 400 people go to 30 locations.  There were 26 professions of faith in the single afternoon!  PTL!

After the events and the clean up, I put the grills in my van and then rode back to Clarkston to cover the Opeleica BC group who were at Woodside, Indian Valley and The Lakes.

I'm pooped.

Tomorrow will be a long day manning the booth at the FBC Mission Conference.

Love.

FRIDAY, November 6th, 2004

Jason, Grant and I went to Kroger to pick up the food for Impact Atlanta.  I shot a series of pix of us getting the stuff and then spreading them out to the 30 complexes.

Later tonight Ashley helped me make a powerpoint presentation of the shots.  I'll play it tomorrow at the training session.

I went and met with FBC Opaleica Baptist Church from Alabama this evening.  They have their fall mission trip this weekend with us, serving at three complexes in Clarkston.  I briefed the team and then took the three leaders around and showed them how to get to the places.

I need to get up early tomorrow.  But I'm wired right now after speaking with that group.

Love.

Today was a Gainesville day.

I met with David Fitzgerald who is the pastor of the Vineyard church.  He's a great guy and a lot of fun to hang out with.  We enjoyed visiting the Columns at Chicopee, meeting the manager and getting a feel for the lay of the land.

Also met with office staff of Chicopee Baptist Church, and pastor of missions for Blackshear Place BC.  Great folks.

It's a lot of traveling.  Woosh.  I had two 92 mile days in a row. 

I got home, dressed out and ran 4.4 miles in 51:16:50.  Wore me out, dog.

Kathy is attending the Shower of Love meeting with the lady missionaries at FBC Atlanta.  She hates that kind of stuff.  Hope it wasn't too much stress for her.

Her parents were in a wreck today.  Her dad's fault.  Totaled the car.  Bahd luck.

Peace.

WEDNESDAY

Just got back from First Baptist Atlanta.  We had the first day of the mission displays.  Had some good conversations.

Went to Perimeter and picked up the grills (26) and took them over to FBA.

Getting closer to Impact!

Peace.

TUESDAY

It's been an election kind of day.  It's now after midnight and it looks like Bush is going to win.

I got the extra 17 balls for the event on Saturday.  Also was able to get the rest of the face paint and balloons from three different Party City stores.  Groovy.

Spoke to and set up an initial event at Bristol Park near Perimeter. 390 units that's a big deal.

Had a terrific meeting with PRS over the LITE house program and our ministry working at these apartment complexes.  Melvin Moore is the director.  I'll set up an appointment with him asap.  Now that the corporation is behind us, I don't think this will be hard to set up.

Set up the display at FBA and had the initial missionary meeting.

Love.

I just got back from Azalea.  We had a fun time with the Great Candy Throw.  I have a couple of my older guys help me throw candy to the kids.  It's always a regular hootananny!

I told them the scariest story in the Bible--Jesus throwing out the devil Legion from the crazy man in the cemetary.  I had some of the kids help me act it out.  Fun.

I got home early to see about taking the kids around trick or treating.  Ashley dressed up as Dorothy.  She's a cutey.

Love.

SATURDAY

We had a great family day today.  All four of us went to eat at Red Lobster.  It was delicious.

Then Kathy and I went to the zoo.  She got a bit mad at me because I like to take pictures when I'm there.  When will I ever learn?

We also ate Mexican food on the way home.  It was a fun day.  The weather was perfect and the lighting was great for shooting pictures.

Peace.

FRIDAY

Another terrific day!

Dropped off the new map info to Jerry Counselman for him to work on for the web site.

Went on to Clarkston.  Had excellent chats with the new manager at Wyncrest and at Southern Place (which used to be Olde Plantation.)  The whole management staff used to work with me at Oakbrook.  How cool is that. 

Had a great conversation with Pat Maddox.  I'm glad to be able to help her and keep her in the loop.

Went over to Willow Branch to be with Bennett.  He went with me to Krystopher Woods, Woodside, Indian Valley, Indian Creek and the Lakes.  Groovy!  I've got the whole Clarkston area organized for the events on November 6th with FBC Atlanta and a church from Alabama and the event on November 13th with Johnson Ferry BC Disciple Now group.

K and I walked to the park tonight.  Beautiful, foggy weather.  It was super walking home with the shadows through the trees.

Excellent.

I had such a GREAT day today.

I started out at Glover BC, dropped off some financial documents for our CPA and had a fun chat with Steve and Mike.

Trekked over to Marietta to talk with the manager of Glenbrooke about the new mission starting over there.  Vaddas wasn't there but I was able to get more information about the situation there from the two leasing managers.

Made contacts with the new manager at Las Colinas (which used to be Hampton Village when I worked there before).  Beth was very enthusiastic about our help.  Johnson Ferry will initiate work there for us.  The manager is also interested in us taking over the activity center and teaching ESL.  The Latin American Association was supposed to do it, but they haven't followed up in months.

Also started work at Cinnamon Ridge which is also very close to Glennbrooke.  The manager is happy for us to come and do the project on the 13th.  Excellent!

Pastor Larry Vaughn, who we work with in Clarkston, is leading an Indonesian congregation next to CR.  We hope to get that church involved in our new work at Glennbrook.

Also went out with Arturo to do more research in the Roswell Road area. Stopped by to give flyers out to Bolivar at Sierra Creek.  We met Felix Lora who is the Pastor of the Sandy Springs mission.  We'll be working together with him much more closely in the future.

We dropped by the office of the Buckhead Church (daughter church North Point Community Church).  Hopefully, they'll get on board with us as well.

I came home after working at Azalea and had supper with Kathy at El Torreros.  Delicioso fajitas!

Ole!

I went to the Central Precinct Crime Watch Manager's meeting today.  There were 8 managers there and three cops.  The ironic thing is that the more problems they have, the better it is for us!

I had lunch with Ed Keibler the director of the mission at Huntington Terraces.  We at at China Delight and then went to talk with the new manager, Dee Lieu.  They have new Chinese owners now.  Lord, we pray that we will find favor in the new owner's eyes so they will let the mission continue to stay open.

I visited with Clatie Lewis as he and his son finished working on the computer for the mission at Azalea.  We got it hooked up, but it wasn't talking to the printer.  I downloaded the driver again.  Hopefully it'll work right tomorrow.

I stopped by Bill and Nell Doverspike's house to check on them and see Kathy.  She helps them every M/W before she goes to teach class in the evenings at DeKalb tech.

I came home and ran 4 miles in about 43:44.  I didn't push too hard, but still not a bad time for the route.

Helped Ashley with hard chemistry homework--ionic/covalent bonds. Ouch.

J and I went outside to take a look at the lunar eclipse.  Sweet.

Peace.

I made my copies for the November Outreach Update and starting writing.

For lunch I went over to pick up Arturo and then to meet Jason and Grant at FBC Atlanta.  We talked about the thirty complexes we'll cover.  What a blessing!

I worked with the kids at Azalea and then went back home to finish the newsletter.

I have a headache and am too tired.

It was a sad day for me.  I went over to Oakbrook to officially close the apartment that the previous owner had given us.  We'll still have ministry there, in fact we'll probably move the total program over to the activity center, but it still seems like a step backward for me.  I had to sign a form saying Intention of Vacancy.

We always have to have a feeling of urgency about our work.  There are no guarantees, either with how long the owner will let us stay, whether the volunteers will continue to stick with it or the residents move.  We have to seize the day.

I also went by the Ambers today to take by some halloween candy.  We are at the final moments of starting the mission work there.

I worked at the mission this afternoon.  The kids help me with the labels for the November mail out.

I ran 6.2 miles in 60:45:22.  I'm still pretty tired.

I took Jesse and Ashley out to Wendy's tonight.  Then we had an ice cream cone together.  That was fun.

I came home and worked on the layout for the newsletter and then helped Jesse some more with his Earth Science homework.

Peace.

We had a great time at Grace Fellowship church today for their 2004 Missions Conference.  I spoke to about 300 middle schoolers this morning.  Shared our Whirlwind Missions DVD, then spoke about unreached people groups, did a Bible Study on 1 Cornithians 9 (Running the Race) and passed out pictures of folks in Clarkston for the groups to pray for.

It is Jesse's 14 birthday today!  After church, we went to Ruby Tuesday.  J and I had sirloin tips.  Yummy.

I came home and rested, then went out for a quick 2 mile run in 20:22:34. 

I took a shower and rushed back to Grace for the closing missions session.  The music was a blessing.  I took my orange maracas to play along with the band. That's always fun!

Later I helped Jesse with his Earth Science, and Ashley and I went over to Walmart so I could get more reading glasses and get her a clothes rack for the back of her door.

It was a fun day for a birthday boy.

Love.

I just got back from playing with the band over at Shallowford Gardens.  The band played great, although we had a different set up. I normally have the drums to my right and I'm right beside him.  This afternoon I was in front of the drums.  I like it better when we're more or less in a line.  Lester played great, although he was late and had to leave to early in order to play with his church and three other churches this evening.

We had a fantastic group come to help us this afternoon all the way from Villa Rica.  They were very enthusiastic and the kids had a wonderful time.

Today may be the last time our band will play this year.  I know November is booked with the Impact Atlanta program and the Johnson Ferry Disciple Now weekend.  We may try and get together to play over at Plaza Fiesta one Saturday evening.  Hope so.

Peace.

FRIDAY

I enjoyed a relaxing day today.  After dropping off Jesse, I took the Lumina to get the oil changed and tires rotated.  They said I have some potential problems, but nothing that needs attention right now.

While I was waiting for the car, I walked the 3/4 mile to get my haircut.  I enjoyed listening to the new Toby Mac CD on my mp3 player while I walked there and back.  Beauty.

Got home and worked on email and practiced shooting my Walther PPK.  You're either trained or untrained.

Ashley got home and I took her and her friend over to the movies to watch the Grudge.  I went to see Friday Night Lights while they did.  It's an excellent Texas football movie.  Really enjoy those sports movies.

We returned home and I went for a quick 3.6 mile run.  I did it in 34:21:22.  It's a hard route with some tough hills. Felt good, even though my ankle is still somewhat tender.

I watched Van Helsing with Jesse in the evening. I liked that movie, but I liked the football one better.

Sweet.

I just got back to speaking to the College class from Grace.  Such a responsive group.  I really enjoyed the time with them tonight.  My prayer is that many of them will get involved with the ministry in Clarkston and beyond because of this evening.

I had a nice walk with Kathy this evening.  We walked to the park and back--about 3.2 miles.  It was beautiful weather and a fun time.  Then she let me go to the meeting with the college students.  Thursday nights are our date night, so it was a big deal for her to let me go do my thing with those young people.

I helped the kids at Azalea, although hardly any had homework because they've been taking standardized tests this week.

I went over to Oakbrook this morning to take candy, balls and snacks for the after-school program.  I found out later that the management wants us out of the mission apartment by the end of the month.  That is really sad.  But not totally unexpected because they've had a change in ownership, plus they are now in the mid 90% full.  So they see that apartment as a moneymaker. One of the reasons that they are near capacity is because of the services we brought on board, but you can't argue with these guys.  Especially when it comes from the owner.  Sad.

I ate at a Chinese buffet place near Northlake mall today.  It was really tasty and only $5.98 which included a drink.  I like their sushi and kim chee.

Ashley stayed home from school today.  She had bad cramps and didn't hardly sleep at all.  She feels better now.  This afternoon.  I taught her how to shoot my Walther PPK bb gun.  She was pretty good.  We had fun together.

Peace.

WEDNESDAY

Well first there was the "Battle of the Mouse" last night about 1:30 a.m.  I heard this "thunk" then "squeaksqueaksqueak."  I thought, "I got a mouse right here by my bed.

I'm not sure you remember but I spent about two hours practicing with the Walther PPK bb handgun earlier this week.  So when I saw that mouse, in my room, it was like training took over.  I was looking for kill zones in my room, objects that I could whack it with. . . .my gun was upstairs--where I had the last mouse encounter. 

I had a different tact this time.  I froze.  Just stood there. The mouse froze too and looked at me.  I ever so slowly reached down for the only thing I could find--a towel.  I began to roll it up and form it into a type of club--albeit soft club.

I moved closer to the mouse.  It stopped paying me any attention.  Instead you could tell he was analyzing how to get off that keyboard.  It moved to the edge, and I moved closer to it.  I froze.  It moved closer towards the edge.  I thought, "Once it hits the floor, I'l have a good target."  Sure enough it leaped for the floor, I was right behind it.  Whack!   WhackWhack!!  I stared at the mouse.  It was still breathing.  WHACK! WHACK!  Still moving. . . . what can I hit this thing with?  I couldn't go too far, because it might recover and run away.  I looked for things that were hard---the spray paint can.  I made sure the lid was on tight and then smashed the lid against that mouse's head.

Sure it sounds viscious, perhaps cruel.  But honestly I enjoyed it.  I really hate these rodents.  Can you imagine being woken up by the feeling of something nibbling on your arm?!  I jumped out of my bed so hard last week I charleyhorsed my thigh! 

So, no.  I have no mercy.  It's me against them.

Honestly, I lost the last two run ins.  Both times they eluded me.  The baseball bat that I use (it's the soft nerf kind) was just too clumsy.  I actually dove at one last week to take a final swing and carpet burned my arm.

So, no. 

Anyway, I was tired this morning after so little sleep.

I had an excellent meeting with my manager friends.  The speaker was from "El Banco" the Spanish immigrant bank.

I ran 3.6 miles in 35:27.  It's my new Night Time course.  It's longer than I usally run on a weekday.  I still plan on doing a 10k this Friday if the weather is good.  Maybe closer to 7 miles depending on how I feel.

I'm really enjoying my little MP3 player--MPIO.  It is smaller than a matchbox, with 256 MB of memory.  That's about 6 CD worth.  Sounds amazing.

I'm listening to Toby Mac's new CD "Diverse City."  Brilliant material.

Peace.

Man!  What a rainy day!  Horrible traffic around Atlanta this evening.  I saw some really bad wrecks. 

Today we had our board meeting for Whirlwind Missions, Inc.  Unfortunately, our secretary Tito Ruiz wasn't able to be there because he was having some family problems.  His dad is having immigration issues.  That's never good.  Apparently there are questions about his military service in Nicaragua.  I believe it will all work out just fine, but they are super stressed out right now.  Lord, I ask a powerful blessing on the Ruiz family.  Bless Roger. Help the lawyer clear up this mess ahora mismo.  Amen!

I'll be posting the main points of the board meeting soon on the www.whirlwindmissions.org site, under "Progress Report 2004"

This morning I made new brochures with the family picture that we'll be using for the new photo card.  I'm trying to have a consistancy between all our promotional material.  I made 200 hundred copies and folded them this morning.

I took the white boards by Foxwood this morning.  I also talked with Angie about our classes there.  We decided to use the laundry room for our second class room.  She promised me they'd clean it up nicely before the class.  It's well lit and I think will work out great.  Angie is expecting up to 30 people.  I think we'll probably have around half of that, but I'm hoping for more.

I got to the office and made phone calls concerning the new mission in Gainesville.  I got some good intel from the Director of Missions for the Baptists.  Of course I've still got to do all the leg work to make it happen.

I also talked with Don Devlin who is the director of the mission that was at Adelaide Park.  We're trying to get it moved over to The Ambers.  I think we have it all squared away now.  We're just waiting on the final word from the owner.  I had to send them another letter concerning liability.

I picked up a new MP3 player today.  This little MPIO player is smaller than a matchbox and has 256kb of music capacity.  Incredible.  I'm looking forward to running with that.  I put some new music from Toby Mac and Jump 5 on it.  Groovy.

Ashley said she thought she did well on the Chemistry test.  Lord, thanks for helping her with that.  She's trying so hard to do well.

I took my girls out for Mexican food this evening at El Torreros.  There was a group of about 12 ladies all with red hats on.  Not sure what that was about.  Probably not communists.

Peace.

We transferred the mission at Concept 21 in Roswell from apt. 131 to apt. 243.  I spent most of the morning setting up account and transferring services for the water/sewer, gas, and electricity.  What a hassle.  That mission has really been doing well with multiple partners including, Roswell Church of God, Mt. Pisgan UMC, Perimeter and several Spanish congregations.  PTL.

We have been offered apartments to use as missions at Glenbrook on Franklin Road in Marietta and The Columns in Gainsville.  I spent the rest of the morning researching the churches in that area and e-mailing the pastors/missions directors with the opportunity.  Lord, I ask a major blessing on this.  Please raise up the soldiers in these towns.  Have them come to help.  Thanks, Father.  Love ya. 

I enjoyed speaking to a missions class at Providence Christian Academy.  This school has really led the way in showing how a High School can impact the community for Christ.  I spoke on hosting local missions teams.

By the time I finished speaking and chatting with my good buddy Carl Barrington I missed the time for the kids to be at the mission.  They'll understand.  The important days of the week are Wed/Thursday, that's when the projects are usually due.

Ashley got back her homework in Chemistry.  We have studied SO hard together, figuring this stuff out, it has been a real challenge.  We got a 10/10 score on the pre-tests and tonight we got 46/47 correct on an on-line quiz.  I think she is ready for the test and will do well.  As long as she doesn't do the freak out.  I don't think she will.

When I got home, I took a short nap and then Ashley and I went to Staples for office supplies and Kroger to shop for the house.  Then we came home and started working on Chemistry again.  We spent about an hour and a half on that.  She's doing well on her Geometry and Spanish.

I'm ready to rest my back.  I strained it over the weekend.  Stupid yard work.

Peace.

I had some great time with my daughter today.  Ashley needs a lot of help wth chemistry. We went out to Starbucks to drink some coffee and talk about studying.  Then we went to Parkview (which was locked) to see if we couldn't get her book.  Failing that task we went to the library.  We got most of the books we needed off the shelf.  We studied it for about three hours.

She also had to write an essay in Spanish.  To help her with that, we went to Frontera's.  Just kidding!  Food was good, but we didn't get any help from waiters.

I was really sore today from all the cleaning and lifting.

I'm glad I got to spend some extra time with the family, since the next couple of weeks I'm going to really be busy.

Love.

Tim

SATURDAY evening

This was Ashley's homecoming evening.  She had a beautiful black dress on.  Nick took her to Outback Steakhouse with a gift card that I received for preaching to the women's group at Peachtree Corners BC.

I cleaned up leaves beside the house.  Hopefully, that'll keep the leaves from blowing into our driveway.  I did pull up some Poison Ivy.  So far it doesn't look like any of it got on me.  PTL.  That stuff is some bad bizness.

I bought a BB gun based on the Walther PPK handgun.  It is an exact replica, except it shoots little steel balls. I got it, because I want to kill a mouse we have in the house. 

Peace.

Jesse was still sick today.  He rested at home.  He says he still has a bad sore throat.  I may have to take him to get on some meds.

I spent a fun day with Kathy.  We ate breakfast over at IHOP this morning.  After a bit of shopping at Office Max, we went over to Vines Gardens just past Snellville.  I enjoy shooting pix of flowers and statues there.

After walking around the gardens we went to see Team America.  It was pretty funny satire, but the language was so rough that I had a hard time enjoying it. 

Came on home to take care of J and to take Ashley and her boyfriend to the movies.

Peace.

Jesse was sick today.  I stayed home to take care of him. 

I worked on the financial statement for the first half of the month, deposited money into our account and delivered the report to our treasurer Jon Paul.

I also picked up more padded envelopes to send tapes out in.

The kids at Azalea didn't have any homework because tomorrow they have a day off from school.  It worked out well that I didn't go in to help them because Jesse wasn't feeling well.

Helped Ashley with her Geometry homework.

I ran 3.6 miles tonight in 36:18:44.  My ankle is still tender.

I set up the eight complexes where FBA will practice the evangecube this weekend.  They'll also be telling the residents about the event on November 6th--Impact Atlanta.

I worked on calling the churches/contacts in Cumming.  I'm trying to track down all the people interested in starting work in that area.  So far there are two churches and a couple of individuals.  One will be asking the folks at the mobile home park there what they think about starting ministry there.

I finished the agenda for the Board Meeting next Tuesday.

Went over to help the kids at Azalea for a couple of hours before going home. The traffic was horrendous.  There was a bank robbery at the Sun Trust near our house on 78.  The traffic backed up all the way to the perimeter of 285.  I took about an hour to go 15 miles.  Brutal.

Ashley and I went out to eat Mexican food together, then we went shopping for some winter sweaters.  She got some cute things.

I watched about half of the presidential debates.

J isn't feeling well.  He is ready for his two tests tomorrow, but I'm not sure he'll go.  I have a light day tomorrow, so I can stay home with him if he needs me.

Peace.

TUESDAY

Finished up my Board report.  That was a mammoth job.  Needs to be done so I can evaluate where we stand at least once a year.

Had a meeting with Sandy Defoe about my taxes.  Got that taken care of as well as working through the financial end of what we need to do for the ministry.

Ran about 2.5 mi in 24 minutes.  It's all approximate as far as the distance goes because I walked part of the way with Kathy.  I know how long I ran just not how far.

Ate with the Keenagers at FBC Doraville.  That's always good!

Had some rain, but not much.

I should have had this entry done last night but this update thing took over my computer.  It was running all last night.  I eventually just unplugged it and powered down the battery.  So far it looks like it's running ok.

I need this computer at the office daily.

Peace.

This morning I went over to Dr. Pat Barrington's to pick up Kathy's meds she needs.  On the way home I stopped over at Harold and Janet Carter's to visit with them.  They are real mission supporters and it's always fun to hang with them.

I picked up some more school supplies over at FBC Mountain Park before eating a Philly Cheesesteak sandwhich.  I did go home to check on Jesse, but he was still crashed out.

Went over to the office at FBC Doraville with the van to load up chairs and tables for the new mission starting at Foxwood.  FBC Atlanta will start ESL classes over there for the first time this Wednesday.  They have 27 adults signed up, which is just terrific.  I took tables and chairs enough for 16 and they have a table and some chairs too, so it should be enough.  If not, I'll take more.

While at FBCD I also helped the janitors (who are the age of my grandparents) change about 12 flourescent lights. They just are not physically able to do it.  It's nice to be able to help people.  Ms. Fay Rhodes, who used to be the financial secretary at FBCD died this weekend.  Our secretary Margie Brooks was a long term friend of hers and was still grieving.   I tried to be supportive.

I also faxed the liability insurance waiver to the mission that we are starting off of Beaver Ruin called the Ambers.  If all goes well, the team that had to leave at Adelaide Park will start working over there this coming week.  At least that's my prayer.

I helped the kids over at Azalea for a couple of hours before stopping in to check on Kathy's folks and take their garbage/recycle to the top of the hill for them. Then got home to see Ashley.  She's been camping over the weekend.  She had a good time, but seemed really happy to be home.  Unfortunately, she lost her Chemistry homework assignment.  That's bad news.  I hope her teacher will let her make it up.  Those "0" marks can kill your grade and that class is already hard enough as it is.

I enjoyed watching TV with Jesse this evening and talking about the video game he enjoys.

Sad news.  Our octopus died tonight.  I really liked that octopus.  He was cool.  They only live to be a year old.  Although I found him fascinating, I don't know if we'll get another one, just because of the short lifespan.

Sad.

Peace.

SUNDAY Night (1:20am)

I've just gotten to bed.  I've had such a good time talking with Orville Boyd and Edith Jenkins.  They're long term friends of mine since my boyhood in Nairobi.  OBJ has been a mentor to me as a linguist/cultural expert for years.  He is truly a hero of mine and is THE authority of people group research in the world.  He's currently working on the Registry of People for several denominations.  He and Edith have been missionaries with the International Mission Board for over 20 years.  It was so interesting to discuss with him the challenges that I face in working with such a diverse area as the International Village in Metro Atlanta.

I do think we're on the right track in our strategy of planting missions in the middle of the people group where they live.  It's going to be a long haul. 

One of the key things he shared with me this evening is, "Chrisitianity is not primarily informational it is relational.  I totally believe that.

This evening was the Heaven on Earth celebration at the Gwinnett Civic Center.  There was about 70% as many people there this evening as there were last year.  I hope that the leadership doesn't take that as a bad sign.  They said over 6,500 people participated in the outreach of Compassion in Action last weekend.  That's awesome. 61 churches particiapated together.  I hope to get more defined numbers as to how many worked in the apartment complexes as Whirlwind hosted that part of the ministry.

I spoke at the Mission Expo at Perimeter this morning and early afternoon.  There were about 30 ministries represented.  About 10 were out in the community.  Ours was the largest proportion by far.  Perimeter works with us in 7 locations.  If all goes well our team that left Adelaide Park will transfer to the Ambers soon.

The kids have off of school tomorrow, so I don't have to be anywhere real early. PTL.  I'm glad I got to come home after the Perimeter gig so I could rest.  I'm ready to relax now.  The weird thing is that I'm so extraverted that just talking with OBJ tends to wake me up rather than tire me out.  He's such a source of info that I want to squeeze all the advice out of him that I can.  He's one of the few people that I really believe knows what he's talking about when it comes to our situation like what I'm dealing with. 

Love.

I just got back from Perimeter church where we took place in the Mission Expo.  We set up our exhibit and enjoyed talking with many of their members.

We also hosted an Outreach Event at Foxfire with the help of N. Lanier BC and Doug and Lisa Allison from Midway Macedonia BC.  We cooked, shared many tracts, had balloons and face painting.  We also talked with many of the residents about the ESL classes there.

This morning K and I went over to eat breakfast burritos at Sonic.

It was a long day.  I'm pooped.

Kathy and I woke up and went over to City Cafe to eat omelettes and BLT sandwiches.  The service was really slow.  Although the food is good I doubt we'll go back.  I took K home and then I went back to the UPS store where I make my copies.  I'm still working on my annual report for my board.  It's about 185 pages long and that's just strictly the highlights!  Pretty exciting.  I still have to do the cover pages and chapter section pages, but that's easy really.  I'll work on that early next week.

After coming home, I felt well enough to do an easy three mile run.  My ankle felt fine and I made it in about 36:16.  I think my ankle actually felt better after the run.

Kathy was working on our back deck.  We've been slowly refinishing it with preserver.  She worked on doing the flat area this afternoon with the preservative.

Then we went over to K's folk's house where I entertained them with stories of our ministry, while Kathy blew leaves off the roof.  I wanted to do the work, but she insisted that what I did was harder, so I agreed.

Later, we went over to a party at Krystopher Woods which is largely Bosnian.  We at spanikopita, baklova, roast chicken and lamb and sweet pastries.  It was excellent.

I'm going to watch a movie before I crash.  I have a really intense day planned for tomorrow.  I'd better get some rest.

Peace.

It's the beginning of a long weekend for the Gwinnett county kids.  Ashley is spending the night at a friend of hers this evening. She's going on a camping trip with another family for three more nights.  I miss her already.

I took flyers over to Foxfire to publize the Outreach Event there this weekend.  I also got the power situation at the mission at the Corners straightened out.  It was still in the name of Kids & Teens 519--a partner of mine who has moved to Illinois.  I'm covering all the utility bills under our ministry now. 

My ankle is better now.  I got around without limping too much.

I helped the kids at Azalea get their work done before heading back to the house.  I'm looking forward to taking it easy tomorrow and hanging out with Kathy and Jesse.

Peace.

Well, I wasn't exactly "full speed ahead" today since my ankle was pretty painful, but I made it.

I preached at Clarkston Baptist Church this morning to about 100 Muslims who come for a tea time hosted by the church in their gym.  I shared a short Bible study on Noah and the ark.  Most seem pretty receptive to listen, however about a quarter of them come for coffee and snacks and leave before the message.  C'est la vie.

After the study time, I went with Bennett Ekandem over to pick up Arturo and his friend Paul for a meeting at Sugar Loaf Community Church and Drew Grubbs.  Drew is a buddy of mine who I've worked with for three years now.  His church and youth group have been helping us in three locations and are expanding that to six.  He spoke at Hebron school (from Hebron BC) and had 42 youth sign up to also participate at our missions. Excellent!

I pray that Drew and his church will help sponsor Arturo and Bennett and their missions in Clarkston and off of Roswell Rd.

Pray for our finances.  It's tight right now.  We paid taxes, insurance and salary and we're down pretty low.  We always seem to make it, but it still makes me nervous.  The Father always sees us through!

I came home and helped Ashley with a couple of assignments after I helped the kids at Azalea with their work.  It's pretty intense at the mission because I usually have at least 5 kids shouting "Mr. Tim! Mr. Tim!" simultaneously. As my wife would say, "You have a much higher tolerance for chaos than most people."  I'd have to agree with that.

I felt like running, but I must let my body heal.  I hate this getting dark early. Sux.

Peace.

Have you ever had one of those days when you knew you shouldn't do something, but you do it anyway because . . . . ?  I knew it was a bad plan to go running tonight because it was already 7:30pm and getting dark.  But I did it anyway.  I ran about 3.5 miles (in 33:18) and I got to this section of Rockbridge where there is no shoulder on the road.  I always run against traffic so I can see the cars coming at me.  Unfortunately, with the headlights in your eyes you really can't see below your knees.  I stepped off in a hole and wrenched my ankle.  Bahd luck.  I hobbled up, cursed myself for being so stupid and limped back about a half mile to Eckerds. I called all the numbers I knew in my family and everything was busy. There was no way I was going to walk 2.5 miles home with a messed up ankle.  Fortunately, Tina was there.  She has developed thousands of pictures for our ministry. She saw me in obvious pain and after I explained my dilemma offered to drive me home.  PTL!  I kept ice on it for about an hour while I helped Ashley with her English homework.

I had a fantastic day otherwise.  I'm still excited about the wonderful work we did this weekend.  I had confirmation of at least 15 people accepting Christ and that was only 3 of the 25 teams we had mobilized!  I hope to get the final results soon.

I got a call from Vaddas Dianderas today.  I used to work with her in Clarkston.  She is now managing Glenbrook apartments in Marietta.  She offered me a three-bedroom apartment to work out of and wants to "Get this running by the end of the month."  Got any idea how rare that is to have a phone call out of the blue like that?  So obviously I fast tracked the situation. I took a quick trip to the location later this afternoon.  Had a terrific meeting with Vaddas.  Took pictures of the location and even got to have a meeting with the Marietta Police Officers that work that property. 

You may remember that location because about two weeks ago they had a shooting there.  A young black man named "Jerzey" was shot there.  The police transported him, but unfortunately he died in their custody.  The population went nuts as you can imagine.  The ironic part about all this is the worse the situation on a property the more leverage I have there.  As you can surmise I got PLENTY of leverage!

I talked with the folks from Johnson Ferry BC, and will have a team of their Disciple Now students helping on that location on November 13th.  I'll start working on developing a team there asap.  The first step is to get the lease signed so once that's done our team will have to step up to the plate rapidly.

This morning was taken up with talking with the District Attorney's office of DeKalb County.  I'm involved in a case against a man accused of molesting one of the young women in our mission.  I'm the de facto father figure for so many of the kids I work with.  The often tell me the problems they're having before their parents even know.  I hope to have this situation resolved soon.

Had a great day helping the kids at Azalea.  Some of them seem to really be getting the hang of their subjects.  It's very rewarding.

Suh weet.

It was such beautiful weather today.  It reminded me a lot of East Africa!

I had such a good time this afternoon.  I met with Arturo and his friend Paul, as well as Chris Skinner (who is with the Atlanta Youth Project and works with us in Avondale) and Drue Grubbs--who is the youth pastor of Sugarloaf Community Church and also serves as their missions pastor.  His church is currently helping us in three locations: Huntington Terraces, The Corners and Oakbrook Pointe.  They'll be adding three more locations soon.  I've set up a meeting with him, Arturo and Bennett Ekandem for Wednesday to talk more about church planting and future partnerships.

This morning I spent working on my report for the Board of Directors for Whirlwind Missions.  I have a LOT of information to get together before I make the final presentation on the 19th.  I cherish their time and always want to make sure I highlight the really important aspects of what we've been doing so far.  It's always exciting for me to really analyze what's been happening.  It's good for me to back up and take a little broader look at the work.  God is SO good and has blessed our ministry so powerfully.

My initial reports from yesterday stated that over 600 volunteers were mobilized at 25 locations.  That doesn't count all the churches involved nor all the locations.  That's just purely what I know for sure.  Incredible that growth we've seen in just our first three years!  ESPECIALLY when we consider that the majority of the volunteers that have helped us this year were LOCAL!  That's amazing to me.

I went over to the mission at Azalea to check on the kids after my meeting with Jouvens and then came home to help Ashley and Jesse.  I took Ashley over to Sonic for a Sunrise Slushie.  She loves those things and it's fun to spoil her a little bit.

Back to working on the Annual report!

Groovy.

Today was the first day of the Unite! Celebration of serving.  Whirlwind Missions hosted 25 Outreach Events with the help of Perimeter, Vineyard and Atlanta Christian Church North.  Over 70 churches participated this year.  I spoke to the group before they left Perimeter and then went to check on the missions at Azalea, Don Juan, Woodgate, Highland Gardens, Lake Colony, The Corners (where I found out that Anna Lisa is engaged!), Northchase, Foxfire, Wyndham Creek, and Shallowford Gardens.  Awesome work.  I'm looking forward to hearing how many folks accepted Christ as their personal savior.

After the events I came home to spend some time with my family. I helped Ashley with her Geometry and on her essay concerning Achilles.

It was such a great day.  The weather was perfect, the volunteers were enthusiastic and there were solid crowds at every location.  PTL.

Love.

Kathy and I had a fun day today.  We walked over to the park and ate some hamburgers and watched some football.

I just came back from eating supper with Kathy at John Boy's.  Good country cooking.

I talked with Scott Laravea from Perimeter about our conference and block parties tomorrow.  I'll be speaking briefly to the group before they go out to the complexes.  Exciting.

Groovy.

Today was a "me" day.  Lord knows I need those.

I dropped Jesse off at school, then went over to Eckerds to pick up a single use camera for Ashley.  This weekend is the big Parkview vs. Brookwood football game.  Ash and her friends are dressing up special and made their own t-shirts for the game.  She wanted to take pictures of her friends.  I got the camera, put it in her little back pack and dropped it off at school for her.  I sure do love that sweet pie.

Walmart has gas that's about 13 cents cheaper than anywhere else IF you use a Walmart pre-paid card.  So I bought a couple of cards and loaded them with some cash so Kathy and I can use them for gas.  I put so many miles on my car each week it's really amazing.  I average a minimum of 50/day.

Then I went to Media Play.  My idea of a fun day is to go to the bookstore, buy a Pepsi and look at their books/magazines.  I especially enjoy the techno mags such as "Mobile Computing."  At heart I'm a geek.  My son's even worse.  If worse is the right adjective.  I really don't think it's bad.  I could care less about sports, but get me going on the advantages of different CPUs. . .

I chowed down at Philly Cheesesteak, then went over to make copies of an article from Wired for Pat Young about the new distribution model of media such as Amazon.com and Netflix.  Another area I'm interested in. Pat is a writer for media down in McAllen, Texas.  We went to Baylor together back in the 70s.

I got home and finished watching Man On Fire--the newest Denzel Washington flick which I thoroughly enjoyed.  "The bullet always tells the truth."  A statement about the finality of death.  Of course, Christians have a different point of view about the end, but it always helps me to have a sense of urgency in my work when I think about death.  I have a model of a skeleton in my bedroom.  Sounds macabre--but it helps me "seize the day."

I ran 3 miles tonight.  I had plans to take it easy, but ran the first mile right at 9 minutes--which is a record for me for that section of my trail---extremely steep.  But I was pretty pooped for the last two miles.  Still came it at 27:51:97.  Repectable for me.

I've had a shower, cooled down.  Life is good.  Thank you Lord, for time to rest.

Amen.

During the last hurricane FBC Doraville got hammered with wind and rain along the north side of the building.  Rain got through the windows, ran down the inside wall and messed up some of the ceiling tiles in the main office.  This morning I went by Lowes and picked up the materials I needed to fix the problem.  I cleaned out the old, soaked stuff, sealed the cracks along the wall, cut the pieces to fit and replaced two tiles.  Looks better now.  Did a quick clean up to make sure everything looked right.

Went by Northchase to get the extra easel that the teachers didn't need.  I took that back to Office Max to put back on our credit card.  Went to Foxfire to take them more chairs.  The ESL classes are going great in both locations.  The remodeling at Northchase looks fantastic.  The area is really first class now.  It's very exciting to see that progress.

We've been having problems with the internet at the missions.  I found out what the problem was this afternoon.  If you remember, when I was depositing money to the business account about two weeks ago there was a system crash at that ATM which resulted in them seizing my card.  They don't give it back, but shred them.  The customer service folks told me it'd be the same number on our card, but it wasn't.  So all the accounts that were linked to that number were suddenly out of commission.  It took me about 30 minutes to get everything squared away but it was worth it.  Yesterday, one of the kids at the mission (Estuardo) needed the internet/printer to do his project.  It wasn't working so he wasn't able to do it today.  I hope he gets to do it tomorrow, or else he gets a zero.  That's just wrong.

I came home after helping the kids with their homework at Azalea and threw on my shorts to go for a run.  Did my fastest 3 miles ever in 26:53:53, but even more amazing my second mile (which is pretty flat as opposed to the rest of the run) I did in 6:55:01.  Fastest I've ever done that one for sure.

Ash, K and I went for Mexican food.  Fajitas.  It's a beautiful thing.

Helped Ash with her homework.  Chemistry, yet not too hard tonight.  She wants to get out of the class and go to another teacher that's easier.  Of course I prefer her to stick it out and work harder.  That's not always in the cards.  We'll see what happens . . .

Peace.

I finished up the last of the newsletters this afternoon.  I also helped clean up the foyer area of the educational building at FBC Doraville.  I just couldn't watch Jean doing that all by herself and not help.  Got down on my knees and scrubbed that floor like a wildman with a wire brush.

The dial up connections for the internet at the missions are having problems.  I'm not sure what is going on.  I thought I had it squared away with Juno.  Apparently not.

And this evening when I was writing checks for our bills, I noticed a bill for the mission at Azalea where apparently someone called England for 20 minutes!  I have a long distance block on that phone, plus I only have it connected to the computer, so I don't know how that could have happened.  Bizarre.

It reminds me of how I was being charged for three AOL accounts at the same time!  Why would anyone want that?  Luckily, I was reimbursed by those guys yesterday for their mess up.

We also resolved the issue of the mission at Concept 21-Roswell.  We'll be moving the program to a different apartment and doing less visible promotion. 

I spent some extra time at the mission this afternoon helping with homework problems and trying to resolve the internet situation.  Still don't have it figured out.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll get everything working.

When I got home I worked on the expense/donation reports for Whirlwind then took Ashley's friend Emily home.

In the evening I finished the reports up.  Glad all that stuff is done.  It takes time, but it sure is better to do it bi-weekly, that way it never really piles up that much.

Groovy.

I call this week, "that time of the month," which means writing and getting the newsletter out.  I write about 200 per month.  Lately, I've had Ashley and some of the kids also help me write the letters.  I have about 50 more to do this evening before I crash out.  The rest are already in the mail stream.

I got home from helping the kids at the mission and unpacked the van with all the band's gear.  It's been raining and I have to let it get dry outside before I move it.

I then ran 3 miles in 27:28.  That included my second mile where I ran under 8 minutes.  That's mighty fast for me.  I felt pretty stressed out and that definitely helped me feel better.

I got back, showered and then Ashley and I went to Walmart.  She needed some fabric paint for this project at school for art.  I also got some new towels and bathmats, some new pants and shirts, a new key for the van and a new bench for the kids to sit on while they wait for the bus.

Then Ashley and I worked on her Chemistry homework which is just too hard to believe.  I used to be really good at this stuff---thirty years ago.  I still hold my own, but it makes me feel bad when I can't explain it to her.

I just finished my email, and then I'll check on Jesse's Algebra homework and I'll finish up my letters.  Or depending on how I feel, I may just do them tomorrow morning.

Peace.

A mighty rainy day today.  It's our end of the Jeanne hurricane, which by now was downgraded to a tropical storm.

I took care of errands this morning, mainly revolving around the mail out which I'm working on: stamps, envelopes, copies.

Dropped by my office after the errands to get the NAMB check, get the other mail and make sure everything was squared away.  I helped our secretary at FBC Doraville fix the fax machine.

Then off to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church to check with Alisa to get the Disciple Now teams together.  We'll be mobilizing around 400 teenagers--that'll be 40 teams/complexes reached with the Gospel!  AMEN!

After JFBC I went by Concept 21-Roswell to talk with the manager about the mission.  She wasn't there, so I'll call tomorrow.  Carmine was at the doctor.

I went back to the office to work on email and phone calls.  Then over to Azalea to work at the mission.  It was pouring down rain.  The kids don't come out in that kind of weather, so I went on home.

Stopped by Eckerds to pick up the 35mm prints that we took of the family yesterday at Grace.  We decided on the photo that we'll use for the 2004 prayer card.  I filled out the form, did a layout proof and I'll send that on into Creative Plus tomorrow morning.

While I was working on that project I was watching Fear Factor.  Eating the gross stuff is just . . gross!  100 year old eggs?! Please.

Peace.

Our family went to Grace this morning.  We also took Ashley's best friend Ashley Baird.  We studied Revelation 19 today.  Buddy told the story about Frederick Handel and how he from the depths of his depression wrote the Messiah.  Excellent.

After church we took a series of photos of our family around Grace.  We tried a variety of backgrounds.  I wanted to get some pictures on 35 mm to get our new prayer cards going.

I rested at home then went to Azalea to work with the kids and lead a Bible study with them.  I also talked to my team at Woodgate.  I let them know that we'll have a team from Perimeter next Sunday for our Unite weekend.

Tabias and I went to Ranch Market 99 to pick up some fresh seafood to feed the octopus, then I took him home.

I got home and worked on the layout for the new Outreach Update.  I'll paste it up and make the photocopies Monday morning.

Peace.

SATURDAY

Kathy and I had a nice walk to the park.  We watched Ann and her daughter play tennis.  It was a beautiful morning.  We walked about 4 miles.

We came home and rested, then I packed my gear up into the van and went over to play with the band.  That's always one of my favorite things to do.  We played the gig at Azalea today.

After coming home I worked on getting my article done and the pictures printed up.

Groovy.

THURSDAY

I had lunch with Don Devlin, who is the director of the team formerly at Adelaide Park.  That location is now closed for the time being.  We're trying to figure out the next best play for them to get plugged into.  I enjoyed having lunch with Don and talking about the future.

After lunch, I went over to Azalea to help the kids with their homework, fix the computer at the mission and give a set of maps to Nahid so her dad could find the courthouse the next morning.

When I got home I enjoyed taking Kathy out to eat over at El Torreros for fajitas.  Yumbo.

Peace.

I had a great day today.  Dropped Jesse off at school and went home to do a long run.  I ran about 7 miles in 1:21:06.  I ran what I call the "Parkview Trail" which is extremely steep.  The weather was in the mid 60's, clear, what I refer to as "Nakuru" weather. Where I grew up it's weather like this all year long.  Ex cell ent.

After a shower and rest, I jumped in the van.  I needed to get a new right rear tire on the van.  It was looking mighty bad.  Fortunately, Kathy called me as I was on the way to the place and she picked me up.  She had a two hour break from her substitute teaching gig, so she was able to eat lunch with me and we watched most of the movie "City of God," about the slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Violent, but interesting movie based on real life.

After picking the van back up, I went over to Kroger to do the family shopping, then to get my hair cut.  After my newly shorn look, I drove over to Parkview to pick up Ashley--she was having to take a make-up chemistry test. 

Once I had her we went to Media Play and Best Buy to look at CDs and books.  I always enjoy hanging out with her.  Kathy called while we were there just to make sure she got home safely.

Jesse has a friend of his over right now, guy named Josh.  Seems like a good kid.  J is helping fix his computer and play some video games.

I got copies of the Cruz video dubbed off of Tito and Lester in preparation for seeing and playing with the band tomorrow.

Kathy and I enjoyed watching Fear Factor, while I printed off labels for the mailout.

Groovy.

This morning I was planning to go over to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church to start organizing the very large outreach with this church over their Disciple Now weekend on Nov. 13th.  They plan to have around 1,000 kids and around 100 host families/teams.  We may very likely mobilize half of those teams.  Exciting stuff.

I spent over an hour talking to the manager of Northchase about the situation there.  He was uptight about me turning in receipts to him (about $200 for white boards). I told him that normally I NEVER do that, however I was requested by the OWNER to do so, so I did.  Apparently, the owner hasn't followed up with what he originally said to me and the other manager, so I told him don't worry about it.  He is very excited about our ministry there and is such a blessing to me.  He is completely renovating the club house where we're having discipleship/youth meetings on Friday hosted by Paul Reynolds of "Me and My House" Ministries and by FBC Atlanta's ESL teams on Wednesday evenings.  Groovy.

I ate lunch with my in-laws Bill and Nell Doverspike and their daughter Ann over at Paneras.  Good food and fun fellowship.  I was concerned for Nell because she had fallen yesterday morning.  She seems to be getting along well. PTL.

I spent another hour this afternoon talking again with the lady who is interested in starting work at Wynchase.  She's in her 60's and very strong willed.  I tried my best to get her to understand the situation and still be encouraging to her. I'm not sure I succeeded, but at least I tried.

I got home with every intention of running this afternoon, but I didn't get any rest before I got home and was too dad gum tired.  I took Ashley and Jesse out to eat Japanese.  We also enjoyed a drum clinic for a few minutes by David Garibaldi of Tower of Power fame.  It was outside with beautiful weather.  It was fun to listen to that funk.

I worked on closing in this opening under the dishwasher--trying to cut off access for the rodents.  Blast them!  I'll finish installing it tomorrow morning after the paint has dried.

I'm trying to get Jesse to spend less time playing video games.  He seems to be somewhat receptive to the idea. He's a sweetheart of a kid and I don't like to come down really heavy on him.  It's not like he's smoking crack or involved with a gang--like a lot of the kids I work with.

Love.

I went over to Peachtree Corners Baptist Church to speak to the Women's group this morning.  I addressed, "Reaching people from other cultures."  Basically:

1. Shake hands and smile.

2. Solve real needs and build relationships.

3. Realize that they are open and want to get to know you.

Pretty simple stuff.

I ate lunch with them and then shared our work with Carlos Salaveira  who is the new Missions Pastor.  He is very excited about our ministry and wants to get a lot more people involved.  AMEN to that!  Since he is also the Spanish Pastor of the church, our gain is his gain.

After answering email and calling folks on the phone at the office, I went over to Azalea to help the kids at the mission.  I am amazed at how quickly they pick up English skills--especially reading.  Our language is notoriously difficult to read.

I spent about an hour sharing with a lady from FBA about starting work at an apartment complex.  She was adamant about "receiving a word from the Lord" on how to do it.  I wasn't against that, but I find it somewhat presumptious.  I asked her, "Did the Lord tell you to call me?" "Yes." "Then why aren't you listening to what I'm telling you?"

For instance, if she wants to teach ESL, she shouldn't wait to they give us (a big MAYBE) an apartment.  She should teach the class in the office, or at a family's apartment.  She wouldn't listen to that, because "That's not what the Lord told me to do."  So basically, she has the Lord in a box because of her "direct" word.  It really makes me shake my head.  Her excuse for disobedience is her  "word" from the Lord.

I've learned over time, that most people have to learn from their own experience.  As time goes on, and I continue to be proven correct, THEN they listen to what I'm telling them they should do.  I don't come off like they HAVE to do what I say, because they might be right, and then we BOTH learn something.    But when I've worked with a management group for years and they have a track record of a certain action, they tend to do the same thing.

And it's not because I'm so great, it's just that I have the relationship wth them, and if they don't work to work with me, they probably aren't going to work with anyone else either.  It normally doesn't come down from the management, but from the owners up the corporate ladder.

In the evening I helped Ashley with Chemistry and Jesse with elemental compounds. 

Peace.

I went back over to Adelaide Park this morning to get more of our equipment out of the mission.  I removed the dehumidifier (which I took to Jouven's house to help after their Ivan flooding), the TV/VCR and school supplies which we stored for now in the mission at Azalea.

I had lunch with Bob Speers the manager of Shallowford Gardens over a China Delight.  It's always tasty.  I especially love the General Tso's chicken.  Bob's been a dear friend to me for nearly 8 years now.

I worked at the office for a couple of hours making phone calls and answering email.  I fired up my browser and PTL everything worked!  If you remember, I had problems with my network at the office last week, right before I came home during the hurricane. 

I came on home and hung out with the kids for an hour and then ran 5.1 miles in 54:27:16.  It's a hard route with big hills.  I feel pretty groovy now.  My pre-run meal was Triscuits and Rolos. Can't be good for me, but sure did taste groovy.

Love.

We enjoyed going to Grace this morning.  Buddy preached from Revelation 18-19.  The music was especially great.  I loved the drummer!

Ashley and I went to Azalea this evening.  She helping the girls with some cheerleading moves.  I did a study on Foundations with the kids. After all the hurricane stuff, I thought they needed to know what they base their lives on is important.

Jouvens and I talked with Pedro for about an hour this evening.  I'm glad he's not in a gang.  His brother was shot at by some Sur 13 guys last week.  He and his friends beat up one of the gang members over at the Flea Market.  They haven't been back there since that happened.

The guys know which gang they're in by the belts they wear.  Sur 13 wears Navy Blue belts.  The kids all wear really long shirts, so they have to lift them up to "Claim" their gang.

Ashley and I worked on her "Life in Roman Times" Social Studies project this evening.  I hate it when she waits till the last second on this stuff.

I had a nice chat with my folks in Texas.  My Dad is really suffering with back problems right now.  Father, please help take away the pain my Dad is having.  AMEN!

Love.

Ashley still wasn't feeling too hot this morning so she (and half of Georgia--becuase of the hurricane Ivan) didn't go to school.

We went out to eat at Red Lobster, then went shopping at Old Navy, the Gap, Bed, Bath and Beyond and the pet store.  We got her some new sheets.  I got another candle called Harvest.  It smells pretty good.

We got home and I went for a 6.2 mile run to Lake Lucerne and back in 1:04:54.  My inside thigh seems a little chapped after that.  C'est la vie.

K and I watched the Triplets of Belleville this evening. It was an animated French film.  It was pretty good.  I also watched the season finale of Twin Peaks first season.  I hope to be able to get the other season on dvd too.  Netflix doesn't have it.  Bad luck.

Love.

Ashley didn't go to school today.  She was too tired and not feeling too well.

In fact a lot of Georgia didn't go to school, including DeKalb County and Fulton County.  All thanks to (according to the kids) Hurricane Ivan.  It rained a lot today and had some pretty gusty winds, but nothing to spectacular.  It's still raining tonight.

I was so frustrated this afternoon.  I spent about three hours with tech support, first with Bell South and then with Linksys over the dsl connection at the office.  It was working ok, but kept disconnecting.  I should have left well enough alone.  But that is truly not my style.  I'll have to go back next week and see if we can get it working again.  THANKFULLY it works fine here at home.  PTL, baby.

I had lunch with Arturo and Mikey today at Azteca.  We debriefed his stay at Nyack college last week.  He was part of the faculty for the prayer team.  He didn't sound like he had all that great a time.  A lot of spiritual warfare going on there.  He was shocked when I told him that Jon Hamby had quit last week.  Sad.

Ashley and I picked up Nick this evening so he could help us figure out the Chemistry homework.  She wasn't feeling well tonight, so I'm not sure how much she got from our little study session.  She did get a lot of the stuff right yesterday that we worked on.  I'm glad.  Nick also helped her with the Geometry home work.

The lights just flickered, so I'm going to submit this, just in case the power fails.  That will truly be a bummer.

Peace.

I'm helping Ashley slog through her Chemistry homework right now.  Ay caramba, hard stuff.  We finished Geometry.  I feel pretty stupid in both subjects, but I have to try and help her figure it out.

This morning I worked on confirming the 25 complexes for the Compassion in Action weekend on October 3rd.  I pretty much got them all nailed down.  There were a couple of manager changes, so I need to go by and meet them to see if they are totally squared away.

We are also adding Woodgate and Town and Country to the mix.  Harmony Bay and Adelaide Park are both out.

We had the manager's meeting for the Chamblee/Doraville group this afternoon.  The special speaker was on Women's self defense.

This afternoon I helped the kids at Azalea with their homework.  Mary Goldenberg was there to help too.

I brought the kids Chic-fil-a remains from the Manager's meeting.

Jesse worked on fixing the Octopus tank pumps to balance.

Ash and I went to Waffle House and then stopped at Starbucks on the way home.

Love.

I spent the morning over on the Beaver Ruin area researching the complexes where we can start new work.  It was a sad business clearing out our mission with all my chairs and tables.  It was exciting to think about new communities.  I shot a bunch of pix for the web site.

I still need to confirm all the 20+ complexes plus the new ones.

I helped the kids at the mission.  Jouvens had a bunch of Spanish homework.  It's good for me to work on that for a review of my knowledge.

I walked to the park with K and Sugar and then ran back home 1.5 miles in 14:05.

Peace.

I was running on zero this morning.  I felt more like a gusty boy than a force5 whirlwind.

I was bummed to hear the manager of Adelaide Park tell me they wanted me to "get all the tables and chairs out" of the mission.  Very sad.  Really tore me up to think of those kids who have nothing now.

Father, I ask a special blessing on the management and residents of the complex.  If they ever needed you before it's now.  Help us to find the right place for the team to work.  Amen.

I enjoyed (and needed) the company of two of my best friends, Tommy Hinely, who is the Missions Director for Rockdale Baptist Church, and Chip Sweeney, the Community Director for Perimeter.  We enjoyed warm fellowship and talked about the future of uniting churches in our area and in Rockdale county too!

I helped the kids at the mission and then went over to my in law's house to check on them.  My mother-in-law had gall bladder surgery last week.  She's doing better, but still not up to speed.

I got home and then took Ashley out to eat at Golden Corral.  We enjoyed some great company.  When we returned home, I helped her with her Chemistry homework.  Anyone remember how to do the half-life of 160 grams of Antimony-115 if the half life is 32 minutes?  Good grief.  No wonder kids think school is useless.

J is deciding whether to get out of his Honors Algebra class. He's doing ok, but not great.  I have to wonder if he's spending enough time studying it, but he's making all A's except for that one.  It's hard to know how hard to push kids.

I'm still deciding which complexes we'll be working in for Unite.  Perimeter is talking about 30 complexes, and perhaps more.  I'm confirming the 25 I have (minus Adelaide Park) and will find 6 more.

Love.

Whoosh. I'm pooped.  I've been in Villa Rica/Carrolton all day long.  I spoke at the Singles/Young Marrieds class at Midway Macedonia Baptist Church.  I had a great time helping them "Take the Church, To the People."

After the service, I went to eat Mexican food with Harold and Kim Duvall.  I ate fajitas, delicioso.

Then I went out and did some apartment research in the area.  I have several potential places where we can work.  I left notes, took pictures and will help the church get mobilized.

Later, I went for a 4.8 mile run up and down some of the most intense hills I've ever experienced.  I clocked in 53:05.  After running I had to take a "shower" using a gross sink and filling up a big ol' cup and dumping super cold water on my head.  Ouch.

After the evening service I met with the pastor and shared my vision with him for his church.  He seemed interested.  I hope it'll work out well.

Snarfed up a huge meal at Waffle House on the way home.

Home now.

Peace.

I just got back from playing a concert with my band Cruz.  We had a terrific time.  Played great.  We did have the cops come by and tell us to turn it down.  They were really nice though.  We played in front of Family Dollar off of Jimmy Carter.

Afterwards K and I went to eat at Long John Silvers.  Yummy fish and shrimp.

This morning K and I went looking for a new bike for her.  I think she actually wants me to ride it.  It's a 21 speed Vertical bike.  It looks cool.  But I'm a runner. Not sure I want to bike, but I might--it's better than just walking to the park.

I have to get up at 7am tomorrow morning. I preach at the Singles SS class at Macedonia Midway BC. It'll take me over an hour to get there.  I think I clocked it in at 65 miles. I'll plan on giving myself an hour and a half just in case.  That way I can stop in and get a cup of coffee on the way there.

I'm looking forward to relaxing now.  My fingers hurt.  I was playing some serious guitar.  Ex cell ent.

Peace.

Worked out hard this morning.  I did 6.7mi in 1:16:12.  It was a long run with a lot of hard hills.  Still felt pretty good afterwards.  Went for Philly Cheesesteak sandwhich and also bought some new socks.

In the afternoon I packed the car with all the Whirlwind Missions display for the missions conference at Macedonia Midway BC.  It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get there.  I set up everything and was by the display for about three hours.  Afterwards I headed back to Atlanta.  Pooped.

Ok, bye.

I had a hard day today.  Jesse and I were at odds over his playing his video game he enjoys.  I'm into moderation.  I don't think the game is inherently evil, but it's just taking too much of his time and it makes me jealous. So on the way to school I was just quiet with him.  We didn't have our usual prayer time together and my little "Go get 'em, Tiger" kind of comments.  I was bummed out the whole rest of the day.  Apparently, it had the same effect on Jesse, too.  I got home and we just hugged and hugged.  Sure do love that boy. 

The sermon last Sunday had to do with families.  Buddy made the point that one reason God gave us these relationships was to describe how He feels about us.  I kept thinking how sad the Father must be when we constantly ignore him.  I just felt like weeping today.  How HE wants to have a warm, loving relationship with us!

I had a interesting morning (even though I was so depressed) taking Dr. Bob Sprinkel (the new director of AIM--used to be where I worked three years ago) around to one of my missions.  Seems like a nice chap.  We went over to Oakbrook which has just had a change of management/owners.  Our work is always based on a sense of urgency: Owners change, managers change and residents change.  We have to act NOW, because we may not have a later.

Also relates to our work at Adelaide Park which has just stopped because of attacks in the last couple of weeks on children at that complex.  The cops have the guy who did it.  Hopefully, they will have us reinstate the ministry there soon.

I took Ashley and Jesse out to eat this evening to Waffle House--we had the Grand Slam, Ash had a bowl of cheese grits.  We then went to Lowes and Pet Smart for supplies for our Octopus tank.

We got home and I helped Ashley with her Chemistry homework.  I wish I would have had more time helping her with her Geometry. Lord, it's been 30 years (long years) since I did that stuff.

Looks like we'll be playing at Family Dollar this weekend with our band Cruz.  Ex cell ente!

I picked up our drum set from S. Trace this afternoon.  Arturo hadn't gotten it back to Lester so I had to take care of that little job.  Oh, well.  Art is in NY right now speaking at a conference.

Peace.

I had such a good time with an buddy of mine, Tommy Hinely.  We've known their family for over 20 years.  Kathy and Tommy were in the same Journeyman class together.

We talked about the mission opportunity in Rockdale county, specifically at a trailer park called Lakeview. This one housing area has over 4,000 people almost entirely Hispanic.

Our mission at Adelaide Park has had to close, at least for now. There have been some children attacked there.  The office staff is really shaken up by these events.  I'll try and get the team in another location asap.

I ran my 3 mile route this evening in 29:05.  Not bad.

Beauty.

Peace.

A super heavy rainstorm last night.  There were branches and leaves everywhere.  It smashed a lot of power lines.  Roads were closed.  Schools in DeKalb were closed.  Kathy went to work and then didn't.  She went to help her dad.

I went and picked up Jouvens and Ernest to go hang out with them.  We also dropped off Rosena at the Burlington factory.  She then forgot her purse.  We eventually went back to go give it to her.

We had Mexican food.  Went to El Azteca--it was closed because of the power outages.  We finally ate over at the Mexican food place near Briarlake BC.  It was excellente.

Went over to the Mall.  I walked around with the guys and watched them look for shoes and clothes.  Checked out all the new colognes.  We had probably a dozen little swatches with fragrances on them.  Funny.

Went to Barneys for some free coffee.

Athlete's foot for a step analysis.  The guys had fun with that.

After leaving the mall, we went to give Rose her money then headed over to see The Hero with Jet Li.  I think it was the most beautiful film I've ever seen.  The red scene with the yellow leaves . . . gorgeous.  It should win the Oscar hands down.  The action scenes were awesome. Overall just fantastic.

Picked up shrimp and a squid for Doc.

Got home and worked on the bank statements and buxx cards.  Think we've got it figured out now.

I need to pick up the expense statement tomorrow morning.

Groovy.

Man!  I just got finished pasting up the 2004 Whirlwind Missions display.  I have over 7,000 pictures in the Photo Gallery.  I tried to pick the best for the display. I think it's pretty groovy.

Kathy and I went to the zoo this afternoon.  The male panda was especially active.  He'd run around his pen smacking a big, blue ball with his head.  Lotta fun.  Of course the Ruffed Lemurs were in fine form--they remind me of Madagascar. It was pretty cloudy so it wasn't too hot.  Ex cell ent.

All that cuttin' and pastin' has worn me out.  Crashin', yo.

Peace.

I have just finished a massive publishing project.  I printed out my whole Xanga journal from the starting date in May until yesterday.  It totally fills an 1 1/2" binder.  I like the idea of having a hard copy of the journal.  From time to time I'll print out the current material, starting with TODAY!  Groovy.

After the Blog print out, I dove into the www.whirlwindmissions.org site as well as the home pages of each gallery from the Photo site.  There are well over 7,000 pictures in the Photo Gallery.  Lord only knows how many pages that would take to print!

It's good to have that material printed out and organized.  The web site takes up two large binders: Volume 1/2.  Most of the training and organizational material is in Volume 1, most of the Mission data is in Volume 2.  I reckon the Xanga posts would be Volume 3. Huge.  But beautiful.

We went to Grace this morning.  Buddy is doing a series of sermons on Revelation.  Ashley spent the night with her girlfriend Ashley Baird--it's her 16th birthday on Monday--today! Ay caramba, missed the midnight deadline again. C'est la vie, Baby.

I want to start printing pictures for the 2004 Display in the morning.

I ran more than 6.2 miles this evening--it turned dark while I ran.  I did the 10k in 1:05:29.  Nice, cool breeze.  I was planning on doing 5.1 miles and decided to up it at the last moment.  I know I ran more than .1 mile. but I'm not sure how much more.  I felt pretty good when I finished.  I got kinda nauseated later that night.  Happens sometimes when I push myself.

While I printed and organized our digital domains I watched more of the Real World marathon and the auditions for the Partridge Family and the new Surreal World show.  Bizarre stuff.

I'm looking forward to laying down flat.

Peace.

I had such a good day today.  I had the whole morning and early afternoon with Ashley and Jesse both!  It's so hard to get Jesse out of the house.  Usually he just wants to sit in front of the computer and play video games or read about programming.  We enjoyed eating Chinese food, going to the bookstore and Bed and Bath and looking for new sheets for our beds. 

We also went by to visit with Bill and Nell (Kathy's folks) and take them some Chic-fil-a sandwiches.  Nell is doing better although she is still sore from her surgery.

Jesse and I worked in the back yard again this afternoon.  We hauled off a bunch of old wood that Kathy had collected for a building project that never happened.  We also picked up the sticks from the yard and put them in a big compost pile.

Kathy and I walked the three miles to the park and back.  We watched some Chinese guys play bad tennis.  Pretty low entertainment value.

This evening I watched the movie, "Miracle" about our USA hockey team beating the Russians in the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid.  GREAT sports movie.  I love those underdog kind of shows.  I am SO into the team concept with what we're doing in missions. I think it's so important to work together in this war against the evil one.

We've had some hard news in a few of the missions.  Possible problem at Concept 21 in Roswell with the tutor program, Oakbrook Pointe being sold, and Aidlaide Park had a kid get raped.  Very difficult situations all three, and all within less than a week.  Lord, help us with these situations.

Love.

Today was my "day off."  I worked in the yard for hours.  I hacked and mowed and hauled off bush to try and clean up the back yard.  Woosh.  My left leg is on fire from all the scratches from those vines with these little bitty thorns.  Bahd luck.

I got my hair cut, and forgot my keys in my car.  I had a hide a key, but unfortunately didn't have my ingition key, so I walked home.  No big deal.  Actually kind of enjoyable.

This evening I went to see "I, Robot."  Really enjoyed it. 

Groovy.

Kathy's mom Nell went in for surgery this morning on her gall bladder.  Fortunately they were able to use the scope and correct the problem without having to do a major operation.  She's back at home now and doing well.

I had a meeting with many of my partners from the Unite gathering this afternoon at Golden Corral.  We're getting excited about working together in may complexes on the weekend of October 2nd.  Groovy.

I'm still working on the new display for the ministry.  I got everything printed out, still working on which pictures to use.

I'm watching Episodes 5/6 from Twin Peaks.  Anyone remember that series?

Kathy is spending the night with her folks this evening. . . just in case they need help.

I heard from Dave/Nicole Morse this evening from Malawi.  They seem to be doing well. 

Excellente.

This morning I got the report to Peachtree Corners Baptist Church mailed off along with a package for some of my best friends back in Austin, Texas. 

Went over to Office Depot to pick up two large dry erase boards for the ESL class at Northchase. I delivered them to the office along with the receipt.  Hopefully, they'll reimburse our ministry for that.

I did the lay out for the 2004 display.  I still need to print the pictures out and glue everything.  That'll be a job for Thursday morning.

Worked with the Azalea kids for nearly three hours.  Jouvens has a big chemistry lab due.  I helped type up  most of that.  We cleaned the mission to get it ready for the adult ESL class that evening.

Visited with Bill and Nell Doverspike.  Nell is going in for Gall Bladder surgery tomorrow.  Kathy will help along with her sister Ann.  It's supposed to only be day surgery.

Came home and crashed out for a while before running 4 miles up to Nick's house and back.  Did it in 42:35:29.  It is a really hard route.  In fact, in my first Xanga post I mentioned that particular run.  Ay caramba.

Republican convention is going on now.  Watched the Cheneys wax effusive about W.

Watched some US Open.  I love to watch Federer clobber that ball.  BAM.

Peace.

I'm gearing up for the fall mission conferences.  October and November are chock full.  I always enjoy talking to people about our ministry and encouraging them to get involved!

I worked on cleaning up and repairing the old displays and put some serious thought into what I want the 2004 display to look like.  We'll be using the DVD that Ian put together, as well as the ever popular "Amazing Whirlwind Simulator."  I'm getting my pals at Super Signs to make me some new titles for the displays based on the new logo.

I helped the kids at the mission for nearly two hours.  Yesterday, when I opened up the apartment, I was greeted by a dead rat in the middle of the living room floor. It was laid out like a miniature bearskin rug.  I got a bag, put it in it and hauled it down to the dippy dumpster. I didn't figure the kids wanted to take a look.

I put the finishing touches on the report for Peachtree Corners BC including pictures from the Outreach Events this last weekend.  I used the HP premium photo paper--matte finish.  I also used the special ink for the HP 2100 I have at my downtown office.  The pictures turned out really well.  I think I'll have some good stuff for this year's display.

I got home around 6:30 pm.  I had to stop at the mall to pick up the Richard Feynman book for Daniel's sister and the Grendal book for Jouvens.  I look forward to reading the Feynman book after Urelda finishes reading it.  While at the mall, I also picked up some goodies for Ashley from the Bath and Body Works store.  Unfortunately, I bought the bath wash rather than the lotion she wanted.  Bahd luck.

K and I walked the three miles to the park and back.  A little exercise is always groovy.  Later we watched Arnold rev up the Republican convention.  I still am at a loss as who to vote for.

I did some research on some books on tape I like listening to.  In fact I emailed James Lee Burke as well as Lee Childs tonight to let them know how much I've enjoyed their stories.  Sure beats riding around Atlanta listening to the wasteland they call "radio entertainment."

Ok. Bye.

As is par for the course, I don't get to my Xanga post till after midnight.  So it goes. . .

I've been working on financial stuff for our ministry.  I fill out excel spreadsheets on donations/expenses every two weeks and give them to my treasurer.

I also filled out a SOR (Request form for a missionary) for NAMB this evening for Kim Jeffrey.  I worked with Kim and her two daughters for about a year at Azalea.  I opened work in her area a few months ago.  Now Kim is following up with the official part of joining the NAMB/Whirlwind Missions team.  I'm glad she's coming aboard!

Also filled out a form for support for Peachtree Corners BC.  That took a while as it is pretty detailed.

This morning (Monday) I worked on the new brochure for our ministry. I changed the copy a bit to update it and changed all the pictures.  I'm really picky with that stuff, but eventually you have to say, "Good enough" and hit print.  I made 200 copies and folded them all, so I'm ready for the fall missions conferences.  I start in two weeks in Villa Rica at Midway Macedonia BC.  That follows with a church in Tennessee, the UniteAtlanta weekends in October, and Impact Atlanta with FBC Atlanta in early November.

I helped the kids at Azalea with their homework this afternoon after making calls at the FBC Doraville office and depositing the NAMB check.

I ran 3 miles in 80 degree heat with too much humidity in 29:05:09.  I had new shoes on. They felt pretty good, but not perfect.  They're New Balance too, but they don't seem as padded to me. Oh, well. 

Peace.

We had a terrific time at Grace Fellowship this morning.  Buddy did his usual great job of preaching and the worship with Aaron was outstanding. 

Kathy, Ashley and I went to Cici's for pizza.  Love those cinnamon rolls!

This evening we had two Outreach Events at Azalea and Don Juan/Pearl Lane with the help of FBC Atlanta/City on a Hill.  We had an ice cream party and distributed school supplies at Don Juan.  The team also shared their faith with the residents by using the "Good News, Bad News."

The closing ceremony from Athens was tonight as well as the VMA show.

Groovy.

We had a pair of terrific Outreach Events at Azalea and Don Juan apartments with the help of Peachtree Corners BC.  THANKS to great folks from PCBC for also collecting  school supplies for the missions.

I put the finishing touches on the Whirlwind Missions brochure 2004 version. I think it looks tight.

K and I watched "The Life of David Gale" this afternoon.

We ate steaks at Ruby Tuesdays.  Excellente.

After the Outreach Events I took Jouvens out to Taco Prisa.  I had Juevos Rancheros which were the bomb.  Jouvens had chicken and fajita tacos.

A good time was had by all.

Peace.

Thursday was a "Get 'er done" day.  I chased around keys for missions, supplies for Arturo, software for the new brochure.  It just seemed like one long day of errands. 

I did enjoy working with the kids at the mission.  They helped me do the envelopes for the September mail out.  Some of the girls even helped me write notes on the letter.  They looked so sweet helping "Mr. Tim."

I walked with Kathy to the park.  She got a bloody blister on her heal and had to walk barefoot the mile and a half back.  I was glad she was still ok the next day.  She suffers with a bone spur on her left heel.  It's gotten a lot better since she got a cortisone shot.

I've been suffering with fever blisters on my face and lips.  I got really sunburned on my face at the lake last weekend.  Direct relationship.  It's getting better, but still hurts.  Ashley has developed the same symptoms.

Friday was a rest day.  Beautiful!  I enjoyed working on the brochure.  I have the title page about knocked out.

I started out the day running 6.2 miles in 1:07:38.  Humidity was at 65% although the temperature was in the 70s.  Hot.

I went to Fernbank to see the Observatory last night with Kathy. Beautiful, although not a lot to see. Double star Alberio, Ring nebula, Cat's Eye nebula, and my favorite--the Moon!

Today I met with the Central Precinct Police officers of DeKalb county and the apartment managers.  We talked about the crime in that area and how we could work together to make the situation better. 

Then I attended the Property Manager's meeting in Chamblee/Doraville.  We discussed crime issues as well as community development plans. 

Later I dropped the keys for Foxfire over to First Baptist Atlanta.  I heard later that my teachers didn't show up.  They had around 15-20 people waiting for class.  I was really disappointed by that.

I spent about an hour going over the article that Arturo wrote for this month's Outreach Update.  I gave him a mini-course on journalism and support raising.  Here's the article that we came up with:

Hola Amigos!

            I was born in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, raised in both the United States and Mexico. Growing up in a multicultural setting prepared me for ministry today! I am one of six children raised by a ‘Warrior Mom’ who fought against all odds to support her children. My father abandoned my family when I was only twelve years old.  I worked as a field hand in the blistering sun picking onions and tomatoes making only $20 a day so my brothers and sister would have something to eat.

            After graduation from Mercedes High School, I enrolled at the University of Texas Pan American. While at UT, the Lord called me into ministry and I became heavily involved with Special Olympics. Later, I enrolled at Crown College and was accepted to their Pastoral Program. I graduated from Crown in May of 2004. 

            I feel a strong call to plant a church within the Hispanic community of Atlanta. I am partnering with the Christian Missionary Alliance.  I wake up each morning and ask myself,  'How Can I Change The World Today'? 

            Part of my calling has been fulfilled by working with Whirlwind Missions. I currently serve as Tim’s Regional Director for Northeast Atlanta in his “Frontliners” program.   I live on site at the Mission at Southern Trace Apartments and coordinate the work at Sierra Creek apartments. I share the Gospel with day laborers, tutor at risk kids, teach the Bible in the evenings, hold English as a Second Language and computer classes, and coach a variety of sports. Approximately 98% of the residents in my apartment complex are from Mexico and Guatemala. Spanish is my mother tongue and is essential to my ministry. 

            I believe we must Take the Church, To the People!  Whirlwind Missions has given me the opportunity to fulfill my calling within the International Community of Atlanta.  I want to THANK YOU for helping me start my ministry.  Two weeks ago there was a shooting in my complex and a man was killed.  I live in a dangerous place.  That’s a risk I’m willing to take for Jesus. It breaks my heart that that man died without knowing Christ.  I am at Southern Trace as YOUR missionary!  I cannot survive without your prayers and financial support.  Please give generously to Whirlwind Missions so we can reach even more communities for Christ!

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

I took Ashley over to Cici's for pizza--love their cinnamon rolls!

Spent several hours getting the layout done for the September issue so I'm ready to print the copies tomorrow morning.

I still need to work on the labels before I crash out.

Oy vey.

Peace.

I enjoyed lunch with Jon Hamby, Arturo and a friend from Crown College, Kristi this afternoon.

I picked up balloons for our Outreach Events this weekend, got the keys for Foxfire for our ESL teachers, worked on this month's Outreach Update, wrote and sent in the Supervisor's report to NAMB for Jon Hamby.

Kathy and I walked about 2.2 miles together at 8:30 pm and it was still hot!

I also set up the internet account for S. Trace and Best Buy and picked up more school supplies for the missions.  I still can't find a Richard Feinman book for one of the High School kids.

I edited Arturo's testimony for our September Outreach Update and will paste up the document tomorrow.

Love.

I was looking forward to eating lunch with Tommy Hinely this afternoon, but he ended up having to take his son to the doctor today. My prayers go out to his family.

I went over to Foxfire this morning to pick up the key for the club house.  They're supposed to be changing the locks on the front door and bathroom so one key fits all.  So I'll pick up the new set on Tuesday morning.  Then I'll go make copies for the teams at FBC Atlanta and Vineyard.  I'll be glad when everything is ironed out ok.  They've put up a lot of flyers around the complex so I hope more people show up at the missions. 

I worked on biz cards for Arturo this evening and this afternoon.  They turned out looking pretty good.  The color is not exactly the same as on my cards but still acceptable.

Lots of homework to help with the kids at Azalea.  We have several that speak zero English right now.  That is always a challenge for the kids.  We have several of the girls that have started an English class and have those kids go to "their" classroom to help them.  Pretty cute stuff.

Ashley and I went for a run this afternoon.  I did 2 miles in 18:42:22 and then walked the rest of the 3 miles with Ashley.  My left toe is bothering me some.  I have to be careful because I can get those ingrown toenails and they are a big bummer.

Ashley and I worked on Chemistry for about an hour this evening, mass, density and scientific notation.  Ay caramba.

Love.

We got back this afternoon from Lake Okonee where my family, Nick (Ashley's boyfriend) went to visit Susan and Bruce Coker.  They have a beautiful house by the water.  We enjoyed the jet ski, pontoon boat, fishing and swimming with the family.  It was a good time of needed rest.

I ran 10k/6.2 mi this afternoon and it was flat hot.  I usually run in the early evening, but went out at 2pm instead.  Not a good plan, yo.  I got overheated and had to run the final 2 miles of the track pretty slowly.  I made the whole run in 1:10:58.  I had just watched the women's marathon in the Olympics run the orginal course from Marathon in Greece.  They ran all 26 miles with each mile coming in around 5:30 minutes!  WOW!  Our runner Deena Cantor came in third beating out an Ethiopian woman.  I was sure impressed.

I didn't feel well afterwards and so I stayed home and rested and spent some quality time with Kathy.  I needed that worse than the kids needed me at Azalea. 

Kathy and I then watched Tommy Lee Jones in The Missing.  Pretty good movie.

Groovy.

I had a great time getting to know the new guys at First Baptist Atlanta this morning along with the new Missions Pastor Tom Nevill.  I've worked with Tom for two years now, I'm glad they gave him the position at First Baptist.  I know he'll do a great job for them.

We had our initial planning meeting for the Impact Atlanta event on November 6th.  We'll be hosting Outreach Events at 25 locations with possibly even more!  We're so far ahead of the game now that the www.whirlwindmissions.org site is so organized.  There are over 7,000 pictures in the Photo Gallery, many of which illustrate the locations where the events will be held.  Along with the contacts, maps and directions we are REALLY ready for this event.  Pray that the Lord will bring out lots of SS classes to get involved.

I went to Office Depot to pick up the last of the school supplies for the kids at Azalea.  The power went out while I was there-along with a big portion of Chamblee-so I had to come back to pay for everything.

Looks like Foxfire is going to give us a key to the clubhouse/office so we can do the ESL classes there.  That's a big trust in our team.  Excellent!

My family will be going to the lake tomorrow evening to spend some time with the Coker family.  Should be fun!

Love.

We had a terrific meeting with the other Unite churches today at Golden Corral.  Chip mentioned that there are over 60 churches participating in this year's event, and we hope to have 100 before October 2nd!  PTL.  Arturo went with me to meet some of the major players in this movement.

After lunch we shot over to my house where Al worked on my AC.  We just bought it last summer so I was bummed that it was having problems.  Thank you, Jesus that is has been unseasonably cool this last week.  It's amazing that we really didn't need AC too badly for the middle of August! Even more incredible, Al didn't even charge me for coming out!  WOW!

After the AC got repaired--just a loose wire--we cruised back to Azalea.  I helped the kids with their homework and then prepped the mission for our new ESL classes which started this evening at Azalea, Northchase, Huntington Ridge, Foxfire, Lake Colony and Briarlake Village with the help of teams from FBC Atlanta.

I finally got home after 8pm, put on my running shoes, and did a quick 3 miles in 27:43.  I did my second mile in under 8 minutes.  It's the flattest section of the course I run.

Peace.

I've been sick since last Friday.  Had a cold that just made me feel weak all day long.  I've spent a lot of time resting in bed, watching the Olympics.  Cool.

We had a great Outreach Event with the team from El Shaddai at Lake Colony this Sunday.  We fed and ministered to around 100 people.  It was an excellent first effort.

Spent a lot of time with Arturo this afternoon.  That's always a pleasure.  We picked up supplies for the missions.

I went by Northchase to square away the ESL class arrangements for Wednesday evening.  I met the new manager--Paris Woods.  I seems like a good dude.  I think we'll work well together.  I also went by Foxfire, Lake Colony, Wyndham Creek and Huntington Ridge to pass out fliers.  I had the kids help me put fliers on every door at Azalea this afternoon.  Hopefully we'll have some folks show up.

Kathy, Ashley and I went for Mexican food this evening at El Torrero's and then we went to Walmart to pick up more school supplies for Estuardo, Daniel and Natasha at Azalea.

Groovy.

I've had a bit of a cold for the last couple of days.  I'm feeling a little better this morning.  Friday I had Jason meet me with my van over at FBC Mountain Park. I then took him back to Azalea where he's been living for the last two weeks.  I made sure that I reimbursed him for what he'd spent at the mission and gave him and Susan a honorarium for their great work.  They'll be missed.

I haven't run in since Wednesday.  I might try today, if I'm feeling up to it. 

I worked on a poster for FBC Mountain Park this morning to say "THANKS" for their generosity with giving school supplies. 

Sam Letson and I went out for lunch at Athens Pizza on Ptree Industrial in Chamblee.  Gyros were excellente.

One of the kids in the mission is named, "Snoopy."  He whacked a little kid in the head (Brandon--Kevin's little brother--remember the story about me taking the family to the hospital to get the kid's head stitched up?  It was THAT little kid that Snoopy whacked.) I had talked with him three times and warned him that the next time he was going to be banned from the mission for two days.  So this time it was bannin' time. 

Suprisingly, his mother Carol came to speak with me about the incident.  I told her straight out what he had done, I told her that I had given him two warnings, and now I had to stick by my word or the kids would sense weakness.  And brother, you don't want that.  So by the end of my speil she was totally on my side. 

I'm still trying to hook up the kids with all the school supplies they need.  I'll go back for the odds and ends tomorrow.

I have to take an early day from the missions tomorrow (around 4pm) so I can get ready for an recognition banquet for our team in Conyers.

I ran 5.1, the Eckerdt's trail in 48:33.  I thought that was great cause there are some killer hills.  The weather was cooler and that definitely impacts how I feel at the end of the run. I think on level ground I could have run the whole 10k 6.2mi in under an hour again.  Groovy. 

Jesse is still fixing the desktop computer.  We're still backing up the D: drive onto the Maxtor external drive.  Then he'll reformat and reinstall XP.

Peaches.

I had the exhilirating experience of waiting for the oil in my car to be changed and my tires rotated and balanced this morning.  I spent time on their land line making calls.

We're getting new ESL classes moving with the help of Sandra Upton at FBC Atlanta.  VERY exciting to see what's happening. 

I spoke to the owner of Northchase today.  He was very enthusiastic about our ministry and working at Northchase in particular.  It is astonishing to see the turn around in that location.

I got the trophies ordered for the winners of the tournaments this last Sunday.  I also picked up six 1st and 2nd place ribbons.  The kids loved them.

The AC in our house is still not working.  I talked with our AC man and he is coming to fix it tomorrow or Thursday.  It is so nice and cool this evening.  Thank you LORD!

We had our second day of tutoring today.  It went well.  I went back to the Office Depot to get the school supplies that we ran out of or didn't have.

Also bought a basketball goal for S. Trace.  Jason will take it over to Arturo's tomorrow.

K and I went to eat at El Torreros.  Best dad gum fajitas I think I've ever had.

J is slowly getting the computer working.  We were able to load from the Windows ME disk.  He's now putting all the data onto the external hard drive as a back up.  Then he's going to completely reformat the drives and install XP. At least that's the plan.  Hoo yah.

Peace.

Today was the first day of school for kids in Gwinnett and Dekalb counties.  For the most part it seemed like the kids did well and had a good time.  Jason and I tutored kids for about an hour at Azalea before I shot over to Oakbrook Pointe in Norcross to take the director there snacks for the After School Program and school supplies.

The AC is out in our house.  Thank you Lord that the air is not SO hot.  We'd be dying otherwise.  I have my partner coming over to look at it Tuesday.  He told me to clean the filter first, as that might be the problem.  Hope so.

My desktop PC is also have major problems booting up.  I've been on the phone with Tech Support from Dell for about 2 hours so far with no success.  Spiritual warfare!

I'm thankful that my laptop is still running great so I can continue my work!

Ashley and Jesse seemed to have a decent first day.  It's hard to get up and hard to go to sleep on time.

Ran 3 miles in 29:14 this evening. 

Love.

It's late Sunday night and I need to crash.  Tomorrow is the first day of school.  The Summer ends.  C'est la vie, baby.

We had a great event on Saturday at Briarlake Village.  The Atlanta Chinese Christian Church North helped with the event.  Jason, Jouvens and I spoke to their youth group on Friday night.  Cruz also played, much to my delight.

Sunday we had our big Back To School event.  Whirlwind Missions sponsored a series of tournaments including a Basketball event featuring 2 on 2, Free Throw and Horse, a Twister competition and a King of the Hill for Mario Tennis on Nintendo 64. 

We also gave out school supplies, thanks to FBC Mountain Park.

And of course the Ice Cream was a big hit!

Pray for the kids going back to school.

Love.

I picked up school supplies from FBC Mountain Park this morning with Jason's and Jouvens' help.  They took the supplies back to Azalea and organized the material.  Hopefully, we'll have some folks from ACCCN help us with the distribution on Sunday evening.

We ate lunch with Arturo Castaneda and two of his friends Samuel and Josh.  We ate at Thai of Norcross.  Excellente. Afterwards we bought supplies for the missions and food for the Outreach Event on Sunday at Arturo's missions--Southern Trace off of Roswell Road.

After getting the supplies we went to The Corners to help with an Outreach Event that Anna Lisa Price and Lauren Barrett had organized.  Lots of pictures.

I spoke to the youth group of the Atlanta Chinese Christian Church North tonight.  They'll be helping me with a block party Saturday at Briarlake Village.  I took Jason Thomas and Jouvens Mokombe with me to the meeting.

I didn't get back home till after 11:30 PM.  I took Jason and Jouvens out to Cici's Pizza after we spoke.  When we got back to Azalea the young men were playing basketball.  We're having a tournament on Saturday/Sunday.

I'm looking forward to playing with the band Saturday afternoon.

Peace.

Today was Ashley and Jesse's registration at school.  Ashley will be a Sophomore at Parkview High School and Jesse will be in 8th grade at Trickum Middle School.

I put together the proposal for support to Atlanta Vineyard Church.  I think it looks pretty good.

Rained like crazy this afternoon. Torrents.

I'm setting up some gear downstairs in my house. I'm using my HP Pavilion laptop more every day.  Jesse still spends a lot of time on my computer playing Final Fantasy XI.

Groovy.

I got my folks off to the airport yesterday.:( It was still great to see them.  They couldn't believe how many Waffle Houses there were in this area, so I took them there for breakfast before they left.  It was good.

I had a meeting with Susan Watson this morning, she's still trying to figure out what she wants to do now that she's graduated.  We went over to Nancy Creek Elementary School to talk with the School Counselor.  She gave Susan some advice as to what coursework might be good for her to follow.

Jason and Jouvens are working together to take the moonwalk around to different complexes.  So far we've covered Azalea (of course), Don Juan, The Corners, Briarlake Village and Oakbrook.

I ran three miles this evening in 30:03. 

Hidalgo came in the mail by Netflix!

Peace.

My family and my parent went over to FBC Duluth this morning to check out the service and then eat lunch with Tom and Nancy Jones.  I grew up with the Jones family in Kenya.  It was fun to catch up with them and think about all the fun times we had had together.

I went to the mission at Hunting Creek/Bicor in Conyers today.  We had a large Outreach Event there.  Plenty of great pictures at our Photo Gallery.

We also had an OE at the Huntington Ridge Mission with the help of Christian Life Assembly from Columbia, SC.  This was Jessica Cruz' last day of the summer with Whirlwind Missions.  She has been one of the first in our Frontliners Program.  She'll be missed.

I ran 4mi this evening on what I call the "Nick Trail."  It's made up of a series of steep hills.  Tuff.  Made it in 42:42.

Ashley went to the Braves game tonight with Nick.  She's still not home and it's 11:15pm.  She better be home soon.

Great news!  I picked up my folks from the airport this morning.  They flew in from Austin, Texas.  I drove them around to several of the missions to show them what we've got going on with the teams in town.

I went to Best Buy this evening to help my mom pick out a new computer for her house in Texas.  They're going to deliver it straight to their home in about 2 weeks.  For the next few days there is no tax on the purchases so she saved about $80 right of the top.  She went with a Pavilion desktop--which is the brother to my laptop that I'm using now.  Super tight.

I got a confirmation from my partner Tim Hutchinson at Suburban Rentals that we can use the Moon Walk next week.  One of my Summer Staff will be taking it around to several missions every day to let the kids have fun with it.  Boy, will Jason be the hero!

I ran 5.1 miles in 57:07.  That's the first time I've run since I hurt my back last Saturday.  I felt fine, except it was incredibly hot and humid.  I didn't try and go too fast since I was running wounded.  Still, not a bad time considering. . .

Mow, mow, mow the grass. . . .

I got my old lawnmower started after beating the exterior out so the blade could go all the way around.  Mowed the front and part of the back.  The blade was bent perpindicular to the ground!  Ay caramba.

Jason Thomas got back from the Bahamas last night into Azalea.  He'll be living there for the next three weeks.  He'll be running a rec program at Azalea.  He'll be using the van and taking the moonwalk around to the different missions next week.

My folks get into town Thursday morning.  Groovy.

Peace.

My back is still hurting.  Hard to get around.

I got Casey's chair over to FODAC to get repaired.  Her son Miguel rode around with me.

We visited the teams at Huntington Village, Don Juan, Oakbrook and Huntington Creek.  World Changers is sponsoring the work.  I just tell them when and where.

Didn't run today.  Trying to let me body heal.

Pasted up and did the copies.  Ash is writing the notes on them.

Love.

A lot has happened since I posted.  Kathy and I went for a two night trip to Chattanooga's Lookout Mountain.  We always enjoy that.

The band played at Adelaide Park Saturday.  I hurt my back loading up the van with the PA.  Bahd luck.

I preached this evening at FBC  Duluth to the World Changers conference.  Groovy.

Peace.

Ashley went with me today to help me do my work.  It's always great to have such a beautiful person beside you!  She always makes my day better.

We had a meeting with the team that's working with Bennett at Willow Branch in Clarkston: Olive Springs BC from Marietta.

Ash and I had lunch with Arturo at China Delight is Chamblee--ex cell ent.  We got Arturo the keyboards and equipment he needs for the mission at Southern Trace.

We also had a groovy time at Moosebreath in Chamblee.  Here are some pix I took of our visit.

After having such a great day at Moosebreath, I came home to Disc One of the First Season of the TV series--Twin Peaks.  This was my favorite show on TV *by far* in the 90s.  It only lasted one season.  It is some of David Lynch's best work.  I am loving seeing it again.

Groovy.

On a mission or mercy for the sick and afflicted.  Today I worked on getting another charger for Casey's wheelchair.  I got it all hooked up, but it still didn't work, so it looks like I'll have to take the whole chair in this time.  Bahd luck.

I got more supplies for the block party this weekend at Adelaide Park.  Talked with Terry Stukes about helping with that.  He's preaching at another church in Athens on view of a call, so he won't be here to help this time.  He has a great attitude, so he'll be missed.

Picked up another Nintendo64 game system--this one will be going over to the mission at the Terraces.  I got some games for them as well from Game Stop.  I've tried other systems, but the N64 is the only one that is "mission tuf." The rest just get destroyed in a matter of days.

Clatie Lewis has been great about helping us fix up more computers for the mission.  He refurbishes the old ones or uses parts from others to get some of the systems going.  I took 6 yesterday.

Ate at the Maharaja for lunch.  Most excellent goat curry, I'm telling you.

Peace.

This was a day of errands.

I was in search of a washing machine for our shirt project.  We're going to start making hand-made tie-die t-shirts with our "force5" brand.  You need a washing machine to clean and agitate the cotton shirts.  I didn't think it was cool to use the laundrimat at the apartment complex.  We'll let the excess die drain off into the back yard.  We're in a perfect place for that.

Also got water for the octopus tank that my son has.  Doc Ock.  Cool beast.

Picked up the charger for Casey's wheel chair.  Hopefully they can fix that tomorrow morning or give us another one.  She hates not having her chair to move around in.

We had a team from Virginia come and help us at Azalea today.  Even though they're only there for a couple of days, it's still great for everyone involved.

I rested this afternoon.  I felt great, but thought it's best to let the body rest too.

Picked up six more computer that Clatie has refurbished for us. I'll be taking them to the missions at Huntington Terraces, Southern Trace and Azalea.

Ernest took his final in Science today.  He'll be taking the SAT in August.  I got him some software to help him practice.  He's the first person in the Mocombe family to ever graduate from high school.  I'm trying to get him into Perimeter College then upgrade to another university of his choosing.

Groovy.

I had a great time preaching this morning at FBC Doraville.  The crowd seemed responsive.  I preached on 1 Corinthians 12:12--diversity in the one body.

Came home and rested.  Went out for a run.  Felt good, decided to go for 10k--6.2mi.  First mile--one of the hardest--went by quick.  At 3.1 I was still feeling groovy and running about 9 minute miles.  Today, for the first time ever, I broke one hour!  Ran that 10k in 59:59:72.  Talk about close! 

Watched "You Got Served" on dvd.  Lotsa dancin', not a lot a actin'.

Suh weet.

Kathy and I went to the zoo today.  Lots of fun!  The pandas, orang utans and gorrillas were especially cool.

Rained heavily after we left the park.

I worked on my sermon for FBC Doraville.  I'll be preaching from 1 Corinthians 12--Unity and Diversity.  Certainly fits that congregation!

Peace.

I ran 4 miles this afternoon in 41:21.  Faster without the dog.

We just got back from Ruth and David Sullivan's house.  I've never eaten at their house and I've known them for nearly 20 years.  Kathy's folks and both her sisters were there.  Fun.

Ashley and I went to check on the team from FBC Mountain Park who are working on the fellowship hall of FBC Doraville.  They've made some real progress.

Ashley bought some new high heels.  They look cute on her.

The octopus has been eating shrimp lately.  Seems to like them.

Peace.

I can't believe how fast the progress at FBC Doraville is coming.  Most of the tile that was messed up has been replaced by the teams from FBC Doraville and Mountain Park.  The lights have been replaced by flourescents.  Excellente.

Jesse wasn't feeling well today.  He complained of a swollen gland in his neck.  He seems to be feeling better this evening.

It was so hot today.  The sign on the Walgreens said 99.  That's hot, yo. 

Sugar, my dog, and I ran 3 miles this afternoon in 32:42.  She slows me down, but she seemed to want to go so bad I took her.

Kathy, Ashley and I went to Provinos.  I had Cannolloni Genesse.  Suh weet.

My folks are planning to come and stay with us for a few days on the 28th.  Groovy.

Peace.

Sunday I preached at Bethany Baptist Church.  I had a great time with this enthusiastic congregation.  I look forward to working with them in the future.

I also went with Ashley to the Atlanta Youth Academy where I got to meet three youth groups who came down to work with Church of the Apostles.

Ashley and I them went to the Italian Oven for supper.

Today I worked with the construction teams from FBC Mountain Park and FBC Aberdene, NC.  The NC team also helped us with Backyard Bible clubs at Azalea and Don Juan.

Did I mention today is my birthday?  I'm 46 today.  That has a special meaning for me.  When I used to work for WTOC-CBS in Savannah, the Police Code for a dead body was a  . . .you guessed it. . . 46.  That word means death to me, so it's kinda weird to be 46.

I ran 6.2mi (10k) today in 1:11.  It was mighty hot, even at 8pm.

Love.

Living Word BC from Bogart, GA--just outside of Athens came to help us host an Outreach Event at Wyncrest in Clarkston.  Over 40 kids showed up to play games, get faces painted and eat a hot dog.

After we had eaten it just poured down rain.  Woosh.  

Check out visuals from the photo gallery. 

Peace.

The last three days have been Goldrush!

We had teams at 15 different complexes with over 600 volunteers from all over the East coast participating.

Working on the prep for the construction project at FBC Doraville next week.  Had lunch with Chip Sweeney at the American Bread Company. 

Went to see Spiderman 2.  Kinda cheesy, but it goes down easy.

Peace.

It's late Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I can't believe how much it's been raining lately.  Every day. . . on and on. . . .

I had a relaxing day with my family.  It was fun!

Worked on pressure washing my deck.

Checked on the new sign for the office.

Ran 6.2mi yesterday in 1:07.

Saw a great fight between a blue crab and our octopus.  Cool--"Terror of the Deep" kinda stuff.

Peace.

Stayed up past my deadline tonight, so today is now yesterday.

Had a productive time.  The teams are on site at 8 locations and all is running smoothly.

Took Jouvens and Scott out to eat at El Azteca to talk about the work.

Later we checked on Azalea, Westwood, Oakbrook, Huntington Ridge and Briarlake Village.

I spent time on the phone this morning checking in the teams who had served with us, reminding them of their obligation to support the ministry.  I'd like to make sure that Summer Staff can have a good love offering.

Watched Arlington Road tonight.  Just ok.

Moving along with plans with Vineyard and Church of the Apostles.

Love.

I actually ran in the rain today.  I thought only idiots did that.  It started sprinkling, and I wanted to run worse than I wanted to stay dry.  So there I was, jogging down the street, with my t-shirt over the top of my head because I can't stand the feeling of drops of water on my scalp.  I did the 2 mile loop in 18:40.  Yesterday in my One Year Bible I wrote down that I was excited that I had broken 25 minutes for that track. Progress.

Watched "Rocky" with my wife tonight.  The movie still holds up. 

We received our two teams for the week.  One is from Kentucky, the other from Ohio! Always liked the Buckeyes because I used to work at a TV station with a guy from Ohio.  Rob Young.  Good people.

Arturo is gamely taking the funk-a-delic paint off the walls at Southern Trace to replace it with a more adult, Latino look.  I can't wait to see it.  I sent five volunteers over to help him knock it out.

Jesse reformatted my C drive on my desktop yesterday.  I now have XP on it.  PTL.  That thing was running ME, we'd have to restart it 10 times a day.  He stays up all night long working.  He's nocturnal.  I told him that 2am is the cutoff.  He looked at me like I was a barbarian.  How dare I?!

Peace.

Rainy day.  I mean heavy rain.  This has been the rainiest Summer I ever remember in Georgia.

I went to have an Outreach Event at Lake Colony Apartments with a Spanish church partner called "El Shaddai."  We'll have to reschedule the event until July.

Jesse came with me this evening.  It's always cool to have J around.  He's a really smart kid, who is widely read.  We usually talk about techno-geeky kind of stuff: IP routers, packet switchers, Linux vx. Windows. . . . It drives my wife crazy, cuz it's like another language.  He's done a terrific job of overhauling our website www.whirlwindmissions.org.  I like the new look and the new logo.

Kathy and I had a nice time watching "To Kill a Mockingbird," with Gregory Peck.  Awesome. 

Roger, out.

Today was a day of love!  Here's some shots from Ian's wedding.

Sweet dreams to two of my favorite people.

After I got home went for a 10k (6.2mi) run.  Came in at 1:03.

Finished the mailout of the DVDs of Whirlwind.

Peace.

I was thinking this week about movies.  I like team stories.  The hero puts together his/her team and they battle the bad guys together—the sum always being greater than the separate parts.

The Father gave me a dream last week.  I was on a playing field and two huge groups of people were having a tug-of-war.  There were at least two hundred people on each side: equally matched.  The competitors strained against the rope.  Each side sweating profusely, but the rope never moved.

My eye was then drawn to another part of the field.  Four people were on one team, but there was no opposing team.  The four people were running across the field at top speed, absolutely nothing impeding their progress. 

The Father then told me, “It’s not how many people you have on the team as long as everyone is pulling in the same direction.”

I’ve thought a lot about that dream this week.  I think about the staff that joined me this Summer.  Such as Ian North, who’ve I worked with over the last three years.  He came back to Atlanta to work on a DVD for our ministry.  You’ll get to see the fruits of his labor when you watch the program.  Ian worked hard on the project and his enthusiasm for our ministry is evident. 

And Arturo Castaneda.  He’s one of my newest directors working in the Roswell Road area of Atlanta.  He grew up in Mexico and recently graduated from Crown College in Minnesota.  He is uniquely gifted to reach immigrant population.  He has a great desire to win people to the Lord.

And Anna Lisa Price—the sixth daughter in a family of twenty-two kids!  Her parents adopted children with difficulties.  She has been in ministry since childhood.  Anna Lisa is doing a great job at the mission at the Corners—leading many people to Jesus

And Scott Brown—who took time off this summer to help us in the ministry. Whether it’s checking on teams, moving tables and chairs or sticking labels on envelopes, Scott has pitched in and made the load much lighter.

And Jessica Cruz—Part of my Summer Staff.  She is the co-director of one of my missions and helps me coordinate the teams on site.  Jessica is studying nursing and wants to reach people for Jesus in the medical profession.

These folks are just small part of the Whirlwind Missions team.  God is continuing to bring us talented servants who want to “Take the Church, To the People!”  I hope as you watch the DVD you get a taste of the ministry that you have helped make possible!  THANKS!

I had a great time getting to know the Crossover Communications team today.  We have one of our new Summer Staff on board as well, her name is Lauren Barrett.  She'll be living at the Corners with Anna Lisa.  We saw four of the missions and also ate at Benny's BBQ.  Excellent!

I was supposed to go to Ian's wedding reception, but somehow we got the wrong time and we ended up being there about two hours late.  Bahd luck.  I look forward to seeing Ian and Ruthie tie the knot Saturday afternoon.

I just got finished writing about teamwork and my staff.  I'll post that too.

Peace.

It rained like a hurricane today.  It was wild!  It reminded me of when I used to work for CBS and covered Hurricane Hugo.  Mighty Wind!

We're nearly finished labeling and making copies of the Whirlwind Missions DVD!  I'm looking forward to sending it out to the supporters!

I took shots and encouraged my teams this week which included Porter Memorial, FBC Bonifay, FBC Mt. Vernon, and the Merge teams which came from many different churches.

Jesse has converted most of the whirlwindmissions.org site to php.  Cool!  That means whenever he makes a change the whole site is chaged to reflect the change--plus it's faster to load the pages now.  Bee you tee.

I had a great conversation with my directors of the Roswell Rd. missions, Arturo Castaneda and Terry Earl.  Great folks!

We enjoyed Diablo Chicken from the Gourmet International at Northlake mall this afternoon.  Props out to Scott and Ian for their exceptional diligence!

Peace.

We're knee deep in DVDs at my office.  Ian is busily burning the disks and making sure they play in a player, then we label and package each DVD so they're ready to be mailed in this month's Outreach Update.  To see what I write for each month go to www.whirlwindmissions.org and click on Newsletters.

I got the teams started at Wyncrest, Kensington Manor and checked out the other group working at Azalea and Highland Gardens.

It has continued to rain heavily in the afternoons, but the teams are having a great attitude and overall everything seems to be working well.

The teams from Merge are also locked and loaded.  There was some problem with evironments where noone spoke English, but that's just part of working in the International Village.  Some of the directors didn't do a particularly good job of emphasizing the international nature of our work.

We had a great lunch with Arturo, Ian, Eric and Scott for the Oromo Special of Tibbis Beef and roast goat served on Enjera over at Madina on Memorial.

I'm shooting over to FBCD now to get Ian the extra supplies he needs for the project.

Love.

It's been a productive day!  Scott Brown rode over with me in the van to pick up 9 computers, 4 monitors, 2 printers and 2 scanners!  We took them over to a partner's house who refurbishes them so they can be used at the missions. PTL.

We then met up with Arturo and Ian for some excellent General Tso's chicken at China Delight right across the street from PDK airport in Chamblee.  Absolutely authentic and completely delicious.  I always get a kick out of taking new folks over there because the main menu is only in Mandarin!

Back over to the office to make a BUNCH of phone calls to all the managers where there will be teams next week.  We'll be in 23 locations!  Amen. 

My first week of the summer is drawing to a close.  The overall feedback from residents, teams and managers was very positive.  Love to hear that!

Check out the photo gallery from our web site at www.whirlwindmissions.org and click on Teams 2004 to see what happened.

I'm now off to check on getting some transfer paper to make T-shirts for the teams that come.

Later I'll be working at the house in preparation for the Doverspike family who will coming to visit with us for the Father's day weekend.

Love!

Well how about that? I'm making a midnight deadline.

The rain has continued in the afternoons, but the teams are dealing with it.

Took chairs and tables from FBC Doraville to the mission at Concept 21 Roswell.

Lunch with Ian, Arturo and Scott. We had El Azteca.  I got my usual Taco salad, todo pollo, sin crema.  Arturo got Fajitas Chihuahuas.  I kept telling him the fajitas were from dogs!  I asked Ian, "You ever had dog?"  He looks at me and says, "Of course, it's the Phillipines" just as dog on a stick was common.  Hoot.

Jesse has really done some MAJOR improvements on the www.whirlwindmissions.org web site.  We haven't uploaded it yet, but it is supa hot.

We watched some Shawshank Redemption tonight.

Ran 6.2mi (10k) this evening.  The humidity had to be close to 90%.  It had just rained and was like running in a terrarium.  I did it in 1:13:59.  Man, I was wore out.  Still felt pretty good, but was just, whoa.

Stay tuned, yo.

Wednesday 6.16

It never seems like I get a chance to actually write about what happened on the day it happens!  C'est la vie, baby!

Terrific day yesterday.  I had teams in 29 locations, everything went smoothly, except at a few of the new complexes it was hard to round up the kids.  That's fairly typical since they've never had a Backyard Bible Club before and really weren't expecting anyone to come.

I spoke to my group from Agricola BC at Rehobeth, then shot over to the Property Manager's Meeting of Chamblee/Doraville--many of my best friends go to that meeting so it's always fun.  The DA for DeKalb county spoke to us.

I had a fun lunch with Ian and his brother Eric.  They're knee deep in making DVDs for our ministry.  They're coming out great.  If you'd like one, email me at timcummins@comcast.net and I'll see what I can do.

In the afternoon, I went around to 8 different sites taking pix for the Photo Gallery.  If you haven't seen that--DO IT!  Nearly 5,000 pix on there now and I think the photography is great.  www.whirwindmissions.smugmug.com.

Went out to eat at El Torreros with my sweet wife Kathy and my daughter Ashley and her boyfriend, Nick.  I had fajitas.  Yumbo.

Peace.

Tuesday, 6.15

I spent time with the second group of my teams--from Agricola, MS.  They worked in six locations.

Went to S. Atlanta near the airport to figure out the housing for a team next week.  Met Barbara Miller of the Pathways Christian Academy.  She'll be helping the team from Florida with their food.  Apparently there are a lot of Hispanics in her area as well.

Dave Hix called me and said that their bus had burned out their brakes.  Fortunately they were on the highway and were able to pull the vehicle off the road.

Manager of Parkwood Village told me that there might be a liability problem with having the team on site.  I may have to juggle one of the teams to a new location tomorrow morning. 

Went to Clarkston to listen and help interview refugees from Liberia at Willow Branch.  Ian shot the video for us.

Worked on the web site with Jesse.  He's redoing a lot of the site's graphics--mainly the navigation bars/buttons.  The whirlwindmissions.org site is going to look a LOT better.

Gotta crash.  It's already tomorrow . . .again.

Monday 6.14

First summer teams went on line this afternoon in 28 different locations.  We babysat two Greyhound sized buses through the complexes.

I dropped off extra tables at Parkwood Village and Lake Colony.

Ran 5mi in 50:38.

This is Sunday evening around 1am. 

I'm getting ready to crash in preparation of the start of the Summer Teams tomorrow/today the 14th.

I preached this morning at Ministerio El Shaddai--a Spanish church.  It was the first time I've spoken in front of a Spanish congregation totally in Spanish.  I did about 15 minutes as requested and shared with the congregation some basic facts about our area:  145 different countries, 761 language groups in one five mile area called the International Village.

Ashley came with me to the service.  We then listened to the pastor preach for over an hour.  He was still good.

Ash and I then went to El Azteca for lunch.  I had my usual taco salad, sin crema, pollo--por favor. 

Came home and crashed out for about 20 minutes, then got Jesse and returned to the mission at Azalea.  We had a team from First Baptist Atlanta come and help with an Outreach Event. 

Jesse and I then went to Ranch Market 99 where we picked up 1/2 pound of black sea snails, three crawdads and a blue shell crab--for "Doc" our octopus.  It was super tight to watch him tear the crawfish apart and eat it.  The terrors of the sea right in the next room.

Better crash so I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed.  Or something like that. . . .

Saturday was a wild day.  A day of hospitals.

Kathy's dad was checked into St. Joseph hospital Friday evening.  I went over to see him this morning.  No clear diagnosis had been made.

Then I got a call from Tito that said that Lester was feeling really bad, and wouldn't be able to play the concert over at the Farmer's Market on Jimmy Carter.  That was disappointing, especially because Ian was supposed to video the band.

After talking with Tito, I called Ian's house to tell him that we wouldn't be shooting the video after all.  Ian's sister tells me, "Ruth Ann has been checked into the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.

I was stunned.  After packing the van for the Outreach Event, I went over to Emory Eastside to check on and pray with Ian and Ruthie.  She's supposed to be released tomorrow if all goes well.

After my hospital visits, I went to Kroger to buy the food for the event.  Once I got on site, I started setting things up.  Ahn, the manager of the Farmer's Market, said that I couldn't do that on the sidewalk without a permit.

Oh, Lord. 

After talking to the Family Dollar manager, we decided to do the event anyway and we'd talk to the cops, if they showed up.

No cops came,

I shared the Gospel with about forty people and the team from Peachtree Corners Baptist Church did a great job.

Tomorrow morning (really this morning since it's already past midnight) I will be preaching at a local Spanish congregation.  I look forward to that.  Hector Soto is the pastor.  His church will be working at Lake Colony apartment complex.  I'm supposed to get the church fired up about that.  Reckon I can do that.

Sunday evening we're scheduled for another Outreach Event--this time at Azalea, "my" mission.

Crazee day.  

Lord, be with Lester, and Daddy and Ruthie.  A Men.

Yesterday, I ran three miles in the fastest time ever: 28:03.  For an old man, that's mighty quick.

When I was at the beach I had a chance to float in the ocean.  I felt like I was back in the womb.  The water held me up so well.  My body felt lean.  I had run over 6 miles earlier that day.  I love the ocean.  The sand I'm not too crazy about.

Today is Friday.  We returned from the beach on Wednesday afternoon amidst showers on highway 16.  After unpacking, I dove into the 140+ emails I had to deal with.  Later, I walked three miles with my wife to the park.  All in all it was a super phat week. Washington and Savannah in 7 days--excellent!

Yesterday, I hit the ground running.  I picked Ian up and went over to Huntington Village to confirm the teams coming there.  Also took by some new software for Sheri over at Oakbrook Pointe. 

We started new work at Saddlebrook apartment complex which is a major community off of Singleton.  It turns out the the assistant manager there, Jeanette, is the cousin of Claudia at Huntington Village!  That sort of "coincindence" happens to me all the time.  It's a Jesus thing. We'll have our Impact Team--led by Susan Coker start work there next week.

We shot pictures of the new location that the band will be playing--right in front of the Jimmy Carter Farmer's Market shopping complex.  I think it's going to work out fantastic, because we'll be right on the corner, right by the intersection and on the top of the hill they'll be able to hear the band for probably a mile.  Suh weet.

We returned to the office and Ian showed me the rough cut of the DVD that we're working on for Whirlwind Missions.  It looks great.  I tracked some additional audio and now it really looks finished.

Ian went out to shoot some interviews with Jouvens for another section of the dvd.  I worked on calling the apartment managers over a change of schedule.  One of the teams changed their week and neglected to tell me.  Whack!  So I had to tell managers that the team they were going to have can't make it.  I hate that.

I redid the contact list and included all the directions for the new missions.  That was a job that I had been putting off.  Took a couple of hours, but at least now it's down.  The info is in the hands of my webmaster and graphics designer.

If you haven't checked out the mother web site at www.whirlwindmissions.org you should.  I'm especially proud of the photo gallery. 

6.6

Ate breakfast at Sunrise Restaurant --J & I had "the big breakfast."

Got back to 109 and decided to run the "Tybee 6Mi Loop." The heat kept me to 5.75mi in 1:11:08.  I  was pooped with a capital "P".

We enjoyed stuffed pasta at the Tybee Pizza Place--with yumbo marinara sauce.

Watched the beach go dark while two men practice wind surfing.

Still playing Castle Wolfenstein with J.

Big news as the G8 summit is being held here in these islands.

6.5

We shot out of Dublin at 11am.  Paid our bill and headed east on highway 16 towards Savannah--the birthplace of my children--Ashley & Jesse.

Stopped in Metter where we chowed down on KFC. There was a youth group there with green t-shirts that said "Share the light." Good plan.

We cruised into Pooler a couple of hours later.   We visited where our old house used to be, there's a new one there now.   I had fun taking lots of pix of the neighborhood, the churches we went to,  and our favorite restaurants. This was the neighborhood where we first became a family.  We lived in a two bedroom house that we called "the Love Shack" a little homage to the B52s.

Leaving Pooler we headed down highway 80 straight to Bay Street in the heart of the Historic District.  I worked as a Field Producer and the Chief Photographer for WTOC-TV in Savannah for 5 years. When I ride around the city I'm reminded of the stories I covered here. 

Leaving Savannah we headed over to Tybee Island where we'll be staying the next three nights.

We checked into the Royal Palm hotel and got our favorite room #109.  I immediately got dressed out with my running shoes and scampered out the door.  I ran 6.1 miles in 1:08. Not my fastest time, but considering the heat and humidity,  not bad.

Jesse brought his laptop and X-Box but unfortunately we didn't have the right cables to hook it up to the TV so we made a trip to the Walmart on Wilmington Island.   We also picked up the game,  "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" to play.

On our way back to Tybee Island we stopped at the yacht club.  I wanted to get some shots of the wetlands and the beautiful boats.

On our way up the dock we noticed hundreds of little Fiddler Crabs.  Jesse mentioned how they were the perfect size for the octopus.   Later,  we found some fishing line and tied a tiny bit of jerky to it.  We dangled it in front of one of the little crabs and once he got a hold of it we put it in a little cup.   Wednesday we'll figure out a way to transport them back for Bruce the Octopus.

Later that evening I went over to Chu's convenience store for a Nutty Buddy bar for Kathy while J polished off a Crunch Bar and ate some mint chocolate with me.

I'm tapping this into my iPAQ right now while Jesse kills Nazis with his X-Box.  

Nighty-nite.

6.4

We spent the night at Comfort Inn in Dublin. We enjoyed a great conversation  with my folks in Texas.

Kathy and I went to Waffle House to eat omelets and waffles just before midnight.  Excellent!

I was on fish patrol this morning.  I shot over to Marine Reef off of Johnson Ferry road to pick up 45 gallons of RO (reverse osmosis) water.  That's a special kind of purification process that's used for water in tropical fish tanks. 

Jesse has an octopus downstairs in my bedroom.  I call him "Bruce" mainly because I watched the Hulk the day we got him.  Jesse says that name is "pink" and calls him "The Agent" alluding to Matrix.

I was in search of the water, ghost shrimp (which are the tiny, nearly invisible shrimp that the octopus loves), and black sea snails.  I got everything but the snails.  I went to Ranch Market 99 first--which almost has that kind of stuff, but struck out there and at three other markets.

But while I was at the Jimmy Carter Farmer's Market I stopped by the Family Dollar right next door.  I told the Manager that I have a band and we play with different churches. I wanted to start doing concerts in front of his store, handing out free balloons and face painting for the kids and cooking hot dogs.  Of course we will preach and hand out tracts, too.  The manager's name is Larry.  He's a Baptist guy and wants us to come and play there!  HooAH! 

It is a PERFECT location.  Near the corner of the building, protected from weather and up on the top of the hill--they'll hear the band over 1/2 mile away!  Suh weet.

We're getting ready to shoot out of the house (like a herd of turtles) headed for Savannah.  We'll probably stay at Dublin tonight.

6.4

Ian and I worked on the stand up for the intro of the Whirlwind DVD. 

We had lunch with Joe Manning from First Baptist.  He's a funny guy.  My favorite line was when he had a deacon come over and tell him that he needed to inform the pastor that he "Needs to keep his sermons shorter---I need 60 minute religion."  Ay caramba.

I finished verifying the teams with all the managers at the apartments where we'll be working this coming week. 

Getting ready to leave for Savannah sometime tomorrow.  I made reservations for the Royal Palm hotel on Tybee Island.

I spoke at City on a Hill at First Baptist Atlanta this evening.  The band was Mars ill.  They were tight.  Greg also preached a bit.  I had our display up. 

I got back home around 10:30pm after eating at Taco Prisa.  I had Juevos Rancheros.  Delicioso!! 

I stayed up to 1am working.  Trying to get my email answered.  It's been acting really whack.  It will like download 15 copies of the same email.  And nobody's worth that.

Peace.

Woke up rested.

Got my financial reports squared away.  I wanted to make sure I took care of organizing all the receipts before they got scattered.

Systematically went though my missed calls and caught up on the last three days.

Got in touch with Ian.  He's very eager to get the video process rolling.  We met at FBCD and he hooked my HP Pavillion 7040 up to the Maxtor hard drive and my Sony DCR-PC9 mini dv camcorder.  We sat there and looked at cables.  There were firewire outputs on both devices, but where was the input?  It looks sort of like a modified USB cable. 

We went to Northlake Mall and had Diabo chicken in the food court.  I also tried the Honey Mustard Chicken.  I've forgotten the name of the restaurant, but it's right beside Chic Fil A on our left when you come in from the outside door.

When I think cables I normally go to Radio Shack first.  They didn't know of a device or adaptor that would connect two fire wire female ends. Next stop, Best Buy, where I bought my laptop.  Sure enough, their resident PC guru took us over to a set of PCMCIA cards--one had a set of three firewire or i-link outs. . . just what we needed.  $49 later we walked out the store with the device.

Back at FBCD we hooked up all the devices and VOILA it all worked.  Amen.

Ian went back to capturing the video from the mini-dv onto the external hard drive.  I returned to calling the set of complexes that will be hosting teams on June 14-16.

Eventually, I returned home, had a quick 2 mile run and then went to eat Mexican Food with my wife at El Torrerros.

Back at the ranch I worked on email then had fun watching The Rock in the movie "Rundown." I thought the movie was a lot of fun. 

Blog out!

6/2

My third day of "Mr. Tim goes to Washington" featured me going into Lobbyist Mode.  It wasn't hard to do because I'm usually advocating something anyway.   I had two items on my agenda: the Charitable Tax Act and amnesty for illegal aliens.

I had meetings with the legal advisors for Senators Zell Miller and Saxby Chambliss as well as the staff of Senator Rick Santorum who wrote the bill and spoke to the Faith Based Initiative Conference.

I also met with the legal reps for Congressmen Max Burns, Phil Gingrey, Johnny Isakson, Jim Marshall, Mac Collins and John Linder.  I spent about four hours knocking on doors and waiting in offices to be heard.   I didn't have appointments, I hadn't had time to set anything up.   I just walked in cold off the street.

A few observations.   I found the staff to be helpful,  polite and always offered me something to drink.   I drank three Diet Cokes in my time on the hill and turned down five more.

Overall,  the politicians were in favor of the Charitable Tax Act.   There was a much cooler response to the illegal alien issue.  I'll admit I got pretty upset in two of the offices and said something along the lines of "I know they're illegal.  That's why I'm here so you can help them overcome this challenge. You don't have a problem taking their tax revenue as undocumented aliens so why do you want to deport them?"

Anyway,  I tried to be nice.  I guess lobbyists are inherently opinionated,  eh?

I knew one thing for sure,  my feet were killing me.   I guess the combination of black, shiny shoes, and having run over 15 miles in two days was too much for them.

I staggered over to the capital building to see a session of the Senate and then left the building.  Outside,  under some shade tree,  a group of Africans lounged around.   I went over and rested with them and felt at home.

I'm writing this at 30,000 ft.  The sun is setting outside my window.   I think of my family and pray my wife hasn't been two stressed out. I think of my email--probably over 100 messages.

Saturday we'll go to the beach for a few days.

But all I have on my mind is work.

I love my job. 

6.1

Woken up at 5:30am by the mildest alarm on Earth. I'm in room 8130--that's eight stories up.  It sounded like an alarm going off at street level.  An electronic voice kept repeating, "Danger! A fire has been reported in the building.   Please go to the stairwells.   Do not use the elevators."  Over and over again.   The medium was mild,  but the message was kinda scary.   I thought about that eight floor drop--a great view, but not much of an escape route. I drug my weary carcass out of bed and put on my jeans. I then did a quick inventory of my stuff.  If it did get burned up what could I afford to lose? I jammed my pockets with all my electronic gear and walked over to the window.  Yep.  That's a long drop.  I briefly wondered what I'd look like if I had to jump .  .  . Not pretty.  Did I really want to go to the stairwell?  Suddenly, the alarm stopped.  I called the front desk,  "No fire?"

"No,  Sir."

"Sweet,"  I muttered into the receiver and hung up.

Two hours later I woke up, showered, and headed down for the "White House Faith Based & Community Initiative" conference. Security was very tight---the President was scheduled to speak. We passed through metal detectors and rigorous inspections.

A corpulent Nigerian woman named Abimola asked if she could share my little table,  "Of course," I replied in my best African English accent.  We moved downstairs to the ballroom where the conference was held.  After watching a brief video presentation and listening to a gospel choir it was time for our meeting with the president.

You could tell it is an election year and the president was definitely in a get out the vote mode.   For a complete log of the notes I took at the conference go to www.whirlwindmissions.org. 

 After the speech,  I had a chance to meet the president.  He has a firm handshake with remarkably soft hands.  He said,  "Keep up the good work." I told him,  "You're doing a good job,  Prez."

I thought about our meeting later, I had just spoken to the most powerful man on Earth and talked to him like he was one of the kids at the mission.  I was actually going for the more formal 'El Presidente," it just came out "Prez."  Oh, well.

The conference ended about six pm.  I went upstairs and crashed for about thirty minutes then I jumped up,  strapped on my New Balance running shoes and headed for Washington Loop 2.  I shot off down Connecticut Ave and over to 23rd past the Gandhi memorial. Then straight south to the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial. I ran the length of the pool then around the new WWII memorial.  As I looked at the messages the vets had left,  I admit I broke down and cried.  They were heroes in the best sense of the word.   Then I made for the memorial to one of my heroes,  Thomas Jefferson.  Awesome. At this point I had run about 4 miles. The hardest part about running in this city is getting lost.   Make a wrong turn (I made plenty) and instantly add 15 minutes to your run. It's still such a cool place that I didn't really care. I ended up running nearly 8 miles. 

I walked to the elevators and pushed the up button.  There were mirrors everywhere.  I looked like hell.  Hopefull,  I didn't smell too bad. I wanted to tell the people standing around me,  "Listen, if you'd just run 8 miles you'd look like this too."  Inside I just smiled weakly and said,  "Howdy."

The bed sure did feel good.

5.30--31

Such a great day! I went over to help Tito's church--Cristo Vive "Take the Church to the People."  Their praise band played in front of the new shopping center along with serving hot dogs,  face painting and balloon animals. I was there to help train the team and give them a good first experience.  We split the group up so we could cover the entire area,  then we would send the people over to where the party was happening.  We handed out lots of tracts and food and generally had a terrific time.

Although it wasn't really hot,  boy did I get a red neck!

After breaking down the event,  I went home to pick up Kathy and my two sweet children Ashley and Jesse. It was time for Lester's birthday party!  Lester and his older brother Tito are like brothers to me so it was a double blessing to spend time with them both.   We had delicious Nicaraguan food including carne asada--grilled beef, rice,  fried plantains and fruit.  Delicioso! It was an Hawaiian party and it was such fun to see his little daughter Victoria in a little grass skirt. Cutey pie!

Later,  we returned home so I could get ready to leave for Washington the next morning.   I had to do my bi-weekly financial reports, answer all my e-mail,  write the end of the month checks, compress and upload all the pictures I took of the party and the outreach event onto the photo gallery and pack my clothes.   I finally crashed about 1am.  Thus the reason this post is late.

I just got back from a 10k (6.2mi) run.  It rained.  Just a little, but enough to be less than refreshing.  Came in at 1:07:53. 

peace

I went to a missions conference this afternoon at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church.  Arturo, Joy and I set up the Amazing Whirlwind Simulator, as well as the lightning display, the big maps and the picture boards.  We had lots of candy, plenty of "Long Life" papers and photo cards of my sweet family for the participants.

I got to share briefly with the folks gathered for the conference about our role in the community.

We also taught some of the ladies how to make balloon animals.

Later I went to Best Buy to get some Video Editing software (Pinnacle Ver 9) and a USB 2 cable.  I purchased an external hard drive yesterday.  I also have a DVD burner so we should be in the movie making business now!

Carry on!

Here's a moon pic.

Can you believe the clarity?  Awesome 4mp digital camera.  You could zoom the image in and the video still looked crisp and clear.  Blow the image up on your desktop and see for yourself.

The night reminded me of being in Lamu off the Eastern coast of Africa.  When I first went to Lamu, they didn't have street lights.  So when the moon was full you could really see where you were going.  Early summer night, cool, slightly humid with some vaguely floral smell in the background.

Today was my day off.  Yeah, right.  Do real people have "day's off?" My wife can always think of something to keep me busy.  Is it ok to work all the time?  What if you really enjoy what you're doing.  Is that "work" then?

I set up my exhibit (including the amazing whirlwind simulator) for the missions conference at Salem Missionary Baptist Church.  This is an African-American church.  I'll be there with a couple of buddies to encourage the youth of the church to mix it up with unchurched people.

I had guests on my "Ride-a-long" program today.  They were Richard, Chuck, Siah and Bonnie.  We ate at Azteca while I pontificated on Taking Church to the People.  These guys are doing a similar ministry in Nashville, Tenn.

Kathy and I just got back from Fernbank observatory.  It was SO tight.  The telescope showed us incredible images of the moon.  I'll put the links for the photos on another post. 

I hung out with my Arturo today.  He's the new director of our mission at Southern Trace.  I just picked him up an IPAQ.  I love mine.

We also went to the Latin American Association for a meeting with the Chief's task force on Safety for Immigrants.

I thought it was funny that we had so many cops there and the place was loaded with doughnuts.  Too trite.

Today I felt like I was in "Live Shot" mode.  When I used to shoot news for CBS I regularly produced live shots in the field.  We constantly raced against the clock---a deadline staring us in the face.  I knew how long I had to set up, how long it would take me to shoot the video, how long to get the signal tuned in. . . I usually had my estimates down to about three minutes.  News is a different animal from most jobs.  Rarely does someone fail if they're one minute late. 

News taught me how much a person can do in how much time.

Jefferson once said, "It's amazing what you can do, if you're always doing."

I had a meeting with partners at 10:00am.  I had to get to my office in thirty minutes, plus photocopy my newsletters, plus get the stamps, plus talk to the cops about the phone phreaker.

I stared at my watch and realized, "Bro, it ain't gonna happen."  Fortunately, I have partners that are willing to "Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome." We all worked together to get the letters done, shoot some video and over all have a solid day. Special props to Ian and Jouvens--two of my favorite people on the planet.

This is a shot of Ian.  He has a blog on Xanga called Eternaldig. Ian is also known as Mr. Paradise.  It seems to fit.

Jouvens is a like a son to me.  He was born in the Bahamas of Haitian parents.  His brother Ernest just graduated from High School last Saturday--the first in his family EVER.

After getting my team started on the newsletter and video project, I raced over to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church where I had a meeting with Paul Jimenez.  We had a great time talking about missions, eating at Moes and visiting with some families from Mexico at Sierra Creek and Southern Trace.

I was late getting to my meeting because this double wide mobile home had gone under a bridge that was too low for it, and parts of it where all over the road.  Bahd luck.

Ran four miles today in 41:12.  A very steep course. 

I also got another phone call this morning from "Irish" this phone phreaker.  I had warned him that he only had one chance.  He blew it, so I've reported him to the police. MCI has his IP address.  They tell me, "We want to catch this kid, bad."  I hope they do.

If there's anyone out there that thinks that they really have privacy over the internet, forget it.  The govt can track everything you've ever seen if they want to.  C'est la vie, baby.

Peace.

Kim is a good example of a Special Forces soldier.  She drove all the way from Austell to Chamblee (about thirty miles) just to help the kids at our mission.  She and her two beautiful daughters are terrific mentors.  But every time I thought about that drive I just shook my head.  Surely there are ministry opportunities closer to home!

Last week I had a meeting with one of my managers in Norcross.  We chatted about the needs of the residents in the area.  I told her of my vision of having an after school program in more apartment complexes. 

“Take a look at this, Tim,”  She opened up a file and showed me a press release.  Her company had made the decision to have an after-school program at each of the five locations where they worked.  They are willing to offer a free apartment for a teacher to come and run the program.  Obviously, this sounds like something we needed to get involved in.  “The best program now is in Austell, at Kingsley Village. Maybe you should call them.”

Austell!  Immediately Kim and her daughters popped into my mind.  I took notes about the complex, the manager’s name, address and filed it away for future reference.

Two days later I get a call from out of the blue from a nurse who lives in Austell and is interested in doing ministry in the area!  This is the way that I see the Father work. It’s like he’s up above constantly moving pieces around on the board all to accomplish his will.

This morning I set up an appointment with Kim and her daughters to go over and check this location out.  I’m the “can opener” in these situations.  I’m the guy that goes in, makes the arrangements, sets it up and turns it over to the director (Kim) of that mission.  We arrived at the complex and I met up with Kim.  I briefly told her what I would tell the manager.  Soon we walked into the door and met with Jennifer, the manager.  A large, African-American woman dressed in a fluorescent green outfit shook my hand with a grip of steel.  “Howdy, Jennifer!  I work with a partner of your, Nicki over at Parkwood Village.  I’d like to introduce you to Kim and her daughters.” 

We all shook hands.  In the next thirty minutes I explained that we are Christians interested in helping our community, that we offer After-School Programs, ESL classes and Outreach Events.  I stressed that I work with churches and that we are interested in the spiritual needs of the residents first. Jennifer then replied, “I’m involved in outreach ministry too, in fact, Jesus has called me to be an evangelist!” 

Later, she took us over to the kids club house and welcomed us with open arms.  Kim was so excited with the reception of the manager.  For lunch we met with her pastor.  I explained to them what we are about and that he should support Kim as one of his church members.  He assured me that he would. 

God continues to open doors because of the faithful prayers of soldiers just like YOU!

Click http://whirlwindmissions.smugmug.com/gallery/126063 to see the whole set of photos.

Teen Sales Club.  It sounds innocent enough, but the more I hear the more troubled I become.  “The more you sell, the more you make.”  But still.  Several of the kids in the mission participate in this venture.  I asked one of the kids how things were going. 

“I worked from 8 am to 10 pm. And I made $21.00.”

“Let me get this straight,” I replied, “You worked fourteen hours and made $21.00?

“Yep.”

I just shook my head in disbelief.  Suddenly, a white van pulls up.  The driver is named Gonzalez.  I go and ask him about his enterprise.  “Hola!  I hear you’re putting our kids into business.” 

“Yes.”

“Do you have a brochure about your company?”

“No, not on me.”

“Business card?
”No.”

“Where’s your office?”

The passenger leans over the driver to speak to me, “Somewhere in Suwanee.”

“Can I see what you’re selling?”

“Sure.”  The passenger got out of the van and walked to the back.  The door swung open showing cases of chocolate candy boxes.

“That’s a lotta chocolate,” I observed astutely.

“Yep.”

I’d like to hear more about your organization.  Is this you on the back of the box?”  A group of Hispanic children graced the picture.

“Nope.  But we buy candy from them.  We’re Teen Sales Club.”

“I see.”  I said, but I really didn’t.

“Well, Senor Gonzalez, here’s my business card.  I like more information.  Thanks for your time.

He nodded, put the van in gear, and shot off around the median.

You can bet I’ll be looking into this more closely.

But wait, there’s more.  Then one of the kid’s mom’s comes up to me and says, “Tim, I hope you don’t mess this up for my son.”

 “I’m just trying to make sure it’s legit.” I replied.

“Don’t you think I checked it out before I let him go.” 

I didn’t have a good answer for that.  Well I did, but I didn’t want to say it out loud.  Something like, “No.  I don’t think you checked it out at all. And why don’t YOU go get a job instead of living off the Federal Government and letting your son stand in the heat for 14 hours for $21.00!"

Something subtle like that.

Just got back in.  It's  11:02 PM.  I ran 6.2mi in 1:00:57.

I was running on spite.

My son, Jesse, is a techno type.  Loves computers, video games, the web. . . He does a lot of IM--instant messaging.  If you know much about the web, you've heard of a "flame war" which is basically a series of posts between two people really putting each other down.  Unfortunately, Jesse got into a flame war with a kid that is now calling our house, ashley's cell phone, my cell phone and my voice mail pager with obcene calls.  I've had our house blocked, but so far he's still getting through.  It's so frustrating and just really made me angry.

So when I got home around 9:30pm I immediately went into "Run Mode."  After a couple of days it's like you HAVE to run. So I got on my shoes and shot off.  I figured at least four, and depending how I felt, up to 6.2 or 10K. Felt good, was keeping to about a 9/10 minute miles.  Shot up my last hill and made it right at an hour.

I guess the hour figure is the magic number for me because of the Peachtrree Road race held in Atlanta on July 4th.  I figure it's around 55,000 people will run it this year.  I don't plan to be one of them.  However, I like the idea of competing against that distance. When my wife, Kathy, ran it back in her college days, you had to run the race in under an hour in order to get a T-shirt.  Now, it's 75 minutes. 

That anger I had against this phone phreak kid fueled my run. 

Wild weather today.  Serious storms.  We wanted to play as Cruz this afternoon.  Got all the gear together--ready for a sound check and the bottom just dropped out.  We raced to get the mixer, amps and instruments out of the rain.

We had a youth group from Church of the Apostles come and help us do face painting and balloon animals.  The team from FBC Mountain Park also did an excellent job of entertaining the kids and cooking hotdogs.

Even though we didn't get to play, the kids really loved the downpour!

Afterwards Cruz--my partners Tito and Lester Ruiz, with our sound man--Jouvens Mocombe and a delicious meal at Las Palmas for Nicaraguan food.

I'm tired.  But it's a good kind of tired.

For more photos of this event check out our sister site: http://whirlwindmissions.smugmug.com/gallery/123476

Yo.  Summer is here.  I got in my car this afternoon and I thought I was in a microwave on high.

Great contacts today.  The Lakes has a new owner (PRS), made initial contacts with them.

Checked out Kensington Manor--took pictures of where the teams will work.  They have already given an apartment for use with English classes. Hopefully we can plug into the space with the teams from Victory.  Lots of leverage there after the homicide last week.

Also shot the pics for Southern Pines--which is the sister property of HMI.

Had lunch with Bennett--one of my best buds and the director of Willow Branch. 

I made the first version of the summer schedule yesterday. It's already gone through 3 permutations.  Talk about flexibility!

Johannes got busted for weed and crack at Chamblee Middle School yesterday.  I called Marcella (the manager) to let her know that one of the juveniles at her property was dealing in pounds of weed.  That kid has a really bad attitude.  A real smart booty.  He tried getting one of the kids at Azalea high last week.

I just ate Mexican food.  Flauta and Chimichanga.  Life is good.

I ran tonight.  4 miles.   It all seemed up hill.  Life's like that sometimes.

Have you noticed that downhill isn't any easier?