I stayed up late last night finishing the editing of the video for Holly Springs Baptist Church from SC.  They did a terrific job at Highland Gardens, Azalea Place, Westwood (Villa Nueva) and Huntington Ridge.  Take a look!

I worked with my team from Bonifay today!  They’re doing a great job with the kids in the six complexes.

I shot a lot of video with them.  I’ll get the rest of my shots later this week.

This afternoon I also edited the video I shot for my team from Holly Springs Baptist Church.  Burned the dvds for them and will upload  the video to YouTube later this evening.

Ran 4 miles this afternoon.  It was still about 95 degrees.  I ran in the shade.  It wasn’t too bad.

Ashley and I went to Total Grace church this evening to make a missions presentation to the leadership team of their youth group.  They were very responsive to what we had to say.  I pray that they will get involved and that they’ll have a great influence on the community!

Today is the Download Firefox 3 day.  We’re trying to set a Guinness book of world record on the amount of downloads in one day.  I’m a big fan of Firefox.  It’s very secure.  It’s open source software so there are LOTS of people making sure that the bad guys can’t mess with it.
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/?_

I also installed the new plug in “Piclens” for Firefox.  It’s super cool!  Give a 3d wall of pictures or videos to choose from. Try it.

Love you guys!

I had one of my favorite teams come into town today! The great group from FBC Bonifay, Fl. We’ve been working together for four years now and they are always a blessing to me.

This trip they’ve focused on bringing families to serve together. They are covering six locations around Chamblee and Norcross.

I expected them into town around noon. The whole team didn’t roll into Atlanta till after six. So we ate supper first and then went to promote the Backyard Bible Clubs around the six communities. Worked out great but I didn’t get home till around 9pm.

I worked this morning on my financial report which I dropped off at my treasurer’s house before lunch.

Not as hot today. Amen!

I had a great Father’s day yesterday!

Ashley and Kathy both wrote me super sweet notes. Made me feel very special. Jesse gave me a few good pats on the back.

We went to the Bridge service at FBC Mountain Park yesterday. I thought Pastor Bob Bochat did a great job. He was especially helpful in laying out resources for the families to use. I think we’ll be able to use a number of those books at the missions.

Spent most of the day resting and hanging out with the family.

Ran 4 miles. Saw some beautiful clouds on my run.

Love you guys.

We had a nice birthday lunch at Asian Square for Ruth Sullivan!

Her husband David and son Jason were there, along with Deborah and Bill Doverspike,

Paul and Luke, Ann and Bob Mitchell, Orene Duvall, Kathy and I.

I always have a good time with that group!

Spent most of the afternoon working at the missions with the teams from Holly Springs, SC. I took more pictures of the teams at Azalea Place and Huntington Ridge.

Went through the Publisher program with Cathy Palmer. Sometimes it’s pretty hard to figure out all this stuff. She catches on pretty fast and the program is pretty straightforward. Part of our role as a missionary is to let supporters know what’s going on and the troubles we face.

Just this morning, there was an altercation with a man with a gun in the next building over from them. The cops had to go over there three times. A couple of African-American women were screaming at each other.

I’ve tried to show a little of what it’s like in these complexes where I work. And I don’t have work in “good” neighborhoods. That’s why they call it “missions!” But when you see it up close and personal, it’s a whole different part of “real.” It’s really real. People get thrown out of their houses and have all their stuff on the curb,while their children wail on the sidelines.

Or when you see the children in the neighborhood crying because their daddy was arrested because “He had no papers.” It’s a sad piece of business.

We depend on our team to raise up these issues with the Lord!

Keep praying for our family.

Ashley went with me to help today! Yeah!

It’s a lot easier when I can concentrate on shooting video and let Ashley take pictures. She really is a phenomenal talent.

Whirlwind is adding a very important section to our web site focused on fund raising. It’s an important issue for most of my partners. She’s written a handbook on what she’s learned from seminars she’s been too as well as what I’ve seen work in the real world.

This afternoon she worked several hours on video taping herself do her promotion for her work. It can be used as an example of how to structure your request for support.

We’ll be editing that and adding some more to it next week. We should be able to post the handbook she’s completed soon. I’m really proud of what she’s done and I think it’ll be really helpful.

We had a good time with the teams at the four locations. It wasn’t too hot!

I ran four miles this afternoon. It was hot enough.

Love you guys!

Had a great day with my team from Holly Springs Baptist Church, SC today! Ashley and Jesse and I went over to N. Peachtree BC to give a briefing to the team then we took them over to the four locations they’re covering. Ashley shot most of the photos, while I worked on shooting video.

They’ll be in Chamblee at Azalea Place and Highland Gardens. Then over in Norcross helping our new missionaries at Huntington Ridge and Westwood–which is now called Villa Nueva.

After working at the missions, Ashley and I went over to TJ Max to get her some new luggage. I got a new suitcase too!


Our stuff was messed up in the fire. It’s always fun to hang out with Ashley.

Jesse was really tired today. He said he didn’t sleep well last night. Hope he’ll feel better tomorrow. Keep praying for him!

We saw some fantastic clouds today. Huge cumulus clouds with massive vertical development.

Love you guys.

Do you know what a codec is? It’s a type of code that compresses large files into smaller ones. The best code shows the least loss of image quailty with the most compression.

Make sense?

I’m experimenting with different codecs. Here’s Choo Choo in another codec.

I’ve been working on my Story Tim video project today! I recorded four more sessions and edited, compressed and uploaded them today. The four new ones are:

Choo Choo and the Puff Adder

Voi Coke

Tsavo Fire

African Drivers

This morning I worked out on weights. Feeling good!This afternoon Jesse and I went over to Iglesia Belen. Jesse had his counseling session with Luis, one of the deacons. Dr. Carlos Salaverria and I had a great conversation about missions in the Hispanic culture. I always learn something from him. I hope to help him get appointed with the North American Mission Board soon.

Powerful storms this evening. I love watching bolts of lightning. When I was a kid, I’d make that word a verb. I’d say, “It’s lightninging outside!” My parents took great pains to let me know there is no such word. Maybe not. But there SHOULD BE! Let’s start a lightninging trend!

I had a great day with Keith Harrell! It’s fun working with new partners. Whirlwind is proud to work alongside many new missionaries. Part of our ministry is to help new guys get set up with equipment.

We got him a new phone so he can keep track of his assignments, contacts and make phone calls too! Glad we could do that.

We met my brothers Tito and Lester Ruiz at their church Stone Mill. They are really doing great. Another bonus was to see their kids. Sophia and Tori are Lester’s children and just gorgeous!

Jacob is Tito’s son. He’s really getting big!

We started some new work today at Friendly Village in Lawrenceville. Keith Harrell and I went over there to meet with Tito Ruiz and Ruth Nolen. We had a great talk with Angel who is the manager at the trailer park. Ruth and her team from Crosspointe Church have done a great job over there but didn’t have the manpower to continue ministry. My partner Drew Grubbs will be leading a church team there to help the kids out every other week.

We also talked about the work going on at The Falls in Duluth. Looks like we’ll be putting some supplies and manpower in that location too.

It’s a mighty hot day today! But not quite as bad as it has been! Cool clouds!

Been working on some new videos for Story Tim. I’ll start editing them soon.
Love you guys!