Went for a 2.66 mile run this morning. I hurt my calf running to get to a plane going to Austin. Didn’t bother me until the middle of the first mile.

I liked the flowers on my run. Some of them tiny. Others larger than my head.

Some covered the whole tree.

Had a fun lunch with Jesse today. We ate BBQ.

I liked the lichens I saw on the logs. Interesting.

Came home to watch TV with K and rest. It was pretty mild this morning, but I still got tired and my leg hurts.

Had fun recording a new podcast this morning!

How do you get yourself to do something? I need to “Wind me UP!” Just click on the title and get motivated!

Took my car to get worked on. Unfortunately, their emissions machine wasn’t working. They did tweak my AC for me though! Cool!

Went to see Man of Steel this afternoon. Really disappointed in it. Overall pretty weak.

Talked to my Mom. She said that my Dad had been moved into the physical therapy floor so that’s good news. He’s still having trouble swallowing.

Enjoyed watching TV with K this evening.

Admin duties and rest now.

I liked the tiles on the tables where we ate lunch.

Been a wild week. My Mom called me last week that my Dad was pretty sick in the hospital and she needed my help.

So I jumped on a plane to Austin the next day.

I waited till after Ashley and I briefed the team What a great group!

I love our new bubble guns!

My Dad was in ICU and had his gall bladder removed last Friday afternoon. After the surgery, he was kept under total sedation for nearly three days. He had a tube down into his lungs that whole time. He’s doing better with his swallowing, but he’s still having some trouble. His physical therapist had him walk around the room a little bit today.

Many friends visited and supported us as we were in the hospital.

Spoke at a Sunday School class at Main Street Baptist Church. Many of the people there I’ve known for decades.

Got to hike one afternoon. Spent a lot of time looking for rattlesnakes and fossils. In that order.

Mom was sad to see me go.

I got back last night from Austin. Loved the clouds.

Jumped right back in this morning. Ashley and I gave our briefing on Catholicism.

Always something fun and interesting.

Ashley was her usual calm, sedate self.

The team gave her flowers! Groovy!

Pictures with the Sublime Blue Mariachi Hat.

Then over to Plaza Fiesta!

I bought a couple of new things.You can never have too much Holy Death of Love spray.

I thought these were nice. But I couldn’t figure out a way to work them into our briefings.

I’ll take one of each.

A new Whirlwind Missions tradition of posing with the mannequins at Laredo Western Wear.

Groovy hats, Jack!

Worked at Azalea and Cumberland Courts apartments this afternoon.

The kids love to see the teams!

It was good to see my kids again!

Back home now working on admin duties.

Texas flowers!

Beauty!

Got hot outside.

I liked this.

This sounded vaguely sexual.

I prefer my value extreme.

Say WHAT?

I thought these tiny mushrooms were cool!

Somebody needs to tell these guys where babies come from.

This morning Ashley and I gave our briefings on Islam and Hinduism. Always fun!!

We took them on a tour of Global Mall. Visited the Shiv Mandir.

Then to Madina to experience the fun of N. Africa!

On to the missions to work with the kids! Best part of the day!




Always great to have Kathy come with us!

Got hot this afternoon.

Powerful storms brewing.

I made my reservations to go to Austin tomorrow. I’ll fly in tomorrow around 6:30 pm.

Admin duties now.

Ashley and I had a wonderful time briefing the teams from Urban Plunge! UP is an event that my partner Mobilizing Students hosts.

They brought teams from five different churches in to the International Village with Ashley and me. Great to see them!

Ashley took her team to the Asian Square.
FBC Pelham has been one of my favorite teams!

Kathy and I took the teams to the Buford Highway Farmers Market. Always something fun to see!

Kissing the frozen lamb’s head. The frozen pig heads were sold out. Dang.

Some big ol’ tongues.

After lunch, the leaders took the teams around the city. The kids loved it!

I think their fashion sense is impeccable.

Ashley got some cup hair at the mission.

Warmer today!

It was still “surprisingly cool in the shade.”

I talked to my Mom this evening on my way home. Dad has been moved to the ICU in the hospital. Mom says he’ll probably have gall bladder surgery this Friday.

It’s not supposed to be a serious surgery. Still.

After I brief the teams on Thursday, I’ll probably fly on to Austin. Stay for a week while my Dad recovers.

At least that’s my plan for now.

I appreciate your prayers for me and my family.

Great to have two energetic teams in town today!

Menacing weather!

Ashley and I gave our briefing to a full house at FBC Doraville this morning!

Then took them on a tour of the Buford Highway Farmers Market. Always fun stuff to see!

We split up to take the teams to the missions. We will cover 39 locations this week!!

I also set up a new mission for tomorrow. We had a small glitch in the schedule that was easy enough to fix. That’s why we work so hard to get it right. I think Town and Country will work out well. It’s the sister property of several of the missions where we already have work. In fact, they are some of the best properties to do missions.

I had a good talk with my folks this morning! Dad seemed to be feeling pretty good when I talked with him. Hopefully, they’ll let him go home today. We’ll see.

Went to Azalea to check on my kids. Jesse is teaching a computer class to a couple of the brightest kids in the missions. I think it’s fun for all of them.

Gassed the car. Been putting a LOT of miles on the car these days.

Admin duties now.

Uploading video and beginning the rough edit for the movie I shot of them.

Looking forward to resting my voice. I get wound up doing these presentations. 🙂

K and I had a good time at church today.



Pastor Phil spoke about hope through a time of grief.

Rested this afternoon then went to Doraville to meet up with the leadership team from the Mobilizing Students team!

Always great to spend time with them.

Ashley did an amazing job of getting all the teams organized. Glad I’m on Team Ashley!

I took two of the team up to Sandy Springs to show them around the four missions that they will be covering.

Back home to work on admin duties and enjoy watching the Kardashians with Kathy.

My brother Jim and my Mom called me to let me know that my Dad was taken to the hospital today. The doctors still aren’t sure what’s going on, but they kept him over night for observation. They think it might be something related to his gall bladder. I appreciate your prayers for him and for the over 200 people we have in town this week!

Over 1/4″ of rain yesterday!

Ashley and I gave our briefing on Buddhism and Catholicism today!

I showed them my new wrestling mask.

Scared one of the girls. Ashley laughed and laughed. I guess I did look pretty scary. Must have been the hair.

Most of the team took part in the Whirlwind Missions tradition of taking a picture in the Sublime Blue Mariachi Hat.

We enjoyed showing them around CD tower where the Buddhists buy their idols.

We got a gong to play during our briefings to get us started. I think that’s super cool.

Took them to Plaza Fiesta to see the botanicas and get lunch.

Visited them at the missions to tell them what a great job they did!

Went to the church to organize our displays for the teams next week.

Home now for admin duties and rest.

We have a leadership meeting tomorrow in preparation for the big teams next week.

Ashley and I had fun briefing the team from Temple BC in Moultrie, GA this morning!

Today she did the talk about Islam and I spoke about Hinduism. Nice to have a change and let her practice another part of the presentation. She did great. No surprise there!

Then took them over to Global Mall to see the Shiva Mandir. I filled in a few more details about Hinduism while we were there.

Enjoyed delicious schwarmas at Al Madina while we also checked out the books on Islam.

They did a great job at the missions!






Ashley and I also did a recon on the number of people who can eat in the FBC Doraville fellowship hall. Looks like all 172 will fit! The rest are eating out at the Buford Highway Farmers Market.

We also had to scope out the pool situation for a team coming next week. They wanted to have a pool party one night. Took some doing, but I think we got it figured out for them.

Came home in torrential rain! The teams were just finishing up the buckets came down! I thought these cumulus clouds were amazing.

And I liked the steam coming off the roof tops.

Gassed up my car!

Home now to work on admin duties. Rest up before the briefings starts again tomorrow morning!

Beautiful rainbow on the way home.

The baby geese are getting bigger!

Over 2.5″ of rain yesterday! What a storm!

Came down in about an hour.

Ash and I had a fun time with Temple Baptist Church from Moultrie, GA today! We gave them our initial briefing.

Then over to Buford Highway Farmers Market!

We met Mama Theresa from Liberia. She showed the kids how the W. Africans shake hands. Groovy!

Always something interesting to see.

Kissing the Frozen Pig Head: a Whirlwind Missions tradition.

I’m into “boundless merriment.”

Not sure I want an il dong.

Huh?

Got them on to the eight locations they’re covering. I sure was glad to have Ashley split the group with me! Makes everything SO much faster.

After a brief rest at out office, we took a recon for the bus that will be working with us on Monday morning.

It’s tricky to figure out how to get the four teams to eight locations with a big bus that doesn’t make right turns well and can’t make steep hills. A real puzzler!

Restarted new work at Alderwood Trails. It’s the largest complex in the area with over 300 units! They have a new management group who was excited to work with us again! We’ll also be doing a concert with them on Monday evening.

Tuesday morning starts our partnership with Urban Plunge! Over 200 students in town that week! Awesome, baby! Sure am glad we’ve done all pre-work!

Came home to a voice mail message saying that they had found Sugar laying out in the middle of the road near our subdivision entrance! Yow! Went and picked her up, then took her for a 4.3 mile run. Silly dog!

Enjoyed watching Defiance on DVR with Kathy this evening.

Admin duties now.

I guess they don’t want to pay $100 for a dead cat. I wouldn’t.

Nature vs man.

I liked these leaves.