We finally got invited by the Jankowskis to see their new house (that I had a hand in designing). It looks awesome! We also got to try out a new game called Probe. I suck at word games, but this one was fun. Kind of like hangman on steroids.
Please take a few moments to watch the video below. This election might just be one of the more important of our lives. However, it is not simply because Obama needs to be defeated, as most conservatives are solely concerned about. Replacing him with another run-of-the-mill neo-con such as Rick Perry (no matter the supposed “Christian” principles he has apparently found) would be even worse. The use of Christ’s name to prop up murder and endless wars is an abomination. I know that many who may frequent our blog are already supporters, but if not, please consider looking more into Ron Paul’s message as the Republican primaries continue.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohKz9OeiI0g&feature=player_embedded
As studying for Orals is coming to a fervent end I am reminded of the term in kinetics known as the extent of reaction. This describes how far a certain process or reaction will proceed under the given conditions. With my date with the committee set for tomorrow at 2pm, I find myself rapidly approaching this limit, my own “extent of study”. After covering around 8 textbooks, 5 undergraduate courses and 8 graduate courses, I’m about spent. Not to mention the time; most every night spent at a coffee shop until close along with the majority of Saturdays. Thank God for rest on Sunday.
It has been a stressful few weeks and it has been particularly difficult the last day or two to temper that stress with God’s sovereignty. We are told that we should not be anxious, but to instead to present everything before the Father with prayer and thanksgiving. This is a beautiful principle to believe in, but a very difficult one to put into practice. I find it easier for me to attempt to heap more stress upon myself and to ignore God’s gracious hand. I know that, whatever the outcome, it is for His glory and my benefit. I just hope He glories in my passing.
This alert was sent out to all of us working with nanotechnology at the UofA. Good thing no one would be able to find me in my basement hole.
With my Oral Comprehensive Exam coming up in a few weeks (Sept. 7th) pretty much all the time I am not at work is spent studying. This week my schedule has been essentially fully regimented (since Beth is out of town), getting up at 6am to work out before heading to work, leave work around 5pm, head home to eat then off to the coffee shop (Cartel Coffee Lab as of late) to study until they close at 10pm.
I’ve covered a lot of material this week which in some ways has renewed my interest in my field and also allowed me to condense these multiple subjects into a more cohesive knowledge base. Tonight I finished up covering my reactor design textbook. I’ll tell you though, nothing takes away your desire to read other books in the small amount of spare time I have than spending hours reading textbooks.
Hopefully I’ll keep this pace up and can feel very prepared leading up to the exam.
The entire team (and all their bags) made it safely back to Tucson this morning!
Thanks again for all of your prayers throughout this trip. We all really appreciated you praying so hard on our behalf.
We’ve made it through our first leg of the trip and are waiting in Tegucigalpa for our flight to San Salvador. Smooth Sailing so far…
Next leg completed. We’re in San Salvador and our plane has arrived. We should be boarding soon. Just a few hours from being back in the US.
Sorry for taking so long to update, we just got access to internet. We’ve arrived here in LAX and should be boarding for Tucson very soon. Only a quick 1.5 hour flight and we’ll be home. Thanks to everyone for all your prayers, they have been very evident as the trip home has been very smooth. Looking forward to seeing many of you soon.
We got to sleep in a bit as we weren’t picked up for the hike until a little after 8. We piled into the guide agency’s buses and headed to the trailhead. It’s just a little ways past the turn off for Armenia Bonito and past a few miles and through one pineapple field. Since Beth and I had been on the hike previously and had heard most of the guide’s insights we hung back at the end of the line with Mike. It was nice to get to talk to him more about his ministry here in La Ceiba as well as the path he took to get here. I think discussions like that really open Beth and I’s hearts to the idea of working in the mission field. It’s definitely something that we’ve been praying a lot about. I guess we’ll see what God has in store for us.
One of the fun parts of the hike is getting the chance to eat things that you might not have ever eaten or see things you might have otherwise never seen. For example, there are the ants there that, when squished, smell exactly like a mint leaf. They are one of Beth’s favorite parts. Also, the tradition of eating some termites continues. This time Mackensie, Crystal, Phil, Melissa, Jon, Emma, Miguel and Greg got in on the action. Although it may sound weird, they taste just like carrots.
At the top of the hike we end at the base of a ~90ft waterfall. Although it was a little too dangerous to head all the way up to the main pool, the lower pools provided more than enough fun as most of us took turns swimming up to a smaller fall that came over a smooth rock and attempting to lean into the water as it came down. This was no small feat and it often took the help of a few of us in order to get people into place. I don’t have any pictures of this but maybe I can update with some later if I get a copy of Mikala’s pictures. For now I’ll give you a picture of a leaf frog we found along the trail and Beth wanted a picture with.
After the hike we headed back into town. Again, we have to take the main road that runs into La Ceiba. Sadly today there was a pretty bad accident, with an Audi SUV which, as far as we could tell had taken out the majority of a guardrail on a bridge as well as a motorcycle and bike. According to those around, there were 3 deaths and we actually arrived as they were bagging up the last body. It is very tragic, but also very understandable if you were able to see the traffic on this road. It is a two lane road with a small shoulder. The shoulder is usually made up of bikes and pedestrians, with motorcycles swerving between here and the centerline to pass cars. The cars will often go 3-4 wide to pass other cars. It is mayhem. I was asking John about driving it and he said that it takes “a mixture of defensive and offensive driving.” I would completely agree, but would also add nerves of steel to continue at 40mph as cars cut you off, assuming they will avoid you.
We had one last dinner and devotional at the Clow’s and said goodbye to everyone but the Pettengills. It’s always sad to have to leave as you are finally getting used to just being hot and a little wet. I guess it’s back to the desert for all of us. Please pray that our flights tomorrow go smoothly. If so, we should be back in Tucson by around 10am on Sunday. I’ll try my best to update if there are any changes in the flight schedule.
Thank you all for all your prayers over this past week. I know that it is because of you that we were all able to work so hard and have such a great time serving the Lord here in La Ceiba. Here’s looking forward to next year’s trip!
Day 4 of construction was a little different as we had a medical clinic going as well as a few people off sorting ministry supplies at the Pettengills, we left Ross and Phil at the dorm to help with demolition of some concrete forms and the rest of us went to work at the house. The morning was again pretty hot. I thought I had outsmarted it by freezing my water bottle last night, however it melted within an hour of getting to the site. We continued the block work and started adding dirt to the first 2 rows of block to prep for the floor. There was a man digging the septic tank out back (where we got most of the dirt). He was amazing, he worked like a machine and by the time we left he had an 8-10 ft diameter, 4 foot deep hole. It took most of our team just to keep up with the dirt he was shoveling out. Below are some pictures of Crystal, Greg and me mixing some “mescla”, Beth laying down the mortar for the next layer of block and Jon and Greg dumping yet another wheelbarrow full of rocks into the front porch.
After lunch, Scott decided he’d like to go back and help Santos (Armenia Bonito community president and construction manager for the Pettengills) finish up for the day. Phil, Crystal and I decided to tag along and jumped back in for 2 extra hours of blockwork and wheelbarrows. A few of us stopped by a little later to check the finished work for the week. Remember, when we arrived it was flat ground with only the footers, all the blocks you see and all the dirt filling those rooms was done by our team.
We then headed back to join the rest of the group who was hanging out with all the kids on the soccer field. Crystal had brought a parachute that the kids were overjoyed about.
Jon, Greg, Phil and I also got some quality time juggling the soccer ball with 2 drug dealers and 4 more “waiting for their chance” (Mike Pettengill). It’s tragic to see the kids end up in that life, but it is difficult to escape for most. Drugs offer a decent income and often a pseudo-family life that many do not have.
Thursday is usually especially hard as it is the last day we spent out in Armenia. It is always sad to have to say goodbye to all of the sweet little kids who you grow to adore over the course of the week. Please pray for them all, pray that God will touch them and open their eyes to the true happiness and true freedom found in Christ alone.
We left Armenia and headed to dinner. After dinner and a quick stop over at the dorms to change, we headed to the indoor soccer court to play some games. My team included Miguel, Phil, Beth, Mackensie and Joseph. We sat out the first game, then came in and dominated. Three back-to-back-to-back victories! Lots of fun and you sweated a ton.
Headed back to the dorm and played a couple quick rounds of Mafia before heading to bed. Hopefully next time we play Beth won’t knock me off in the first round. She’s way too good at that game.
