Tomorrow I leave Philly and start my "mini-tour" of the U.S. A lot will be going on over the next couple of weeks. Lots of work stuff, lots of fun stuff, and lots of meeting up with people. I'm anticipating that it will be tiring. I know that it will all be good.

May 21:
- fly from Philly to Raleigh, NC
- meet up with an old OSP '97 friend
- meetings with a partner organization (DOOR International)

May 23:
- drive from Raleigh, NC to Charlotte, NC
- visit with the Walters Crew!!

May 25:
- fly from Charlotte, NC to Chicago
- work and play in Chicago!

May 27:
- meetings and workshop in Chicago

May 28:
- fly from Chicago to Dallas, TX
- work and play in Dallas!
- lots of family and friends time
- meet the newest family member, baby Odegard!!

June 1-2:
- attend meetings with Wycliffe International
- get together with my friend, Ruth!!!

June 3:
- return home and prepare for June 5th departure

Pray that the next couple of weeks would be well-spent and that I would be a blessing to those I meet along the way.

... the Kinaray-a New Testament!

On Thursday, May 21, 2009 the Translators Association of the Philippines will submit to the Philippine Bible Society, to be published for the very first time... the Kinaray-a New Testament.

The reason why I travelled to Antique in April was to document some of the final stages of completing the translation work before it was sent to be printed. The translation team wanted to give a group of about 15-20 of their fellow Kinaray-a speakers (among them were pastors, lay people, and Christian leaders) one last opportunity to do a final read-through to proofread for typos, misspellings and give any other feedback on the translation.

I am so thankful that I had the chance to travel to Antique and see this all happen. I was impressed by the men and women -- so committed and dedicated to this project that they took two days to review the completed work and give their input. I was touched by hearing their stories of faith and obedience. I was inspired by the sight of seeing them read God's Word in their own language with such engagement. And then seeing it pour out of them as they were often compelled to share their insights from their reading with other reviewers. I was excited to hear about how the people in the community were eagerly anticipating God's Word in Kinaray-a. And I was grateful to hear about the ways that the translated Scriptures were already making a difference in lives there.

It was such a wonderful trip. I am thankful that I had the chance to see what God is doing in Antique and all He's doing through His faithful followers.

ever on a pay phone.
In 2009-- the era of cell phones, iPhones and Blackberries.

At least I don't ever remember ever using a pay phone before :)

I was running errands at Wal-Mart before getting together with my friend, Cheeryl for dinner. I had tried to text her with my cell from the Philippines asking to meet near Wal-Mart instead of my house. It didn't work. I tried to call her with my cell. It didn't work.

And so with that, I got change from the Wal-Mart customer service lady... and called Cheeryl from a pay phone.

I've often looked at grungy pay phones (that are usually blocked by random merchandise and shopping carts) and wondered. "Who uses those things anymore? Does anyone?"

Now I know. Glad that pay phones haven't totally gone none existent. :)

On a side note... I got to eat some "Mexican" food tonight. We had dinner on "On the Border" -- Mexican chopped salad, chicken flauta, chicken enchilada, refried beans, chips and salsa. Oh... and some disappointing guac. :(

It was fun seeing my friend again. Enjoyed a fun evening of food, talking, laughing and flipping through mags at Barnes and Nobles.