mole in the missionary residence

Nate Zuck & Jay Hocking

Nate Zuck and I on a ski lift. This was not done on purpose. There was a kid in line with us, and somehow, right when the 3 of us were getting on the lift, the kid disappeared. I have no idea how, or where he went to. Rather awkward for the two of us though, since the pole in the middle prevents any in-route adjustments to the seating arrangement.

Visa applications in Chicago

traffic... don't see that every day in Winona Lake

The other day we headed up to Chicago to turn in our Visa applications---a mere 240 pages of printed material (2/3 of which were just copies)! End-end our applications would have stretched over 220 feet, what fun!

I've decided that I really like Chicago and would love to live there downtown someday---even during the winter! Everyone has those long, puffy, down coats, and they look like they keep pretty warm through walking briskly. The only thing that put me off a bit was the signs on the sidewalk that said, "Caution: falling ice," and you look up and realize that ice falling from one of those skyscrapers onto your head would not be very fun at all.

(update: already got our visas back! A new record - it only took 7 days!)

Mural is finished!

Well, Debbie has finished her mural! She's been at it a long time, so I think she was about ready to move on to something else :)

Here's some other tid-bits about the mural:

• It's painted with oil paints, mostly with palette knives, although the faces were done with brushes

• About 74ft long, by 3 ft high - 212sq ft

• took just a little over 500 hours to complete

• The river of shapes that runs through the painting represents the Spirit of God, which unites all believers around the world. The river's patterns represent the various cultures, and how one Spirit of God is demonstrated in different ways through many cultures.


It turned out great! Click here to view a photo of the whole thing (it's a large file, might take a little while to load)

Chateau 100 Club

CHATEAU100CLUB

Thought I'd post it here first - We're reviving an old Château project, and giving it new life! The Château 100 club is a means to assit the Château with the financial costs involved in the upcoming transition of the ministry. In order for the Château to support its own staff (instead of relying on U.S. supported missionaries) the Château will need to increas it's annual income, and to do that, some improvements and renovations need to be made.

Would you consider choosing one day each year for the next five years, to contribute $100 towards this transitional phase of the Château ministry? Debbie and I have chosen to use our birthdays as the days that we contribute, but maybe you have your own special day you'd like to sponsor.

Oh, and to keep you connected, each year we'll write you a postcard on the day you sponsor, giving you a glimpse into the daily ministry of the Château!

You can sign up online by visiting www.chateau100club.com (you'll just have to give your name and contact info, and pick a date to sponsor)