It's 4:48am or The Second One Where Jeff is awakened by the Garbage Men

brightness piercing through my slitted eyes, I am desperately sad that I'm not sleeping right now. I've been awake for about 30 minutes and it's the middle of the night. It's almost 5am and the garbage men have been banging stuff around for about 20 minutes.

they didn't wake me up this morning - they just kept me up. mosquitos woke me up. can you believe it? it's nearly november and I am being eaten alive by mosquitos inside my apartment. it's my own fault - you see, it's VERY hot in my apartment, so I opened the balcony door so i could sleep. the poisonous fumes of the mosquito killer seem to not be working and I've been quite itchy this morning.

so I finally got up and nuked a mug of milk in an attempt to triptophan myself back to sleep - I'd eat a turkey leg too if I had one. I don't like missing out on sleep. I worry that I might be cranky without a few more winks to my credit.

there's a fun story behind the mug of milk through. it's a starbucks mug. it's beautiful, a warm, dark brown with diamond indentations, swirled with blue-green glaze... it's a present from Amy. She loves Starbucks. It's the mocha that kidnapped her affections from me... well, I guess her love affair with mochas started before we met, but I'm firm in my resolve to one day win out over the love of chocolate...

I think the mug is an incredible display of love. not only is my primary love language gifts, but Amy sent me something from her own place of solitude and refuge. Starbucks isn't just a caffeine fix for Amy, but a haven where she retreats to read and spend time with G-d. And the fact that she SHIPPED it to me all the way from America just before she left for Kenya multiplies the love. She's great.

... and I feel really loved drinking warm milk.

Down Coats and Public Health Initiatives or the One Where Jeff Goes Shopping for a Down Coat and Finds out about Shots for Africa

So, Zhanna accompanied me today to the public health center for the Tyumen region so that I could speak with the lady who signs a piece of paper so that I can go to another office and pay money to go back and get another piece of paper that says that I can go somewhere else to get a shot so that I can go to Kenya and see Amy for Christmas. It really is like that. Turns out I only need one new shot and to start taking malaria pills. I understood about 75% of what she told me too. Zhanna was awesome and didn't translate for me unless I needed help or was confused. It's really great, because this way I'm learning to fend for myself instead of needing to be constantly reliant on others. Like teaching someone to fish, instead of just giving them one fish. Really great.

So anyway - she scared Zhanna and I both pretty good about how serious Yellow Fever is and that I might even feel sick for 3 or 4 days after just the shot (which is a live, but weakened version of the virus! I'll be fine of course, but it's just scary. She also said that I could be sore. I need to check, because I thought maybe I needed to get a shot for Meningitis too… sounds VERY painful.

Then we started a chase to find a down coat for me that will help me to survive the winter here. My coat isn't good enough to cut it in the winter here… I think I literally tried on 20 different coats before we found one that fit, looked good, and meet with Sasha and Zhanna's strict requirements. Down, cuffs, butt flap long enough to cover my rump, deep pockets, fur lined hood, and pockets on the inside (for cell phone etc). We did it! My coat was made in Finland and will keep me VERY warm. I'm so thankful that I'm almost prepared for the cold onslaught that will be coming! It'll be so funny when I travel to and from Africa and Russia with a HUGE coat!

Going to Africa! or the One where Jeff is Dancing around His Apartment and Smiling Too Broadly on the Street.

I have the most exciting news to share! An American travel agency just got me a humanitarian discount to go and visit Amy in Africa! I'm not kidding it's absolutely the best! They were able to reduce the cost of my ticket by 60% Isn't it great?!

On December 11, I'll leave Tyumen to go and visit Amy in Nairobi, Kenya (via Moscow and Qatar). I'm so thrilled, I'm really looking like an American on the streets. I've got this big grin pasted from ear to ear. I still need to pick up the Tyumen - Moscow leg of the journey, but that shouldn't be a problem. It's already been 3 months since we've seen each other and it'll be 4 by the time I arrive in Africa.

I've got to get shots before I can go, so please pr@y that we'd be able to find all of them that I need. Looks like everything should be a go (although it's strange to get that many shots here in Russia) - we're having trouble finding malaria pills, and I should've had the yellow fever shot months ago (from the sound of things).

Amy already found an inexpensive Safari we can go on where you drive your own vehicle and it looks like I'll get to meet up with a few friends from MTI (it's the training agency I went through) while I'm there in Africa! How awesome, huh?

I'm so thrilled that I get to visit her AND we'll be together on Christmas!!! I'm sad that I won't be with family and able to carry on the traditions that we've had for so many years, but Amy and I can start a few new traditions this year and I'm excited that we can be together - okay, so I'm getting teary actually thinking about all this, so I guess I'll sign off - but I just wanted to share the awesome news with all of you!

4:30 am or the One Where Jeff realizes that EVERY Wednesday trash pickup is at o'dark hundred

So, I finally figured out why every Wednesday when I get up for Russian lessons, I'm tired. It's because from 4:30am to 5:00am I'm always awake. The trash truck comes to haul away the week's garbage and the bang around metal for about 30 minutes right outside my balcony. I guess that's really it. Just the humor of it had to be shared. I just lay there and pr@y that they can stay warm and thank G-d that I'm in bed and not hauling garbage at 4:30am.

Chocolate chunk cookies or the One Where Jeff Bakes in Russia for the first time.

Today I baked cookies. I couldn’t bake at home, because I don't try my gas oven, I don't have a mixer, and I don't have a cookie sheet. So I went over to Jim and Sally's with a couple of bags full of ingredients and set to work. It was actually quite fun and INCREDIBLY therapeutic, not to mention that the results were quite tasty. It's really interesting how much like home chocolate chip cookies can make a room seem.

I had to buy chocolate bars and crush them up, but the chocolate is actually better here. The vanilla is powdered, so we just guessed and used the whole packet - so that worked great too. I used real butter (Russians don't have margarine or shortening that I know of) and they were SO DELICIOUS! Or I should say are. There are still some remaining.

The intention of making cookies is so that I can share them with my students. We're having a competition this week in class to see who can tongue twist the letter 'w' the best. The winner gets cookies.

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck would chuck wood?"

"Why do you cry, Willy? Why do you cry? Why Willy, Why Willy, Why Willy Why?"

I think they're learning to hate me. Seriously, tongue twisters are an excellent way to learn and practice language. I've already learned three in Russian (although one of them I keep messing up).

I've been surprised how much I enjoy teaching English here and the ministry opportunities that are provided are really awesome. One of my students has already started coming to the center to our D-Club (English discussion club) and others have asked if we can start another D-Club on Thursday nights. I'm also looking into starting an English movie night on Fridays, but I think it'll have to wait for the turn of the new year.

Bitter Wind or The One Where Jeff Learns How to Say Below Zero

It was -6 C this morning when I got up. And the wind is blowing. So a few Russians are starting to say that maybe winter's on the way. Starting to say! It's been snowing (gently) on and off for a couple of days already!

I like it. It's a dry cold, so it's refreshing and makes me feel alive. I definitely need to buy a different coat and some boots here. I don't think that what I have will cut it (suffice). So, I'm going to have to quest this week I think. (Oh, I learned how to say adventure this week too - I like that word a LOT. I don't like the adjective for everyday though… try this on for size: pofsyednyevniy)

Looks like I'll be shopping in the next couple of days for a 'real' coat and 'real' boots. The stuff I brought from America is literally NOT going to cut it.

Heather's Book Or The One Where Jeff Is Flabbergasted At Circumstance

I have some exciting news in the life of my American friends to share with you. My dear and long-time friend Heather Holleman wrote a manuscript for a book about a year ago. She sent it off to an agent this spring and has been waiting very patiently for news. Well, due to a really cool twist of some circumstantial events (and maybe some serious G-d intervention), her book is being read by the head editors at Zondervan!

Here's the story. Heather and Ashley were at a book signing for Phillip Yancy's new book. As Heather approached the head of the line, she told Phillip Yancy that she's working on getting a book published and asked for some advice. Then blink blink blink, he points out the vice-president for marketing at Zondervan who's standing in the room and suddenly Heather is introducing herself. Next thing you know, they're reading her book to check it out! Isn't that cool?

Here's the selfish request. If all goes well with the book and there's a cash advance, Heather's going to send Ashley to Russia to visit! Isn't that great!? So please pr@y that her book gets published. So I know that's selfish - but pr@y that the book gets published anyway as she's awesome and the solid message of her writing should be heard.

Missing Amy Or Jeff Is Close To Sobbing

It's just rough. I miss Amy something fierce. We've figured out that we can send SMS messages though! It only costs 2 rubles. The hard thing is that we only get to talk max 15-20 minutes a week if that. She does have access to email about once a week, but it's hard to not be able to communicate more. I'm hopefully going there to visit her in December. I'm working on getting plane tickets, but the prices are OUT of control.

You Majored in Linguistics? or the One Where Jeff Says 'Ha!' to the Sceptics

Last Week

r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r This is the sound of me rolling my r's. Yes, I did this for 10 minutes straight. I was attempted to perfect the Russian 'r'. It's really not like the Spanish r… it's softer, but still rolled. It's so interesting to try to learn the finer points of pronunciation. But after all, without it the word charcoal becomes corner. I also practiced 't', 'd', 'n', 'ch', and the two Russian variants for the letter 'l'. I'm SO happy that I can at least hear the difference, because it makes it possible to try and work on them. I'm still struggling a lot with one of the Russian vowels. We don't have something like it in English. I imagine it's the sound you make when punched in the gut. 'ii' I can make it sometimes in a word, but not by itself.

Shooting up in the Kitchen or the One Where Jeff Gets His Flu Shot

This morning had a really interesting start. I've become a bit of a night owl since I was in Estonia and I was working until about 3am last night. Just getting stuff pulled together and around for teaching this week. At 9am this morning I heard my doorbell. So I ran to answer it. It was my best pal here in Russia, Sasha. He arrived to inform me that my flu shot had arrived and we set to work.

I have no antiseptic in my house. No alcohol (to drink or to rub), I have no iodine, I have virtually nothing. I have no cologne (sorry Amy - what kind of man am I anyway?) So we used eyeglass cleaner… I have no idea if that's really helpful or not. But anyway - we shot up in the kitchen.

So now I've got my Russian flu vaccination. We'll see if I get the flu or not!

Making Pilmeni and Blini

Turns out that I had a very interesting evening tonight. One of the students at our University is crazy about English. He asked one of the teachers if he would be able to study with me next year (my American teaching methods are creating quite a stir amongst the students - we 'played' market in class to talk about money and they just couldn't believe that we played a game to learn instead of me just talking to them). Anyway - I digress. So Tatiana told him that I wouldn't be here for him to study with me 'on the second course' (which I only barely recognized as sounding strange in English). So he invited me over for an evening of Russian culture with he and some of his friends.

We made homemade pilmeni and blini (pilmeni are the traditional food of Russia - a type of dumpling - although I'd say closer to Chinese potstickers than dumplings -- and blini are very thin, very tasty (um.. I mean delicious) pancakes). I started off rolling the dough for the pilmeni, and eventually I graduated to actually folding the dough around the meat. We boiled them as the staple of dinner. Tasty! And we also had fried eggplant with mayo and garlic -- spicy, but really nice.

They had lots of questions for me (we spoke in English for the first couple hours and then I broke down and started speaking Russian with them -- they really wanted to practice). They wanted to talk about politics, education, American teens, music - and they were especially surprised to learn that Americans are not like the movies. I asked them if Russians were like Russians in American movies (of course not) so why would Americans be the same? It was a good talk.

They gave me some Russian music to listen to on my computer and they all were REALLY excited to meet with me again. I hope that it has potential to develop into a relationship where they might start coming to our center. They're really cool kids. They want to show me some classic Russian films. One of them is called something like the 'white desert'? I think anyway.

It was really interesting to meet some brand new people and to have a chance to just listen a lot. I learned a lot of new words (but I did refuse when they wanted to teach me a bunch of curse words). They kept it clean for me. And they already knew that I wasn't interested in drinking. Word travels fast.

A Language In My Pocket Or The One When Jeff's Palm Gets Updated

I finally have lingvo on my pocket pc! Whoo hoo. Now I'm a translating fool. Lingvo is the world's awesomest computer program for speakers of English and Russian. I'm not kidding. Every idiom in English seems to be in this clever piece of software. Once again - you can thank the amazing Sasha Vassiliev for Jeff being properly connected and up to date with technology. He even helped me find some really cool software for my calendar, etc. My handheld is completely Russified. So I'm learning a lot of technical words too, which is really good for future ministry possibilities. I'm so thankful for his continued friendship and help.

Gasps and a Sharp Intake of Breath or the One Where Jeff Tells His Classes that He Speaks Some Russian

I told my first two groups of students that I understand and speak some Russian today. The first group was really the best - so I'll tell you about that.

We played a 'market' game today talking about supply and demand (I know - since when did I start teaching about things like that?!) Anyway - the key to winning the prize was to do you best AND to speak only English. So anyone who spoke Russian wasn't able to win the candy bar and I got to keep it.

So they were complaining about how hard it was to speak only English and no Russian. "We speak Russian all day long and then we come in here and have to speak only English!" So I answered them in Russian, "Конечно, я понимаю. Я говорю весь, день каждый день по-русски" There was an intake of breath, some laughter and even applause. It was fun to tell them! Then I told them that only I could use Russian in class and only if it was helpful, because they weren't understanding. Sometimes - I just know that it's necessary to help them learn.

The Second class tonight was fun too. I was teaching a tongue twister for pronunciation practice. Russian doesn't have the sound th (either voiced or voiceless) So we have been learning.

Room 333 on the 3rd floor rents for $33.33 every third Thursday.
And
I can think of six thin things, but I can think of six thick things too.

So one of them said - I bet you can't say, "Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку!" So I said it. That was fun too. They clapped. It's a tongue twister that I learned in my Russian classes. I'm learning 3 or them right now to practice the softer sounds of Russian. English is too abrupt and 'hard' It's strange to relearn the sounds t, d, and n. See another blog for that update.

Uncle Jeff Or The One Where Jeff Nearly Bursts Into Tears For Love Of Children

This is an exciting blog entry for me! First, my almost sister in law gave birth last week to Noah Ryan Couch! Congrats to Laura and Nathan! Welcome to the family Noah! You beat me to it by 9 months!

The second part of the Uncle Jeff story involves a little 2 year old named Victoria (everyone at the cultural center calls her Vika). She's a little bundle of joy who comes to our cultural center every day when her mom comes in to clean. She's just a doll and runs around making everyone smile all the time. She's a bit shy and takes quite a while to warm up to people, especially to guys. She's a very special little girl to all of us, because she's the first baby saved at our pregnancy center. Her mother is so thankful that she kept her and everything is working out fine for her. Today Vika called me Dada (don't freak out anyone - remember she speaks Russian!) Dada is like kid-speak for Dyadya which means uncle. I about melted. She came running down the hall where I was studying Russian and jumped up onto my chair and said Dada (very seriously) and pointed to the light switch. We play a game that I smile when the light is on and frown when it's off. I've started teaching her a couple English phrases. She already says "hi" and can gimme 5 and gimme 10. I started with right and left and then remembered that she's 2 and I should cut her some slack.

Part three. I am desperately missing Sarah Holleman and her little sister Baby Kate. BK probably isn't much of a baby anymore. She was just walking when I left and now I'm sure she's a running terror! I'm looking forward to seeing the girls again next year and it's awesome when I talk to her dad on the phone when I get to hear her playing in the background. I'm such a sap for kids.

Behind in blogging

sorry gang, I was behind in the blog-o-sphere again. I just posted 6 new posts dating back to 10/3/06 -- life is getting busier and busier, and I'm so glad that years ago the L0rd helped me to decide to live my "Life on Purpose" Someday if I ever start my own company, that's what I'd call it. Maybe that's why I like Life is Good clothing so much.

I miss you all. Yesterday I got to talk to America with several folks and it was great. Everything from a talk with my brother Will to a fast call to Gail Swenson for help finding a phone number - it was wonderful. When I got to call into the youth group staff meeting and Jay pr@yed for me I almost started crying.

Thank you all so much for your support and just know that you are missed and loved. I have wonderful friends here and am supported here as well, but just knowing that my community in America is behind me is a tremendous comfort.

The Birds or the One Where Jeff fears He's living in a Hitchcock Film

This will be short. There are so many birds outside my apartment that it's creepy. They've just moved in and started roosting in the trees nearby. Please pr@y that they move on. They fly around and are VERY loud. I sleep fine, but it's just creepy.

English Discussion Club or the One Where the Cat is Let Out of the Bag

We had our first English discussion club today. It was awesome! There were at least 10 people there and we got along famously. It was wonderful to know that I'm being helpful to so many people and the topic has been turning to significant matters of life without any intention on my part! It's amazing. One of my students came to the session too. I didn't realize that ALL of my students have class at the time that we've scheduled English discussion club. So he had to skip class to come! (The Russian word for skipping class is something like убежать which literally means to run away). I really enjoyed tonight.

There's only one catch. Larissa, who works at our cultural center, told the whole group that I speak Russian. And one of my students was there. And my students don’t' know that I speak any Russian… so I guess I'll be telling all my classes this week!

Smooth Shoes or the One Where Jeff's Language Deficiencies Cause the First Confusion

So apparently I didn't make myself clear enough when I was at the cobbler. I got new soles on my shoes. I did request this, I think. But it looks like he purposefully sanded off the tread on the shoes so that they're smooth. I guess I used that word a few too many times when I told them about the problem with my shoes. She said when I picked them up that they'd never worked on shoes like mine or had a request quite like it.

So I guess I asked them to do that… but I didn't realize it. So I might be making a visit back there for some traction - because let's face it, a nose dive is in my future if the soles of my shoes are this smooth.

The Sanitarium or the One Where Jeff is Committed

That's right. I spent the weekend at the Sanitarium. The Lingvo Center (the faculty that I'm a part of at the University, that teaches English, French and German) took a weekend retreat to the Sanitarium. A sanitarium though isn't really what the image is that's popping into your mind. It's basically a high level dormitory where people go to 'have a rest.' There's actually a verb in Russian to 'have a rest' and it's a very important part of their culture. So the 10 of us packed an overnight bag and went to have a rest.

Most of the services weren't operating because it was the weekend. So frankly, I was disappointed, because I thought a HOT banya and a massage sounded great after the initial push of the Fall and teaching and lessons and whatnot. But the mineral, hot spring fed pool was operational. So at about 40 degrees some of us went swimming outside in 85 degree water! It was wonderful. Swimming always makes me nice and tired, so I got some hard sleeping done!

In the afternoon, our sportsman, Alexander, helped us all get a workout, by establishing some games and leading us in calisthenics. It felt like 4th grade gym class all over again and was really quite fun… my legs hurt the next day!

In the evening, we had a banquet. It would be too much to say it was in my honor, but I was the focal piece of much of the evening. G0d has been teaching me about humility recently, and I was a bit embarrassed to have so much attention. There was even a series of contests to see if I could pass muster (that idiom is for you Zhanna) and be accepted as a lecturer in the department. That was bordering on humiliating because I didn't understand the Russian very well at that point in time. They asked me to take a series of fake 'teaching oaths' and I didn't know more than 25% of the language. Humility is good, but humiliation isn't. They took pity on me, but were disappointed.

That's really hard for me to disappoint others. I'm a people pleaser at heart. My language skills are continuing to improve, but I think pretty much everyone thinks I'm doing better than I really am. I can do much better when I'm speaking, because I get to choose the words I already know to express myself. And in one-on-one situations I do much better than in group situations where multiple people speak at once. Brain fry sets in earlier when there are lots of people talking.

Front Page News

Today I became famous at our University. Seems as though the small interview that Vicky (an Englishwoman working in the volunteer program at Neftegas) and I gave on Wednesday was made into a quick article on the HOMEPAGE of the Universities website. Luckily, today it's already moved to the homepage of just our division of the University.

Foreigners are big news here, so we made front page coverage. Vanity also prevailed, because my first emotion when I saw the pictures in the article was… "Why did she have to show the back of my head?!) (my bald spot is in full view of the entire world!) Then I just had a good laugh about it and moved on with my futile attempts to read the article quickly like I could just scan it and move on.

The great thing about trying to read an article like that though, is that I pick up bits of new vocabulary all the time.

For example: I learned the word power supply from an email from Sasha about the USB Hub I'm getting for my computer. I learned the word method from a conversation with Igor about how we capture our thoughts to plan for the future, and I learned the word 'dirty-faced' while memorizing tongue twisters for pronunciation practice!

The Cobbler or the One Where Jeff Gets His Shoes Fixed

Yeah, so it's been raining for days. And on my way to the University this morning through the puddles and the muck, I about did a header. I knew that my shoes were a bit to smooth to trust them, but I only have one pair of black shoes - and everyone knows that Russian men wear as much black as possible. (quick survey of students shows that of 50 men, 47 are wearing black coats - not exaggerating if you're wondering).

So, with the help of my trusty friend Sasha, I found the local cobbler. Turns out he's actually in my building. So I took my shoes and entertained the ladies at the cobbler shop. I was their first American visitor! They were very patient, kind, and frankly… fascinated. It was fun to speak with them and they were very encouraging. Because, well, let's face it - talking about shoes is some specialized vocabulary. I don't know how to say sole, heel, shine, traction, slip or anything like that. So it came out more like: my shoes are smooth. I don't want them to be smooth. Can you make them not smooth?

Amy in Africa or the One Where Jeff's Heart Starts Breaking

Amy is in Africa! I can't believe that she's finally there. After almost a year of waiting to get to the field, she's finally flown to Kenya. She's about halfway between Nairobi and Naroq, living in the bush and working with the Masai tribe. She's with a group called CMF International and specifically her ministry is called Community Health Ev-ngelism. This means that she'll be teaching locals about the AIDS epidemic and how they can prevent its spread through community education. This is a really cool method for instruction and sharing the Message.

Basically the G-spel message is embedded in the community health messages about AIDS. Kenyan Nationals (community leaders) are taught this system and then they in turn go back to their communities and teach their friends and neighbors! Such a cool program, huh?

Well anyway - we could use tons of your pr@yer about Amy in Kenya. Here are the quick details. It is very expensive for me to call Amy in Kenya and even more expensive for her to call me in Russia from Kenya. Amy doesn't have easy access to the phone and we can maybe talk once a week for 5 minutes or so. This is much worse than we initially thought and we're very sad about it. Although she does have internet access there, it is also only once a week and she has to pay by the minute! So we're going to be writing emails and letters mostly to communicate.

Also, I'm planning to go to Africa to visit Amy in December/January sometime and so far it's MUCH more expensive than I ever dreamed. (funny - that's more of a Russian construction than English -- why didn't I say imagined?) Anyway - it looks right now like it'll be upwards of $2500 to go and visit her, but I'm committed to making this happen.

Please be pr@ying for her as it's a much different situation there than what I've got here in Russia. I knew so many people before I even came and am already very plugged into community here. Although Amy is part of a larger team, she and her partner Helen are very isolated and experiencing the first pangs of homesickness!

Police at the Market

Today I was at the market getting some ground beef for dinner and I thought. I bet my friends in America would like to see what the market looks like. There are several markets where I regularly shop and I knew that the Central Market would allow me to buy beef for 1/2 kilo (instead of a whole kilo which is 2.2 lbs).

When I was there I thought I'd snap a photo for you all. Well, I guess that wasn't a good idea. Turns out that a security/militia man came over and watched as I deleted the three photos I'd taken in the market.

Strawberry Juice

What more needs to be said? It's incredible. I found it at the store. Delicious. And it's just like any other juice here. Flavors are so interesting: peach nectar, apple, grape, tomato, strawberry, mors… mmmm Mors - um… it's a national Russian berry

Building Houses or The One Where Jeff is Readining Haggai 1

Whoa. Honestly this is a bit of a butt kicker. I was reading about the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem. They didn't want to start rebuilding the temple right away because they were busy setting their own affairs in order.

It hit me pretty hard as a guy who spent the bulk of the day yesterday cleaning his apartment. yes, I do need to set my own affairs in order, certainly, but it was just a very thought provoking read. I'm here this year in Russia to learn Russian... there's a Russian verb for what I'm really supposed to do выусить - it means to learn completely. I know that this serves the Father and it's my primary aim, but when opportunities arise for other things - I never know if I should say yes or no and there are more opportunities than I could possibly do. I've said yes to too many I think. So now I'm trying to cut back as to not be overwhelmed and especially so that I don't become ineffective.

Okay - Just a quick rant about how much Hag. 1 struck me.

Revival or the one where Jeff gets really excited at Sunday service

Sunday service today ROCKED. I'm not sure exactly what about it was so awesome, but it really was. Jim was actually the main man up front sharing the message today and the topic was Communion. The mood was serious, but appropriate. Zhanna interpreted the message.

There were SO many people there. I think a lot showed up to hear Jim speak? There were certainly more men at the service than I've seen in a very very long time. I think more than I've ever seen.

I was SO great.

I was pretty down yesterday and it was just awesome to know that He's got my back. I feel bounced back! Yippie!