"It's beginning to look alot like....."

OK, I know, I know, it's been a little while. I've been so incredibly busy over the past month I haven't had time to....wait a minute, I totally forgot! Thanksgiving is next Thursday! Ummm, I can't wait for Thanksgiving DINNER!! The smoked turkey Dad has perfected over the years, sweet potato casserole with pineapple and roasted marshmallows on top, the cranberry mold (love it mom) that melts in your mouth, the Jiffy cornbread stuffing, fresh green beans sauteed in garlic and butter, and the PIES! Oh, my favorite part! Fresh baked Chery with the warm buttery crust, fresh Pumpkin with whip cream and Cinnamon, and......OK, it started as a joke but now I'm just torturing myself :( You guys just enjoy your Thanksgiving, and I'll just be here serving the Lord. Please don't work about me. I'll probably have a nice pot of boiled goat and some sort of root that has a nice earthly flavor. We might even have Tang for the big day, and if we're lucky, really lucky we might get powdered milk substitute to mix with our lukewarm bore-hole water while we eat under the African sky just thankful we even get to eat this day! I just hope and pray the Malaria bug stays away so we can spend this time without any dry-heaving, cold shivers, or the dreaded "runs" to keep us from the feast-to-be.
OK, I'm sorry...I was just giving you guys a hard time, we're gonna have a great Thanksgiving. The plane rotation lands in Yei next Thursday and from what I hear, we'll have a few turkeys and all the trimmings flown in. Believe it or not, Thanksgiving isn't the most widely celebrated African holiday....I know, that's what I said!!! Hopefully though, Nairobi should have most of the traditional favorites...keeping the cranberry in prayer. So, on to what's important. Our progress is moving at an un-heralded clip. We're shooting for a record 7 churches in December, which, with only 4 actual building crews is remarkable. Our building operation focuses on one region at a time, while the additional four sub-bases spread over South Sudan mobilize church congregations to gather raw materials, engineers stake out the parameters, and plans are finalized. The work God's doing in this region is truly amazing and I thank Him everyday that He's allowed me to partake! Guys I must admit however, conducting business in S. Sudan is like nothing I've ever experienced...not that my experience should serve as any gauge. Example, the other day one of our drivers "knocked" (the African phrase for hitting an object with a car) a goat that ran out into the murram road. Well, a baby goat now turns out to be full-bread and pregnant, and the owner wants compensation for the goat and each soon-to-be offspring. Needless to say we had....you guessed it, goat for dinner. I stinkin' hate goat. Just a crazy world we live in with a lot to experience. The great part...God is visible in all creation, you just gotta look...(Romans 1:20-22).
As the famous 21st century versifier Andre 3000 once quoted, "You gotta get up, get out and do somethin', don't let the day's of your life pass by..."
Signing off,
Joey-bag o donuts