Quick Update

Just wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going. The first LST team arrived without any glitches on Monday afternoon (other than the glitch of me being late to the airport and they were standing on the sidewalk waiting for me when I walked up...lame, Cris.) and hit the ground running. They are a very enthusiastic bunch and are already doing a great job of jumping into the culture, church, and reading sessions.

Last night they had their information meeting, which is The Event that we had been so heavily advertising for. In years past there have usually been about 30-40 people show up to the information meeting and we add several readers after the fact. Yesterday it started raining around lunch time and I started getting worried....rain keeps a lot of people home. It's hard to get around on public transportation in the rain, and so I started preparing myself and the team that we might get a lower turnout than we had hoped for.

According to the sign-in sheet at the information meeting, we had SIXTY people show up! What does that mean? It means that sixty people have signed up for LST reading sessions and will begin their studies this week or next. That means that of the 60, 54 were brand new readers who have never participated in LST before, and the other 6 were very special former readers who have come back to continue. That means that sixty people were interested enough in the program to brave the rain and come out anyway...and it means that several others who had confirmed they would come weren't able to, and called today to schedule reading sessions anyway.

The group is in high spirits and enjoyed their first day of reading. Please be praying for all of us...the team as they get into the groove of the very, very intense reading schedule and me as I try to keep my sanity playing secretary for 6 workers and 70ish readers. :) Don't be mistaken, however...I am having an absolute blast. I have the best job in the world and am overwhelmed by the blessings God is already showering on us.

Here are some pictures of the information meeting...