January 2011 Newletter

What’s Going on in Dallas, TX?

Volunteer Season is in full swing at the International Linguistics Center (ILC) in Dallas!  We have had more than 60 seasonal volunteers arrive, with many more to come over the next month.  The volunteers are serving everywhere on the Center, from administrative offices, libraries, editing, Museum of Cultures, finance offices, IT, dining hall, childcare, health clinic, Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics offices, buildings and grounds dept, boutique and sewing room.  (The Boutique is where missionaries can shop for just about anything for free.  It is all donated clothes, kitchen items, books, homeschooling materials, and much more.  The sewing room works on all kinds of projects, for Dallas and worldwide).

We had a church group from Geneva, Nebraska here last week for the second year, and will have another group from Scottsbluff, Nebraska in a couple of weeks.  It is a great way to serve within the United States, but also get a worldview of missions.  There are always missionaries from all over the world staying at the Center for furlough or training, plus we have retirement apartments on the center for missionaries that spent a good portion of their lives on the field.  If you want to hear some testimonies about God’s provision, head over there, they are more than happy to share their story with you.

One of the biggest projects going on in Dallas this winter is the “ground source” project.  You may be wondering “what in the world is that?”  I did...  Let me briefly explain...  A few years ago they put 230 wells in a “well field” across from the building I work in (in the picture below).  The point of the ground source is for enclosed water to mix with the air and heat or cool the buildings.  This has saved 40% on the utilities in the buildings it is connected to.  You can connect several buildings into the same ground source, therefore, they are digging trenches across the campus to the Activity Center/Childcare, Guest House and Guest Apartments.  (Where heating and cooling systems need replacement).  This may not sound like such a big project, but when you count the fact that they have to cross two streets and 16 buried utility lines, it becomes a big project. 

 

Prayer Requests:

1. Financial Support - It is critical that my financial support increase significantly this month (January).

2. Please pray for the volunteers traveling to Dallas, giving their time and resources to support Bible Translation with their gifts and talents.

3. For the team that leads the WA volunteers year-around, but especially during “volunteer season.”  There are many projects and many people to match them with.  Their names are: Randy (the boss), George, John, Janice, Dana, and me.

Praises:

1. The volunteers are coming in and enjoying their work.  God is placing each one where they can be used by the Lord to support Bible Translation.

2. Experiencing Bible Translation up-close and personal; seeing first hand what the Lord is doing through Bible Translation; and being a part of it everyday.

3. I went back to Kansas City for Christmas and had a great time with family and friends, as well as safe travel.