Phew - finally finished!

Today I spent a couple of hours this morning wrestling with Gmail trying to get our newsletter out. Even with the frustrations of it all, the truth is today's technology never ceases to amaze me.

I remember reading letters from Missionaries while I was a teenager in a C&MA church in Brooklyn, New York. I remember reading about the adventures they were having and drifting off in my imagination to these far away lands that I thought I would never see.

Now, everything is different. The world really is 'smaller.' Most of the teenagers (and adults) I know have Facebook accounts that include friends from other countries. If you want to know about a country you don't dust off the encyclopedia (???) or National Geographic, instead, with just a few clicks of the mouse you can look at live videos from almost any country in the world. Want to see the Galapagos islands, the Patagonian Rain Forest, the Taj Mahal or the Great Barrier Reef. Google them!

But, in the end, what impresses me most about today's technology is how 'instant' our communication has become. It wasn't that long ago that missionaries would board ships and sail across the oceans to reach the foreign ports of call. They would write letters and mail them back to their families and the letters would take 2 months to arrive, and even longer for the response to get back.

I love being a missionary in THIS time period. I love being able to call my parent's cell phone and talk with them while they are eating at Dunkin' Doughnuts. I love being able to 'skype' my brother in Thailand and ask him computer advice. I love being able to shoot videos, write blogs, and create newsletters that, with one (or really 15) click of the mouse, can be whisked away to over hundreds of homes, filled with family and friends who are praying for the ministry here in Paraguay. I love that!

So, it was worth the fight. And, in the end, I won and the newsletters were sent out. Speaking of which... if you are reading this and did not get a newsletter, but would like to, just send me your email address and I will make sure that you get all the fairly recent, up-to-date, information about what is happening with our family and the work here in Asuncion.

Thanks for being on the team!

Peace!