Polar Bears in High Humidity

The mall near our house has decorated for Christmas in a somewhat unfathomable Winter Wonderland theme. It’s really beautiful, but completely incongruous with the realities of West Africa. It’s kind of difficult to “dream of a white Christmas” when our bedroom is a sticky 83+ degrees every night. But it is really fun to look at, and helps us get excited about the Christmas season.

Here I am enjoying "the snow" with some friends from Niger, who had a two-day layover in Abidjan on their way home from the conference in Togo.

Health Report

November goes down in Meilstrup family history as our sickest month to date. Deron had a viral infection, malaria, ear infections, a sore throat, and cold -- all at the same time! He seems to be over the malaria but is still battling the other stuff and recently started another round of antibiotics. He’s getting a little better every day so we’re hoping this week he’ll finally get back to full health and strength. I have recovered from the viral infection I was fighting so that is a huge answer to prayer.

Conference Report

Last week we attended the ReNew conference in Togo. This was a time for new missionaries to evaluate the past year and get re-energized and re-focused for the coming year. We examined topics like family relationships, team relationships, witnessing experiences, stress, cultural adaptation, and more. It was very intense but also a valuable opportunity to celebrate areas where we’ve grown and make goals in areas that need improvement.

What’s Next?

This is the first week in over a month that I will be back to a “regular” office schedule. It looks like it will be filled with e-mail correspondence, tying up loose ends (of which there are MANY) on existing projects, meeting with my supervisor, and developing a project schedule for 2007.

Deron will continue working on getting well and will hopefully be able to spend time planning for some conferences he'll help facilitate next year.

Joyeux Noël!

Here's the little Christmas tree we set up in our living room over the weekend. It helps make our house a little more homey and festive.

And last but certainly not least ...

GO GATORS!