The 80s?

Why does this give me the feeling that I'm reliving the 80s?

The Dollar Is Falling.

I don't want to sound like Chicken Little, especially because this time its true. The Euro peaked in its value against the dollar this summer while I was in Germany - I was paying about $1.60 to get 1 Euro. Then over the past few months the Euro began to slowly, but surely, fall in value. Up to a week ago... then over the past few days it spiked up again. Although its not as high as it used to be, it does skew my support estimates (which were based off of the value of the Euro about a month ago - somewhere in the $1.28 range). Hopefully the market will stabilize somewhat so that I'm not bartering off various articles of Americana to pay my rent next year :-).

Seriously though - Its crazy how much even a 10 cent shift in currency value can make. Last summer I was talking to some missionaries who were explaining how people in America couldn't understand how they had effectively lost about a third of their pay because of the way the market fluctuated. As support is coming in form America (In USD) by the time it is converted into European local currency (which for most countries is now the Euro, or EUR), it takes a few hits in value - between the bank taking an exchange fee, and being converted into the local currency. So a family over in Germany who started off when the Euro was about equal with the Dollar saw their support, without having done anything wrong, continually loose its value over a six year (or so) span to the point where every dollar that they had raised was worth only about $.66. And the buying power of the Euro is no better than the dollar.

This all goes to say though - there is a God who is in control over the world's financial markets, but we don't always know why He allows the markets to fluctuate... or his plan for what we ought to do with our finances.  I'll be honest, I'm hoping and praying that the market will stabilize (if not go down) for pretty self serving reasons (I don't want to have to raise more money than I already do... and I don't want to get to Europe and have my support collapse...), and at the same time those its the same money that goes to allow me to serve the Lord in Germany - so its kind of a strange, very human, mix of emotions that I feel while watching the money market. Its actually quite humbling - it is completely out of my control, and yet it will dictate a lot of what I can/will do in the next year...

Technorati Tags: Euro,Dollar,Currency conversion,Missions,Missionary,Germany,Money,God's soverignty

Theres never enough...

... Time. We're moving from early to mid December, and Christmas is right around the corner. This time of year always feels rushed to me. One minute its thanksgiving and before you know it you're heralding the new year. And then everything slows down and sleeps until spring. Its crazy though - this year January may actually be as frantic as December usually is. Right now I'm still raising funds to go to Germany, and I kind of expect to keep doing that right up until the deadline -- Worried isn't the right word to use for whether or not I'll be able to raise the support, concerned probably is. If God does want me in Germany, and I diligently do my part to try and raise funds, I am confident that I will get there in His time. So even though I'm not worried, I am concerned as I watch the days tick away, and mid January is coming ever-closer.

Almost There

I think I'm almost done with the letters. And that's good news.

Letters, Letters Everywhere....

Alright... bonus points if anybody knows what poem I just ripped off with my title... (Sorry its the recovering English major in me). But the title does say it all - I spent a good couple of hours yesterday addressing and collating support letters to go out early next week. I've got some more work to do on that today, but I'm pretty optimistic that I'll have everything done on time to meet that deadline. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to get my full support in on time... I'm optimistic though (and you can ask my family how often that happens).

Put in Cribbs!

Alright, I realize that this isn't a sports blog. And I'm not planning on delving into sports all that often, but this was too good to pass up.

I just got the Cleveland Browns Newsletter (email) and the first headline I came across was "Anderson Ready for Sunday." I felt letting loose an Arnold Schwarzenegger-esq guttural scream (the kind that usually follows a hail of gunfire, a few explosions, a helicopter crash and a cheesy one-liner). Oscillating between terrified curiosity, and the desire to finally disown my football team after years of bitter disappointment I debated whether or not to read the rest of the article. The compulsion to know won out.

I followed the "Click Here for More" link in the email and arrived at the story's page on the Browns' web site. After reading the article I can now empathize with a prisoner at a parole hearing going horribly wrong. So here's the skinny - Quinn is out of the rest of the season, because the finger he broke apparently was not healing. (The Arnold scream finally escaped sometime around here).

At this point I started wondering if this was another one of the Brownies' quasi-shady Soviet style personnel moves - You know like the whole "Charlie Fry is our starter"... followed by pulling him in the second half of last season's opener, and trading him the following day. Or saying that Kellen Winslow didn't want the reason for his hospitalization disclosed in order to try and hush-hush their way out of the spotlight for yet another personnel staph infection (let me just say here that I don't necessarily agree with the way Winslow handled the situation either, and I'm not sticking up for him... I just find the Browns' motives slightly suspect). The cynic in me couldn't help but wonder if this was just a way for Premier Savage and Comrade Crenell to bench Quinn with dignity for the rest of the season - to clear up any and all quarterback controversy until they could come up with some kind of decision over the off-season, and present as unified a front as possible.

And Then I reached the final paragraph:

"In the meantime, Joshua Cribbs will be the emergency quarterback behind starter Derek Anderson and back up Ken Dorsey."

Yes! There it was, like a beacon of hope, a shimmering light offered to the city of Cleveland! Josh Cribbs is now listed as the third string Quarterback! Why would listing one of the NFL's best kick returners, who happened to play quarterback in college excite me? Simple: every time Cribbs is in he plays hard with an evident passion for the game, whether that is returning or covering a kick/punt, playing an offensive role, or as part of a trick play. In a season that has been filled with more debacles than a middle school talent show, Cribbs as well as a few other players have been the real reason I've kept watching the Brownies this year (#92 Shaun Rogers is another) - and I'll keep watching them. So when Anderson starts choking on Sunday, what will the crowd be chanting? "Cribs, Cribs, Cribs, Cribs..."

- Look, all joking aside. Do I really think we should jump to Cribbs as quarterback? No, of course not. The other two guys in front of him are paid to know that position, fill that position, and run the Browns offense. I may not be a big DA fan, but I don't think him playing is the kiss of death, and I do think that he can be successful somewhere if the right system for him is in place. Do I really think that there is a conspiracy type plot to bench Quinn? There's probably not one of those either, and if the injury is as bad as the article made it sound I'd be the first person to say that the priority should be getting medical treatment and not playing football (Although something about the whole situation smells like media spin). Seriously though, it is the right thing to do if it is a matter of injury... you don't want to be accused of treating your players like pieces of meat... they are human beings after all. In the end we Clevelanders may be a city of fans starving for a good season from our football team, we seriously need to remember that its just a game.

Technorati Tags: Joshua Cribbs,Derek Anderson,Brady Quinn,Cleveland Browns,Quarterback,Quarterback Controversy,Football,NFL,Sports,Cleveland,Browns

The Process and the Human Touch

I'm constantly amazed at how in-depth the process of "raising support" can be. I think one of the common misconceptions, especially from people who have done a couple of short term trips, is that all you do is send out a bunch of letters and pray that God provides the funds. Of course sending out letters is one part of it, but as I'm looking through my list of people to send letters to and contact, the amount of "personal interaction" that I plan on doing is increasing. And that's not a bad thing, not at all. For instance, I've been going through a list of close friends contacting them about prayer support, and how they can be praying for me through this process, and that has been incredibly encouraging. For example, when I called my friend John a couple of days ago about prayer support, his immediate response was incredible enthusiasm! And that is infectious.