When Nancy asked me about going to Uganda, I told her that I thought it was a great opportunity and that she should go for it. Ben was a little more reluctant.

Ben: How will we eat when Momma is gone?
Katie: Daddy will order pizza!

I had to remind Katie that the pizza man didn’t deliver in Kenya, and so more practical measures were called for. The staff at RVA has a prayer meeting every school day, and when it was time for announcements, I just mentioned that if we had had anyone over for dinner in the last six months, we had really really enjoyed having them over.

That got us a couple of invites.

The next day was an example of how a bad day can turn into an opportunity. I had the misfortune of picking Syracuse to win the NCAA tournament. To have your champion pick lose in the first round is like opening a pair of underwear at Christmas and then hearing `That’s it for this year.’

Despite that, I went into the office with the joy and happiness I have always been known for, and was rudely mocked by my co-workers. I responded with love and grace, as is my wont.

Imagine my shock that the first prayer request was for my co-workers because I was CRANKY because my team had not won. I could have responded in ANGER to that insidious lie, but instead I saw opportunity. I replied that I had not even known there was basketball being played; that night was reserved for praying for the staff of RVA, and hoping there would be more opportunities to fellowship together.

Two more invites.

We ended up with every meal covered, and we had a wonderful time in the week JT and Nancy were gone. Matthew was amazingly helpful, and besides the fact that he now creams me in horse when we play basketball together (four 3 pointers in a row!) we did quite well together except for:

I did hear the five scariest words a father of four year old twins can hear:

Daddy, we found our harmonicas!

I also made the fatal error of asking what they would like to do that would be special while momma was gone. Their answer was not what I was hoping for:

We want to sleep in the same bed as you!

By the end of the weekend, I felt like a human soccer ball. A highlight occurred at 2am when Ben head butted me so hard I saw stars, and when I looked up, he was snoring peacefully.

We were all glad when Nancy got home. But I got thinking that she deserved an exciting adventure like we had. A group of colleges invited me to come to a conference in the states, and offered to pay for everything. We got a special deal for JT, so he is going to look at some more colleges for 11 days.

We will be on standby all throughout America, so who knows if we will make any flights at all, but this is our tentative itinerary:

Arrive in America April 14

April 14-17 Boston, New England

April 18 Chicago

April 19 Dallas

April 20-21 North Carolina

JT departs on April 22 back to Kenya; my conference begins April 23

April 23-28 Boston

April 28-30 Dallas

May 1- Back to Kenya

We thought about doing a Milwaukee Joe’s on April 19th. Since we aren’t sure we will make it, and we were just there nine months ago, it seems weird to do it again, but it is always nice to see folks and say thanks. So really tentatively, we will try to make it to Milwaukee Joe’s 7-9 on April 19th. (JT has FOUR places he wants to eat in Dallas for the 30 hours we are there)

I was holding Katie in my lap, and telling her how much I would miss her and told her that my dream since I was a little boy was to have a daughter, and then I had all sons, and I put that dream away, and then she came, and my dream came true.

She looked at me and said `How many bubble gums are you going to bring me from America?’

See you soon. I’m the one carrying LOTS of bubble gum.

Your pal,

Steve