"You should learn kung fu!"

This morning, I visited the ORTV office in Arcadia. (ORTV is the ministry I worked with in Taiwan. They have an office in Arcadia.) I'll be going back there next Tuesday to show photos, but I was briefly telling the staff about some of the craziness of the first few months of 2008 in Kenya... "Aah-teh!" (some Chinese friends just can't say my name. There are various interesting ways they make my name fit into the sounds with which they're familiar.) "You should learn kung-fu!"
So, other than (not) learning kung-fu, what have I been up to in the past few weeks?

For one, having tons of meetings with friends and supporters in California. Visiting with a variety of friends is one of the things I miss most in Kenya, so my bucket is being filled, believe me! Last weekend, I even had a fun time going to SeaWorld. My friend Danette was in California for a trade show, so we escaped to go see Shamu. (In chatting with a staff member later, though, we learned that none of the orcas in SeaWorld is actually Shamu. The real Shamu died 20-some years ago. We were devastated. OK, not really, but it's an interesting little fact to know that SeaWorld doesn't really have a Shamu... Sorry to burst anyone's bubble.)

One of the orcas showing off. Watch how the people in the front are hiding behind their blue ponchos since they know a BIG splash is to follow!
Danette and I enjoying California's sunshine. It was actually a bit chilly in San Diego, though.

Other than having amazing food with amazing people, talking at a variety of places about what God is doing in Kenya, and traversing the California freeways--you know you've adjusted to life in the boonies when you can't help but count the number of lanes on the freeway: I-5 has seven lanes in ONE direction in one place!--I've been working on projects at our office in Upland and finishing a very long paper for my first class.

Hence the silence. I was not only enjoying face-to-face time with people, I was also trying to get my paper done. It's in, praise God! So this weekend, I'll start the reading for the next class so I don't find myself up against a (deadline) wall again.

Other than the photos I took in San Diego last weekend, I have not been carrying my camera with me at all. Sorry. But not really. I needed a photo break. And a blogging break, really. Breaks are good.

Oh, I wanted to get the word out: If anyone who's reading this would like to come see photos and hear stories about Kenya, I'll be doing a presentation at the Upland Library this Monday afternoon at 2 pm. If you'd like to come and need more information, just let me know.

It's time to sleep... My brain's not functioning well after the lack of sleep this week.

Lala salama. Sleep in peace.