Well, day 1 of my “stay away from ‘entertaining’ websites and man-made ways to distract yourself for no reason” experiment.  At this time next week I will be sitting in committee meetings and translating my little heart out.  I’ll be at the Division’s 5-year planning meeting in Foz do Iguaçu.  So not only is it a big deal for me personally, but it’s also a very important even for the future of the Division that needs to be covered in prayer.  So in order to prepare myself for the coming week (and this week as I finish translating documents for the event), I’ve decided to spend a week filling my life only with “meaning.”  Basically I’m trying to make sure anything in my life this week fits into “productive, spiritual, social or educational” categories.  And that includes staying away from facebook (because it’s so easy to waste time just browsing), online TV, pointless web searches, solitare, youtube videos, etc until I get back from my business trip.  So far I’ve been grooving out to Christmas music while doing laundry, drinking tea, cleaning my 2nd bedroom for my new roommate from Argentina that arrives as soon as she receives her passort, cleaning the kitchen, and setting aside things I won’t be taking back to the States with me.  And so far I’ve found that my first day away from ‘entertainment’ is happier than a day filled with tv shows and movies. 

This last week was the week of satellite evangelism here in South America.  I hope to have ‘official news’ to share soon, because it was an amazing and inspirational event.  The stories we’ve been receiving are incredible.  Just on the last day of the event, over 800 people were baptized in the city of Maringa (the hosting city of the event) with over 10,000 looking in attendance.  And on the last 3 nights of the series the online feed of the event was the #1 most accessed site in all of South America, and 2nd most on all the other nights.  And in Chile (for the Spanish speaking countries) the event was huge as well, including the participation of one of the Chilean miners on the opening night during the appeal.  It’s been a wonderful time to be here in the SAD. 

In other news, you may have been right David Baker, I’m slowly becoming the cinnamon roll queen of South America.  I’ve been asked to make another 2 batches for a baby shower brunch tomorrow morning.  But credit where credit’s due, I’ve been using a recipe found on The Busty Baker’s blog.  It’s good if you ever want to try it out.  Although she’s right in her ending comments that the dough’s a little dry.  I ignore the fact when I’m making it here, because no one knows the difference and with enough frosting no one cares about the dough.  But if anyone has a tip on how to make it a bit more moist or fluffy, let me know! 

Now, off I go to braid a girl’s hair for a wedding.  I’ll keep you updated on my week of purpose, but I always appreciate your prayers as I prepare my heart and mind for the task before me in the coming weeks.