Storytelling
The last few weeks have been a crazy time of traveling and giving presentations in schools, churches, organizations and gatherings all across middle America. It has been a wonderful time of connecting with people and they truly are interested in the Sand Dams/Food Security and Savings Group projects that are growing and expanding in Mozambique. Some of our best times are when we have given a presentation on and people have the time to ask questions. It is fun to engage with people.

Yet, sometimes we do not know if we are getting through. Maybe our presentation is full of to much good news and not the realities. Maybe people are not as inspired as we hope. Maybe they are tired. We recently talked at Bethany Middle School in Goshen and I was told not to worry if people looked bored and ready to fall asleep. Actually, it does not really matter to me because there are so many people and I am so focused that I do not notice if people are bored. It is only when I try to engage with a joke or an interesting story that I can really tell if people are with me. Our presentation was ok, nothing stimulating but afterwards teachers told us that it was fascinating and well done. But did it connect with students? Later in the week my brother and sister in law took us to downtown Goshen for First Friday's and two youth came up to us and asked us if we were the ones that had spoken in chapel at Bethany.

"It was really interesting," they said and proceeded to ask questions. Yeah, we impacted someone.

When speaking at AMBS, one of the professors told us that our presentation was interesting, well done, smooth, relevant and connected faith and the church's active work in the world. That, from a professor at a seminary forming Pastor's was like a big high five. That was what we hoped we were getting across, God's living and active work in the world through the faith and action of many of his people.