4.5 months?

Two things really hit me hard this morning. As I was walking from our house to the office where I coordinate short-term teams, I thought, "Are we really going to be back in the United States in only five months?! Only five months?!" Although our official arrival date is November 12, we are actually departing the one week before that so that we can properly "unpack" this time in the Philippines before restarting our lives in the States. (That'll happen in Washington State.)Therefore, we'll actually be leaving here in a shade over 4.5 months!

The second relevation came as I opened up my email and saw a message from our Personnel department. It was sent to all 200+ of my fellow co-workers in the Philippines, and the subject read, "Critical Needs". Number 2 in the list:

"Short-term Team Coordinator—Dan leaves the position vacant in November, 2007"

Both revelations can really humble a guy. To realize that the last three years of training and service has now come down to 4.5 months makes you reconsider your effectiveness. Can we really "finish well" here in a way that glorifies Him? If no one is found to take the mantle of leading short-term teams to the Philippines, then what will happen?

It's not that we aren't excited about coming home. We are. Definitely. But there's a bunch of things that this family needs to do before before we can get to that stage! Time's a-wasting!

See you soon!