Mike News/Reflections page

6/26/07 - And we're off! Back in 11 days...I hope!
Departure day!

6/25/07 - Had my meeting today. It went okay, things to think about while I'm away. We'll see what the Lord says about it, if anything. I've picked up the last few things for my carry-on stuff. I'm tired and hungry, but hanging in there.
1 day till departure

6/24/07 - The time has nearly arrived. Everything is packed and we've gotten our VISAs. I'm fasting today, Monday, and Tuesday. I will only eat a few things. We had our final team meeting this afternoon. Someone had the good sense to capture it on film. Nerves are high, at least for me. Tomorrow will be tense as well, more on that when I return, IF it pans out. Lots to think about and ponder.
2 days to departure

6/19/07 - My discontent at work continues and grows. I've grown weary of this place. Maybe I just need a vacation, or the stress of the upcoming trip and interview are wearing down on me. Either way I feel emotionally drained and hate going to work. I continue working on my Scripture survey, and I'm making good progress. I was supposed to fast today but I've but it off till next Tuesday (the day we leave). One week from now I'll be flying over the Atlantic. My soul is in flux between anxiety and excitement. I'm trying to keep my mind preoccupied with other matters, but its nagging at me more and more. Last week was rough. I won't get my braces off for at least another couple of months. I also learned where my brother is and why I haven't seen or heard from him in two years. Oh well, keep forging ahead!
7 days till departure

6/13/07 - We now have the full itinerary. My nervousness increases, especially with fears of political tensions and health. I honestly don't know what to expect. Let come what may. Our schedule is as follows: (all times are local)

6/26-12pm Meet at church, leaving for airport at 12:30pm
6/26-4:30pm Depart from Atlanta
6/27-7:20am Arrive in Frankfurt Germany, depart for Istanbul at 9am
6/27-12:45pm Arrive in Istanbul, check in, visit churches, rest
6/28-8:20am Departing flight for Van
6/28-10:20am Arrive in Van, spend day with churches there
6/29- Spend day sightseeing in Van
6/30-11:10am Fly back to Istanbul, arriving at 1:20pm
6/30- Spend rest of day siteseeing/church visiting in Istanbul
6/30-11:05pm Depart from Istanbul for Tehran arriving at 2:30am
7/1- Sightseeing in Tehran (Carpet Museum, Crown Jewels, etc.)
7/1-9:45pm Fly to Shiraz, arriving at 11:05pm (stay at Pars Hotel)
7/2- Sightseeing at Persepolis and Naqsh-E Rostram, Tour Hafez and Saadi toombs, Eram Garden, Bazaar, etc.
7/2-8:50pm Fly to Isfahan, arriving at 10pm
7/3- (stay at Ababasi Hotel) Sightseeing at Bzar, Imam Mosque, Chehel Sotoon Palace, various old bridges, Ali Qapu Palace, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Imam Square
7/4- More sightseeing, flying to Tehran at 10pm, arriving at 11pm
7/5- (stay at Laleh hotel) sightseeing at Saad Abad Palace, etc.
7/6-3:35am Depart from Tehran for Istanbul, arriving at 6:30am
7/6- Sightseeing in Istanbul 7/7-6:05am Depart from Istanbul to Frankfurt, arriving at 8:05am
7/7-10:40am Depart Frankfurt for Atlanta, arriving at 2:40pm
7/7-4pm Arrive back at church

I'll miss a few activities with friends, but they'll get on without me. Here's a few of them in a picture taken at LosBravos on Cinco de Mayo.:

Katie (in the pink) just got back from Ukraine. Lisa (far right in the green) will be with us in Turkey/Iran. Crystal (just behind Lisa) is from Texas and is moving to Lebannon to teach. Keith is on the far left, Royel (from Bangladesh) is in front, Ian (holding the drink) is from New York, Donnovan (no hair) is from South Africa. Yours truly is behind Royel next to la chica en pink. Picture shamelessly stolen from either Allecyia, Nikki, or Krystal (who would all rather take pictures than be in them!)
13 days till departure

6/05/07 - We got our Iran itinery. We'll arrive in Tehran at 2:30am Sunday (July 1st), then fly to Shiraz that night after sightseeing all day. We'll spend all day Monday sight seeing then leave late that night to fly to Isfahan. We'll spend all day Tuesday and most of Wednesday sightseeing in Isfahan. Late Wednesday night we fly back to Tehran. We'll spend all day Thursday sightseeing in Tehran. We leave Tehran on Friday morning (3:30am). We're due back in Atlanta sometime on Saturday (July 7th). So far everything is on track. More at 11.
21 days till departure

5/18/07 - The trip looms, I'm struggling with nervousness. The Spirit comforts me and tells me to simply trust Him. I battle against other issues I see in the church. Nothing really major I suspect, but in my typical fashion, probably blown completely out of proportion. That's me. :-) Busy weekend planned this week - the Greek festival will plunge me into some mulitcultural foods and sites. We're planning swing dancing too, but I don't feel I'm very good. Oh well. I'm looking forward to seeing my sister's nephpup (dog) this weekend. We'll try running this weekend too. This annoyance with my left foot and right arm is bothering me. Yesterday, my heart was acting up - skipping beats badly for nearly two hours before it suddenly stopped. I suspect Devo and Mario were responsible for that with some intercessory prayer behind my back! :-)
40 days until departure.

5/7/07 - Busy weekend. A few of us went out to eat Tai Friday night. Three of us went running at 6:45am on the Silver Comet trail. I was hoping to get in at least 4 or 5 miles, but alas my foot (left) started acting up again. I'm hoping to get it conditioned enough over the next few weeks to where I can run much longer distances. We all went out to eat at Los Bravos for Cinco de Mayo. Then we all went "clubbing" in midtown for several hours afterwards. All of the missions teams got prayed over in both services Sunday. The 2nd service was mostly the children's presentation, which wasn't too bad. I wasn't feeling too well after church so I did not go to our missions team meeting. Bad mikeh! :( I took the day off today to go get my braces adjusted again. They are getting close to being done! :>

5/2/07 - We got back from our missions retreat Sunday in Talladega. Overall, very good orientation. We engaged in several team building exercises and "culture stress" scenarios designed to put us in unfamiliar environments where our normal ways of doing things were alien. As it was race day in Talladega, I watched the race on TV. Also went to the Glory Revealed concert Sunday night. Pretty awesome! I loved the mix of country/bluegrass instruments used in the songs. We won our ballgame Tuesday night, and I hit homerun number 3 (inside the park of course).

4/20/07 - As the trip looms nearer, I'm struggling with issues within myself. It's starting to sink in a little. I'm actually going to a somewhat hostile land - at least the government is. I'm hoping I won't get cold feet or some ailment while away. I'm resisting the constant urge to withdraw, but that just makes for a lonely life. Utterly pointless, useless, and unfruitful. Christ has been dealing with a few things that I've been running from. I've ignored them through distractions, but He won't let up. Fears must be conquered and my old self must die. My heart continues in its loneliness, but I'm never alone. Christ is always with me and will not let anything destroy me until my time has come. Let my whole life belong to Christ, my King and savior!

4/12/07 - I continue work on updating my home page. I am contemplating adding a page for my past pets. I also need to finish Karen's Bio on the mouseketeer pages. I need to add some links to business sites for friends as well. The project pages are largely done, though "simple" in layout. I might revisit them later. In other news, our Turkey/Iran trip got moved up a day. We're flying out June 26th instead of the 27th.

As Keat's last day at Earthlink is Friday, we all went out and ate Dim Sum. We took a group picture afterwards (picture courtesy of Andy Seabolt). Keat is just to my right. We're going to miss Keat badly. :(