It's Almost Over

It's hard to believe that our time here is about over. Last Friday I had my last round of shots, and I believe I have been immunized against everything they can give you a shot for. This time next week we will be traveling back to Springville with family. It has been a wonderful eight weeks, and we have made so many new friends.

Today we had our last spiritual retreat, and the weather was so beautiful. It was partly cloudy, and 75 degrees. I went outside for my retreat. I went onto the field overlooking the lake and found a roll of hay to sit in front of and to prop up against. The deer were grazing across the lake, and the ducks were swimming in the water. It was so peaceful, and such a wonderful place to be alone with God. I had a awesome time of prayer, meditation, and song. I talked with God and He talked to me.

Tonight we had a party in our quad for some friends and quad mates. I made sausage balls, and Sandy made cookies, and her spinach dip. We had a great time just sitting around and talking about what everyone was doing for Christmas, and of course our flight schedules, and language school. Those are two big topics around here right now, as the reality of leaving for the field begins to set in.

We will be attending Cross Point on December 23, and are so looking forward to seeing everyone in the Harvesters Sunday School Class. On December 30, we will be attending Ridgecrest and look forward to seeing our friends there. I wish we had more time to visit our other churches but we fly on January 2, and time is so short. We do have our new prayer cards for everyone, and Brother David I will be coming by Pinson to see you, and bring you a stack of our prayer cards. I can't wait to tell you of our experience here.

Our commissioning service is next Wednesday afternoon, and guess who is responsible for the team setting up all of the chairs. Once a facility man, always a facility man. It is going to be a great time of celebration, but also a sad time as we will say goodbye to many friends here that we may not see for a very long time.

Thank you to everyone who has sent Christmas cards. That was so thoughtful of you and we have them posted on our little kitchen bulletin board. Please continue to pray for us as we finish up and head home for a few days. The rest of our week is going to be very intense with some very serious and important training. We should have our next newsletter out this weekend so be looking for it.

To our friends in Birmingham see you next week. To our dear friends in Lima, see you in a couple of weeks.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Yes, it is snowing in Richmond. It has been beautiful today with the snow coming down. It was so nice to walk in the falling snow to lunch, and as I sit here and look out the windows of the quad it has started to snow again. We were hoping for some snow before we left Richmond, and our wish has been granted.

Good news. Last Friday Sandy and I went back to Washington to pick up our visas at the Peruvian Consulate and we got them. It was an interesting cultural experience as everything was in Spanish, but we met the most wonderful Peruvians who helped us through the process. Since we now have our visas, our airline tickets can be purchased. It looks like we will fly from Birmingham to Lima on January 2, 2008.

Things are beginning to wind down here and we are looking forward to being home on December 20, and seeing everyone. Pray for us that we can focus these last two weeks, and not have our minds on packing for home.

We will see everyone soon.

Alan and Sandy Stone