As I sit here writing this, it’s Sunday afternoon, May 15th.

It feels odd to publish on a Sunday. I normally try to be a Saturday morning guy but it’s been a while.

Rain!

This morning before going to church, I thought I’d heard some off-in-the-distance rumblings. It almost sounded like thunder, but naw… couldn’t be. Thunder would mean rain and, while I can’t say I’d been keeping a close eye on the forecast, there’s been so little rain that we just don’t really expect it anymore.

A few minutes later, I heard drops hitting the skylight.

Whoa!

By the time we headed out to church, the ground was mildly wet but the rain had already stopped and the sun was making its presence felt. By the time we came out of church, the car was roasting hot.

Dinner of pork & rice, then the oh-so-appreciated Sunday afternoon nap. As I woke up again, rain drops were dancing on the patio table just outside the living room.

Wow… twice in one day!

Drought

I watched somewhat in amazement because it occurred to me just how long it has been since we’ve had any rain to speak of.

So far in 2022 we’ve only had about 100mm (just under 4″) of rain so the ground is parched and at the bottom of the church property for example, there are cracks in the earth (located only a couple meters from a small brook). It’s not good.

It feels oddly familar.

Kids’ News

Sophie

Soph’s big news of the week is this. One of the classes she’s taking in Bucharest is a Masters’ level course in Irish & Scottish folklore & customs. She had her year-end oral presentation to do on Tuesday and had been pretty worked up about it. She’s a hard worker so we weren’t all that worried, but she was. She gave her presentation and there were no questions, even from the teachers who said that she gave a very satisfactory presentation (classic Romanian tendency to understate?). When she found out her mark later that night…. 10/10. She was so relieved… and we were proud as punch! The LORD was her help.

Also big news for Soph… after long last, book 2 of her Grey Flame Series trilogy, Elemien, will be coming out this week on Amazon, both in Kindle and Paperback formats.

Dominic

Dominic passed his drivers’ license two weeks ago. He passed the theory portion last summer, purchased a small used car with money that he’d been saving & squirreling away for some time, and has been taking driving lessons since before Christmas.

He really took the lead on all of that & we had to do precious little so it’s all to his credit and to the Lord who helped him as well. He’s now anxious to do road trips!

Who can blame him?

From the out-of-doors

Pierre de Ronsard Season

In the Garden

As I mentioned above, the ground is very dry, so we’ll see what I’m able to grow this year. The Romaine lettuce is coming along nicely and I planted out the tomatoes recently. The ones in the greenhouse are really taking off!

On the downside… greenhouse = watering, so I’ve been bedding them down with grass clippings in an effort to reduce ground surface evaporation.

The grapes in the greenhouse however, are teeming with bunches which, as they mature will fully exemplify the notion of “heavy laden”.

Work

Teaching was finished a couple of weeks ago, but I continue to work the re-organization of the 2nd year English program with a couple of colleagues from the School of Management where I teach part time.

It’s a bit of an albatross if I’m honest. Working entirely remotely on a collaborative project is neither the most engaging or the most productive. To some degree, it’s been hard to build – or maintain – synergy.

Church

• Missionary Brochu, was down last week to minister and we were able to have a meal together after service before they headed back to Paris.
• The Lord is continuing to work amongst our young people, one of whom is planning to be baptized this coming Sunday – Wonderful!
• One of our most faithful members, Ghislain, who struggled through (throat) cancer treatment all last summer, and has suffered from the side effects of radiation through most of the winter, made a tough decision last week. They found another spot that would require them cutting the vocal chords and making a permanent hole in his throat. He is not willing to undergo further treatment. While the past year has prolonged his life (initially doctors had only given him a couple of months – which he’s long surpassed), his quality of life has been diminished. It’s been tough.

Appreciate your prayers for him and for Dominic who will be writing his major end-of-diploma exams this week.

Thanks…

…for stopping by today.

The Lord bless you this week!