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April 1992 Newsletter
COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION, INC.
Dale and Jeanie Meade, Missionaries
Preaching Christ from the Amazon Jungle, through the Andes Mountains, to the Caribbean Coastal Regions.
Volume 20, Issue 4 April, 1992
TRAVEL LOG
In comparison to last year, this month's travel schedule was relatively light. I drove only 2,202 miles and spent a mere three nights and just 10 days away from home. That easier travel load has allowed me to spend some time with my family for a change. It has also given me the opportunity to catch up on office work. Jeanie has been doing a great deal of that type of work for me, but correspondence is still my job.
Another aspect that has made this month's travel seem less taxing is that most of my speaking dates were fairly close to Rittman and among our supporting churches. It is always a pleasure to share a weekend with those who have shared in our ministry over these many years. It always feels good to bet back and see our special friends. Even the time of year has helped ease the load. Spring is certainly a more attractive time of year to travel and the threat of ice and slick roads has virtually vanished. The longer days allow me to do most of my driving within the daylight hours.
With an easier schedule and a bit more free time, I hope to take a day or two off and go fishing in the near future. For a country boy like me, four walls begin to close in on a fellow after a while. By being nearly caught up with my work, I do not feel quite so guilty if I take an afternoon off and play tennis with one of my kids. After being away so much for the last two years, Jeanie deserves some of my time as well. And so, the relatively easy pace of April has been much appreciated. I am looking forward to a near duplication of this same, more reasonable work load next month!
One final aspect of my current schedule that contributes to making it seem less fatiguing is that it is now drawing to a close. As I look ahead on my calendar, I see not only my future speaking dates, but our departure date as well. If God wills and all goes according to our plans, we have only about three more months until we depart for Colombia. We have enjoyed our time here. But I am anxious to get back to the field and the work. I am enthused about trying out some of the things I learned up at Wheaton. The more routine schedule I keep there seems to make me more efficient. As a result I get more done and never seem to feel quite so pressured. We also look forward to seeing our many dear friends and brethren back in Colombia. And so, with a renewed spring in my step, I am beginning to wrap things up here and prepare to depart.
ELECTRONIC OFFICE UPDATE
Last month, we received enough money in special offerings to purchase our scanner. It is now on order and we hope to have it up and running by the time we produce our next newsletter. One church, in particular-the Wilmington Church, provided virtually all of the money. We are thankful to God and everyone that helped provide for this important next step in setting up our electronic office. With the purchase of the scanner, that leaves us with only one more major purchase to make before we return to Colombia.
The next step in the process is the purchase of a notebook computer. We will leave this office set up here in the Unites States until we are established in our new location in Colombia. At that time, if anyone is traveling to or from Colombia, we will have a piece of equipment brought down. Another possibility is that we will soon be ready to organize a work crew and then we could have the equipment brought in at that time.
But in order of use the equipment, it does not need to be physically in Colombia, at least to start off with. One of the great advantages of computers is their ability to be networked. That means that with a computer, a telephone line, and a modem to hook this all together, we can work the equipment from our location in Colombia even while the bulk of it remains in the United States. In order to do this, we need to buy a powerful notebook computer that can handle desktop publishing.
So far, everything that we have bought has been "last generation." This means that it is not the latest or most up-to-date in computer equipment. But it is much cheaper and it will do the job. The only draw back is that the older the equipment is much slower. At our relatively low volume of work, we can tolerate the slow speed of the older computers much easier than we can tolerate the high price tag of these state of the art equipment.
With the portable computers, it has only been very recently that they could handle the heavy graphics demands of desktop publishing. We have waited until the last moment possible to buy this machine, in hopes that the prices would tumble. But so far that has not happened. As a result, it will cost around $5,000 to purchase the notebook computer that will do the job we need to do. There are much cheaper portables available, but we need one that can serve both as a stand alone desktop publisher or a network controller. That means state of the art and the high price tag that new technology carries with it.
With the purchase of this last piece of equipment, we should be able to get everything set up, tested, and working together before we leave for Colombia in August. Why not present this project to your church or Sunday school class and help preach the Gospel in Colombia via the printed page.