We're Here!

We did it! We survived 25 hours of travel and made into Moldova. They celebrate the New Year here until WAY past midnight...like 4 or 6
a.m.. The firecrackers may well be left overs from the Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal.

It was loud.

I slept through most of it until Amy came upstairs to wake me and ask that we pray the house didn't burn down. I guess the prayer worked.

Air Moldova wasn't as frightening as it sounds. It was a fairly modern aircraft and actually since it was a little older, we
had real leg room.

The only oddity was when they served dinner, the flight attendants passed a basket of bread rolls. No individually wrapped stuff here.

I couldn't help but think how appropriate it was to break bread as we entered Moldova and to think of Christ's body broken for us.

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Internet account is "pay by the minute - dial up " so that's all for now!

Prayers for Amy please, she's worried she'll have the stamina and be able to adhere to the team schedule.

Bless you all!

Off We Go!

We may be pulling an "all-nighter" getting ready, but it appears we're actually going to do this thing...this Moldova thing.

Of course, Amy is not yet packed, and we've got to get a few extraneous details taken care of - some business stuff and some dog stuff (our Veterinarian offered to kennel our dogs for half price, and since Shell is starting a new job with undetermined hours, we are opting to take advantage of his generosity).


In less than 11 hours we'll be meeting our "team" at the airport and actually begin this new season of our lives.

It's been a long time coming, and we couldn't be making this journey without the prayers, encouragement and financial support we've received from so many of you.

We can not thank you enough.

This will be my final post for a while I suspect, however I did remember that I can "email" a post to the blog. I'm still uncertain of the computer/internet access we'll have in Moldova, but I think I'll be able to at least send out an email.

I've tested the email posting feature and it works - sort of. The formatting is a little awkward and it doesn't appear to allow me to publish photographs, but if nothing else, I hope to dash off a quick note saying, "We made it!"

It's going to be hectic for a while, and I'm sure the travel is going to tax our patience and probably our nerves a little...but we feel safe in God's will, and trust that He is guiding us.

I know Amy and I made this trip our "Goal" nearly a year ago, yet now it seems like it's come upon us so quickly.

But we're ready.

Please know that in addition to the bunch of "stuff" we are taking to the children in Moldova, we are also carrying the many blessings we have received from you.

I pray we can be good stewards of so many warm, generous and loving hearts.

Off we go! Next stop...Moldova!

Happy New Year!

The Best Main Plans

We'll be at the airport preparing for the long journey to Moldova in about 44 hours and there's lots I should be doing.
But I'm not.
Sometimes God steps in and reminds us that He'll work things out...and He'll also direct us where we're needed.

A couple of days before Christmas, the 19 year old son of some very close friends died.
It is a tragic situation the circumstances of which need not be borne out here.

But we heard God calling and reminding us that our bags would get packed, we'd remember our passports, and Shell could handle any minor household emergencies we didn't plan for before we left..

Right now we had to put those preparations aside, we're needed elsewhere...with our friends in their grief.

Death, especially the unexpected death of a teenager, requires so much of us, not only emotionally and physically, but answering all the questions, filling out all the paper work, figuring out what to do with family and friends... planning a funeral you prayed you'd never live to see.

So we've tried to be there and do whatever we could.

The funeral is planned.

Gordon will preside, I've written and will try to deliver a eulogy...Amy will sing. We've tried to remove some of the unthinkable burden from our friends. In between we've hugged a lot of people, prayed with a lot of people, and cried with a lot of people.

I don't know if we've done all we could, but I'm reminded that oftentimes in situations such as this the best approach is, "Don't just do something, stand there!"

Simply "being there" is often far more comfort than any words or action.

About 19 hours after Amy sings our friend's son into the grave, we will board a plane with the partial intent of bringing hope to children in a very far away land.

We'll be on that plane, but we pray that before we leave we will have helped re-plant a few seeds of hope here too.

Uh...Mmphello Mffster Preffident..

Gerald Ford is the only former President of the United States whom I spoke to with my mouth full.

Gerald Ford's passing last night brought back the memory of my one and only meeting with him. It was 13 or 14 years ago, and he was in San Antonio.

The former President is probably best known for pardoning Richard Nixon, but in San Antonio he's probably better remembered for a culinary gaffe...he was offered a tamale and didn't remove the corn husk before chomping down on it.



That's the type of thing that automatically pegs you as someone unfamiliar with Mexican food...sort of like wincing when you see someone pour salsa on eggs. It was an understandable mistake, if you've never had a tamale how would you know how to go about eating one? I've had any number of visitors from other states who've asked the procedure for devouring tamales.

Anyway, that incident happened I believe when he was still the President. My meeting with Mr. Ford happened after he had left office, although it did involve food.

It was a campaign year, and an upstart Republican named Henry Bonilla was making his first run for Congress in a traditionally Democratic district. Bonilla had held no previous political office, but he was well-spoken, Hispanic, and - at that time - married to a very popular television news reader.

Anyway, Mr. Ford was making a campaign appearance on Bonilla's behalf at a swanky downtown hotel, the first stop on a rapid fire swing through South Texas. I went to cover the event, and being an experienced reporter, I knew that morning news conferences usually involved food. Since this event was being held at a nice hotel, I figured it would be good food too. I made certain to get there with plenty of time to spare so my feasting would not be interrupted by actually having to cover the news.

Sure enough, I arrived and was directed to one of the hotel ballrooms where there was a fine spread of coffee, juices, donuts, fruits, and other delicacies...all of which fit very well into my budget at the time.

In other words, they were free for the taking.

I was the first person there; the ballroom was vacant except for me and the breakfast bar, so I started digging in.

I was well into my second or third sticky bun when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I thought, "Oh great, probably some political wonk who's going to direct me to a seat and away from the buffet."

So I turned around, my mouth still half full, and evidence of gluttony scattered all over my shirt, only to hear,"Hi, I'm Gerald Ford."

And sure enough he was...the Gerald Ford...the guy who pardoned Nixon, got shot at by Squeaky Fromme, the only man to ever serve in the Oval office who had never been elected to a national political post.

And he was alone.

It was only me and him with a rather curious number of pastry crumbs between us.

I quickly tried to be discreet and wipe the sticky bun residue from my hand as he reached out his hand in greeting.

Admittedly, Mr. Ford had not been in office for a number of years, and presumably Squeaky Fromme was well medicated, rather than self-medicated, some place where she couldn't get near him, but I was still a little shocked that the former President of the United States was wandering around alone.

My first words were literally spoken with my mouth half-full of free foodstuffs - and I was certainly unprepared for this encounter - but I did manage to greet him as respectfully as possible while still trying to swallow the remnants of a croissant.

My tape recorder was on a chair near the front of the room, so I wasn't prepared to interview him. My mind raced trying to think of something to talk to him about, I mean I don't really run in the same circles as former Presidents...heck, I don't even hang around people who play golf. I was a bit numb, and I'll confess I was also trying my best to position myself in front of the buffet table so that Mr. Ford might not notice how seriously I had ransacked it.

Besides my first words of introduction, which were at least respectful, albeit somewhat muffin muffled, I could only think of one other thing to say....

I asked Gerald Ford, the former President of the United States,"Shouldn't there be someone here to protect you from people like me?

I think he began to laugh, but then, as if on cue, the "handlers" came rushing in...they included Henry Bonilla and his then wife, who gave me a look like I had done something truly underhanded, yet I knew she couldn't possibly have had the chance to see the glaring glazed donut disparity on the buffet table.

They ushered Mr. Ford away and soon began introducing him to more important people, which wasn't hard to do...the busboy at that hotel probably earned more money than I did at the time.

The political staging then got underway in earnest and I was kept in my proper place, close enough to get a sound bite or two, but too far from the buffet table to snag a bite of anything else.

It was a brief interlude, my one-on-one with Gerald Ford. However he did strike me as a very down to earth kind of guy. Someone who felt comfortable enough to walk into a virtually empty ballroom...EARLY...for a political event and strike up a conversation with the only other person there.

I always thought a little differently about Gerald Ford after that...

He overlooked my crumb-laden "free food" frenzied face...I figured I could forget about that one little tamale.

Gerald Ford
1913-2006

Merry Christmas!

May God grace you and bless you...
May you always know His purpose for you under heaven.

Merry Christmas,
Michael & Amy Main
2006

It's Beginning To Look Like Insanity

In our home there is one Christmas tradition which is unfailing...procrastination.

If there is something we could have done/purchased weeks ago, months ago...we will wait until 1 hour before the only place in town that has that particular item or service closes on Christmas eve to try to get it in under the wire.

That is the case today. I am currently waiting for a critical element of a "Christmas Project" to be completed so that I can go and try to convince some folks to help me slap it together on Christmas eve, right about the time they should be getting off work.

I have faith.

But I'm losing my mind.


All I want for Christmas is a second chance at sanity...


Merry Christmas!!

A Quick Christmas Freebie

As most of us are these days, we're running around trying to get a lot of stuff done. Family is coming in today to spend Christmas with us...of course some of our family members can't be with us in San Antonio.

I came across a freebie the other day that I thought I'd pass along if you want to get your whole family together - no matter where they are - in a conference call. You can use your regular phones, but the person signing up has to use a computer to sign up - their call can be made on a regular phone too. You can have up to 10 folks talking at once....sounds just like Christmas dinner...

Anyway, it's at Jajah.com and it's only free on Christmas day. There doesn't appear to be any "catch" although I'm sure the email address you use to sign up with get plenty of offers for phone service from Jajah, so make sure and use an email address that receives spam, gmail, hotmail, yahoo... you know the drill.

Anyway, it sounds like a good deal, a way to get everyone together in a free conference call on Christmas day, and it's easy to use.

Here's the link for Free Christmas Day Calls.


Okay, now I need to go wash the dogs....




Merry Christmas!