"How are you?"

100 years ago, when I was in seminary, Suzanne and I attended and ministered at Lynwood Friends Church. There was a dear lady attending there who loved God and enjoyed being around His people. For a variety of reasons, she had never learned all of the social skills that so many of us take for granted that smooth interpersonal relationships. Sunday after Sunday people would greet her with, "Hi, Martha (not really Martha). How are you?" And she, not knowing any better, would tell them - everything!

We get lots of similar questions from home. "How are you doing?" That's a difficult question in normal times. What kind of answer are they expecting? Do they really want to know, or are they just being nice? Should I be specific? Should I be candid? How much can I share? All of these questions and more go through our minds. We usually find some compromise and try to match the answer to the person and our relationship with them.

We're doing well physically. This is more than a little issue. It is a great blessing to stay healthy. The work is going, well, that's difficult to qualify. We still progress on working toward a license, but are in a holding pattern on some parts. We have gotten involved in some training which is encouraging. We made one visit to another part of the country which was rewarding. We were asked to try to return in the Spring when, they say, the area is beautiful. We hope to return to see the area, but mainly, to work with the people.

Something that we've come to experience, though the same could be said for almost any situation, is that there is a lot of routine. We're grateful for the opportunity to do some extra study and have the time for growing together in ways we'd not experienced previously.

Life goes on, the winter is passing, and we're thinking of home. Must keep oriented, however, to our present situation. One speaker many years ago gave us this admonition: "Wherever you are, be there!" That's good advice whether you're in the Northwest or in Asia.