this is good stuff if anyone cares to read it all....

well, i would just like to start this post by announcing my jubilation over the massive game last night! in case anyone doesnt know, UNC beat Duke last night for the ACC regular season title. yes, the game was on at 9, which means it started here at 2am, and yes, i stayed up until near 5am watching the live updates on sportsline.

in other news, the weather this week has been very fickle, raining one moment, then clearing up for a moment with a wee bit of sunshine and blue sky, then rain, then a downpour of hail for 4-5 minutes, then rain, then snow (we woke up the other morning with an unexpected layer of snow covering everything, though it melted within hours). you get the idea. it does that about 20 times a day. but mostly rainy, im afraid...and very windy. this makes it a bit difficult to be outside with the kids, though i do feel that it is improving, albeit rather slowly. so, john and i were able to play football on the courts with some of the boys this past week, which was a fond memory of this past summer, and a hopeful view of weather to come.

the tuesday afternoon club this week went fairly well, with about 7 guys and 5-6 girls, our typical numbers now. both groups can particularly rowdy, though, especially when it comes time to do the devotional part, so pray that the kids will calm down and pay attention to the lesson. pray that the spirit will work on their hearts and make his truth from his word come alive to them, as many of them are not christians.

i have had several encouraging encounters this week, as well, specifically at the gym. since i have been working out most mornings at gym near here, the Lord has really provided some cool opportunities to develop some new relationships. i have met many believers and have been very encouraged by simply seeing that the Lord does have other people of his in this needy area, and to see them regularly and share with them. I have also met a few others who are not believers, but whom i have been able to go a bit deeper with in our relationship. one guy is named Eamonn (pronounced Ayman) and is a 42-year old man who is married, has kids, and is school and town bus driver. However, he loves intense skateboarding, rock climbs, surfs, has a shaved head, earrings, tattoos, and acts quite young. for some reason we have hit it off great and work out together a lot. though he is very turned off to "religion" and insists on having no part of it, he seems interested enough to discuss the subject and seems "timidly interested" (if that makes sense) in my views. i have previously suggested hanging out sometime over coffee or lunch/dinner, but he has seem noncommittal. recently however, he has several times suggested that we go out for pizza and this week, he gave me a lift home during which we discussed some of my "Christian views", and then exchanged numbers, so as to get together for pizza soon. please pray for Eamonn and that the Lord would sovereignly appoint more opportunities for us to hang out, maybe at dinner soon, and that the Lord will give me the wisdom on how to best speak the Truth in love, because he is quite cautious and cynical about anything resembling "religion", though it is clear he knows nothing of Jesus. One other person I have built a relationship with is names Byron, who is a personal trainer at the gym. Byron is the uncle of one of the boys that we are friend with in Dunclug named Rory. Byron has always been overly affable in gym, daily giving me pointers and help. He recently broke up with his girlfriend and moved back into the Dunclug with his mom, who lives near us. We have invited him over for dinner and he is supposed to come next Friday, so be praying for him, as he is not a believer, either.

lets see...not a whole lot else has been going on...we have our bible study tonight with the youth from Ballyloughan and we are taking them to a monthly worship gathering for late teens to young adults, which we have heard is very good. we are excited about that. and erin is an aunt! yay! her sister had a baby this week, so that is exciting, but hard to be away for...so pray for aunt erin. this friday, matt francisco (erin's boyfriend/me and john's best friend) and jamie simpson (john's girlfriend) are coming to visit, so we are excited about that too! thanks for all of your prayer and support you offer! please keep praying for us and the people here...and feel free to lave encouraging comments, we like those!

until next time,
unashamed Carolina fan in a land where no one knows or cares,
Dwight and Co.

here are a few extra pics to spice up your day:

this is the picture we used to promote the afternoon club for boys in the estate





this is the four of us on the London Eye, just before Christmas




this is an unnecessary picture of john in a wet-suit...an awesome wet-suit...