Some thoughts about train trestles

This entry was written a couple weeks ago while I had a lingering cold and thus had time to sit and ponder things a bit more than usual. I'm just finishing it up now...

Not feeling well but still needing to get out this morning, I took a walk in the 90 degree heat (a la Vietnam) up the road to Cedar Springs, a beautiful retreat center set at the edge of the Cascade foothills. It does the soul good just to stroll through there--stop by the pond, check out the flowers, and cool off in the shade of the giant cedars which give the place its name.

Today's walk also took me to an old railroad bed and out onto a trestle which spans a deep, forested gorge. Normally I'm in such a hurry to get somewhere that I walk across it without really thinking about it. Today, I stopped. And looked down. And felt a bit dizzy.

It really is a strange thing, being suspended a hundred-plus feet up in the air on a timber structure that was built over a century ago by people long dead and buried. To be clear: I'm not one of those weird railroad-obsessed guys who spend all their free time putting together model trains and watching documentaries about the specs of different sorts of steam engines. But when you stop and consider for a moment, you really do have to be impressed by the sheer engineering and logistical feat that is a train trestle. The fact that people using little more than some pulleys, maybe a steam donkey (whatever that is) and a lot of elbow grease could build something so massive and structurally sound is astounding.

One of the most impressive things about a trestle is the number of relatively small support beams that hold the whole thing together. I'm no engineer, but I would venture to say that, by itself, a single beam can't do a whole lot. I suppose you could toss it across a ditch and ride your bicycle over it if you were so inclined, but I wouldn't try driving a train (or a tricycle, for that matter) on it. Yet as the individual beams are bolted to the structure they become part of a system that, a hundred years down the road, still serves as a pretty dang good bridge.

I didn't linger too long on the trestle (lest someone see me and think I was a weird 'railroad guy') but as I walked home I was struck by how this was an object lesson for the work Joelle and I have been doing in Vietnam.

As I've supported cross-cultural workers in the past, I've sometimes wondered if my individual prayers to the Father or the small amount I'm able to give them each month really make much of a difference. Perhaps some of you have wondered the same thing as you support our work in Vietnam. From my vantage point now, I can answer that question with a resounding YES.

Just as a train would never have been able to cross that gorge at Cedar Springs without the support of those hundreds of individual beams, so Joelle and I would never be able to work and serve in Vietnam in our current capacity without the prayers and financial support of so many of you. Your petitions to the Father on our behalf and your sacrificial giving are not only appreciated--they're absolutely essential to the work that's being done.

As we prepare to return to Vietnam in just a few days now (August 19th!) we are very conscious of that, and thankful for the support we've received from all of you. Thanks!

Blogger, meet Facebook

Okay, so it's really a simple process and I don't know why I haven't done it before, but I just wanted to officially announce that new posts to our Vietnam blog (http://sjsvietnam.blogspot.com) will now appear--by means of some fantastic cyberwizardry--as new notes on Facebook. Hopefully that way some of my Facebook amigos will be able to better keep up with what we're doing in Vietnam, if they so choose.

That's about it for now. Yep.

Video

In order to show folks what we've been up to for the past 15 months or so, we put together a short (5 minute) video with pictures and some interviews with students. It's focused mostly on the teaching aspect of our work over there, and though you're hopefully aware that our focus is broader than simply teaching English, we hope it gives a good glimpse of what we've been doing and what some of the students are like.

So, click and enjoy. Also, please note that there should be a new blog entry with more information about our summer directly below this entry, published just a short time before this one. Two entries in one day, you ask? Yes. That's what happened.

Family, Friends, Fundraising

We're about halfway through our two and a half month visit back in the States and it seems an appropriate time to take a look back at what we've done so far and a look forward at what's to come. While it might not be as exciting and exotic as hearing about what's been going on in Vietnam, we still think it's important stuff.

First for some of what we've been up to so far:

• Our first several days back were a bit rough, with Steven suffering the one-two punch of jetlag and some stomach thing he'd picked up on the journey home. Here's what that time looked like for him:

• Soon enough, though, everyone was feeling great and good times with family and friends ensued. We especially enjoyed getting out into the gorgeous North Cascades and doing a little camping and hiking with Rachel (Joelle's older sister), Seth and their two boys. Vietnam's mountains are beautiful, it's true, but there's something about the forested valleys and snowcapped peaks of the Cascades that can't be matched.

• Steven's parents recently bought a house and made the move from Oregon up to southwest Washington. We've made a couple of trips down to visit them and help with a few projects, including laying a sweet new floor in their kitchen.

• Toward the end of June, Joelle's younger sister Bethany returned to the States for a visit after eight months living and teaching in Egypt. Globetrotters that we are, we had last seen her in Thailand in January of this year. The reunion was a good one, made even better by the fact that we stopped at Gordito's Burritos in Seattle on our way back from the airport. Where else can you get a burrito that three grown adults can share, eat their fill, and still barely finish?

• The end of June brought the beginning of Joelle's 29th year of life, a birthday she shares with brother-in-law Seth. And since Bethany was in Egypt over her birthday in May, she joined in for a triple birthday extravaganza.

• When the birthday really got rocking, Seth, Steven and Will donned galabaya, a traditional Egyptian outfit that Bethany had brought back for them. Will's, unfortunately, was a tad small on him.

• Being a contractor, Joelle's dad has ready access to 100-foot rolls of vapor barrier black plastic. Add sprinklers, a hill, a big bottle of hand soap from Deals Only, a warm sunny day and you have...The Mother of All Slip-n'-Slides.

• Finally, the 4th of July arrived with unusually gorgeous weather which gave us the chance to head up to Mt. Baker with some of the fam and go hiking in the glory of creation once again before coming down to enjoy fellowship, food and (of course) fireworks.

So that's what we've been up to (at least some of the more exciting stuff), but what lies ahead? While we can't be 100% sure, we do know a few things: One needed focus for us is fundraising; though we had a surplus in our account when we left for Vietnam, due to some generous one-time gifts, we currently have a significant shortfall in our monthly support budget. We're trusting--as we have before--that if we're doing what we're supposed to be doing, the money will come in. Thus far, the one who called us has been faithful in providing everything we need to live and work, and we've no reason to believe He's going to change now.

As far as "our part" in everything, we'll be speaking at a couple of fellowships and, if you get our newsletters, you'll have the chance to either begin or renew a monthly support pledge. If you're in the area and would like to meet to discuss any of this (or just to have some coffee and catch up) we'd be happy to do that. You can reach us by email at steven.shetterly (at) elic (dot) org or call us at 988-4038. We'll be around Whatcom County until the middle of August.

In related exciting news, it's now possible to donate to our work in Vietnam online, using either a credit card or checking account. If that sounds interesting, you can click here for more information.

Have a spectacular summer and thanks for reading and keeping up with what we're doing. It means a lot to us!