Using the Talents We Were Given

 

October 11, 2025

A weathered piano bench here has a new life. This is the top.

For the last 2 months I (Debbi) have been heading up the effort to reorganize the marketing offices. We’re packed in pretty tightly, so it’s been several consecutive games of Tetris to make it all happen: empty one area, redesign, fix most of the details, move back in and shift over the stuff from the next space, then do it all again. It’s about the last thing I thought I’d be doing as a missionary, but the Lord uses the skills He has helped us develop however He can. We’re almost finished—which is a really good thing because my back has organized a protest. I may be doing my usual job remotely for a few days. But it’s worth it. The improvement in the environment for the staff is already making a difference.

Dennis has also been doing something he didn’t expect on a mission. Once upon a time, the Center had a laser engraver that served well, but breathed its last a few months ago. They bought a new one, but no one really knew how to use it. (Only a couple of students who had used the old one are still here, and besides, this is a different machine.) Experience with his own laser engraver and the computer savvy it takes to calibrate one, he has found himself in the enviable position of playing with the new toy. He’s also using his engineering skills to design and create spacers they’ll need to hold ukuleles in place when they are being engraved. This is the stuff dreams are made of.