Roots

This is Mike, here to introduce something Kristi wrote. I appreciate her so much, and am so blessed by how God is working in her life. We have been through so much change over the past year after transitioning out of full-time church ministry, selling our home in California, saying goodbye to family and friends, moving to Wisconsin, and entering a 4-year missionary training program. After reading (with permission) a journal entry of hers this week, I asked permission to transcribe it and share it on our blog. She didn’t originally intend anyone to read it, so it lacks the pretense and polish that can often accompany writing. What struck me was her honesty about the struggles she faces, and her faith as she looks to the Lord in the midst of it all. I hope it’s an encouragement to you.

Kristi ~ December 7, 2010

I have been thinking lately about belonging, security, routine, and roots, and have been missing those feelings. Memories of spending time with our family in our own home, playing in the yard, doing yard work, and swimming in the kiddie pool on the hot summer days are consuming my thoughts. I hope I am not ripping security from my kids, and that they are adjusting well.

My roots seemingly have been cut from where I felt comfortable. It’s not that I feel too uncomfortable here, in fact I have enjoyed being here a lot. It just dawns on me sometimes that my little family of four left everything that was safe and predictable, and now live without a job in Wisconsin. We got rid of well over half of our belongings, and are still always trying to get rid of more. Here we are trying to live a balanced life of raising our kids while going to Bible school, and I feel lost [misplaced]. It seems so silly to even say that I feel lost. I have learned so much here and have really tried to stay away from being attached to material or earthly possessions. I have been looking at eternity and realize that this is what we were made for. Still, I don’t want to mess up our kids, and one day hear them say, we moved so much, my parents made me get rid of stuff all the time, I had to change schools in the middle of school years, leave friends behind, watch friends move on, and I hated it! How can we establish roots in such a fast paced, unpredictable, different life style?? Maybe our roots aren’t going to be attached to one city as the kids are growing up, or one house, or one steady group of friends, but rather to Christ and our position in Him. A tree has roots, and unlike the roots of a tree that don’t actually grow towards anything, or in any particular direction, my roots, and that of my family’s, are to grow toward Christ and attach themselves to [Him] the giver of life. I need to learn how to do this better. In order to avoid root disease there needs to be a healthy, vigorous environment around the tree. I can apply a lot to my life using this analogy.

I want my kids to know and love God and learn to put their trust in Him and be secure in Him. The examples they see through my actions will help them grow. What is ‘normal’ will change from time to time in the life we are leading, and it may not always be fun or easy. I hope as a family we can unite together and create a new normal, with our security firmly planted in the Lord, while establishing a home full of love and commitment, and enjoying our relationships both near and far. The saying ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’ can mean something. As best I can as a Mom, I will help my kids look to the Lord as they go through struggles. The truth is, from what I can see, they have been adjusting very well. I just really want to be aware of the subtle things, and not be too busy to notice them. Oh, and it’s probably okay to be a little homesick. ~ Kristi

2nd Semester!

We are blessed with beautiful sunsets almost every night at NTBI. I took this photo tonight from the 4th floor of the guys dorm, sitting in the windowsill. It was one of those perfect moments where everything just feels right for a minute, and time stands still.

As we get ready for classes to start tomorrow, we can't help but reflect on all that has happened in the past year. It's overwhelming to consider the many things God has taught us, the way He has provided for us, and the blessing that our time here has been. That doesn't mean it's been perfect. Life is never perfect, in fact, it can be messy. But learning to walk with the Lord through the struggles of life is an adventure worth living!

This summer our family enjoyed a road trip back to our home state of California! Round trip, we drove through 15 states, slept in 19 different beds, endured 10 thunderstorms, 1 tornado watch, 1 hailstorm, and we left a broken down car in Colorado! Thanks to the many friends and family who blessed us with hospitality, prayer, and generosity!

These are some of my bros getting ready to go on a hike at Devil's Lake. We were on a student leadership campout designed to both train us with leadership principles, and bond us together as a team. My role in student leadership will be to oversee the worship teams on campus. This is so similar to what I did during my last 2 years at HDC, it's all coming back to me! Many of the staff and faculty, including the president, went on the campout. I can't tell you what an encouragement it is to see the heartbeat of the staff as they interact with the students here. They truly care about training and descipling young (and not as young) students, and they are not afraid to dive right in and grow, worship, struggle, laugh, and cry with us.

This semester I (Mike) will be taking 19 credits, and Kristi will be taking 12 credits and auditing several classes. Our classes will include Hermeneutics 2, life of Christ, Bible Basis of Missions, Theology, Anthropology, Hamartiology, Christology, 1Corinthians, Prophets, Acts, Job, and Living Biblical Greek.

I have decided not to work this semester. I truly believe I would not learn and grow as deeply as I need to if I did. This is not just about a grade, this is about being equipped to potentially serve the Lord in a tribal setting where people have been literally enslaved by sin, superstition, and demonic forces for generations. This is no joke, and I believe I need to put my all into the training. That said, we are trusting the Lord to continue providing for us like He has done faithfully so far.

Please continue to pray for us. More than anything, that we would be transformed by God's Word. Without an incredible work of the Lord in our own hearts and lives, we will fail at the task set before us. Thank you all for the love and encouragement you have shown us through our first semester! We look forward to all God has in store for you and for us in the year to come!

Mike

Stranded In Denver

We've always wanted to spend some time in the Rocky Mountains, so we were all looking forward to the camping trip we planned as we passed through Colorado on the way to California. What we never expected was that we'd spend all 4 days of our time in Denver stranded at a hotel with a broken down car.

I must admit that there were times of discouragement and self-pity as we struggled through the hassles that come from being stuck in a city where you don't know anyone. I have not worked since November 2009, so our budget is set up to barely scrape by as we go through missionary training. But overall, we were trusting that the Lord would provide for us. The Lord did provide, and we were blessed with a new car! Here's the story...

Our car started acting up the day before we arrived in Denver. We took it to 2 mechanics, and both times the symptoms were not apparent while the mechanics looked at it. The next day, we arrived in Denver and knew the problem was getting worse. We got a hotel and found a mechanic the next day. We found out later that we needed a new transmission. Our 1989 Mazda MPV, with its complicated 4WD transmission, was too expensive to fix. We were stuck!

I visited a used car lot, and was discouraged to find nothing in our price range. I told the salesman, who was not a believer, about God's provision in the past. I explained that it would be hard to buy a car from him, knowing that at any moment God might provide a far better option. I don't think he was too convinced.

That night, a friend called and said, "some family members, who live in Denver, are selling their '96 Corolla, and we just bought it for you!" I called the car salesman the next day and said, "guess what, God just provided us with a better option!" I don't think he was too thrilled.

We were so thankful and amazed! God had provided us with a good car, and had done so through good friends! We were hoping all of our luggage and camping gear that barely fit in our van would fit in the Corolla.

Kristi and I installed a roof-rack, and assembled an inexpensive car-top carrier from Sears. The blacktop was hot, hot, hot, so we had to lay blankets down while we worked.

The other guests at the hotel we were staying at were curious about all the mess we had made in the parking lot. It looked like we were trying to have a garage sale!

Done! We were able to fit most of our things in the car, and there was a dumpster nearby for the few things that wouldn't make it. We thought about shipping those things home, but it was too expensive, so we cut our losses, rejoiced in the gain of a new car, and got back on the road in a jiffy!

Epic Road-trip Part 1: Wisconsin To Iowa

It rained the whole first day of our trip. It was a little stressful knowing that we were planning to camp that night. We discussed the possibility of sleeping in the car or getting a hotel room, but were hopeful the rain would clear.

This place claims to be the worlds largest truck-stop. I'm pretty sure they are right. It is only a little smaller than "The Mall of Victor Valley!" Well...I'm exaggerating.

We saw this sign and thought..."that looks like a good place to camp." A few miles down the road we saw a sign for the same place that said "private campground, members only." I decided to proceed thinking, "what exactly does "private" and "member" mean?" I assumed it meant that passers by were welcome to join their secret club for the evening.

The owners let us stay for the night even though that wasn't the policy. We set our tent up in the rain and it rained off and on till about midnight. The tent kept us warm and dry, and Kristi read a chapter in "My Side of the Mountain" before turning the lights out.

I stepped out at about midnight to see what the weather was up to. All the clouds had cleared! There is not much light pollution in the middle of Iowa, so the stars were beautiful.

While I was outside, I ran into this firefly that I named "Phil". I brought him back to the tent to show Kristi and the kids (yes I woke them up at midnight to show them a firefly) and he flew around the tent. He landed on the window, and I snapped the picture above to the left. Then he landed on my camera lens so I took this splendid closeup of his backside. I hope this picture gets glowing feedback ;)

We enjoyed a bowl of Cheerios (product placement) before setting off for Nebraska. Despite the rain, we had a great night and really enjoyed our stay at Koch's Meadow Lake Campground.

Snapshot Of Our First Semester

It’s 11:00pm, and I’m sitting on the back lawn of our school. The night is perfect. There’s no wind, no noise, and the weather couldn’t be better. Most of the students have gone home for the summer.

It’s been nearly 6 months since we left our family, friends, home, and job in California. The 4 of us are adjusting to all the changes fairly well, and we are surprisingly comfortable in our 600 sq ft  1 bedroom apartment. Still, we can’t believe we’re here.

If the Lord, indeed, directs us to enter into tribal ministry, life will keep getting crazier. After these 2 years in Wisconsin, we’ll likely raise partial support, then transfer to the Missionary Training Center in Missouri or Canada for a year and a half, then spend a year raising full support, then a year overseas learning a trade language, then 3-5 years learning the tribal language.

One thing we are learning is that it’s really hard to know how the Lord will direct a family once they makes steps towards tribal church planting. Much like the way churches need a whole team of people working together to support the ministry of the senior pastor, dozens of “support” missionaries are needed for every missionary in a tribe. Through the many testimonies we have heard, we are coming to understand that working as a support missionary is also very demanding, and requires a lot of sacrifice. It can be especially challenging for missionaries in these roles to raise support, because many people don’t understand or value the role they play. The truth is, without missionaries who are doctors, accountants, supply buyers, warehouse workers, pilots, mechanics, teachers, construction workers, etc…, tribal church planting and Bible translation would grind to a halt.

The staff and teachers here have been amazing, and we are so blessed to learn from them. They are dedicated to the study and teaching of God’s Word, to the life change that happens in the students, and to the world change that ensues as graduates go out with the desire to reach every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. As we discuss Bible application and the struggles of living a life fully devoted to the Lord, they display great humility and transparency, openly sharing their life experiences with us.

This semester, our courses started by helping us to understand where the Bible came from and how we should view it. We explored what inspiration really means, and the history of how each book was compiled, brought together in the Canon, and translated into the modern English versions we have today. We also studied principles of biblical interpretation, evangelism in a postmodern world, the first 5 books of the Bible, OT history, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs.

This has been a great experience so far, and we are blessed to be here. Please pray for us this summer. We have a long drive out to California, many places to be, and many people to see. It will be exhausting. Please pray that our desire for God’s Word would not wane during our time off, and that we will continue to look to the Lord in the midst of life and it’s challenges.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement this year!

Mike Day

Jesse Talks Theology

At lunch, Jesse started talking about what he is learning in his pre-school class. As soon as he started talking, I grabbed my computer and began typing. This is, pretty much, word for word thoughts from my five year old son.

Dad: Jesse, what have you been learning in class buddy?

Jesse: Well, I learned that when we get to heaven, we need to get a lamb and a knife, hold the lambs head, and cut it's throat to take our sin.

Dad: Really? Wasn’t that a long time ago…and we don’t have to do that anymore because Jesus Died, remember?

Jesse: Oh yeah…When we were not even born, God made a plan that people in…like a different state…like California, or Alaska, or Illinois are supposed to take a lamb and a knife, the lamb has the man's sin, and the man needs to kill the lamb. But we don’t need to do that anymore because Jesus is the most perfect lamb.

Dad: Good job, so what else did you learn?

Jesse: When Satan was in heaven he thought, "I don't want to do this job anymore," and that's how he turned into a snake.

Dad: Is that it?

Jesse: Satan was once God’s angel, and his name was Lucifer. Lucifer was supposed to do this special job thingy, and he decided, I don’t want to do this job anymore, and he also decided “I want to be like God” and so he told other angels, Jesus’ angels, that they should be on his side. So…God made a lake of fire. Since they are bad, God made a place for them that is bad…And I also learned that, once Jesus and God…Jesus and God are kinda like one person because they are the same…Jesus sent fire writing with His pointer finger on both of these, like, stones, and we can never take a pencil and try to erase it because God never changes…right?

Classic! Love this!

Mike

March 2010 (Sorry It's Been A While)

We have been so busy, we can barely keep up with our blog anymore, but we'll get it. We hope you are all doing well. This is an excerpt from our March newsletter...

It’s hard to believe we have been here for almost 3 months. There are moments when we step back and can’t believe we are here. We are learning so much, and feel so blessed with the privilege of immersing ourselves in God’s Word every day. 

I (Mike) am enjoying classes and am encouraged to find out I am a much better student at 35 than at 16...I don’t know why, but I think it has to do with listening in class and actually doing my homework.!?

I have had many ministry opportunities including an interview with 2 Buddhist monks, conversations with people at the mall and coffee shop, visits to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, and playing in the chapel worship bands. (*This is not in the newsletter...One thing I'm praying for is to have more boldness, and a natural ability to talk with strangers and just share Christ in a way that doesn't come off rude or socially awkward.) 

Kristi is doing really well in school. I am really proud of her, and have gotten a better understanding of the challenges and hard work that go into being a mom. She is getting used to me being around her all day, and in time, might discover what a blessing that is! Just Kidding! We are really enjoying studying together.

Thanks for praying for us, and please stay in touch. 

~Mike

A Day In The Life Of Kristi...

Ok... I'm sure some of you have wondered maybe, what do we do exactly on any given day. Well I am going to walk you through my (Kristi) day.

6:15 Good Morning song on my phone goes off... I push SNOOZE.
6:20 It goes off again... I push SNOOZE... (alright I will jump ahead, I do this for a half hour)
6:45 Get up, get Nicole up, let Mike and Jesse sleep a bit more.
7:15 Get Nicole ready, and breakfast for the kids
7:30-8:00 Pull last minute stuff together for Nicole etc. (and get ready myself)
8:00 Walk Nicole to her bus stop. (it's usually VERY cold outside, so we wait in the building right by her bus stop with the other kids and parents.)
8:10 Get back up to the apartment.
8:15-8:45 I help Jesse get ready, and make coffee (this has been a staple)
8:50 The 10 minute bell rings, so its time to walk Jesse down two floors to his class (this takes about 1 minute and 30 seconds) Drop him off and walk up 1 flight of stairs to my class (15 seconds...)
9:00 Biblical Foundations class starts (Mike and I sit together in the back row and talk... just kidding!) We really like our classes and pay attention all the time!
9:50 Bell rings and we make our way down to chapel
10:00-10:30 Chapel
10:40-11:30 Bibliology class (all our classes are in the same room)
11:30 I'm now done with school for the day, Mike stays there for one more class (Evangelism in a Postmodern world)
11:30 I pick up Jesse and we head back upstairs to the apartment. He usually plays with friends at this time and I have an hour to pick up the apt, start laundry, do dishes etc...
12:30 Mike gets back from class and we have lunch
1:00-3:45 is time to do homework, work on papers, run errands, prep dinner etc.
3:45 go down to the bus stop to pick up Miss Nicole.
4:00 Get Nicole started on homework, the sooner we start the sooner we finish!!
5:00 Dinner (sometimes accompanied by a Little House on the Prairie episode)
6:00 clean up from dinner, finish up homework with Nicole (if she is done w/hw she plays in the hall with friends)
7:00 The day is starting to wind down for Nicole and Jesse, sometimes we play games together, read or clean their room... Showers also happen at this point...
8:00 The kids bedtime.
8:00-Midnight Mike and I finish up homework, Mike does his Campus Ministry, catch up with friends and family via Facebook, and blog. Our newest venture is Skype, and we enjoyed talking to my parents last week! Jesse and Nicole also got to see our cat Caesar, whom they miss VERY much. (I dont think Caesar liked being held up to the computer screen though)
12:00 am I am exhausted and usually like to take a quick shower so I can push snooze in the morning!
And that is what 'A Day In The Life Of' me, looks like!!

Our first Week of Classes at NTBI

Wow! Our first week at NTBI is over. Mike and I have had an awesome time starting our classes and getting to know more of the students here. It is quite an adjustment getting used to three of us in the family doing homework in the evenings! I'm sure we'll get into the swing of things quickly.

We have two classes together, Biblical Foundations, and Bibliology; he has one more class, Evangelism in a Postmodern World. Our classes are in 3-week blocks, so we will spend concentrated time on these classes, and then they will switch in three weeks. By the end of the semester I will have taken 7 classes and Mike will have taken 10. We have thoroughly enjoyed our reading assignments, homework, and listening to the teaching in class.

Our evenings are so different from what we are used to. Our kitchen table is covered in notebooks, textbooks, calendars, pens, pencils, highlighters, Bibles... the list goes on and on! I am constantly clearing it for a meal, then putting it all back. Nicole will sit and do her homework at the table while Mike or I do ours nearby, that way we can help her when she needs it.  So far our average bedtime has been midnight for Mike and I. I am hoping to get that down to at least 11pm. =) I do have to say that living on the second floor and having my classroom on the first floor makes for a very nice commute!!

The kiddos have really enjoyed getting to know some of the other kids here at the school. Jesse loves playing in our hall with 3 other little boys his age. He is attending the Pre-school class they have here on campus, and he loves his class. He just earned a 'sticky hand' for saying his memory verse this week... "Make a JOYFUL NOISE unto the Lord, all he lands" (I'm not exactly sure if that last part is right though??? I think it's all ye lands, or all the lands. He says all he lands.) Nicole has met a little girl that lives in our hall, and also has made lots of great friends at school. Two of our teachers have kids in Nicole's class.

The environment is so great here. We are really growing as a result of the way we do life. I know there will be lots of growth through the next two years here. It is an exciting feeling.

~Kristi

Zero Degrees And Snowing

It snowed about 12" last week. This view is outside one of our windows. The brown building holds the garage, maintenance buildings, and carpenter shop. The grey building in the background is staff and student apartments affectionately named "The Blues". Nicole's class couldn't play outside at recess this day because it was zero degrees outside.

"Sally" here is feeling the effects of the weather. She likes to ice up on the inside and the outside of the windows.

This photo of Jesse was snapped in the parking lot of the DMV. Looks a little different here than the DMV in Victorville! The staff inside was helpful and friendly...hmmm?

I took the kids sledding. It's hard to see it here, but there is an amazing hill right in front of the school. The snow is so dry and the powder blows everywhere, mostly in our faces. Good stuff.

Waukesha is a pretty cool midwestern town with a population of about 65,000. We are enjoying getting to know the area. Our days continue to surprise us with struggles and blessings.

Grace and Peace,

Mike

Settling In

The kids and I took Kristi out to lunch to celebrate her birthday. Afterward she enjoyed going to Target and using gift cards from her Mom and Sister to buy this rug for the apartment. It really warms up the industrial tile floors.

That evening we went to Jim and Millie's (the couple who together serve as the deans of married students) house for dinner. They knew it was Kristi's birthday and were so nice to bake her a cake. They have a rock collection that gave the kids hope that unlike what Mom and Dad say, it is okay to keep rocks all through the years!

The next day we "finished" the kids room.  What you can't see is the big stack of boxes in the back corner. The brown wardrobes that you see on the left are what divide the room. Our family is experiencing a new level of togetherness and community.

The shower curtain divides our room and the kids room.  Photos of our room will be coming soon, but it still needs a lot of work. We taught the kids to knock on the side of the bookshelf when they want to come in. Everyone knows it's rude to just barge right through a shower curtain without knocking.

We singed up Nicole for 2nd grade today and she starts tomorrow. She is so excited! It will be an adjustment for Kristi, who loved teaching the kids at home.

We are really enjoying our new home, and adjusting to the new environment.  There are lots of little things to get used to. The water has to always be purified before you use it, which is simple enough until I almost rinsed the pasta with the tap water...that's a no no. The men's bathroom is about 120 feet down the hall, and the long journey is making me aware of how many trips I make in a day. Kristi did some laundry today and enjoyed going down 3 levels, across a freezing parking lot, down a flight of stairs, then back up to wait for the load to finish, then back down, across, and down the stairs to put the load in the dryer, then back upstairs, then back down to fold the load and put in another. While there is much to adjust too, there is much to be thankful for, and we feel so blessed to be here together as a family. I believe God has much to teach us.

Grace and Peace,

Mike

St. Louis MO to Waukesha WI

We left St. Louis Missouri at 7:30am on Saturday, January 2.  It was 7°F outside. When Jesse got into the car after our freezing photo shoot he said, "I think I like Springtime better." Classic!

We arrived in Waukesha Wisconsin at about 2:30pm. Everything in the PODS survived the journey. Not a single thing was broken. All of the canned good we had packed were frozen solid.

About a dozen people helped us unload the PODS and bring our things up to our apartment on the 2nd floor. It only took about an hour.

Nicole and Jesse are very excited about their room.  Nicole loves the bunk-bed. A new friend named Mark custom-made the guardrail at the top. The kids shared a room before we left so that they could get used to it. They have already made several friends and love the idea that they can walk down the hall to play with friends.

Two brown wooden wardrobes and a shower curtain for a door make the wall between the 2 bedrooms. We think it's going to work out just fine. We told the kids to knock on the wardrobe when they need us.

Here's a view from both ends of the great-room. During our family devotion time this morning we were  all overwhelmed at how God has given us peace, joy, and contentment about our new living situation. Humanly we would probably be complaining, but God has really helped us have His perspective with this one.

Thanks for all your prayers, love, help, support, and encouragement so far!

Grace and Peace,

Mike

Tulsa OK to St. Louis MO

We love getting State-line photos.  We put the camera on top of a trashcan and set the timer for this one. It was hard to get the lighting right.  Better luck next time maybe.

Some of the rest-stops in Missouri were really nice.  This place had an indoor rest area, full staff, playground, clean bathrooms, and this cool mural.  Way to go Missouri!  Maybe if Arnold raised the taxes in California we...I mean you... could have nice res-stops like this one.

I saw this sunset in the side mirrors (the rear view mirror is covered by a mountain of suitcases, jackets, sleeping bags, and an assortment of other travel gear)  so I pulled over and snapped a quick photo.

This gas station came with its own candy factory.  It was the kid's favorite gas station so far.  I don't know what it is with the Midwest...their gas stations have Indian trading posts, the worlds largest gift store (that's what it's called), and candy factories.  Another gas station we saw was an official Russel-Stover chocolate factory outlet. Maybe they pay for it all with the toll roads.

If all goes according to plan we'll be sleeping in our tiny new apartment tomorrow night! We have truly had a great time traveling together.  Todays game was "Would You Rather".  It was interesting to hear the questions and answers the kids came up with.  One question Jesse asked was, "Would you rather let a bank robber take your money, or have to shoot him?" We asked the kids "would you rather get to spend a day at Disneyland, or see your Grandparents." They both said "see our Grandparents!"

I better get some sleep.  I have to wake up in 5 hours.

Mike

Amarillo TX to Tulsa OK

We woke up to another light dusting of snow. It continued to snow for the next 2-3 hours so we put the MPV in 4-wheel-drive and took it slow. Not true for the trucks though. Those big simi's just plow away at 80mph as if the conditions were perfect.

We enjoyed our hashbrowns smothered and covered at the Waffle House. I remember that I once ate there 2 meals a day for 5 days staight. I couldn't afford 3 meals because I was on the road on my first tour with Everybodyduck before Kristi and I were married. Several shows were cancelled so the tour manager put us in a hotel right next to a Waffle House.

We stopped at the Cherokee Trading Post.  Funny thing is they were only interested in trading goods for money. No trading goods for goods here.

Oklahoma is a state with wide open spaces. Nicole's favorite memory from the day was our whole family playing "Name That Tune" with a Kazoo Jesse got from his Aunty A.

Jesse's favorite memory was playing with his Star Wars figures.

I was hoping for a more profound answer, but I'm just reporting what he told me.

We did have a scare on the  road.  A very near accident.  Kristi was driving and as we came into Oklahoma City there was a bunch of traffic.  There was a huge simi on our right, and an onramp with a car flying around the corner on the left.  The simi started coming into our lane, and the car entering the freeway from our left came right at us.  Kristi sped ahead of the simi, hit the brakes and turned the car into the simi's lane, then quickly got back in our lane and put on the gas else the simi would have creamed us from behind at this point.  It was a close call, closer than I can descibe in writing.  We were all very shaken so we pulled over at the next exit to decompress.  We believe God really protected us, and on a human level, I'm just so proud of Kristi for reacting so appropriatly to the series of events.

Mike