It's the end of the school year. I'm finishing home-schooling my 4th grader and trying to wrap up a very brief overview of the Civil War. We've just "closed" our village house and tied up all the loose ends that we could with our house helpers and ministry co-workers in Mali, as we head to the States for this next school year. We've stopped in Dakar, Senegal, where our two older children attend school, for the end-of-the-year activities associated with a graduating senior.

And so here I sit in the dark, writing off my computer battery as we live through another power outage and try to make sense of where the flashlights are, but also, where to focus our scattered thoughts and emotions.

My first-born baby is graduating from high school next week. She's getting ready to go off to college, after spending the last five years in Africa. She doesn't have a driver's license yet or a bank account. However, she's not so far behind in American culture as you might expect since she visited "home" a couple of times when we were there for my medical leave and cochlear implantation process. Plus, with internet connections and Facebook friends all over the world, one does not have to live a cloistered life anymore, even in a Third-World country.

So, we have a quick Summer ahead trying to get her "up to speed" on as much as we can before school starts on August 25th. With weddings and travel, doctor's appointments and car shopping, MK Transition Seminars and public school enrollment for the boys, we have a lot to think about in the next three months. Oh yeah, we also have a family-favorite vacation, Cornerstone Music Festival, and I'm attending the Hearing Loss Association of America convention for a day in Milwaukee in June. Did I mention that we have to go through our belongings stored in our trailer and move into our housing for the year before school starts?

But, for this next week or so, we are the proud parents of a sweet, beautiful, loving daughter who is so excited that we can be part of her boarding school life as she graduates. We spent this afternoon looking through her life in pictures, lovingly scanned and stored on 2 disks by her dad, picking out 30-40 of the best representative shots from various ages and locations, for her to choose 15 for a Senior Poster for the Reception. That brought lots of good memories, and only a couple of groans.

Later this week, we get to attend the formal banquet with her and her date and his parents. This should be an interesting time as well, as the seniors are honored by the junior class. Sunday morning's worship service next week will be Senior Sunday, where various class members have opportunity to lead singing and give testimonies. Hilary will be giving her own testimony in the dorm tomorrow night, so I'm not sure she'll do it in the big group next week, but it's a good chance for the students to formulate in their own minds where they've been and where they hope to go in their lives, with God's help and direction.

So, I'm taking that opportunity to meditate a little this week. The last few months have been hard in Mali, with an extra-hot hot season, exacerbated by power supply limitations, and then a heart-breaking situation with a church family that included church discipline, on the road, we hope, to repentance and reconciliation. There have been many joys amidst the challenges, and that just leads us to this transition time of mixed emotions. Joys and heartbreaks. Hopes and disappointments. Rewards and mistakes.

I want to focus on the important things for awhile, like my good God, my loving family, many caring friends and good health. Lord, help me to be de-sensitized to my personal discomforts or annoyances, and live each moment in the joy and peace You give.

I look forward to any comments or advice you'd like to share, if you've been down this road already...