"I signed I signed my life away... "

One of the newest songs we've been singing at the International Church has a chorus that goes, "You gave you gave your life away.... You gave you gave your life away.... You gave you gave your life away.... for me!" Well the tune was skipping on that line in my head this morning while I was at the bank, though admittedly with some minor changes to the lyrics.

Two days ago I went to the bank to close an account... and spent well over an hour there and had to fill out SO MANY forms with so MUCH detail. Just to CLOSE the account! Well, after feeling like I'd given almost everything but a kidney, I left the bank cash in hand thinking that all was good.

Not so.

About 3 hours later I got a phone call to inform me that in the process of closing the account they had posted interest (cool)... and so placed it in my main account. Huh? I'm sorry, "what?" My "main" account? I thought I'd closed everything.... at least that's what I told them I wanted to do...

Apparently it got lost in translation...

So back to the bank I go this morning... and spent ANOTHER hour there to close an account that I'd thought was closed two days ago. And as each piece of paper was shoved through the small slot under the bullet-proof glass that song's tune was playing in my mind to the lyrics of, "I signed I signed my life away... I signed I signed my life away... I signed I signed my life away... bank-iiinnnngg!" TWENTY-THREE signatures in all... Yes, you read that right: 23!

Another version of the song would be... "We killed we killed a tree today... We killed we killed a tree today... We killed we killed a tree today... this morning!"

Oh yes... and the best part of all this (feel the slight tinge of sarcasm)... it was all for €7.81. LOL.

On another note, though, the teller and the manager who was helping me were very helpful, courteous and nice... and so made what could have been a nightmare culture experience not so bad at all... and quite pleasant. If I need to open another bank account someday I wouldn't hesitate to use the same bank.

A-4 Paper and the GCF

This morning on my way to work I dropped into an office supply store to purchase some A-4 paper. When I asked which brand was the least expensive they suggested the yellow one at 220 denars. When she said this I was mid-reach to the brand that I usually buy as it has, until now, always been the cheaper one.

With my hand paused mid-air I asked her how much my usual brand was. When she responded with 260 denars I simply couldn't hide my shock and blurted out, "Seriously??? I remember when that same paper was only 190 denars!" Of course she was not basking in the same glow of disbelief as I and simply blinked and looked at me with a blank unmoving stare as if to say, "so?" Pause.... "Yeah, you're right," I said to myself, "it is what it is..." And then I purchased the yellow one...

Perhaps the price of paper is standing out to me more simply because we've tried to go as paperless as possible at the office. So it tends to be a while before I have to buy more paper.... Though it seems like we still use a shocking amount! Anyways, to help you understand my shock this morning as the realization of inflation and exchange rates dawned anew for me, let me translate this into dollars and cents.

Seven years ago when I first arrived, $1 was equal to 61.4 denars and a ream of paper cost only 190 denars. AKA $3.10

Today, that same ream of paper at 260 denars and an exchange rate with USD of 43.75 translates to $5.94.

That's a $2.84 price hike per ream! And that's just paper.... this makes me wonder what sort of percentage price increases there have been on other items.... items that our budget has to cover.... Sigh.... let's leave those thoughts for another day... All that said, though, it is a strong reminder to be thankful for the Lord's provision and to remember to thank everyone who's given to the GCF so that we can make these types of purchases that are a basic but necessary part of ministry. Thank you.

Vaca-Daze "Jumping Beans" & Rich Brownies

What a novelty it was to post several blogs in a row... so much so that I'd toyed with the thought of doing one a day for the full year.... but then that was the luxury of the holiday season and some additional and, I might add, MUCH needed vacation days... aka vacadays. As you can see by the 1 week gap in blogs... reality has obviously settled in! =)

It's now Friday and I've been back in the bean-counting-office for the week. It was really hard in the beginning but the pressure of the work to get done didn't allow me too much time in the vaca-DAZE. Now at the end of the week the DAZE is almost behind me and I have a large sense of accomplishment for what I was able to get done this week: car serviced, 2 sets of books completed and turned in, meetings, several reports and information submitted to requesters, follow-up on several jumping beans (aka... challenges/issues that need resolution but that are elusive for various reasons...) and much much more.

The highlights for my week, though, were three conversations that happened in the pause of the work day and over a cup of coffee and a brownie. Three different connections with three very different people... but conversations that were as full and rich as the brownies we shared. So while it's good that I was able to get so much "work" done, it's the connections with people that make it all worth while and give me a sense of completeness to this week.

Another really cool thing that will be wrapping up this week is the music practice tonight for Sunday's service at the International Church. Those practices are always fun, musically challenging yet also rich and sweet like a brownie, always full of great connection time with some really quality people and always with joy lifting up voice and instruments in praise to our Creator. Can you tell how much I look forward to these days? Honestly, I do. Break's over, though, so back to some more bean-counting and chasing after jumping beans. =)

Image credit: http://axisofstevil.com/answers.htm

A not-so-typical Sunday... sharing another "day in my life"

This morning started much later than a "normal" Sunday as I didn't need to be at church at 8:00am... so I slept until, shhh don't tell, 9:00am! The reason why is that I took this week completely off from worship team: no singing, no music picking, no practice and no overheads. The past couple months have been really hectic with Christmas prep and I was beat! I must confess that it was REALLY nice and MUCH needed to have the break.

Just as I was heading out the door I looked outside to see myriads of white puffy flakes storming down across the city, blown fiercely by a cold, horizontal wind. It totally reminded me of the blizzard that snowed in my friends and I in Wyoming last Spring. But alas, this riot of snow was not to last. Sure enough, by the time the taxi dropped me off it was already tapering off.

Church was great this morning. It was a little weird, though, to have no responsibilities, but I must confess that it was nice. :) The message was one of those that tends to hit ya between the eyes as well... about Lordship and is He really FIRST in my heart and life.... lots to chew on here.
After church I went home, made lunch, then cuddled under a fleecy blanket to watch a favorite 80's flick. Then it was time to get to work. Yes, I said, "work." You see, in the flurry of busy-ness in this past month with "refried beans" (aka bookkeeping) and preparations for the Christmas Eve service I was short on time and thus missed a writing deadline. For some reason, this particular report was a little challenging for me to write... writer's block I'd guess you say.

After a couple hours of making no real progress on the report, I ended up putting it on hold again to head off to "Soul Craft" (a church service that has contemporary worship and topical messages and all in Macedonian). With my responsibilities elsewhere it's been a long time since I've been there. I was SO NICE to see many faces that I've not seen for a while and to do some catching up. Walking home my heart was full with joy of reconnecting with some dear people. One of my "goals" (not "resolutions") for this new year is to spend more time with my Macedonian friends and work on reconnecting. Soul Craft is a place to start. :)

Once back home I set back to work on the year-end narrative. This time the words came a little more freely as I sought to sum-up this past year's work. It still took me quite a while to finish, but I'd determined to not go to bed until it was done. 2am Monday morning rolled around and I finally let my head hit the pillow having just emailed the report. Whew. What a day. (My perfectionist tendencies were most likely the culprit in it taking me so long to write something so simple... but that's another blog for another day)

Yes, so as far as blogs go, this one is likely more mundane and boring than others, but for those of you who wonder about a day in my life... here was another one for ya. :) If you made it this far, BRAVO and THANK YOU for taking the time to read. Thank you too for your continued prayers for me and my work here in this wonderful place called, "Macedonia." Until next time....

Happy September

This is a happy picture: the balloons swirling everywhere in various colors, the wide-open mouth of surprise, delighted flapping arms and wind-tossed hair. I see so much of myself in this picture right now.... but it's more like, "Look at all those things I've got in the air with arms flapping trying to catch hold of them!" Happy September!

Well, OK, it's not so bleak as that. ;) Though it is a good representation of the mix of fun and stress that has been my life for the last three months. The "blog-balloon" was just one of the "delights" that I let fly away in favor of the many other things that have taken priority.

The work balloons: When I got back from the US I had just over two weeks to not only catch up on 2 months of bookkeeping and to prepare for fiscal year-end and the splitting up of the books into two autonomous sets... I had to pack up and move the office. With the move to a new place comes all the little details that aren't so big in themselves, but simply suck your time away like a quickly deflating balloon.

Happy September, though, in that I'm caught up, moved, set-up (mostly), completed with the bookkeeping gymnastics and can finally hunker down and get back to "normal" and re-frying some beans (aka. bookkeeping).

There have been many other balloons swirling around in my life these past few months, some stressful, some sad, but also some joyful and pure delight. Now that some of the extra-swirly balloons from summer have been let go (aka. finished tasks/responsibilities), the picture for me is becoming once more a happy one instead of a stressful one. That is the mix that I see in that picture above entitled, "Среќен Септембри!" (Happy September!)

*******

And just in case I haven't already hacked this analogy to death, there is one more that the picture evokes, and it's related to the weather and seasons:

With September came the turning of leaves, the chilly breezes while the hint of summer heat inexplicably remains in the air, the sweet smell of roasting peppers and the SHOCK of the weather changing from Summer to Fall in a DAY (one Saturday afternoon it was 100+, by that evening it was 50 and hasn't really gotten above 80 since)....

The days of summer floating away like those colorful balloons..... Happy September!

OK enough with with analogies! lol. Frankly, I'm glad it's September with the busyness of summer behind me and the cool and more "normal" days of Fall ahead of me. =)

Moving, Chaos and My Disorganization...

Since I was 10 years old I have packed up and moved somewhere every 1-2 years. There was only one stretch of time when I was able to stay put for 5 years... This moving trend continues to be a major element in my life...

The field office moves on MONDAY and so right now I'm in my office and surrounded by Chaos and disorganization: stacks of filled boxes, binders, drawers pulled out of cabinets, computers and equipment unplugged and awaiting a box or the movers steady hands. All this while trying to catch up on bookkeeping, prepare for fiscal year-end and a big bookkeeping change for the team....

Nothing like getting back from the US two weeks ago and having to hit the ground at an all at sprint! Oui....

Have I mentioned before that I don't enjoy packing or moving?? As of this moment I feel so unready--Monday's coming way too soon! And because I'm just back from the US and playing catch-up, I've not been able to pack like I prefer... instead it's, well, unorganized chaos! =( I'm also finding that we're short in the number of boxes needed and.... can you tell I don't enjoy things like this??

Having moved so much in the last 30 years (ie. apartments, homes, offices, cities, states, countries....) I don't enjoy change and can get quite stressed about it. (I know, shocking for a "bean-counter" lol!) Add to that all the other things on my plate right now and.... well, I guess you could say I could use the prayer. =) Even amid the chaos, though, I can see how God is working to pull the details together and so He is my rock in the middle of all this. :) He will provide, I know. :) He always does. =)

Thank you for praying.

On Two Feet

Today was my first day back in the field office since getting sick. Though I love my job working to support the Balkan field as their bookkeeper, I can honestly say that today I was the most excited I've ever been about heading to the office... simply because I was able to get out of the apartment!

One thing that teaches me is that I'm someone who needs to go to work rather than just work from home. On the other hand, should the need present itself it's nice to know that my little portable external hard drive works well and enables me to work away from the office. I was able to do 95% of the bookkeeping while at home sick and just finished up the remaining 5% today. That's a good thing considering I'm planning on doing the field books while in the US.

Speaking of home assignment, there are a lot of things I need to get done before heading back. One of the big things will be the preparation for the team leaders of the financials they'll need for budget planning as well as field structure planning (in light of the major structural change that was made this past year). Additionally, it's a period of tough financial times for all right now and I believe that may weigh heavily during the budgeting process. Please do be in prayer as we work through this process. We want to be good stewards with what we've been given.

Back to today, it was truly wonderful to be outside and not stuck in my apartment. The weather has warmed up to the upper thirties and all the thick ice that had been coating the sidewalks has melted. It's such a relief! Tonight we also had a team get together, enjoying the wonderful culinary prowess of one colleage while sharing some laughter as well as well as meaningful field-related conversation and planning. It's so amazing to work with such a fine group of people who over the years have also become dear friends.

End note: The thing about this latest asthma struggle I've had is that it's served as a very real reminder of how I am completely dependant upon God for even the simple act of breathing. For someone who is prone to want to forge out on her own and do things in her own strength, it's a good reminder. This life I have, that I'm living, is a very precious gift and I want to live each day to honor the One who has given it to me. On another note, I want to express how grateful I am for those who have been praying for me or even sent encouraging notes during this time. Thank you so much.... I'm back on two feet. =)

Gas and "Refried Beans"

We just heard from colleagues in Sarajevo that the gas is once again flowing, their heat is on and they're beginning to thaw out. =) Thanks for praying, but please do keep in mind those who are struggling this winter.

That was the "gas" and now here's some "Refried Beans" aka... bookkeeping notes. =)

I've been continuing to work from home as I recover from whatever it is that I have, waiting for the other antibiotics to do their magic... yet this cough persists... I'm sure my neighbors are tired of hearing it as I am in hacking it. My muscles around my rib cage are so sore and my stomach feels like I've done several hundred sit-ups... hack, cough, crunch. The good news is that my peak flow meter (a way to measure my lung/breathing status) has shown steady improvement. Still, I'm sick of being sick and actually look forward to getting back to the office.


There is one benefit, though, to me working from home (besides my bed and fuzzy slippers). I suppose you could call it a sort of dry-run for doing the books while on home assignment (beginning in March). In the past when we've attempted to do the books from afar (meaning when the FD was traveling or I was on HA) it just didn't work. However, with the new field structure, I've been working from afar with the TL's now for eight-months worth of bookkeeping. And the process has only improved and been further streamlined. So much so I've been able to do the books completely from home this month (thanks to a portable external backup that contains everything I need and this wonderful laptop thanks to COTF). In fact, if things continue to go well, I'll be able to close in the next couple of days. :::happy dance:::

All this encourages me that the challenges we've had in the past with trying to do the books from afar will not present themselves and gives me a bit of ease in readying for home assignment. Speaking of readying for home assignment, I would appreciate your prayer as there is lots to accomplish between now and March. Additionally, I still don't know where I will be staying either, so would really appreciate your prayers for that too. Thank you!

Ramadan: Cafe's at Iftar

On Tuesday I went up to Kosovo to give some training in Quickbooks as well as to help set up a Quicken account (eek) for another colleague. The training went really well and the time seemed to fly by.... yet we worked at the details for a good 6 hours! Afterwards I enjoyed a grilled chicken kabab dinner with colleages before heading out with the girls to a cafe around 7pm.

Iftar (the breaking of the days' fast) was after sundown about 6:40, so when we arrived at the cafe it was pretty much deserted. My friends said that normally it's impossible to find a place in the cafes--especially at this time of night. But since everyone was with their families enjoying Iftar, we had our pick of the place.

Now here's something funny. Because it's such a busy place some people will actually call ahead and reserve a table. Well, like I said the place was empty when we got there, however there were several "reserved" signs on the different tables. When one of my friends asked about it they guy responded, "Oh, it's reserved for you!" lol.

As the night got later people began to show and the place did fill up (as the music increased in volume as well, moving from a mello jazz mix to a typical techno beat). What was interesting to me, though, was the cigarrette vendors who'd made the rounds through the cafe a good dozen times while we were there. Smoking is one of the things that people fast from during the daylight hours, so I imagine those vendors had quite the hoppin' business once the sun went down.

It's funny, but I don't go to Kosovo that often, but I always do seem to be there at some point during Ramadan (or Ramazan). This trip was no different. In fact, I'll be going up again right at Bajram (the ending of the months' fast) at the end of the month to help with closing out the books. I'm a little excited to be there at that time as from what I hear it's like a big holiday celebration with lots of baklava. :)

Turn up the heat!

The office supply store owner walked in and asked his employees, with a touch of odd curiosity and disbelief in his voice, "Why do you have the heat on??" Not an odd question when you consider the outside temp was already into the upper 90's at 9:30am!

As I'd scurried around the store this morning to purchase binders, dividers and A-4 paper for the field office I'd thought it was a little warm, but since the AC-unit was on I simply thought it didn't work that well. Well, it turns out that the gals honestly thought it was on cool, but as the owner pointed out (literally on the remote) that they'd actually had it on heat! Then to add insult to injury, when he switched the AC back to cool it wouldn't kick in!

Le Le!

Honestly, the whole situation was very funny--especially since the government has been issuing heat-warnings for today through this weekend as the temps are expected to top 40C (100+F)... the poor girls were smiling, a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, yet you could tell they all thought it was pretty funny/ironic too.

I did successfully (though barely) hold my laughter until I reached the taxi and shut the door. Then it was all I could do to blurt out the news through my laughter to my driver. "Oh! It's so much cooler now," I chuckled while wiping the sweat from brow.

He too immediately burst out into hearty guffaws and commented that today of all days was not a day to make that mistake. "Ha ha! And they even had the front door closed so that the heat would not escape," he joked and then continued. "You will find the heat escapes quite nicely from my cab... it much cooler for you, I'm sure." I continued to fan my face as we chuckled about it all the way to the office. He's one of my regular drivers, so I'm sure we'll laugh about this for months to come. :)

Don't you just love those funny moments in life that happen so unexpectedly? It's great to have a really good laugh once in a while, and this one just made my morning. :)

On a side note, just to give you a GCF perspective on the items that I purchased this morning: Week 2 of my GCF Walk more than covered the items pictured. :) Thank you for your giving to the GCF that makes purchases like this possible.

The Waning Days of Summer

This morning as I walked to work I couldn't help but notice the hints of Fall in the air. It was a warm morning yet there was also a light, slightly crisp, breese rustling the once rich green leaves that now are in fading into earth tones. Then, stopping for a moment in Vero to grab some lunch-making items for the office, I noticed the matted yellow-orange of the butternut squash in the produce bins... and smiled. They are one of the first major signs that summer's bidding farewell.

Other signs that summer's almost over include:

• The city's slowly coming back to life after a month of people vacationing out of the city.
• The cafe's are once again lively, though not quite until the wee hours of the morning...yet (which is good for my ability to sleep--without ear-plugs).
• School is starting next week locally and my colleagues kids are enjoying their last few days before heading back to boarding school.
• Summer teams are wrapping up and heading home
• Student camps/retreats are in full swing this week
• Colleagues are coming back from vacation
• Church attendance is increasing as people return from vacations and other new arrival expats come to begin their term
• Conversations are turning away from "where are you going on vacation" to planning ahead for the next few months like: "When will home groups start up?"; "What about beginning a new ladies study?"; and "Ready for an audit?"

While I enjoy summer time (not the weather, though, unless it's between 75-85F) this one has been particularly busy for me. Considering our fiscal year ended in June and we've also had some huge field transitions take effect it's not so surprising. Though closing one month just in time to begin closing the next one has been very wearying. (The delays in closing are 90% due to the field structure change and people's summer travel.)

Frankly, I'm looking forward to Fall as that will mean we'll have a couple months behind us bookwise in the new field structure and I'll be caught up on filing. Then maybe I can take a few vacation days (the 1-week trip to Albania seems sooooo looonngg ago now). In many ways I'm really glad that my busiest time of year has come when everyone else is in their slowest time. I dread to think how many more late nights I might have pulled had it be our busy season!


Throughout the summer, though, Wednesday nights have been the bright spot in my week as it's when we have worship team practice. It's so nice to set everything aside and, together with a talented group of musicians, to sing songs so rich and meaningful in praise to our King for anywhere between 1-2 hours in the middle of the week. Ahhhh... We also have such a great time fellowshipping and praying with one another. Sometimes we even extend our time together by heading to a cafe for coffee and/or ice cream and chatting about life. What a fine group of friends they've become. :) [Picture is from December]

Today is Wednesday and so there's practice tonight, but right now I'm in the office taking a break from closing July (yeah!) to reflect a little on these waning days of summer here in the Balkans. As we all look ahead to the coming Fall and busy season (that interestingly enough tends to coincide the school-year) please be praying for us and for the things that lay ahead. Thank you for being a partner in this with us in this way.

GCF Walk: Week 5 Reflections

Today is Saturday, my day to catch up on all things domestic. Besides cleaning the kitchen, mopping, re-arranging cabinets and changing sheets, I pulled out a stack of ALife magazines. I tend to hang on to them and over six years I've collected quite a few. It was time to purge. So, with the sounds of the Olympics and men's gymnastics coming from the TV as background noise, I started the project.

This week is a reflection less on a GCF walk than a pondering of those feet who've gone before me as well as those with whom I'm walking now.

At first I was just going to toss them all, but couldn't do so without perusing them and even clipping a few. As I leafed through the pages I paused on one story after another. Soon what started out as a quick project became a quiet-time of sorts: reading again the stories, challenges and prayers of so many and marvelling at the testimony and rich history represented therein. As I read on, pondering, praying, there were moments of tears and many smiles. Most often, though, my heart beat faster with a sense of passion, of call, of determination, of renewed desire to press on and to keep walking. Only half-way through the stack and I'm completely humbled by such a great cloud of witnesses, to be even a small part in this legacy of faith.

Now here's a confession: "I'm just a bookkeeper" is something I've often said... sometimes I say it just as a statement of actual job, but other times I've said it with meaning, having let in the lie that somehow what I'm doing is not real ministry... that somehow it doesn't stand up to the real work of my colleagues. Now don't get me wrong, there's no doubt in my heart that I'm exactly where Father wants me and doing what he's gifted and called me to do... it's just that working in the four walls of the office day after day I sometimes lose track of the bigger picture....

As I prepare for my next home assignment, I do struggle a bit with what I should share. What stories do I even have to tell? I sure don't want to bore people to tears with refried beans. Then today, as I read the stories shared by my colleagues and the lives that have been touched because of their ministry, the Lord chastened me... He reminded me again that I'm here doing what He's called me to do so that they can do what they've been called to do... and together we are His team... it's His story and that's a story worth sharing!

Can you hear it? It's the sound of the "four walls of the office" crashing down and my again seeing the bigger picture.

Rather than simply tossing the ALife's, I had the idea to clip all the articles, life-stories and snippets of info or prayers related to our field and to put them into a scrapbook. I think I'll also add some quotes or short stories from my colleagues email letters. Then, to finish things off, I think I'll add several of my photos (if you haven't already guessed, photography is one of my hobbies). The end product will be a coffee-table book that I can go back to on those days when I may be discouraged, or feeling like the four walls are closing in, to remind myself of the bigger picture. It's also something I can take back with me on HA to share with you, to share His story.

Thank you for so patiently and prayerfully walking with me.

*******

GCF Walk: Week 5 Tally
July Total: $46.51
Aug So-Far: 8 miles, $8.45 and counting (it was a really hot week)

Anatomy of Filing --> in a Binder

I sincerely thought Trent's nose must have grown longer when he informed me that we only had one filing cabinet and that we rarely used it. I further imagined a leaf sprouting when he said that we filed in binders instead.

Huh. Er... Come again?

A tilt of my head and a look of disbelief were all it took for my new boss to launch into a patient explanation to assure me that he was not spinning a tale (indeed a talent of his), that in fact the use of binders is the preferred way to file here in Europe.

Honestly, I was really stumped by this way of filing. I'd been working for almost 20 years in several different office environments and in a range of industries and the filing was all done the same way: in a cabinet with pull-out drawers. Then I moved overseas and my filing-life was turned upside down! That was six years ago now and I honestly cannot imagine ever going back to a filing cabinet. And no, my nose did not just smack my monitor and bear fruit! ;)

The first thing I had to get used to was using a 2-hole punch rather than the 3-hole punch I'd so dutifully packed with my outfit. The last time I used a 2-hole punch was when I worked in the mortgage industry and we used the 2-hole to bracket loan docs into client portfolio files (aka. manila folders). At this point I must confess that I can count on 1-hand the number of times I've used my 3-hole punch in 6-years.

The next thing to get used to was using clear plastic sheet protectors in place of a manila folder. Aside from college, my only experience with these slippery little things was in the set of family recipes that my Mom had compiled and given to my brothers and I for Christmas. She used sheet protectors so that the recipe could be pulled from the book and placed on the counter during cooking while being protected from food splashes. And since they are plastic they're easy to clean as well.

The next somewhat familiar items were the dividers to separate by category, person, account or other designation. Again, the last time I'd used a divider was in college to separate my Strategic Management class notes from the ones for Christological Epistles.

Then there was the binder itself. It had a funky bracket inside to secure the pages, sheet protectors or dividers as well as an external box-like thing that is called the "archive." When filing in a binder is complete, the whole thing fits into the archive and then sits nicely right on the bookshelf.

Here's an example of how the binders are organized:

• The color of the binder tells what budget year is covered (Green=2008, Yellow=2007, Black=2006, etc)
• Petty cash - binders by country, dividers by currency and reconciliation documentation
• Reimbursement reports - binders by country, dividers by worker, sheet protectors by month w/receipts
• Monthly work papers - binders by quarter, dividers by month, sheet protectors for approvals and monthly backup
• Reports - binder by year, dividers for major categories, sheet protectors for reports grouped by month
• Permanent documents - binder by year subdivided by category for the permanent records, reports, journals, etc. A backup disk with all the years data (both accounting program backup and report backup) is stored in a pocket taped to the inside binder cover as well.

By using the binders, previous years documents are stored on bookshelves and easily identifiable from their color and binding label. My binders for the current year are on a bookshelf right behind my desk and so, literally, at my fingertips. Additionally, by using a specific code at the beginning of an expense description when entering into our bookkeeping program I can easily track exactly what binder will have the hard copy backup for that entry.... a proven asset to have for an audit. :)

Now you may be wondering what on earth would inspire me to write an "Anatomy of Filing" blog. Well, the reason is simple: I'm knee-deep in filing at the moment due to the field-structure change that went into effect during the last two months of the fiscal year. I've had to re-organize the filing system to accommodate the change, and in the process it struck me how differently I file today as compared to when I was in the US.... and how filing in binders of all things is normal for me now and so I thought it'd be fun to share. :)

Now I must confess that I'm not at all a fan of filing (in fact it was number 3 on my list of things I don't like to do--right behind doing dishes) but I have found that re-organizing things is much easier since our "books" are filed in binders. Hmmm... I may just have to add "filing in binders" to the "If you told me 10 years ago I'd be doing this I would have thought you were crazy" list. :)

GCF Walk: July Tally & Reflections

It's a little hard to believe that July is already over. It's been interesting how people have gotten on board with this idea of walking in an effort to save some budget funds. I've heard from many people that they're experiencing a financial crunch as well and are looking for creative ways to save... and yet even amid personal difficulty we've seen more people give out of what little they have.... and it's humbling.

Out of all this, the "walk" and people's responses, it's reinforced for me more deeply the idea that we're walking this "walk" together... Each day as I've put tennie to pavement, driven or taken a taxi I'm reminded of those who have prayed for or encouraged me in my call over the years and am filled with gratitude. I know I couldn't walk this "walk" without you! Too I am humbled that I can take a taxi when needed because of those who've given so sacrificially. I think too of those who are poised to head out to the field, to leave so much behind to to answer a call to "Go" and those who are sending, supporting, praying for and cheering on these newbies... As we pray, give, send and go we're truly "Living the Call Together." :)

As mentioned before I will be continuing the GCF Walk through the month of August. The "GCF Walk" will be dropped, though, from the header and the daily tally will be dropped to a weekly one. This is to allow me some more flexibility with the different types of posts that I make. One series that I'm really looking forward to, though, is the one I'll be doing in September. You see, Ramadan (or Ramazan) begins on September 1st and runs through the month. My desire is to share a bit of the culture and local traditions associated with the fast like "Iftar" and "Bajram." :) Stay tuned!

As always, thanks for walking with me.

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Week 1: $10.78
Week 2: $18.33
Week 3: $8.60
Week 4: $8.80 (includes driving)
Total: 38 miles and $46.51

Would you be willing to match that savings with giving to the GCF?

Driving & Bookkeeping Change

Normally I don't drive a mission vehicle even if I have access because where I live it's near a miracle to ever find a parking place. It's gotten worse over the last year as well due to new buildings and police barricades for the embassy there.

However, the end of July and August are the exceptions as the city has emptied out for the people's "Годишен Одмор" or "Annual Vacation." Most people get a month off so right now the city's really really quiet... so much so that I can actually hear the "call to prayer" in the mornings and evenings from all the way across town.

Having access to the mission vehicle is a decent and welcomed option this week (and saves $2 a day) as since returning from vacation in Albania I'm buried in work and staying very late at the office each night working on on the accounting details associated with the changes to our field leadership structure. Having the option to drive home has been such a blessing... and your giving to the GCF makes it possible for me to drive it. Thanks!

Yesterday marked a huge milestone for me and the field books and I'm very excited to see things coming together. As you know, we are still one field but now made up of three teams. We still submit just one field report that includes all the details, however, each of the teams desired to have individualized reports specific just for their team. The most important one being the budget reports. We've been given a budget amount for our field from the GCF and that number subsequently gets divided between field-wide expenses (like for the field office) and then to team-specific expenses. Well, to make a long tedious Balkan-bean-counter story short, I was able to get all the budget information in yesterday and balance all four budgets! And thanks to QuickBooks (shocker that I'm admitting this, I know) the reports came together perfectly and I'm excited to share them with the team leaders!

Thank you for your prayers for me, the field and for this whole process that began back at Field Forum. The revised trial balance (sub-dividing things by team) and the individualized budget are significant steps for the field and the teams as they move forward and consider autonomy in the future. With these individualized budget reports they will now have a team-specific, accurate and detailed monthly reporting of their budget and expenses and how they are doing with regards to the bottom line. This information will be key in the budget planning for next year.

Thank you again for all the ways that you live this call together with us. And thank you for your giving to the GCF that makes all this possible. Thank you also to those who have committed to matching my GCF savings with giving. If you've not already, please let me know via comment (anonymous if you like) that you are pledging to match my savings with giving... it's a big encouragement to me to keep walking. :)

Day 15: $42.21 and counting

Learning to be content one $7.86 gallon at a time

Well, just in time for summer, the price of gas is now upwards of 80 denars a liter (aka $7.86/gallon). That's up more than 60 cents in less than a month! Yikes.

This increase in fuel cost is also trickling down to the every-day items that we purchase to live and work here. It's affecting the types of things I'm willing to buy (sandpaper-ish TP) and what I'll simply go without (cheese). Even the usual low prices of seasonal fruits and vegetables are not as low as usual.

The rising local prices reflect increasing fuel costs, yet they also reflect rising inflation as well as the exponentially decreased buying power of the USD. Now you can imagine how that affects the regular persons pocket book, yet it also plays out significantly in the office and in ministry costs.

Here's one small example: The cost of the "cheapest" copy/printing paper has increased by $1 a ream in the last year. If you factor in the severe drop in the US dollar, the price has actually chomped into our budget by an additional 65 cents... aka $5.64 a ream! If ever there was a reason to go paperless, that's a pretty strong one!

The cost of ministry is even more keenly felt when we face a significant cut in budget for this next year. We are finding that we are having to cut things pretty severely to balance out. This is a reality not only for us, but across the board. Perhaps even you are feeling the pinch in the US.

Spending some time in Philippians has given me some important perspective as I've been learning to adjust and adapt to the new financial pinch that we all are facing. One verse in particular has challenged me deeply:

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phil 4:12 NIV)

Like Paul, can I say with confidence that I have really learned this lesson? Call it "Learning to be Content 101." If I'm honest with myself, I must acknowledge that this is a class I've had to take many times in my life and am again re-enrolling in as we speak. I am glad, though, for the encouragement that comes with the next verse:

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Phil 4:13 NIV)

This current situation is a lesson in trust as well as an opportunity to grow. I'm learning that as I trust in the Lord for everything, He gives me the strength to face anything.

Another day in my life...

Today is Friday and I'm glad it's the weekend. This week my head has been so in the books that I think I've got numbers permanently tatooed to my eyes... at the very least I'm really tired. So it should be no surprise that I woke up late this morning. It was late enough that I just washed up, threw on clothes, checked my hair and face for presentableness and rushed out the door... still wiping sleep from my eyes.

Once at the office my computer hadn't even finished booting when someone came looking for one of my colleagues. A quick phone call later and he was out the door to go meet that colleague for coffee. By this time my computer had finally finished booting... yeah, it's been running slow lately.

Todays work began with a check of email to find the last two reimbursement reports in the inbox, thus enabling me to do some more prep. As two of the 3 team leaders are out of town (seeing their kids graduate and/or to bring them home from boarding school) and won't be back to work until mid-month I prioritized the reports for the one team who's leader is still in town.

That said, this month is the first month of the transition time and I'm finding that I only had a SMALL clue of how complicated and detailed this change would be. You see, last month at Forum the field decided to move towards having three autonomous teams rather than one field. That means that instead of a Field Director we have three team leaders with whom I coordinate the bookkeeping for those specific teams... then I coordinate with a Team Coordinator for the final sign-off for the field books as a whole (the three teams combined).

In other words: 4 financial reports instead of 1, 3 different reimbursement reports (catered to each team), working with leaders via email rather than in person... and that's just the start for closing this month...

Also on the "to do" list for me right now is the preparation of the field books for the next budget year. That means completely re-doing the trial balance and account numbers so as to accomodate the three-team-in-one model... which means designing new upload reports, petty cash reports, procedures manuals as well as check-lists for the TL's who are new to the approving process.

Even as I write this, I haven't even scratched the surface of the details... and I'm pretty sure this blog is quite choppy... but it's an attempt to give you a brief window into my bookkeeping life right now. :)

These are a lot of details to juggle... and in the midst of this I'm also singing on worship team, reviewing the center books, saying goodbye to colleagues headed home for HA (and closing out thier accounts for the year) and visiting with church peoples.

Needless-to-say, I covet your prayers during this time and as I seek to support these teams as their bookkeeper in the best and most efficient way possible... even more so, to use the skills God's given me to bring Him the most glory. To give Him my best. Thanks for your prayers. More updates to come.

Image source:
Cat: http://emmathehumblekitty.blogspot.com/2007/09/my-day.html
Desk dude: http://www.aerohead.com

Gas - Wish it was as cheap as in the US

I hear that gas is topping $4 a gallon now in the US. If only we had it so good here. Yesterday a colleague spent $121 to fill up at the pump... translation: $7.20 a gallon!!

And we don't have the worst of it. It's all over CNN right now how bad prices are here in Europe, so much so that people are beginning to strike in various countries. These prices are also hitting us at the local markets where several months of record inflation is now being compounded by exponentially rising shipping costs.

All this makes me almost nostalgic now for that day in '04 in Southern California where stared in stunned silence and shock in a gas station parking lot when faced with having to pay $2.82 price per gallon (see pic). Heck, even the "2" on the price was quaking in it's space! In Northern California we were still paying around $2.12 a gallon. Sigh... I still remember the days before the Gulf War when we were paying less than $1 a gallon... or even further back in the 70's when even with the long lines at the pump and only being able to get gas on certain days (according to your license plate number) the price was only about $0.30 a gallon. All that seems like a dream now.

For those who are in the US now paying only $4 a gallon, please count your blessings. And also remember that GCF dollars are affected as well.... factor in the falling dollar ($1=€0.64), rising inflation and shipping costs, our budgets and personal funds do not go as far as they once did. (And that's not even mentioning that our budget is potentially being cut by 40% for next year... but that's another story.)

Yet I can't help to put all of this into further perspective... into that of the local. We foreigners do feel the pinch, but the local population feels this even more keenly. Of the 60-70% of the population that actually have a job, the average salary is about $300 a month. Many locals are lamenting how much less what little they make buys...

Examples: A small bottle of water that used to cost $0.50 now costs $0.60... milk that used to cost $1 now costs $1.07... bread that used to cost $0.64 now costs $0.77... even utilities have increased an average of $10 a month...

Most items across the board have gone up between 1-5 denars (or 2 to 13 cents) which may not seem like much but when added together makes a bigger hole in an already ripped pocket.

You know, I want to end by saying something clever and insightful, but there is truly nothing to say. It's a very stark reality that we're all facing... yet we can pray and rest in the One who can provide for all our needs.

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my Blogger Balkan Update Blog. Many of my colleagues are using this format so I figured perhaps I should switch as well. Right. We'll see how it goes. :)

As this blog mentions, yes, I am a bean-counter living in the balkans. The team I work with has over 23 people spread throughout the Balkans and working in up to 5 different currencies -- and they're a bit happy I'm doing the bookkeeping for them so that they don't have to (think root-canal with no novocaine) -- and can be about their work. :) Actually, I feel quite priveledged to do the things I love in order to support the wider work of the field. (Yes, I actually like counting beans - though admittedly, sometimes I'm just full of them)

My hope is for this blog to be a mix of humor about living in the Balkans and cultural adjustment and life in general to news of how God is working here in and through quality people. Oh yes, and a dash of tediousness (aka. bookkeeping notes)... or, rather, refried beans. ;)