March 2006 Update

Honestly, sometimes we're feeling challenged when it comes to keeping our supporters updated. Anne and I recently talked about writing an update but asked, "What do we do that is interesting enough for people to want to read it?" Pictures of jungle people with grass skirts and bones in their noses and Bible translation stories sharing how God has changed someone's life excites people but, outside of some of the travel experiences, supporting people's compting needs in ministry doesn't cause people to wake up each morning and yell, "I can't wait to see what's new on the Haugh Update blog!" So, what's a mother to do?

We concluded that, for the most part, our lives are normal and we don't have anything exciting to offer. Maybe that's not all that bad. So, we'll simply offer you our lives - the good, bad, and ugly.

Laura and Stuart
PTL! Laura and Stuart found an apartment to rent. It is in the basement of a missionary's home about 20 minutes from here. Real nice. They also purchased new Whirlpool washer and dryer that had been returned to Lowe's (where they both work). The previous owner didn't like the color so she returned them so the store sold them to Laura and Stuart for $300! Awesome. They continue to look for a bed and other pieces of furniture.

Christine
Christine is home from Liberty for spring break. She's loves Liberty and is doing real well academically. (She must get her smarts from her mother!). She too, just found an apartment and will be living off campus next year. This should cut her (can you read "our"?) school costs considerably next year.

Anne
Anne is working hard at Harris Teeter. She is an assistant manager in the Fresh Foods department and, although some days returns home dogged tired, enjoys the work. She's a conscientious employee and the store personnel like her a lot (I do too!).

Ken
I am still serving at JAARS, Wycliffe's regional technical center. My biggest project right now is evaluating off the shelf HelpDesk programs. The scope is that our three centers' (Orlando, JAARS, and Dallas) technicians can be set up to connect to it and users from all over the world can submit service requests through the Web interface. I have skimmed probably 75 or so programs and immediately eliminated many of them. Now, I have to really mine the data on their web sites, diging deep engough to find the information to determine if the program meets our specificications, and call the vendors. It's time consuming and challenging (they all want to demo and/or sell me the program today) but I've now narrowed it down to about 7 or so and am installing them on servers for testing. Please pray that I could narrow the right programs to about 5 or so and then be able to share them with the rest of the group for a decision.

I had surgery on my left knee last December and am still having some difficulties with it. With the way it feels, I lack the confidence to play racquetball, basketball, or tennis. The JAARS doctor told me that he wasn't sure I should ever play those again with the way my knees looked. (He was my racquetbally partner but said he gave up playing after he saw what it did to my knees!) . I'm not sure what to do about it not wanting to suffer the pain, rehabilitation, and expense of follow up surgery.

Life is anything but normal - life is truly a gift. I thank God for life, for my family, and for you, our friends. God bless you all.