Getting Started

I'm new at this and a bit confused by it all. Had you asked me a few months ago, "Do you blog?" I would have wanted to know, "What is a blog?" Let me explain. I am 69 years old and my wife, Greta, and I have spent most of our productive lives - 23 years - working as missionaries in West Africa. I remember manual typewriters, rotary dial phones, out houses, drawing water from a well and I know from experience where milk comes from. So, while all this is new to me, I do understand the value of being able to share my thoughts with a wide audience and at the same time, learn from the ideas and thinking of others.
I am a missionary, a second and third culture person. I speak a bit of bad French and know enough of one or two African languages to get into trouble, but not enough to get out. So my heart language is missions and reaching the world with the message on Christ. However I do have other interests and many other concerns. So I hope my friends and passers-by who read this will feel free to share their thoughts, ideas, suggestions and arguments - friendly ones of course.
I work for a mission agency named Team Expansion, in Louisville, KY. I am the Field Coordinator for Team Expansion workers in Europe and Africa. I am a "missionary to missionaries." My primary responsibility is to help our missionaries stay on the field and be successful. I am a coach, mentor, advisor, encourager and, when necessary, critic to some wonderful people who have moved far from home, learned a strange language and culture so they can bring the message of Christ to people who have never heard it. I work with teams in Ireland, Italy, Kosova, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Ghana, Angola, Uganda and Tanzania. Eventually I will visit each team in person, so I get to travel a lot.
My wife's name is Greta. Next year we will celebrate 50 years together. We have always had what I call a "mutual ministry". We work at it together. She helps me keep track of our people, communicate with them and often makes trips with me to help minister to missionary women and children.
As time goes on we will share some of our experiences with you - past experiences as well as current ones. I look forward to sharing with as many as possible.