Well, my hiatus lasted nine months. I had a chance to get some rest, to clear my head, by some more camera equipment, and grow up some. Here is what you should expect the site to be like in the future.
Not a whole lot will change. I will be posting written entries hopefully on a weekly basis. I’m not giving myself a time schedule, just a loose time frame to keep the blog from becoming vacant. I want to post some of the bible study I’ve done in the past few months, so look for those to show up. There are a number of longer essays murking (yes, I do know that isn’t a word, but I’m going to coin it. It means to lurk around in murky surroundings) about in my mind, but most of my posts will be short and blog like in nature. Content will be as varied as my moods.
Poetry will be posted as inspiration hits me, just as it always has. Inspiration hasn’t been frequent lately. I seem to wax poetic in fits and bursts. I do have five or so poems I’ve been saving, though and I’ll post those as time goes by.
Photos will be posted at least once a week, but I am hoping to post every other day if not daily. For the next six months or so I will be posting photos from my recent trip to Uganda, following that I will be posting a series of photos taken from my Saint Louis City essay. I’d like walljm.com to focus mostly on photography and I’ll be emphasizing that. Photos will show up on the main page in thumbnail form only. If you only want to see the photos and would prefer to skip my other writings (a possibility I can readily understand), photo page will display just the photos and you can bookmark just that if you prefer.
I’ve added a link log that will show up interspersed between posts. So expect to see near daily updates of that.
If you have thoughts, please send them on. I love to hear from people. The site is mostly converted to the new design, but a lot of inner pages are still in the old. Bear with me, I’ll get to them as I can.
If you’ve read this far, thanks! Now for personal stuff, if you’re interested. You might be asking, "What have you been up to for the last nine months?" Well, truth is, not much really. I did move. I now live in a much quieter neighborhood very near Forest Park in a much nicer and somewhat larger apartment. The architecture around there is much nicer. I’m in the cultural center of the city. If you’re curious, shoot me an email and I’ll tell you about what goes on in and around the Central West End.
I also transferred back the downtown office at work. I am now a blessed 15-20 minutes from work, and I can take the Metrolink, which has a station two short block from my apartment. My new project at work is shaping up to be challenging if not particularly interesting. It does have perks though, I get to travel. I got to meet Paulo and see DC, all at the expense of the company.
And finally, I went to Uganda again. You might remember my last trip to Uganda. Like last time, the group taught Bible Study Methods to national pastors from all over the country. We also taught a Pastoral Epistles class to some of the men who had taken Bible Study Methods previously.
The trip had more impact on me than previously. We were less busy, and were able to get out to some of the villages. The work there has progressed significantly since I had been there before and there were 25 orphans living at the orphanage. Getting to see the orphans and visit the villages they came from helped to impress on my the realities of what it is like to live there. Also, having the privilege to see how much some of the men I was able to teach had grown and matured was significant to me. Its humbling to be used by God, and it is more encouraging than you might think to see people succeed in their walk with God.
The final thing that was impressed upon me during the trip is the need for support and encouragement for our missionaries and for our brethren. It is difficult (and I’d like to really stress that word) to work in full time Christian service.
And now I’m back, both from my hiatus and only a few days from my trip. Its been a little difficult adjusting back to American culture. People talk about life changing trips, and I’ve always wondered, to some degree, what those were like. I don’t think, after this last trip to Africa, that I’ll ever see American wealth and leisure the same way. The excuses we as Christians who live in developed countries often give for why we don’t give to do as much as we could seem pale when faced with the realities faced every day by those living in third world countries.
As I post photos from the trip I’ll talk more about what I felt and thought. Till then I think I’m going to sign off. I’ll post my first picture tonight probably, or if not, then tomorrow. Till then, thanks for listening, and I hope to see you again.
Best Regards,
Jason Wall