The church is empty right now. The children are playing, without a care in the world. The podium is set among other things like a toy. The cold, stone walls stare at me. The soft dirt floor greets me with a warmth not found in the western churches.

Last Sunday the area pastor for the SIC church requested that I, Taylor, would preach the coming week. It was very kind for him to ask a week ahead of time. In the past, I've had about a 5 minute warning. It's taking me quite a bit of time just to come up with a topic. I want to stay away from potentially awkward cultural missteps on my parts. I really wanted to talk on family, but as I studied more I finally came to the conclusion that 'Building a Firm Foundation' would be my topic. I've got a pretty dense outline and I'll be continuing to work on my filler over the next two days.