As some might remember, I was gone March through June this year to serve as a missionary in a small Mexican town, as a kind of trial run to see if I was a good fit for the ministry there.  It was, as every visit has been, an amazing experience, but the longer stay and higher stakes certainly brought their own share of difficulties and spiritual attacks.  I was robbed twice, let my feelings get the better of me more than a few times, and suffered a great deal of anxiety the last couple months, until I could finally reach a point of submission to the will of God and stop being so worried about everything for a change.

Anyways, I seem to have done a good job since they offered me a position at long last.   I was overwhelmed to say the least.  There's one caveat--even though I can work on the side as a freelancer while serving there, they are requiring me to find at least 500 dollars a month worth of support before I can move down for good.  So, still working on that end of things.  

As for art.  I have been so heavily invested in improving myself as an artist for the past several years, I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the change of focus that this ministry will entail from me, namely that I will be primarily educating young children and doing general support work with the other missionaries.  My Spanish, while improved, is still weak--coupled with my hearing loss, it makes it very difficult at times to understand people unless they are speaking plainly.  While I have a great deal of experience with kids, I have mostly worked in an assistant role and still have a great deal to learn in terms of curriculum and teaching methods that would be effective with special needs kids.

But I do not want to stop painting, and I do not believe I will.  I do not know to what extent I will be able to continue learning and growing, what with the time restraints that will likely be coming.  Regardless, I will be bringing my computer and tablet with me, so it is most certainly not the end of BalanceSheet.   

Though honestly I really need a better artist name, everyone thinks I'm an accountant or something.  Suggestions welcome.