Hanging On for Dear Life!!

Last night, I was reading an email from a missionary couple that our church helps support.  They are in New Zealand, and as I read the email, I noticed that the Yahoo! smiley face next to their email address was “lit up”.  I thought it would be good to have them as “friends” on my messenger, so I added them.  Awhile later, they responded to the invitation and added me to their messenger.  We then started a brief conversation.
I used messenger with someone in New Zealand a few years ago.  My brother was there on a company trip, and signed in to chat a few times.  It amazed me then, and it amazed me last night that I could virtually instantly (there was no noticeable delay) communicate with someone literally on the other side of the world.
Now, those of you who are younger probably aren’t amazed at all by that accomplishment, having grown up with it.  You’re used to it, and it’s nothing at all for you.  However, having had electronics and communications training, I know something of what is required to bring the Yahoo! instant message from New Zealand to Topeka and back again.  I also grew up in a time when it was a major decision in the household whether to make a long distance call to a place 100 miles away or just send a letter (postage was 4 cents for first class).
You see, those calls were all placed by operators (each local community had telephone operators), and they cost over 20 cents a minute in a time when the average bread-winner made about 80 dollars a week before taxes.
By the way, this same missionary called me last weekend.  We were traveling to visit relatives.  My cell phone rang somewhere in the sand hills of Rice County.  It was Chris from New Zealand.  THAT amazed me, too…the idea that punching in (we don’t “dial” any number anymore) a few numbers enabled the global communications system to find me in the middle of sand and scrub in Kansas.  People have no clue what kind of a remarkable system is necessary in order to make that happen.
We are truly blessed.  However, I think this may be only the beginning.  Hang on!!