Seeing is...

There's a borrowed webcam sitting on top of my monitor today - a weird-looking, all-seeing eye. It kind of scares me when I catch it staring my way...but I love it.

I love it because when I talked with my niece and nephew in Russia this morning, they squealed with delight. "There's Uncle Mike!" they shouted. I saw their smiles when I asked them silly questions. That wasn't unusual. I've seen them on their webcam before, but this time they saw my smile...and my silly faces. When they laughed, their faces came alive. Mine lit up too. And they saw it. Much better than one-at-a-time-please phone calls with disembodied voices or, worse, text on chat. Even if the picture is a herky-jerky, time-lapsed, blurry, grainy mess at times, it's live and two-way.

I think I'll miss this spherical wonder when I have to return it to its owner Sunday. We're doing a live interview with our Russian missionaries at the beginning of our church service. Pray the technology works. The church will see a family at home talking about God's work in their lives. That family, my brother's, will see their friends smiling.