Ponder this...

The rain has come!

After about 5 months of dry dusty weather the winds started to howl and now the rain is coming in Guwahati! It is indeed a blessed relief. For me, it is a relief from dust and hot weather, for many others it holds the possibility of saving crops and financial relief. Today was the final day for the students of the Bread of Life Institute. The students came from all across Northeast India and Myanmar. They spent the last several months in daily study of the Scriptures and various other life-skills. It was a pleasure to see the bonds of friendship and the transformation of their language skills and faith development. Truly an encouraging example of the power of small group of people committed to learning together. With the rain comes many power and internet outages, so I am typing this with much uncertainty that it will be published! Tomorrow I will head up the hill to the city of Shillong. I was born in Shillong and am feeling quite moved and eager to see again the place of my birth. I wonder, am I going home in someway when I go there? Is there a part of me that resonates louder when I am in that city? The answer is yes, it is quite moving, but I don't really understand it. Just like so many things!

A hot day in Guwahatiig

It's been a real hot day here in Guwahati. This is actually how I remember this city from 15 years ago - hot and dusty! The difference is that I can now escape to Mom's house, her cooking and at least one room with AC!

Had a couple of India adventures yesterday with Nic Olson who is hanging out in India for a few months. Nic wears size 12 shoes and his flip flops had developed a hole in the heel so it was time to shop for new sandals. Some bartering and a few auto rickshaw rides later were were in the thick of the dust and shops of central Guwahati searching for the impossible - no India wears size 12! This place has a gizillion shoe stores and we visited a large of percentage of them! No size 12 was found,  although the store owners kept urging him to push his feet tighter into their size 10's - it was humourous the first few times. Finally we bailed on the idea and decided to look for a piece of rubber and some super-glue to fix the shoe ourselves- which led to some more adventures, store owners, rickshaw trips and confusing non-english communications. After a long period of time we tried another tact and decided to find one of the many shoe repair guys that squat near intersections and fix all kinds of shoes. But of course when you are looking they are almost impossible to find! After some time we found a guy that ignored Nic's flip flop for the longest time and then in about 3 minutes he scraped it and glued on a hard rubber heal to each sandal. Nic paid him $50 rupees and now has a heal on his flipflops and they should be good for at least a couple weeks - he now has custom made high heel flipflops. These are the 3 hour kind of experiences that India provides!

Our second adventure was to find an internet cafe. But I don't have time tell that whole story - just let me say that involved a lot of walking, a hair saloon, a guy who tried to seduce Nic and it ended up in a very creepy cafe that cost $20 rupees/hour - the letters a and j didn't work on my keyboard.

Finally got to bed late but didn't sleep until after 3:00 because of the bugs (not sure if they were ants, bed bugs or mosquitos) that devoured me - I was one big itchy welt!  Today Dad fumigated my room so there is no longer anything living in it!  No bugs but breathing is difficult at the moment!

And the adventure continue...

Trying to get some pictures into the photo section of my site, but not sure the internet will let it happen

Hong Kong Mall

Harmony and I are at a Starbucks in a massive mall in Hong Kong. I'll be off to India in a couple hours. Hong Kong has a cool system of letting you check your luggage in at various locations around the city hours before your flight.  We went to a great Mongolian place for lunch - so fun and so much food!  John has already headed back to Canada.  He and I had a great time together - he's a good friend who brings his unique perspective and humour to just about everything! We will have great memories of our time in Hong Kong -mostly because we were with Harmony who has got to be world's greatest host and tour guide.  if you are thinking of coming to Hong Kong, do it in the next few months and she will still be here to treat you to the unique hospitality of the city and the 32 floor of Sky Tower!

Just got my itinerary of speaking for India.  It should be quite busy but it will be so great to have Mom's cooking and home to be in!  I may get a chance to head back to the village where I was born and do some visiting later in the week.

Other cultures are so fascinating - so very different and yet still... people.  I see couples kissing and fighting and flirting.  I see children crying, laughing and whining.  I see young people dressing the same, hanging out in groups and tyring to fit in. Pastors, leaders and teachers describe to me the same challenges I experience at home. Same same...but different.

Some favorite things so far: "Cheer you up" t-shirt line, Mong Kok, clean streets, airport express train, CAIS, new friends, being with Harmony.

Less favorite things so far: Stinky tofu, smog, jet lag, the Thai soup Harmony ordered (yuck), sore feet from walking,missing Rebecca and our children.

Haven't had much time to process all that had been going on, but I know that God is revealing and shifting the way that I view the world as I experience a different part of it.  I was really struck by the commitment of several of the teens and teachers at the camp.  I was given so much by their kindness, attentiveness and their desire to follow Jesus. It has been so good for me to remember how big this world, this faith and this Truth really is.

Well I'm off to the airport.  Might get a chance to blog along the way...

Back at Harm's house

After three packed days out a Gospel camp I'm back in Harmony's apartment!  The camp was in a gorgeous part of Hong Kong!  Beautiful hills, water, flowers, trees and temperature!  I spoke several times and had a lot of great conversation with the teenagers.  What a fantastic bunch of kids. I've decided that one of the my favorite things in the world is to watch teenagers worship with their music with all their hearts - now that is beautiful - it brought me to tears several times!  I spoke about holiness, discipleship, the Story of God, the identity of Jesus' followers and gave a basic gospel message. Several kids came forward, some re-dedicating their lives and others making their first-time commitment to Jesus. Many prayers were answered!  Really enjoyed getting to know the school staff.

I got to play a little field hockey (representing Canada of course), got to go to a Chinese BBQ (that was a slightly scary experience!) and ate cafeteria food for three days (brought back memories - yes we had either french fries or hotdogs at every meal!)

Now John, Harmony and few friends are off to explore more of Hong Kong.  I believe we are starting our adventure with Thai food!

Here are few pictures.  More to come...

 

Shopping Hong Kong

Spent the last few hours wandering Hong Kong streets checking out the various spots Harmony said would make a good tourist experience.  Lots and lots and lots of shopping opportunities!  And I didn't buy a thing! It's a beautiful day and I'm loving not wearing a jacket. I took a taxi, a bus, the subway and did a lot of walking.  My first general impression is a good one! A lot like India except a lot cleaner streets, fewer wild animals and horns and pushy people. There is a Macdonalds on most corners as well as a 7-11. Had a tasty breakfast of some kind of food and a wonderful cup of coffee at another little shop. Right now my internal clock is messing me up, my sinus cold is in full gear and so I'll try to have a short nap before Harmony comes back and we head off to the Hong Kong peack.

This is shot of the school Harmony teaches at.

Lots of shops to choose from.  Yes, you can even go to Tom Lee's Music.

16 hours in a plane later...

Cathy Pacific 839 used an older plane that flew me safely to Honk Kong yesterday.  I was jammed in a seat near the window (always make sure you get the aisle so you can get up when you want to) next to a very kind and large man. The on-flight video was too blurry to watch anything on, but fortunately (?) I was surrounded by about 30 people from the Punjab and they provided the entertainment, or at least helped pass some of the time!  Their activity centered around a very old gentleman who was quite confused and upset by the idea of riding in a plane for a long period of time (can't say I blame him for that). At random moments throughout our flight he would get up and rather quickly attempt to make his way to either the front of the plane or the back. Apparently he believed that he was on a bus and kept yelling for the driver to stop or he would jump out! This is where the other family members would grab him and in loud voices, while stroking his beard and rubbing his back they would attempt to force him back to his chair.  It seemed to become kind of game after awhile - an amusing, sad, funny, loud kind of game!

I'm at Harmony's 32nd floor apartment and she is off to teach today so I am left with a few hours to roam Hong Kong.  Tomorrow I'll head off to the camp and the conference will begin.

Had a nice skype chat with Rebecca and the kids and now it's time to explore...

Let the airtime begin

I'm waiting at the Calgary airport for my flight to Vancouver - enjoying free wifi. I was able to spend a few minutes at Oak Park this morning - long enough to be prayed for by my Elders.  I'm so thankful for the Church community that we are a part of!  I love our commitment to spreading the Message globally - I don't know of any other churches are size that gives as much or sends as many people to help others around the world!  It's a natural thing to have our staff go serve in other places and I love that!

Not looking forward to the many hours in the air from Vancouver to Hong Kong!  I've got a laptop, the latest Tom Cain novel and several of my wife's fresh cinnamon buns - I think I'll be fine!

Back to waiting and people watching...

Time to fly!

This Sunday I'll be taking off on a three week trip that will include Vancouver, Hong Kong, Kolkata, Guwahati and Regina!  I'll be joining my friend John in Hong Kong to speak at a conference put on by Harmony's school and then doing some teaching at Bread of Life Centre in India where my Mom and Dad serve and then conclude my travels by attending my 20 year High School Reunion and speaking at Western Christian Colleges Annual Homecoming.  A very full trip! I'm very excited but find myself this week with a bad head cold and a back that hurts no matter how I sit or stand!  Hopefully I can get cleaned up and straightened out before my 16 hour flight!

Lots happening at Oak Park these days!  We had a wonderful family banquet with a hilarious entertainer.  We are about to announce the hiring of new Associate Pastor (I'm very excited about a new teamate) and getting ready for our annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross experience! 

I'm hoping to blog throughout my trip, so check back for updates!

Not a dime's difference

Darryl refers to a story told by Scott Sauls, pastor at Redeemer, that is good reminder.

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A couple in a church lived together out of wedlock, and slept around on each other. They called their pastor and said, "We'd like to come in for some relationship counseling."

The pastor prepared his speech. He was ready to read them the riot act about their immoral behavior. He was going to tell them how they are using one another without committing to each other, how they're impure because they're sleeping around. No wonder they had relationship problems.

They came in. The woman was dressed in a miniskirt, and sat down right in front of him. As soon as the couple looked away, the pastor's eyes began to wander.

The pastor said later, "It was at that moment that I realized that there is not a dime's difference between me and them."

The more we get to know ourselves, the harder it is to look down on others. There's not as much difference as we'd like to think. We need grace.

Homiletics I Video sheet download

ABC Homiletics I students can download the video worksheet here