Snapshots from Ministry Day 1

Rich & Sandee Farthing & me - before 7AM this morning.

Snapshots from Travel Day 2

Mountains just before La Paz, Bolivia

More mountains. There were lots.

My first Bolivian meal ... BURGER KING! (btw - they have snoopy toys)

Flying in to Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Friday night entertainment ... a Christian Mariachi Band!

Travel Day 2 - Bolivia Mission Trip

Well, I´m in Bolivia! We arrived in La Paz this morning at about 8AM EST and are waiting for our flight to Cochabomba which departs at 2PM EST.

4 flights down - 1 TO GO!!!!

Our flight from Miami was delayed about 1 1/2 - and then sat on the tar mat for what seemed like an eternity! My mind began playing tricks on me as it looked and sounded like we were moving ... but we weren´t! I thought we were just going round and round the tower! Clearly, I´m overtired.

I got an aisle seat - next to a lady who started to fall asleep on my shoulder. At first I wanted to wake her, but figured she would be my neighbor for the next 6 hours and didn´t want to get our relationship off on the wrong foot. Instead, I decided that since I couldn´t beat her, I´d join her. I determined to allow myself to let my head flop where it may, and if it ends up attached to her head ... so be it.

Fortunately, I didn´t need to carry out my plan since apparently she had a son sitting 5 rows back who asked to trade seats with me. I GOT A WINDOW!!!! Instead of cuddling with an older woman, I cuddled with the window of beautiful scenery. At night it was the Miami skyline, and in the morning it was the XXXXXXXX Mountain range (I´ll look that up later .... I got pics!)

By coincidence, I ended up sitting to some young adults who are on a teaching/missions trip to Bolivia from Calgary, Alberta. Cool, eh! I asked if they knew Christina (my sister) who lives in Calgary. They did not.

Last story for now: I got to jump the line on all of my fellow travelers on the Missions trip. Because I´m traveling on a Canadian passport - I don´t need a tourist visa! I got to line up with the locals. Best part about it is that I didn´t have to pay the $100 visa fee everyone else had to pay for ... LET´S GO SHOPPING! Knick-knacks ... HERE I COME!!!

Pics should be prevalent in my next post - probably later tonight.

Travel Day 1 - Missions Trip to Bolivia

Yep - that's right - TRAVEL day 1! I left Liberty at 3:30am this morning (Thursday), flew from Cleveland to Chicago (they confiscated my water from my carry-on), flew from Chicago to Nashville (they confiscated my hair gel from my carry-on ... LOOK OUT FRIZZIES, HERE I COME!!!), flew from Nashville to Miami (finally I figured out how to get my carry-on to make it through security - legally).

And in Miami is where I sit. At 11PM we fly from Miami to La Paz, Bolivia. We'll arrive at 7AM and then sit for 8 hours in the airport before flying from La Paz to Cochabomba.

I should be arriving at our final destination at about 6PM on Friday.

WHAT A TRIP!

But, it's not without the COOLEST thing happening!

I met Bob the Tomato of Veggie Tales fame! Well, he wasn't in costume, and I didn't have the courage to ask him for 'the voice' - but I sat next to Phil Vischer on the flight from Chicago to Nashville. Phil is the creator of Veggie Tales. INCREDIBLE!

I tried not to bother him, but, everything that was in me wanted to bombard him with questions and become his friend for life! I managed to restrain myself and only act like a 25 year old, avoiding the teenage years - although I'm sure I didn't act the 38 I'm supposed to represent.

No matter - what a highlight!

Now, I want to give him a plug - if you want a book that will both bring a tear to your eye and leave you with a challenge, I recommend - Me, Myself and Bob by Phil Vischer. Check out his website at www.philvischer.com . I always thought he was a great person, and he did nothing to dissuade me of my feelings about him.

At the end of the flight, I asked him if he could do something for me and if I could do something for him. I asked if I could get a picture of him for me (see below, because he consented!), and I asked if I could pray for him (again, he consented).

In the next couple of days, you'll be praying a lot for me and those I'll be ministering to in Bolivia - perhaps you'd be willing to toss up a prayer for Phil. He's a man of God with creativity like few have known. He's trying to minister effectively to children in a way that not only rivals the world's standard, but surpasses it - because he's doing it all for God.

Thanks God, for giving me a little blessing before I even did a thing for you in Bolivia!



btw - 20 minutes after saying good-bye to Phil, i saw Russ Taff ... kinda anticlimatic though, but still cool

Ooo, I love comics!

Not what's it's cracked up to be

It was a great feeling today to get all my bills paid for the month!

I don't know about you, but January can be a tough month financially. Basically, it all boils down to paying for Christmas past. Plus, when you add the trip to Bolivia I'll be leaving for on Thursday (stay tuned for daily blogs from Bolivia!!!) and other beginning of the year expenses our family has since my car insurance, life insurance, etc etc etc are all due in January or February ... it's not the time for unexpected expenses! (Thank goodness we don't have to buy diapers anymore!)

So, you can imagine how I felt when a rock (not a pebble or a stone ... a ROCK) flew up from the truck in front of me while driving and struck the windshield of our Sunfire.

I did what any of us would do - look for the chip that indicates repairs are necessary. I didn't see a chip - what I saw, was a full fledged crack.

WHY GOD! I was feeling so good about getting everything in order, I didn't have the money to replace our windshield. At least if it were a chip, we could get that repaired, but a crack!

Then, my mind starts wondering ... "What did I do?" I know I've been tithing. I'm not perfect, but I couldn't see why God would be punishing me this way. But, instead of getting all upset, I figure it will all work out, and I just hope that the crack doesn't get any bigger right away so I can at least wait 2 weeks before it needs replacing.

I start rubbing the crack. Sure enough - I feel the ridge. I hadn't seen the crack before - now, it's there. I rub some more - and again. It's coming off! It wasn't a crack afterall!

Honestly, I never saw it before - and then it's there - and then it feels like a crack - and then I can wipe it off.

Weird.

None-the-less, I noted a couple of things this afternoon because of this 'non-incident'. Firstly, I'm disappointed that one of my earliest reactions was to think that God was out to get me in some way. God isn't like that - I know it - yet I still thought it. God forgive me! And secondly, I recalled how I didn't dwell on it and didn't get upset like I would have a few years ago. I guess I am walking by faith and trusting God more than I used to. Thank you God!

Planning ahead

At Christmas, there is a clear distinguishing line between those who plan ahead, and those who do not.

If you plan ahead, the days before Christmas are calm and relaxing, they are filled with adding the special touches to make the holidays extra special.

If you do not plan ahead, the days before Christmas are grey-hair producing and horn-honking encouraging!

You can tell instantly at a Christmas Eve church service those who are coming into the evening with an air of confidence because they've made their lists and checked them significantly more than twice versus those who lost their list (scribbled on a randomly chosen envelope, I might add) at Toys 'R Us 2 days ago and are hoping & praying that they didn't forget anything!

I came across an article in Yahoo! the other day that takes planning to a whole new realm ... the heavenly realm! This guy named Chet Fitch sent Christmas cards to all of his friends and relatives! What's the big deal? Chet died in OCTOBER!!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071225/ap_on_fe_st/odd_cards_from_heaven;_ylt=Apxl7kRK1Q_LDPhRdrGSwZ3tiBIF

If you click on the link I have provided, you can read the whole article for yourself - but to summarize for you, basically he set up this ruse 20 years ago with his barber to send Christmas Cards from beyond the grave. Every year, he'd have to give the barber more money for postage, change any addresses, update his list with either additions or subtractions. FOR 20 YEARS!!!

I would have loved to have met this guy. He must have had an incredible sense of humor!

Thing is, he gave more thought to life after death and made more plans for what will happen after he's gone than we often give consideration to.

With new year's looming in a few days, I think I'll resolve to update my will, put together all my important papers - basically just put some planning into what will happen after I'm gone. I mean, if he can put that much thought into a joke - I should put more thought into the important things.

Thankfully, I'll only have to worry that all of my earthly affairs are taken care of, because I know that my heavenly ones are already planned out. I took care of those when I believed Jesus Christ was more than a baby born in Bethelehem, but that Jesus would also be my Lord and Savior.

Ooo, I love comics!

Freshness DOES Matter

I've never considered myself a coffee aficionado: I don't like flavored coffees, I don't care what name brand I buy & I don't care how you prepare it.

So, you can imagine my confusion when some would complain because they felt their coffee wasn't 'fresh'. I've got coffee in my closet dating back to 2001 - mainly from hotel rooms where it is my custom to make sure I get a new packet every single day, whether I drink the coffee or not.

I've also heard that coffee keeps better in the fridge. Meh. Probably an old wives tale.

Well - that's what I USED to think.

Along with my collection from the Hampton & Holiday Inns, and the odd Maxwell House other miscellaneous gifted containers of coffee that I haven't consumed yet move from home to home like furniture - there was a container of Tim Hortons coffee.

Tim Hortons is the standard of excellence for coffee in Canada (much like Starbucks in the US ... only better!). I had been carefully saving this rare brew since I figured there would be weeks, nay months where I could not have Timmy's coffee again now that I live in Ohio.

That was until Thanksgiving when my family came over and promptly drank almost all of it(while complaining of its lack of freshness), leaving me what I considered to be enough grounds for 5 more cups of coffee. I was somewhat disappointed since surely they had no idea that was ordinary for my Canadian family, was golden to me!

But, my disappointment quickly dissipated when the very next week I made a trip to Columbus where I found (you guessed it!) a TIM HORTONS!!!! There, sitting on a shelf, calling out to me, was a brand new can of Tim Hortons coffee that I could take home and consume (NO MORE RATIONS!).

I get home. I open the new tin. The aroma of the grounds fills the kitchen.

Wait a sec! I haven't smelled this since ... since ... since ... since I opened my last new tin of Tim Hortons!

That pot of coffee was absolutely wonderful. Yes. I drank a pot of coffee!

And, as I was cleaning up and putting the tins away, I was about to pour the remaining 5 cups worth of grounds from the old tin into the new tin when I froze.

"Do I really want to contaminate this glorious, new, fresh tin of coffee with the old stale stuff?" I had never thrown out grounds of coffee even once in my life! Would I do it now?

After tasting the fresh stuff, there was no turning back. Not only did I throw out the old Tim Hortons - but much of my old stock of miscellaneous hotel coffees (not all, I do need an emergency reserve, you know!).

This does make me think about our walk with God. Have we settled on the old, stale relationship we had yesterday? Or are we searching for a new, fresh word from Him? It's no wonder so many are turned off of 'church' when 'church' has lost its freshness.

From now on, not only will it be fresh coffee for me every morning, but fresh worship of God for me every morning too!

It's all in the perspective

Its no wonder Jesus said that we need to have a child-like faith to get to heaven, children can have such a hopeful view of the world.

I had just relieved the car windows of the ice that covered them. I had just slipped around the driveway in my leathersoled shoes. I had just begun to drive the icebox we call a car on our way to church for Sunday School.

"This is the best day ever!" says my son from the back-seat.

My mind begins to race ... am I forgetting a birthday? does he think we are going Christmas shopping? did he find a stash of chocolate bars I had hidden under my seat?

Somewhat cautiously I ask, "Why is that?"

"It's snowing!"

What I considered to be a pain, was a joy from my sons perspective. He had visions of having an afternoon of building a snowman and making snowballs. I saw problems - he saw possibilities.

I guess I wonder if God is the same way? While we are complaining about the difficulties we are dealing with, He's excited because he knows that in a little while we will be able to enjoy what he is preparing for us. Maybe from our finite perspective we should consider God's infinite perspective with child-like faith ... not seeing problems, but seeing possibilities in every new day!

Thanksgiving - Round 2

Oh ya! You just gotta love Thanksgiving!

A long weekend of family, food & football - and lots of them all! Even getting to go shopping on Black Friday was fun (although - I didn't buy anything, I just liked being a part of the frenzy).

I can remember looking at Thanksgiving in the US from a Canadian perspective and just not getting it. Like, why have the holiday on Thursday (shouldn't it be on Friday?) or why have the holiday so close to Christmas (October just makes more sense) or why is Thanksgiving the biggest traveling holiday (even bigger than Christmas!).

In fact, for my 1st Thanksgiving in the US, I was 1 of a handful of students at CBC that didn't go home and we went to Taco Bell for our 'special' dinner. No family, no good food and, quite frankly - no fun! If I recall correctly, I was invited to a few places for a Thanksgiving dinner - but - I turned them all down.

Why did I turn them down? Cuz I just didn't 'get it'.

(get ready for the sermon!)

Some people turn down Jesus just cuz they don't get it. How could Jesus' story be true, why would Jesus do that even if he WERE God, and, many many many more!

The Bible says ...

"Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see - how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him." (Psalm 34:8 in The Message translation of the Bible)

Thanksgiving in the US only made sense to me after I experienced it. If you really want God to make sense to you, you're going to have to try Him first.

Kinda like Mikey in the old Life cereal commercials -

"He tried it! ... HE LIKES IT!"

How I got hooked on coffee.

I didn't grow up as a coffee-lover. In fact, I didn't like coffee for the longest time. I thought it was gross.

But that all changed when I worked as a secretary at Concordia University in Montreal.

A co-worker kept offering me coffee ... again and again and again and again.

I was feeling really bad about constantly turning her down, so, eventually I started saying yes. She was thrilled. I really think she just didn't want to make a pot for herself, so if I wanted some as well, it would give her the excuse she needed. Thing is, I wouldn't drink it. It would sit on my desk, and I would drink just enough for her to see that I was drinking it. One sip when she gave me the cup - one sip when she walked by my office - just enough, but not much - it was gross!

Then, the impossible happened.

I started drinking more and more of it - until eventually I was drinking the whole cup!

Mmmm - cofffeeeeeee ...

That reminds me, I should go to the kitchen for a minute ... I'll be right back ...

;)

Poppy's Forever

In the US Veteran's Day has come and gone. But for Canadians, the same day is called Rememberance Day. Where in the US the date is used as an opportunity to thank those that fought for the nation's freedom, in Canada the date is used as an opportunity to remember those who died while fighting for the nation's freedom (more like the US's Memorial Day).

Another difference between the US and Canada is that Canadians where a red plastic poppy on their coat or lapel or shirt for the days leading up to November 11th. Now, when I first moved to the US in 1992, I would make sure I wore a poppy. Most thought I had picked up a dollar store flower and wear it to be silly (kinda fits my image ... being silly, that is!). It would be perfectly understandable for any individual outside of Canada to not know the poppy's significance.

So, typically, I'd be asked why I was wearing a flower and I'd use the opportunity to share a little bit of Canadiana.

But not this year. This year, I had decided that I didn't want to reveal my culture - rather - I wanted to blend with the new culture I now live in. I mean, my church has heard more stories of snow and hockey in the last 10 months than I'm sure they have heard in the last 10 years! I plan to live in Youngstown for a long, long time - there's plenty of years in the future for me to share my culture.

Then, came the chat in the church foyer ...

I was talking with Kim L. & Dennis N. - talking about Veteran's Day, they told me what they did for Veteran's Day and I mentioned the Canadian tradition of wearing a poppy to remember those soldiers that had died fighting for our freedom. Then, they essentially told me that I should have worn the poppy! I should have know better, but I was surprised ... they were very interested in my culture and thought others would agree with them!

It's amazing really ... that we sometimes think we need to protect the world from us sharing who we really are, when, in fact, it has more to do with us being afraid of what the world might think of us if we were to share who we really are!

So, I've made a decision. From now on, from November 1 to November 11, I'll wear my Poppy. I'll tell the story of Canada's freedom, while at the same time of the year - I will thank a veteran of the US Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force & Coast Guard for their service in securing a freedom that I and my family now enjoy.

THANK YOU, SOLDIERS! I will never forget!

Less than advertized

"Can I try it?" my daughter asks.

"No. I waited 38 years for this - so - you can wait a few more!"

Believe it or not - this afternoon was the first time I ever carved a pumpkin. Really!

Some of our neighborhood families get together every year to have a mass pumpkin carving/painting party. Today was the perfect weather for this outdoor adventure. But, I was soon to find out that although the event was billed as being for the kids - really - all they did was assume the 'Project Manager' position as they directed us parents to assemble the appropriate paint pallette or outline their dream pumpkin face.

"I wanted teeth in the mouth" says my son.

"But - I did put teeth in the mouth!"

"There's none on the bottom!"

Ugh. Fine. I guess the mouth is about to get just a little bit bigger.

"It's a cat!" my daughter says.

"So - you want itty bitty cat eyes and a tiny ROUND nose???"

"Yes."

"I'll try."

At the end of the day - I didn't feel much like Martha Stewart creating and artistic masterpiece.

Martha always makes everything look like such fun. Everything is neat and orderly. The finished product is always spectacular. And everything is cleaned up and ready for display by the end of the 30 minute program.

Maybe she'd like to borrow my kids! THEN it might be a reality TV show!

Nothing is ever as good or as easy as advertized. Well - almost nothing.

As much as I am disappointed in my effort (you'll note that pictures of my work are NOT being provided for your amusement) - I don't really think my kids minded so much!

In a world that consistently gives us less than they promise, when I spend time with my family - it seems that things are always BETTER than I anticipated. Just like a story always gets bigger and better the more it is repeated - I think today will get bigger and better in my memory, and the memory of my kids. The pumpkin I got stuck up my fingernail, the sticky goop I spilt on my pants, the paint that got on the kids clothes, the carving that looked more like a 'how-not-to' demonstration - none of it really matters.

We had a great afternoon.

Better than advertized!

Thanksgiving - Round 1

Gotta love being married to an American!

Lots of great reasons - like being able to live in places that are always warm, earning greenbacks, and a quality of life that is the envy of the world. There are many other reasons (feel free to add your favorite reasons in the comments for this blog) - but - I have to think that the best reason is that I get to enjoy 2 Thanksgivings every year!

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October, the US celebrates in November. Why the difference? I figure it's simply because the traditional last harvest of the year is earlier in Canada than in the US (see above re. warm places to live). Other than that - it really is the exact same holiday.

It all started with the pilgrims. Both holidays require turkey and wayyyy too much other stuff to eat. Family is not optional for the holiday - although - I find that in the US, the major family regathering holiday is Thanksgiving, while in Canada, the major family regathering holiday is Christmas - but still, I digress - family is not optional for Thanksgiving!

Growing up in Canada, I never understood why US Thanksgiving was on a Thursday. THURSDAY! The middle of the week!!! Plus, it's generally less than 1 month before Christmas, another major holiday! I always thought Canada had it right when it celebrated Thanksgiving on a Monday.

But, now that I have lived in the US and celebrated many US Thanksgivings - I've somewhat changed my mind. I guess I'd still rather US Thanksgiving be a little earlier in November - but - living here, I realize that it's really not a big deal at all that it's only 1 month before Christmas. Where the US really have it right is that it's a 4 day long weekend! Perfect for family to travel a long way to reunite. Perfect for family to make too much food, then spend the rest of the weekend eating the leftovers. Perfect to watch TONS of football. Perfect to have a real holiday - but - also - not so long that you get sick and tired of actually being with your family!

At the end of the day - the best part of Thanksgiving isn't debating between US/Canada as to which country does it right - the point is that we give thanks to God for all He has blessed us with. I eat well. I have a good roof over my head. I get to choose what I want to wear every day. I have a great family. I married my own Miss America. My kids are the best in the whole wide world. I'm a part of a great church. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Two times every year!