the silent sojourner speaks again

     I just realized with horror that I have not blogged for nearly a month!... which is actually half of the time that I have been in South Africa so far.  I would feel guilty about this awful lapse if I hadn't been having such a 'jol'  lately (jol:  South African informal.  An occasion of celebration and enjoyment; a good time).    

     So, to catch you up to speed on what has been happening over here in the last while, we've had Christmas Eve.  And Christmas... which hopefully you have all also enjoyed.  The festivities here have included Scrabble games, Christmas presents, Christmas carols, mincemeat pies, and even snowflake decorations (this must be Western influence, since the weather here was nice enough for a swim on Christmas Day!).  A family here has really included me in their celebrations, and I can testify to God's faithfulness in setting the solitary in families! (Psalm 68).  

     This past month I participated in a flash mob.  Around 20 of us danced at Cavendish and Greenmarket Square and handed out invitations to the church's Christmas service.  

     At the clinic, I met a wonderful family from the Congo.  The father has been unable so far to get a job here, but he doesn't want to waste his gifts.  So in the meantime, he has started an NGO and it has been running for several years now on God's grace.  Wow!  I colored pictures with his two young children while he was with the doctor, and they are truly delightful and well-behaved.

    I got my first South African sunburn!, sitting on the beach after a 6 am walk along the ocean-side.  Truly worth it!

     I hiked at Kirstenbosch, which is basically acres of gardens.  South Africa is a beautiful place!

     I updated my blog  (had to mention it, in case you hadn't noticed!).

     And, I am looking forward to the new things that the New Year will bring!  

"Behold, I am doing a new thing; not it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.  The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I will give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people that I formed for myself that they might declare my praise."  Isaiah 43:19-21

     

     

Prayer Items

I know I have been posting in rapid succession lately.  You either hear nothing from me, or I inundate you with posts :)  So, don't forget to read the other posts too, but I just realized that I haven't updated you with anything to pray about lately.  And I realize that prayer is so vital!  So here are some things to pray specifically about:

Prayer items:

-Thanksgiving that I have access to a pedal-bike for getting to the health center where I volunteer so I no longer need to ask for rides all the time

-Thanksgiving for opportunities to pray with homeless people who ask me for money

-Thanksgiving for the Banting craze around here.  It means that there were gluten-free pancakes at the brunch I attended on Saturday :)

-Pray for A---- who came to the clinic to get help for his depression.  He is in a rough spot, but seems educated and motivated even in his state of depression.  Pray for his family back home, and for a job and a safe place to stay.  

-Prayer for wisdom in what ministries I really get involved in and how to use my time wisely

-Prayer for good relationships and friendships

Boys to Men and Girls to Women

     I cannot remember a time in my recent past that is as book-less as now!  All I have are textbooks on my Kindle, my Bible, and "Gems from "Tozer," a little book of selected writings by A.W. Tozer that I bought at the Operation Mobilization bookstore in Hyderabad.  Thankfully, Jess said I could read some of hers, so tonight I started "Long Walk to Freedom:  The autobiography of Nelson Mandela."
     I just read the part where he speaks of the initiation rituals around manhood.  Circumcision is the main component, including rituals that symbolize purity and leaving one's childhood behind.  At the end, they receive gifts from the community members, such as property and livestock, wherewith to start their life in a new capacity.  I like how the ceremony helps them get going in life with some assets.  Mandela writes:  "I felt strong and proud that day.  I remember walking differently on that day, straighter, taller, firmer.  I was hopeful, and thinking that someday I might have wealth, property, status."
     His descriptions strike me as so different from Canadian society, where I am not entirely sure what the expectation and definition of manhood is.  I am still amazed when I see North American men in their 30s still living at home, playing video games!  
     I wonder if we have any analogous observance or 'rites of passage ' in Canada...  Not anything so communitarian and formalized.  Perhaps when a man moves out... buys his own house... gets married?   There each boy yelled out "I am a man!" after the circumcision instrument descended;  I wonder when North American boys make that transition in their minds from boy to man.  One person I talked to said that he only consciously acknowledged it when he became a father.
     On a more personal note... when did I begin to classify myself as a woman instead of as a girl?... or am I still a girl? :)  I often still feel dependent and there are so many things I don't know!  But I don't think that being a woman means being totally independent and omniscient :)  I think I realize that I am no longer a child in moments when I realize my responsibility for my own health and education and for sorting out logistical things like visas and that.  I also realize that I am no longer a girl as people entrust me with more responsibility in things that 'really matter.'
     On a side note, I find it funny that some people think I am only 19.  People have thought that for 10 years now, since I was 12!
     And finally, on a suggestive note :)  I would love people to interact with me on this, sharing their comments and observations or perhaps the moment they made the transition to being 'grown-up' in their minds.

LIFE and DEATH

     This week I had the opportunity to celebrate life and death!  And as a side-note, when I die, I want an African-style funeral!  This past week, I attended the funeral of a Zimbabwe woman, Gloria, at Jubilee Community Church.  The atmosphere was quiet, respectful, as people entered the church sanctuary.  As we sat, waiting for the service to begin, various people would lead out in singing a song and everyone's voices would swell in different harmonies, joining the acapella worship.  Once the service started, there was at time of preaching, and different people shared about her life or sang a special number.  The music was what really struck me with its beauty and joy!  Another thing that stood out to me was God.  Each new speaker greeted the congregation in the name of The Lord.  Heaven, and joy in sorrow, were predominant themes.  At the end, Gloria's brother came up to give 'thank yous', and he graciously thanked the people who contributed to the service, he thanked Gloria's husband for taking such good care of her when she was alive, and above all he thanked God for granting her to them for such a time and for His grace in her life.  When my time comes to die, I hope that God has also been such a part of my life that you can't help but mention Him at my death! :)
     As for life, today I joined in the celebration of a precious little girl's sixth birthday.  She is a bundle of joy, and yet so mature for her age--carefully unwrapping her presents without tearing the paper!   It is so exciting to think about what will all happen in her young life!  Apart from presents and playing card games, we all ate brunch together--pancakes and waffles.  Very delicious, and since some of the people in the house are on a Banting diet, they had even made some that I could eat (hurrah!).  I had never heard of the Banting diet before South Africa, but I was very happy about it today :)  Then, after the meal I made the unfortunate discovery that my age is the same whether I am dyslexic or not.  The rule was that those between 5 and 50 had to clean up the table.  Either way I look at my age, it is the same number :(  But many hands make light work and I was actually sorry when the place was spic and span again!  ... So then I went home and cleaned bathrooms because it was my turn, but that wasn't quite as thrilling.  Ah well, life might get monotonous without the grime as well as the sublime :)

A morning surprise

R eveling raindrop

A uspiciously sparkle in the aurora and

I nspire a rim of radiant colors

N estled in a nook on Table Mountain above UCT--

B right, buoyant, beyond the blackness of the rainclouds

O nly those who are awake and looking can observe it, and

W e smile at the promise for the day

ps I am not sure if my photos are uploading correctly onto my blog.  At the top of this post you should see a beautiful view of Table Mountain with the rainbow I saw this morning... if you don't, please comment on this post and I will try to fix it!  Thank you :)

Things you learn...

- To cure mumps, place a pumpkin in your garden and pee on it every day for a week (I heard this when a patient came in with mumps to the Jubilee Health Centre)
- If a bird poops on you, you will have good luck (a young friend of mine shared this wisdom with me)
- Apparently the South African flower, the protea, is named after the Greek god, Proteus.  This flower comes in many varieties, similar to the multiple shapes this god could assume (from a tourist guide book.  Either this is true, or they were just having fun with gullible tourists :) )
- Always double check the exchange rate... especially if the deal seems to good to be true.  During my layover in Johannesburg on my way over from Abu Dhabi to Cape Town, I stopped at an airport store to buy some candy.  Thinking the exchange rate was $1 to R 100 (that was the exchange rate for Thai Baht!), I bought four rolls of mentos for R 99.   One dollar for four rolls sounded like a good deal to me... $10 for four rolls is a rip-off!!!!  Live and learn...  (this was obviously South Africans having fun with gullible tourists :) )
- Pratley Putty, invented by a South African, was used on board the Apollo 11 on its moon journey in 1969 as well as on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to halt some cracks on one of the main supports..
- Don't let a bit of cold keep you from jumping in the pool!  Yesterday was 'Fun Day' at Jubilee, which means a picnic lunch with everyone at Westerford highschool where they set up a pool, a bubble run for the little kids, a soccer field, a volleyball net, and three big blow-up water slides.  At first I didn't want to get my swim-suit on because the day was fresh and a bit cloudy.  But I am so glad that I did!  It was a great day.  And... I STILL haven't experienced a South African sunburn yet!  Jec has had at least three during my time here :)

Encounters: two diabetics... two different worlds

     I met a poor woman by the beach in Muizenberg.  She did not look well, with a shaved head covered by a hat and some blush brightening the tops of her pale cheeks.  She carried a large, plastic handbag on her back like a backpack, and stopped me to ask if I would buy something off of her.  She was desperate, and so tired.  She is a diabetic and had nothing to eat all day.  She didn't want to just beg, so she was trying to sell some things to help provide for her, for her daughter, and for her two grandchildren, ages 10 and 1.  She had some government money, but that all went to paying for a place to live.  I told her I didn't really need anything, but she could show me what she had if she wanted to.  I sat down and she began to pull things out of her bag:  an old book from 1953 with a little bit of everything in it--recipes, a dictionary, pet-care, etc..  Another old book of anecdotes that smelled like cigarette smoke.  A recipe book.  A Silhouette romance novel--with two pages missing, she informed me, but it was still very good.  A video game.  A small frilly skirt, also smelling strongly of cigarette smoke.  In between, I asked her how her diabetes was and told her I am also a diabetic.  I asked about her family, but apparently it is only her, her daughter, and the two children living together.  She showed me a picture of the one-year-old.  I gave her my time because I had little else to give her, except for 20 rand in my pocket.  I asked her what she would be willing to part with for 20 rand.  Well, she told me that 20 rand was only a start, and you can't get much for that (true), though she wouldn't mind me blessing her with it.
     I never know what to say to that!  I don't know how to respond to the increasing amounts of homeless people I see.  And what is a couple rand here and there?  Still, none of her stuff was worth more than that (in my opinion... I am still trying to gauge the value of currency here in terms of what people earn and spend!).  I could just give it to her, too, since I had just spent more than that on ice cream!  Yet I can't handle giving hand-outs, because it doesn't really address any of the root issues.  Sure, they need food today, but in the long run hand-outs can dehumanize, create dependency, and not actually help.  I know I have never been on the street and hungry, either, though.  What to do?  ... Though as I have been thinking about this in relation to how one friend of mine would give money to poor people on the street, I have concluded that I would rather give the hand-outs to organizations in the country who help people like that than to give it directly.  They can hopefully create a longer-term solution for these people.  But what does that mean for me RIGHT NOW?
     Anyways, I sat there thinking about this, not sure what to do next since I didn't have enough to buy something from her and it felt dumb to say 'sorry, I'll just pray for you and you can go away' since she knew I had the 20 rand now, and yet I didn't feel right about just giving it to her (especially since she herself had already said that she hated asking for money and that is why she was trying to sell a few things)...  Then she pulled a DVD out of her bag:  "Hope for Cities Johannesburg with Mark Finley:  16. Revelation's Last Appeal" and said I could have it for 20 rand.  I gratefully performed the exchange, and asked her if I could pray with her before we parted ways, and what would she like me to pray for?  She gladly agreed, and asked me to pray for safety in getting back home, and I feel bad that I can't remember the rest...  I prayed for safety, for health for her family and herself as a diabetic, for community and people to walk alongside them and help them, and that they would know God's hope and grace.  Somehow it came out that she lived around Rondebosch, so I told her she should find Jubilee Community Church and they had programs where they could probably help her.  I hope she takes me up on that and checks it out.
     And hopefully she will find more than she bargains for!  As I see the poverty and need, my prayer is increasingly that God will give these people a vision of something bigger than the moment.  It must be so hard to see what life could be when one is surrounded by images and cycles of need, poor choices, and abuse.  I pray that they would catch a glimpse of how God intended life to be, and that He would lead them into new paths.

WEEK 1: Should I cut my internship short?

     I haven't okayed this with my professor yet, but I think I can cut my internship short :)  I mean, already, within the first week I have knocked two big things off of my "Things to do in South Africa" list:  surfing and climbing Table Mountain.
     This past Thursday I surfed for the first time at Muizenburg with friends I met through the Jubilee Health Centre.  The day was beautiful, with small waves good for beginners and a strong warm sun to offset the chill of the ocean.  I like to think that you can't keep a good woman down, but I admit sometimes it can be hard to keep her up too!  I managed to stand on my board, but I think I will need a round 2 in order to stay up.  What a thrill it is when the wave surges underneath and carries you forward!
     On Saturday, I climbed Table Mountain with some new friends.  We started at 9 am and arrived back at 3 in the afternoon--sweating profusely on the ascent, freezing in the wind and encroaching fog at the top, and pleasantly cool on the way down.  The final stretch near the top was particularly steep with mainly stairs, some ladders, and a section of free-styling over the rocks.  The view is spectacular!
     In between, I volunteered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at the Jubilee Health Centre (JHC).  So far I have prayed with patients, served them tea and coffee as they wait, tried out some of my string figures with the little kids, and had the opportunity to talk with a diabetic lady and hopefully encourage her from my own experience as a diabetic.  I haven't really DONE a lot there, but I have been so blessed to just be there and see God at work in and through the staff there.
     In the end, I really don't want to cut my internship short :)  I am excited to see the beginning of what this time will be like here, and look forward to wonderful things.  My time here is about more than surfing and climbing Table Mountain and doing things (though I wouldn't mind doing either of those things again!), and I am excited to see what will happen over time as I do life here.    Not to mention, one learns things here that they wouldn't learn otherwise.  Just the other day, two of my new friends were arguing over what was the 'language of God.'  The one was sure it was Afrikaans, but the other countered that it was Xhosa until people messed it up!
     Also, it is strange and yet good to remain in one place for more than a couple days.  I don't know if I can quite describe what it felt like to unpack my bags and put away my suitcases for the time being.  I am starting to feel the limitations of my wardrobe, though, when the same people see me for more than a two or three days at a time (fellow GlobeTREKkers don't count :) ).

So am I ready to go home?  Not yet!
Week 2--bring it on!

Jai Masih!

Jai Masih!  
     Hello from India!  Jai Masih is the way that Christians greet each other here, and it means the Messiah is victorious.  He truly is!
     We arrived in Siliguri, India, from Kathmandu, Nepal, via a 16 hour, over-night bus ride. The bus was relatively small and the ride was bumpy, but I managed to sleep remarkably well despite that.  There was no air conditioning, which was okay since the night air cools down remarkably this far north.  However, the bus DID have a working, low-quality, television set, though, with speakers that worked even better.  This means that I received three gratuitous hours of gore, fighting, muscles, romance and tragedy... including an introduction to Bollywood in the form of the movie Bang Bang.   My education is expanding exponentially!

     These past couple days we have been with ACTION India.  We have driven around in a rugged Land Rover (this is a picture that I took.  I am trying to capture more of our moments on this trip!)




We have visited Darjeeling and sampled its teas  (this is not a picture that I took, but it looks a lot like what we saw)











     We worshipped with Nepali/Indian believers.  In church on Sunday they asked us to introduce ourselves, so we did and sang "Amazing Grace" for them.  It is the same song that we sang in Mongolia in the church of homeless believers.  And, as in Mongolia, several people recognized the song and joined us in singing the words.  It is wonderful to know that we are all saved by the same God whose grace is truly amazing!  And, one day, we will all praise Him for ten thousand years, and ten thousand more, when Jesus returns!
     Tomorrow, we are also visiting some village churches to worship with them.  Some of our team-mates will be sharing God's Word through a translator.  This is a special opportunity, and will you pray that God will give us words to share, boldness to speak, and grace to bless and encourage our fellow believers here in India?  Thank you!

Horror... and Hope

     Last Monday in Cambodia, we visited the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum, and I almost threw up.  The atrocities committed under Pol Pot are nauseated me more than tortuous car rides and bumpy airplane flights.  I can better understand now what Maria, a Filipino woman I met in Phnom Penh, meant when she said that she wished she could bring all Cambodians together at the Killing Fields so that they could just weep and lament the horror of their history together!
     It is said that one death is a tragedy; a thousand is a statistic.  But how was I to respond to the personal individual stories of the Killing Fields' audio tour, which were then multiplied into the thousands by the numerous photographed faces in the Prison Museum?
     These faces of the prison's many inmates fascinated me, and I looked at them one by one for a long time.  Some had friendly-looking faces, most were sad.  Some had angry eyes, bruised eyes with bloody faces, confused eyes, hurt eyes, hardened eyes, closed eyes.  Each had a story, a family, a life.  So many people hurt, killed.  Pol Pot said that it is "better to kill an innocent by mistake than to spare an enemy by mistake."   No one is safe in a society based on lies and fear!

     I wondered how many of these people represented by photograph after photograph of men, women, children and elderly knew Jesus.
     I wondered how it was possible for all this to happen, and at the same time for the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot to have a seat in the United Nations and to be recognized as the legitimate Cambodian government by Germany, Australia, the UK, the US, and France.

     Then, in the midst of the horror and incredulous wondering, something beyond these sobering realities surprised me.
     Hope.
     I found hope in the midst of this place.  I found it in an unlikely spot as I stood, staring, at the killing tree in the midst of the killing fields.
     As I looked at this tree, I felt a constricting sorrow and I sensed that if someone looked at my eyes in that moment they would see sadness and a profound oldness.  It is actually a feeling that I felt often when I first came back to Canada with my family.  My eyes felt old from seeing so much poverty and addictions, from being unable to save the people I loved most from pain, from almost losing the knowledge of how to live.  I remember thinking that this underlying sadness would never leave and my eyes would always be sad, old eyes in a young face.
     Yet, as I re-felt this feeling in front of the killing tree in Cambodia, I realized that God has begun to heal the hurts of the past in my life.  I can laugh freely again.  I can enjoy friendships.  Jesus is restoring relationships, hope and joy in my life.  So, as I stood on a plot of ground darkened with the blood of countless Cambodians, I felt a ray of hope.  God is restoring to me the years that the locusts have eaten, and I know that He can do the same in the lives of the Cambodian people.
     I still don't know how to totally process all that I saw and learned that day.  Such intense suffering cannot be glossed over lightly.  One of my team-mates said that she saw a wall in the prison where visitors had graffittied all sorts of things, like "How can you believe there is a God when things like this happen?"
 ... ah, and isn't that an age-old question.  I don't want to brush aside any of the horror of what happened here.  But I also know that in that place I saw a glimmer of God's hope, and that is something that I personally take away from that day, if nothing else.
 
I would like to leave you with some verses that came to mind as I thought about what had all happened on the tuktuk ride back to our hotel:
 
"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.  You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you."  Joel 2:25-26

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy
Spirit you may abound in hope."  Romans 15:13

From the other side

     It is interesting to listen for a little while on 'the other side' of things.  At Tiananmen Square, Kara, Sarah and I snapped a couple selfies with Mao, whose picture adorned a large red wall with Chinese characters around it.  I expressed my curiosity as to their meaning out loud, and Kara graciously volunteered to 'translate':  "It says:  Communism is the bomb."

     While Communism may not quite be 'the bomb', visiting Communist nations has given me an awareness and appreciation for some of its more positive aspects which I am not accustomed to hearing about.  

     For example, in Russia people expressed appreciation for how Putin has brought a level of stability to life there.  If nothing else, he has provided a sense of security and national unity.  

     In Mongolia, illiteracy is currently a problem.  However, under Communist China, education was considered very important and apparently literacy rates were near 100%.  

     In China, we visited two Three Self Churches on Sunday.  In the one, the pastor spoke on unity from Psalm 133.  To me, it seemed like a pep talk on harmony with examples from history more than a message about Christ.  It fit what I had expected from a Three Self Church, to be honest.  However, at the second one that we visited, I was impressed by the pastor's testimony and emphasis on Christ and His work.  She came from a non-Christian family, and studied music at the university.  One Sunday she randomly walked with a group of people into a church, and was strongly touched by the song that they were singing, "In the Cross" by Fanny Crosby.  The Holy Spirit was at work in her heart, she said, and she asked to join the choir.  That began her journey in coming to know Christ.  And now she is a pastor, sharing the gospel and planting churches through a government-sponsored church.  God is at work in powerful and surprising ways!  

     I am not really sure what the conclusion to this post should be.  So maybe I will end with a verse from Habakkuk:  "Look among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded!  For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you." 

     My prayer is that we would have eyes to see what God is doing, a desire to take part in His kingdom work, and a heart to praise and worship Him for what He is doing and has done! 

Shiva: A Hindu god in a Buddhist land

     Last night we flew into Cambodia from Thailand, where we spent time in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Today we spent the day visiting Angkor Wat, a famous temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Time seemed as motionless as the warm air hovering above our sticky bodies.  Crickets and birds repeated the same cadences.  The trees alone appeared to live as they encompass the timeless ruins, but they too are rooted in the depths of time.
     The temples themselves are inhabited by gods just as ancient.  Cambodia's main religion officially shifted from Hinduism to Buddhism in the 1100s AD, but at the originally Hindu temple of Angkor Wat, Hindu deities still vie for preeminence with Buddha.  Statues of Buddha meditate in small alcoves as carvings of Shiva meditate on the walls outside.
     A tour guide came by as I was examining one bas-relief of Shiva.  So I eavesdropped as the guide told a story of Shiva, the Hindu god of creation and destruction.  This god often meditates, and his wife misses him.  So one time she commissioned a messenger to make Shiva remember her.  This messenger took a stick of sugar cane along with a lotus blossom--a sacred flower which resembles the shape of a temple--and shot the arrow at Shiva's heart.
     This method was effective in that it disturbed Shiva's meditation, though he did not immediately think of his wife.  In great anger he turned on the messenger who thus disturbed him and opened his third eye at him, thereby killing him.  But then the arrow effectively entered his heart and he remembered his wife and how much he missed her.  He returned to see her, and she was very happy.
However, she was not so happy that he had killed her messenger, and told Shiva so.  Thankfully, though, Shiva is the creator as well as destroyer god, and he was able to return the messenger to life.

     I am continually surprised at how openly religious the Buddhist countries of Thailand and Cambodia are after visiting so many Communist ones.  The people here openly talk about spiritual matters.  For example, on our taxi ride back from the airport last night, we asked the driver if it was supposed to rain today.  He answered that he did not know, it depended on the mood of Indra, the Hindu god of rain.  Their religion deeply penetrates everywhere, much like the vines that take over the trees here.  And, like the vines, it often chokes out the tree and kills it as well.  I pray that the hope of God will set them free!  My prayer is that they would know the true God, and that He would set them free through Jesus Christ!  Because, in the end, neither Buddha nor Shiva really reigns in this land.  "For kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations"  (Psalm 22:28)

What is Moments?

Hello from Vietnam!  I feel out of touch with you all since I have been unable to access my blog while in China.  So here is a post that I wrote in Mongolia, and I will post again soon to tell you some about my time in China and Vietnam.

     Lately Kara, Sarah and I have defaulted to flipping through hotel and airplane magazines to find inspiration for our blog post titles.  On Air China, flying from Ulaanbaator, Mongolia, to Beijing, China, the following title fell to me:  "What is Moments?"  As I thought about this, it led me to ask another profound question:  "What is history?"  And here, when one is part of a group of 6 young travellers, one can never be too sure!  Sometimes, when we are tired, we just make it up for fun.  Sometimes, when people are too convincing, we aren't sure if they are telling the truth or not!  What is history?  Here are some possibilities!

History 101:  Lesson 1
     Our guest house room in Ulaanbaator displayed a picture of a Mongolian shooting an arrow as he galloped along on his steed.  The other day Sarah was lying on the floor looking at it, and she thought it was very unrealistic.  The bow had no string, there was no arrow on the picture, and who would keep up that pose for so long after the arrow was already gone?!  Goodness, this lifestyle was part of an era far before flash photography!!
     Kara, being tired and hence in the perfect mood for making up history, was also lying on the floor gazing at the picture.  "Well, Sarah, if you weren't so judgmental and took a moment to hear the real story behind this, you would understand..."  And thus began another 'history lesson.'  Apparently, a blind man had painted this picture.  You see, it was a "Mongolian tradition" to take blind men to their battles.  And this blind man received his sight for all of a couple seconds, whereupon this is what he saw.  Then afterwards, he received sight just long enough to paint the picture for posterity to admire.  So, really, one can't be judgmental because one cannot argue with what he saw!  Also, as a side note, one can tell the importance of a battle based on how many blind men are present.  The battle that this blind man was part of was a six-blinder, meaning there were six blind men present.  A one-blinder is a mere tribal raid, and a seven-blinder is like World War II reenacted!

History 101:  Lesson 2
     This lesson takes place a couple days later.  This evening we took a taxi to a place in Hanoi, Vietnam.  We fit all six of us into a five-person taxi with our driver.  It was quite the experience--a truly historical moment.  Plus, it saved us $3!  On the way back we all piled into one taxi again.  However, this time the driver wouldn't take all of us at once.  So Eric, Kara and I rolled out into another taxi, where the driver kept looking at us and laughing.  Apparently we went even beyond native expectations of space efficiency :)  And this last lesson is True Story!  Moral of the story:  there are limits!

2010 VISION

     The Mongolian church has what they call 2010 vision:  by 2020 they want to see 10% of Mongolia discipled for Christ.  According to current statistics, they are at 2-3%.  This does not seem very hopeful, yet the church is still praying and striving towards this goal.
     This put my own complacency and apathy to shame.  Even in the face of great odds, they continue to pray and maintain their vision because they follow a God who also has a great vision and plan for this world.
     And God is at work here.  There is evidence of a Nestorian/Christian presence in North-west China as early as 600 A.D., though overall Christianity has had a slow start.  In the 1200s, when Kublai Khan ruled Mongolia, he called for Western missionaries to come evangelize his empire.  Unfortunately, few Christians came.   Much later, during the time of Communism, no churches existed in Mongolia except for several Russian Orthodox.
     Still, the good news has filtered in throughout the years.  Mule-train drivers stopped at Gladys Aylward's Inn of the Sixth Happiness and brought the stories they heard into Mongolia.  In 1990, the first Mongolian translation of the Bible arrived in Mongolia, and the Old Testament was completed some 10 years later.  Children are exposed to the gospel in schools like the one where I helped teach English for the past two days.  Not to mention the really neat fact that this school, which teaches the typical subjects as well as English, worldview, and character-building, was started by a Mongolian woman.  Once again, I am impressed by the initiative and vision of these people.

     As I think about this, I am reminded of Isaiah 26, which says "Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord."  The unbelieving do not see or appreciate the work of God that is taking place under their very noses.  They are blind and deaf to it!  Yet, "whoever is of God hears the words of God" (John 8:47).
     Help me to see with your eyes Lord Jesus, and develop better vision!... vision only to see and appreciate what you are doing, but also how I can take part in it.
I am so blessed by this opportunity to travel and see what God is doing around the world!  I hope that your vision will be expanded and developed through these updates too.  Again, thank you to everyone who is participating in this adventure with me through prayer and or/finances.  I have not yet raised the complete amount for my GlobeTREK expenses yet, so if you still want to donate and 'get some skin involved,' you are more than welcome too!  Also, if there are ways that I can pray for you, or if anything I've written challenges you or interests you, let me know as well!  My email is titus33sinnersaved@yahoo.com

Russian Roulette

     Our time in Russia so far has been like roulette... I can never be quite sure what will happen next!  It also started with a tortuous day of travel, which didn't kill us but could have done us in!  Here is an overview of this past Monday:
* 6:30 am waking up to Deb at our door, ready to pick us up to drive to train station
* 7-8 ride on train to train station
* 8-8:30 waiting at train station
* 8:30-10 on train to Frankfurt
* 10-noon at airport, signing in, getting patted down at security (so farI've been patted down before every flight on GlobeTREK!  Maybe it has to do with my insulin pump)
* 12-2pm flight to Riga, Latvia.  I intended to read some of my textbooks on the flight, but I slept instead.  I woke up in time to see the Latvian coast before we landed.  It is beautiful!!!  It reminded me of God's power:  of His voice which breaks the cedars and of His power which preappoints the boundaries of the waters--thus far and no farther!  An interesting thought as I look at the meandering coastline.
* 2-3 An hour lost to time change.
* 3-5 in Riga airport.  We bought lunch, and some of us played card games
* 6-8 flight on Baltic Air from Riga to Moscow
* 8-9 hour lost to time change
* 9 Moscow airport!  We stopped for schwarma, and then boarded the train for our hotel.
* 10-12  Getting lost trying to find our hotel, watched by carvings of ancient tsars and saints from the walls in the city.  Thankfully Moscow is an incredible city, so I didn't mind getting lost too much.
* 12-1:30  Getting settled into our hostel room.  We needed our passports to sign in for the night.  A picture of Putin solemnly stared down at us from the wall as we filled out the forms.  Then we settled into our rooms.  Eric and Andrew got a room with several old men, grandmothers, and children.  The rest of us shared a room of bunkbeds with four other girls.

    Our time in Moscow included a lot of getting lost, what with a foreign language and alphabet.  However, we did bump into some interesting sights, including the Kremlin, Red Square, St Basil's Cathedral, and an international school where we shared about Prairie.  And we got to see a lot of subway stations... which was actually pretty cool, too.  Moscow's subway stations are complex, far-reaching, and quite efficient.  Under the Soviet Union, gold and decorations were stripped from churches and used in the stations.  The underground network of subways also served a back-up bunker during the war.

So... even if we are not quite out of Russia yet, we are still surviving!  Now we are spending some time with a family here, so we aren't as lost as we have been :)  I'm looking forward to the rest of our time here, and I'll let you know about it soon.

Some of this and that from the Latvian airport

Hello from Latvia!
The GlobeTREK team is now en route to Russia from Germany.  I am looking forward to this next part of the journey, with good memories of my time in Germany.  Here are a couple highlights:

* Volunteering at a pregnancy center where we sorted newborn clothes

*  Worshipping in a German church on Sunday morning, where I also played the piano for the singing during the service.  It is amazing to be able to worship with different cultures and language groups, united with a common song of praise to God!

*  Taking a boat down the Rhine river and admiring the beautiful German scenery

*  Learning important beverage tips... such as the danger of tea.  Oh, you didn't know that tea was dangerous?  Then you mustn't have heard of the poor Indian man.  He drowned one night in his "tea pee."  :)

*  Learning about some of Germany's history and culture.  On Saturday we had a 'tourist day', and visited Heidelberg.  From the castle there I could see a panorama of the city.  While we did not pay for a tour of the castle, a tour guide came by at an opportune moment and so I eaves-dropped a little and found out why all the churches faced one way, except for one church that faced perpendicular.  Apparently, all churches face the rising sun, with the steeple toward the setting sun.  However, in the late 1600s, a major flood destroyed much of Heidelberg.  After the flood, the Catholics built the Church of the Holy Ghost, which faces toward Rome.  This was a call for the people to return to the true, Catholic Church.  They did not want the people's rebelliousness to bring more judgment on the town!

*  Lastly, we attended the English church in the evening, which reaches out to the US military families from the large military base in Ramstein.  A young man sang a special song before the message, which really spoke to my heart.  I have the link below for you to listen as well.  For me, it summarized my desire to see Christ exalted around the world.  I also thought it was neat that the song voices Prairie Bible Institute's motto:  To Know Christ and Make Him Known.  May this be true in your life and mine!

LIFT UP THE CROSS by the Crist family          http://youtube/98AlLSDK3XM

Hello from Germany!

Hello from Germany!
Our trip started out with the reminder that while man may plan his steps, it is the Lord who directs our paths.  Andrew and Deb had booked a flight for noon on Tuesday, but despite various confirmations from the airlines, they found out the night before that they didn't actually have a seat on board.  So they ended up flying out at 4:30 in the morning instead!  The rest of us left at 3 in the afternoon for our 7:30pm flight.  I flew out much encouraged by the support shown for the GlobeTREK team by the students at Prairie as well as the community at the Prairie Tabernacle.

The flight included a couple of firsts for me:
first flight outside of the Americas
first 9-hour flight
first 8 hour time-zone change

Today these verses stood out to me as I did my devotions:
"But we have these treasures in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us...  Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit...  Now The Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of The Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of The Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from The Lord, who is the Spirit."  2 Corinthians 4:7; 3:4-6, 17-18

These verses stood out to me as an encouragement in the face of all the things I don't know and can't control or understand.  The last couple verses are also so powerful and meaningful to me in light of where I am at in this GlobeTREK adventure.  I go, beholding God's glory in a variety of ways and contexts, and anticipating how we will use this to transform me more into the image of my Savior.  Already I have been blessed by meeting with the missionaries here in Germany and worshipping on Wednesday night with the American community at the army base here.  As for tomorrow, I look forward to helping out at a crisis pregnancy center here and handing out tracts in a neighborhood.  And now... time for bed.  I don't feel too done in by the time change yet, but let's not push it! :)

GlobeTREK before GlobeTREK officially starts

Wow... It's almost THAT TIME!

Tomorrow I fly to Alberta where I will be taking a week-long class.
Then in 12 days I board the plane for Germany, the first part of my GlobeTREK journey!

Wow!

This summer has sped by so fast. 

I am so grateful for the time of rest and preparation that I could enjoy.

And now I am nervous and excited to start this adventure. 

Some prayer items:
Prayer for peace and stamina and courage
Prayer that I will be present in the moment and not get bogged down in secondary things or things that don't really matter in the long run
Prayer for unity as a GlobeTREK team

Thanksgiving for the visas that I have been able to get for my travels
Thanksgiving for time with family and friends over this summer
Thanksgiving to God that His way is perfect and He will perfect that which concerns me! (Psalms 18 and 138)

Again, a big thank you to everyone who is sharing in this adventure with me.  I hope you have a great rest of your day, and I look forward to keeping in touch as things get going!

A 'faucet-nating' update

So for some random updates...
I know that updates can sometimes be unexciting, but hopefully you will find these ones 'faucet-nating' (fascinating). 
Bonjour mes chers amis!  As alluded to, preparation for GlobeTREK includes many 'faucets' (facets).
1) French faucet

 For one, I am learning French. This was on recommendation from a woman at the Jubilee Health Centre that I am communicating with. And, after spending a week in Quebec, I am more than excited to learn this beautiful language. My knowledge of Spanish helps with comprehension... pronunciation is another story! But I have taken out some resources from the library—including an audio disc!--and so here goes.

2) "The Basics" Faucet

Another prep-area is my personal walk with God. I know that this coming year will be very challenging on physical, emotional and spiritual levels. I am reading a book from Open Doors called “Standing Strong Through the Storm” by Paul Estabrooks and Jim Cunningham. This book looks at persecution, the results of persecution, and what that means for the persecuted as well as those living in 'free societies.' It provides biblical keys for Christians to enable them to stand strong and be victorious no matter what storms they face.  

So, "let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23)!

3) The public washroom faucet

 

And here come the airport washroom faucets! As far as I know, my plane ticket to my 6 month destination, South Africa, has been booked now. Hurrah! I can't believe how quickly the travels are approaching!

In regards to all these preparations, I have several prayer requests and praises:

• I have been experiencing some difficulty in applying for visas, but it looks like that could be clearing up (thanksgiving!).  However, continued prayer that these logistics will work out is still appreciated.
• Prayer for spiritual growth and maturity.
• Thanksgiving for the support of my family in this venture. 

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

of bike-a-thons and busbies

So many things have happened!
The bike-a-thon, which took place ten days ago already, was a success!  Over three hundred people participated and raised around $73,000--praise God! 
Since then, I have also spent a week in Quebec with my family.  I have a new appreciation for the French Canadians and their culture, though the Quebec mosquitoes bite as vigorously as the Ontario ones!  Besides some random trivia (my brother informed me that we passed 223 vehicles between exits 26 and 13 on Highway 30 in Quebec), I also learned that the busby--those tall fur helmets which seem to have become a British signature piece--originally came from France.  The French general Napoleon, a short man himself, had his soldiers sport these towering head-pieces to render them taller and more formidable.  When they defeated Napoleon, the British brought the fashion back to their home country. 
I find it interesting how cultures interact and shape each other.  I also find it interesting how people maintain their distinct cultural identity even as they copy and borrow from other cultures.  While some things may seem rather strange, different cultures can have a lot to offer each other.  For example, when I watched the change of the guard at the Citadelle in Quebec City, my mind kept trying to make me laugh by pretending that the busbies were wigs.  However, when I thought about it, the busbies actually have some good strong points:  In the heat of battle, the height of the hats gives some confusion about where the soldier's head is if you are aiming for it.  Also, the 'misplaced' chin strap is positioned to protect the soldier's face from sabre lashes.  The fact that you cannot see the soldier's eyes is another good tactic.  So perhaps respect is more in order than ridicule!

 

Sunny days

This past Saturday I experienced my first sun over-exposure of this year. Since I am busy with odd jobs, an online course, and GlobeTREK preparation, my summer schedule is pretty flexible and so I took the afternoon to bike to Port Stanley with my sister and two brothers. It is about a 30 km bike ride round-trip, and the sun shone cheerfully on us. It shone a bit too cheerfully, perhaps... and perhaps I met it with a bit too much enthusiasm after my first experience of a frigid Alberta winter. Whatever the reason, I burned royally and my shoulders are still tender. But I don't regret it—I am so blessed by the time I can spend with my siblings!

Not to mention, that bike ride was vital preparation for this coming Saturday (at least, that was the excuse we gave my parents to let us enjoy an afternoon of biking to the beach!). On June 7, my family is taking part in a bike-a-thon hosted by Word and Deed Canada (wordanddeed.org). This bike-a-thon spans 52 beautiful kilometers of bike trail along the Niagara Parkway and raises money for one of Word and Deed's projects in KwaMhlanga, South Africa: the Nakakele AIDS clinic. In an area where HIV/AIDS infection rate rises above 50%, the clinic has around 20 beds, and seeks to treat AIDS patients, alleviate their symptoms, and share God's Word with them. Associated with the clinic, an eight-person home-based hospice care team also makes around 520 home visits each month, caring for around 350 patients, hosting Bible studies, referring patients to the clinic, and educating the community about HIV/AIDS.

This will be my fourth year participating in the bike-a-thon (if I remember correctly), and this year I am especially excited about it since I will be close to the AIDS clinic during my time in South Africa. Maybe when I have a day off I can visit and see the kingdom work they are doing in South Africa as well! In the meantime, I hope for good weather and a good turnout on Saturday!

mezzoforte trust

And so I now revisit and revive my blog :) I am excited to be blogging once again, and to have something to blog about. Currently, my life is an interesting mesh of studying, odd jobs and preparing for GlobeTREK while I am home for the summer.

...And inbetween I make time to play piano... I think that is something that I will miss a lot during the coming nine months of travel. 

But maybe I shouldn't worry because God often provides little unexpected blessings! My trust varies between piannisimo to forte, though God has never let me down.  Sometimes His provision looks different than I expect, but it's always there!  

During one year of university, I only had access to a piano once a week at church. THEN... a couple from my church who live across from my dad's work were getting rid of their piano. They said if we would take care of moving it out, we wouldn't have to pay anything. So my dad and my uncle helped move it into my apartment at school! Thankfully the landlord didn't mind... especially since the piano was so heavy that my dad said he wasn't bringing it anywhere else after that! For all I know, that piano is still sitting on the main floor of a dinky little house in St Catharines. I hope someone else is appreciating it :)

In the meantime, I am appreciating my parent's piano at home.  I play it as much as I can in a house with one piano and four pianists.  My mom jokes that we need a sign-up sheet on the living-room wall!  Sometimes we compromise though, and I play piano, my sister sings, my brother plays guitar, and my mom listens.  

Isn't it amazing how our God delights to enthrone Himself on the praises of His people? (Psalm 22:3) I continue to marvel at how God delights to be magnified through means that bring us such joy at the same time!