the JOURNAL of my JOURNEY

Showers

2006-12-21T00:55:00.001Z

The rest of my time in Africa was spent in Uganda this year. Though the rest of the team had gone separate ways when I went to Kenya, Hazel Bech rejoined me in Kampala, Uganda and we taught a class of pastors and leaders using the training program we'd been using the past few years in Tanzania. It was really well received, and I feel confident that a number of those leaders are going to apply what they learned to make a real difference in their communities.

I think the thing that really made the biggest impression upon me in Uganda was the running hot water. The event was held in a hotel, and we were given nice rooms that had hot running water. I took hot showers every morning and felt like I was close to heaven! It's amazing how many things we in the west take for granted, but then when we go without these conveniences for awhile we realise what a real blessing they are!

I've had lots of different kinds of showers out on the mission field. Sometimes I get the pleasure of running water, but it's ice-cold. In those cases, especially when the weather's already chilly outside, I just jump in under the water and try to keep myself from screaming. After I survive the initial shock without a heart-attack, my body adjusts somewhat to the chill and I get about my business...but I do it quickly.

Another common experience is the bucket and bar of soap. Sometimes I am sent to a small square room with a bucket of water and my soap and told to go at it. The first time I went into such a situation, I looked at the little bucket and asked myself, "Now how do they expect me to get inside that little bucket?" But then in time I realised the idea was that I was meant to pour the water over my head. In time I started carrying a small plastic cup with me on these travels so that I could pour small amo

More about Africa...

2006-12-08T21:23:00.002Z

When I speak to Americans and Europeans, most seem to have very specific assumptions about Africa and African people. Many assume that all Africans live in extreme poverty and are always being chased by snakes. However, the truth is that the great continent of Africa contains many different worlds, some of them only miles away from each other.

In August, I spoke at a conference in Nairobi, Kenya at Africa Nazarene University. The experience was so different from the work I'm used to doing in the rural African villages that I almost forgot sometimes that I was in Africa at all. We had power-point presentations and modern music, and many of the people I worked with seemed like they came from an entirely different place than many of those with whom I was accustomed to working.

After long days of plenary sessons and workshops, I also spent time with the university students who attended the conference. Large groups of us would crowd into one of the dorms and talk about God and life, and the conversations sounded to me like the same kind of conversations you might expect to have in London or Los Angeles. They talked about the same television shows and movies, and the girls even wore blue jeans instead of traditional African dresses.

One young Kenyan lady told me she thinks God may be calling her to be a missionary but that she's not sure how she would handle living in difficult conditions. "I went on a mission trip to one of the villages on the border once," she told me, "and it was really difficult. There was no electricity and no running water. I mean, I'm used to being somewhere where I can just plug in my laptop!"

It was really quite an eye-opener to realise how much some of the cities in Africa have become so similar to the West whilst in other parts of the same countries people still live with their ancient traditions and cannot even imagine how their neighbours live. This jounral entry is not meant to be a critique of either situation but simply an observation. We live in an interesting, ever-changing world.

World Aids Day

2006-12-01T20:02:00.000Z

I stood there in the middle of Africa with a child in my arms, and I wondered how many Christians in the West would condemn him to death in the name of politics or religion. As we have been approaching World Aids Day, I have been listening to the voices of many American evangelicals and come to realise that there are an unfortunate many who would indeed do so.

The beautiful child of whom I'm thinking had a big smile on his face. He had just finished playing Frisbee with one of our team members and then had been chasing me around the compound until I let him catch me. Then I picked him up in my arms. As I looked at him and his bright smile, I couldn’t help but to wonder what his future will be like. Will he accomplish great things? Will he marry and have children? Or will he even live to be an adult?

In many East African countries the percentage of people who are HIV positive is staggering. I have held the hands of many children who will not reach adulthood because of this terrible disease. And yet I keep hearing people speak with contempt about the AIDs situation. Some say that AIDs is God’s judgement upon homosexuals and that it is therefore in some way deserved. Others say that it is a problem always brought on by some kind of immorality and therefore not worthy of our compassion.

As I held the child in my arms, I wondered how we could ever have reached a place where we could turn a blind eye to the suffering masses in the name of “justice.” When we do so, we fail justice miserably and instead become collaborators with the worst kind of evil.

And in case some people are thinking that the standard is different in Africa somehow than it is in Europe and America, let me also mention that I’ve held a lot of hands in America as well. There are somewhere around a million people here in the USA who are HIV positive. Those statistics may not be nearly as high as in such places as Africa, but they are still disturbing. And these statistics cut into every walk of life. Some people think AIDs is a homosexual disease and that everyone who has it lives a gay lifestyle. This would appear to be very far from the truth however. According to the UNAIDS Report on the Global HIV/AIDs Epidemic: December 2001, as many as 80 percent of people diagnosed as HIV positive are heterosexual, and statistics are also quite clear in pointing out that a significant number of those who are HIV positive have been infected by their marriage partners or their parents. There is no one specific group of people who is alone infected by this disease. However, even if there were we would still have no right as Christians to deny compassion to its victims.

We need to be reminded that there is no such thing as an innocent person, so when we dismiss people as simply “deserving” of this disease we take a moral position that is very dangerous indeed. We make ourselves judges and juries of mankind when we ourselves are judged by Scripture as all being guilty of sin. “There is none who is righteous…no, not one” (Romans 3:10), “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). If it were not for God’s mercy, none of us would stand. The only hope any of us has is to turn to God and accept the gift of His grace. This is a gift that Christianity teaches is available to all people, regardless of who they are.

It seems to me that many of the people who turn a blind eye to the AIDs crisis are people who disguise their bigotry towards certain people groups under a banner of religion or politics. Many who are of certain political persuasions, for example, automatically dismiss homosexuals as being less worthy of God’s grace than other people even though the Bible makes no such distinction. And if they see someone whom they know has been infected by this dreaded disease, they put a label on the person and turn away.

But here is the truth…The truth is that if we are truly to be Christ-like, we need to learn to take people like this African child in our arms and show them love and compassion regardless of where they come from, what they look like, or how they have lived. And here’s the shocking truth…even right here in America or Europe, you may not have to look across the sea to Africa to find someone who needs to be embraced with God’s love as he or she faces this terrible disease. You may only have to look across the street or even across the room.

How will you respond to the AIDs crisis? Will you respond with Christ-like love and compassion? Or will you simply walk away?

Lots of shoes

2006-11-28T01:27:00.000Z

I have a lot more shoes now than I did a week ago! Why? Because I went to León, Guanajuato!

León, Guanajuato, the fifth largest city in Mexico, is also known as the Shoe Capital, and not without reason! The city features large factories that not only produce shoes, but also boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories, serving both national and international markets. People go to León from all over Mexico to buy shoes and other leather goods, and there is even a large indoor shopping mall that is ALL shoe stores! For anyone obsessed with shopping for shoes, León would probably be their idea of heaven. Imelda Marcos, for example, would probably become a Christian if she thought it might get her to Leon.

Of course, I wasn't there just for the shoes. I was there to preach at the First Church of the Nazarene in León. My friend, Daniel Cordoba had been the pastor there previously until his death last year, and interestingly enough another friend of mine, Leonardo Peralta, is now pastoring that church. We had a great week, as a number of people came to faith in Christ, and lots of amazing things happened in people's lives.

The most amazing thing, however, was the opportunity this visit gave me to see the continuing fruit of previous visits. I got to meet with people who had really been impacted by what God had done in their lives in previous visits, and it was amazing to hear their stories about how those visits had lasting impacts on their lives. One woman remembered in detail a sermon I preached a few years ago that impacted her life amazingly. As she told me about the sermon, I didn't at first even remember ever having said the things she repeated to me, but once she finished I not only remembered that I had said them, I even remembered the occasion. After that particular sermon, I had felt like I had done a terrible job and accomplished nothing. Hearing her tell me how the things that I only said that once had changed her life reminded me that we never really know what kind of impact our words might have upon the people we meet.

Also while I was there, however, I got showered with gifts. Among them were 4 pairs of really nice leather shoes and a really nice leather jacket. I actually had to get an extra bag to put the gifts in! It was great! The people in León are so kind and generous. I look forward to going back again one of these days...but of course not just for the shoes. :-)

The cross-dressing drunk

2006-11-21T00:22:00.000Z

One thing that I really love about the work that I do is that I get to meet many different kinds of colourful characters. Recently, in Africa I met a very interesting cross-dressing drunk.

Now, of course, in some parts of the world such a sight might seem a bit more common, but in the rural villages of Africa it seemed very surreal. A crowd had gathered to hear us share the message of God's love for the village, and while I waited to go up and speak a series of local choirs were singing. As they were singing, at one point a very exuberant drunk man joined one of the choirs and started dancing. The people obviously knew him and simply laughed good-naturedly.

After doing a bit of a dance, he came up to all of the team members and shook our hands with a great big smile on his face. Then he dance a bit more and left. "Where'd he go?" somebody asked. We guessed that he must have gone away and that we probably would see no more of him that day.

However, 15 minutes later he showed up again. Only now, he had changed into an elaborate African dress. He had a handbag under his arm and was holding a large parasol over his head. He walked right through the crowd, came to us and shook our hands. As he shook our hands this time, he curtsied in exactly the way Tanzanian women always curtsy. Then he sat down with the women and listened quietly throughout the sermon.

I would have loved to have found out his story. He was very different from anybody else I'd ever met in the heart of Africa.

The witch doctor in Tanzania

2006-11-18T17:25:00.000Z

Right...I promised ages ago that I would tell more stories of Africa. I now ALSO have stories to tell of India, as well as lots of other interesting things that have happened lately, but I've managed to get myself so busy that I haven't kept up on my journal. That has become a habit lately...but once again I have decided to try to write more often. I will begin with the story of the witch doctor in Tanzania...

At one location where we were sharing the message of Christ's love with a community in Tanzania in August, there was a large crowd gathered to listen. As the local African choirs sang and danced, suddenly a man in a long robe walked into the middle of the crowd. Many of the people started to get very nervous, and they moved away from him. For a moment, we thought we were going to lose the crowd.

Who was this man? We found out that he was the local witch doctor. He didn't like what we were doing, so he had come to try to intimidate the crowd and keep anybody from responding to our message. According to what I was told, he was a very powerful magician and a very dangerous man to anyone who called themselves his enemy.

A strange thing started to happen as the man stood there. Not only did the attitude of the whole crowd start to change, all of us on the team started getting overwhelmingly sleepy as the man stood there and stared. Was this some kind of curse? Some kind of magic? I wasn't sure, but I knew I had to take action just in case (and before we all fell asleep!).

I went up on the platform to preach and started praying out loud. I said, "I am a child of God, and I claim the authority of Jesus Christ who lives in me as I bind any evil spirits in this place and command them to leave in Jesus' name." Then I continued to pray for the people before I preached, but as soon as I had said this the witch doctor walked away. We never saw him again, and a lot of people came to Christ. The new church planted in that village is moving along well.

the first two weeks in Africa...

2006-09-05T21:19:00.000+01:00

In my first two weeks back in Africa, I met a lot of interesting people, including a witch-doctor and a cross-dressing drunk. In addition to 500 people coming to Christ and two new churches being succesfully launched, I also had the privilege of seeing, however, that a lot of good things have been happening as a result of the training that we have been offering the pastors and leaders in Tanzania over the past few years. Currently, about 50 acres of land are under cultivation in the villages, with food being made available for the people in self-sufficient projects the people can maintain themselves. Also, 68 orphans are being taken care of directly and another 25 indirectly. Also 32 widows are being taken care of by the churches due to all these self-sustaining projects. In most cases the orphans are being put together with the widows, thus creating new family units.

Each church is doing something a bit different, something specific to the needs and cultures of their villages. There have also been a large number of projects started, each one particular to the community. In one case, a church has started raising chickens, some for meat and others for eggs, and they are using some to feed orphans and others to sell and generate further income for ministry in the community. Another community has planted maize and, due to a bumper harvest this year, they were able to feed the whole village with plenty left over to sell.

One village is growing a vast quantity of baby trees, which are being sold to people in the community at a small price, thus giving them the ability to submit to a recent Tanzanian law requiring every landowner to plant a tree. The projects are many and varied, and each one is serving the goal of helping the community and also operating as a self-sufficient ministry project with no needs of continuous funds from outside. In a number of cases, the whole villages are getting involved in these projects, and the word is spreading as people are now saying, "Look now how these Christians love." These projects are relatively new but already a great deal is happening through them. We're looking forward to seeing what happens as these works continue to grow.

I also spoke at a conference in Nairobi this weekend, and as a result of this conference a door may be opening to spread these kinds of projects all over Africa. If that works out, it could really have an impact on a lot of communities all across the continent! In addition to that, also as a result of this conference I just spoke at, another project is in the workings that may go international very soon. A lot of exciting things are happening!!!

At the moment though, I've got a few days off before going to Uganda and training pastors and leaders there. I'm also tired and hungry, so I'm going to go get me some food now. The stories about the cross-dressing drunk and the witch-doctor will have to wait for now, but I'll try to get to them before too long...

(note: the above entry was written on August 23rd, but due to technical problems it was only possible to post it today)

Superman Eats at Burger King

2006-07-15T21:50:00.000+01:00

Superman saw my underwear. Does that mean he really DOES have x-ray vision? Not necessarily, but I guess I'd better explain...

I arrived in London late on Thursday night and quickly realised that I didn't have any clean clothes to wear the next day. I decided that, in order to hold things over until I got a chance to wash clothes the next day, I should try to find a place where I could buy a new pair of underwear for the morning. It was after midnight already, so I didn't know what the odds were that I would find an open shop at that hour, but as I was in central London I knew that it was at least a possibility. After walking around for a few minutes, I found a little newsagent's near Piccadilly Circus where my hotel is, and I noticed they were selling "souvenir" English boxers with the Union Jack on them. Not what I would typically choose, but I figured nobody would see my underwear anyhow. The important thing was that I would have something to wear when I got up in the morning!

So I picked them out and went to the cash register to make my purchase. I was shoulder to elbow with a really tall man who was in front of me in line. It turned out he was Brandon Routh, the guy who played Superman on the new film, Superman Returns. He was just out of the London premiere of the film & was also stopping in the shop for a few things. So Superman saw my underwear, but not with x-ray vision & not while I was wearing it!

I ran into him again at Burger King a little after midnight. He was directly in front of me in line again, and this time I noticed ironicly that there was a large poster hanging directly above his head that had a big picture of him on it and was advertising the new movie. Interestingly enough, however, nobody in the large crowd seemed to notice that it was him. I could tell that he seemed to want to just relax a bit after the big premiere earlier in the evening and so assumed he might not want attention to be called to his presence and to be bombarded with hundreds of autograph seekers (though he was standing right under a picture of himself!), so I decide not to say anything that might call unnecessary attention to him. I just discreetly commented to him saying, "Hey, that looks like you." He laughed and said, "Thank you."

Interestingly enough, today I was wishing that I could find Superman again because we could have used some help in a search for a missing child. I was hanging out with my friend, Veronica, who was visiting with an educational tour group with her son, Aaron, when one of the kids from the group went missing. We searched around the city for hours and ended up involving a host of security guards at a Turkish Festival we had passed through, as well as the London police department, in the search.

I remarked that if we had Superman on the case, surely he could find the boy! However, rather than calling out to Superman we just called out to God and continued the search until we received a phone call from the hotel saying that the lost boy had found his way to the hotel on his own and was safe and sound. The young lad certainly gave us a scare, but it at least made our day adventurous. It also gave us a chance to learn to know a number of fine London police officers, who were all very kind and helpful. Even after we confirmed that the boy had been found at the hotel, they insisted on sending two officers to stay with him for the two hours it would take us to get to the hotel ourselves and pick him up. When we finally arrived, they took us outside with the young boy so he could have a photo opportunity in front of their police car.

Those who follow my journal may have noticed that I have not posted to it in ages. I've been doing well though and have been as busy as every preaching and teaching all over the world, and things have been going great. I'm taking this week off, however, and am getting some rest before returning to a busy schedule of preaching in Africa, Scotland, America, Mexico and India over the next few months. For the next few days, I plan to do nothing but read books, eat good food, visit a few museums, and wander around the streets of London to see if I can find any more superheroes roaming these streets.

Ice Cream Falling From the Sky, and other things...

2006-04-18T22:24:00.000+01:00

One thing I really enjoy when I'm travelling is when I get the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of others. When, for example, I go to Africa with someone who has never been there before I love watching them experience those things for the first time. Or when friends and family from America come to visit me in Scotland, it is always fun to watch their reactions to things in the culture that I have grown accustomed to.

Well, this week I've been seeing snow through the eyes of an East African and it's been fascinating. Erick Oguta, from Tanzania, has been visiting here in Montana where I'm preaching this week, and we are doing some meetings together. It's been snowing quite a bit the past few days, and Erick had never seen snow before.

As we were driving in it two nights ago, he said, "If this were to happen back home people would think the world was ending." Yesterday morning, I had to coax him out of the house. He didn't want to go out because he said, "It's scary outside!" I did finally get him out though and he had a good day, though he's really glad the snow seems to be slowing down now.

We discussed how he might explain what he saw back in Africa. The closest thing anyone thought of was the concept of ice-cream falling from the sky, but I think that probably still falls a bit short of an accurate description.

It's amazing really to think about how many things each of us take for granted as part of life wherever we live but which are completely foreign concepts to people in other parts of the world. Just as Erick will struggle to explain snow, today we spoke to a Kiwani's group and tried to explain the concept of poverty to them.

We did the best we could to explain the situation in Africa, but I have a feeling that our best attempts were not much more precise than the idea of ice cream falling from the sky. People who have never seen it can never truly grasp the concept. Most Americans and Western Europeans would also think the world was coming to an end if they saw muddy streets with a stream running through them that doubled both as a toilet and drinking water; if they saw broken down huts filled with starving families, and fresh graves being constantly dug for AIDs victims in a land where the average lifespan is 35 years.

All the same, we are glad to be able to share something of the work in Africa and our attempts to help the poor, hurting and dying there. And we are grateful that people are able to get just enough of a glimpse that their hearts break for the people and they reach out to them. Without the help of people who care we wouldn't be able to go there and keep on making a difference.

This Friday we'll be speaking to a big group of Americans to share the vision for the work we do in Africa and to give them a chance to support us through their prayers and, if they feel so inclined, their gifts or even their personal presence in Africa to help educate, treat or help the people in various ways.

Though it will simply be fun for Erick to try to explain snow to Africans, this week our goal is to explain Africans to America. The great difference is that this is about much more than ice cream falling from the sky; this is about life and death. And it is my hope and prayer that, as ineffective as mere words may be, we can give them enough of a glimpse that they will want to help us to reach out to them.

An American Airlines Nightmare

2006-04-09T22:52:00.000+01:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated my journal. It's been so busy lately that I've had a hard time keeping up on things. The following, however, is the story of my adventure with American Airlines during my recent trip to Ireland. The trip to Ireland was great, but I had a little trouble getting there (and my luggage had even more trouble than I did!). The following adventure will probably be one that many weary travellers can identify with...

Thursday 16 March –

I check in at the American Airlines desk in Los Angeles International airport for my journey from Los Angeles to Dublin via Chicago. “I’m afraid the flight to Chicago is going to be delayed sir”, the young lady tells me. “The only way you’ll make your connection to Dublin is if they hold that flight.” She assures me that it is possible that the flight from Chicago will also be delayed, but just in case she says she has made a reservation for me on the next evening’s flight.

The flight eventually leaves LA and arrives in Chicago 3 and a half hours late. When I get there that evening, I discover that the flight to Dublin has already been gone for over two hours. However, there’s nobody around to tell me where to go next, so I wander around the airport until I finally find an American Airlines representative. He tells me I am to go to the rebooking centre in a certain part of the airport and pick up a red phone.

I walk to the rebooking centre and find a row of red phones. When I pick it up, a voice asks me how she can help me. I explain my situation and say that I really need to get to Dublin right away if there’s any way at all that it can be done. She tries to figure out how to get me on another flight across the sea but discovers that there is nothing that can be done. I say, “Well, I guess I’ll have to go on tomorrow night’s flight to Dublin.”

“No, sir,” she tells me. “That flight is already full.”

I explain to her that the agent in LA reserved me a seat on that flight already just in case. She explains to me that no such reservation exists and its impossible to put me on that flight. Eventually, however, she figures out she can put me on an Aer Lingus flight on Friday evening. Since this is apparently the only option open to me, I accept. She gives me the flight details and hangs up.

Now I have a reservation for the next night and I think to myself: “Now what? Where do I sleep tonight?”

Unable to find any other American Airlines representatives on the concourse, I find my way eventually to the ticket counter. I go to a ticket counter and explain my situation to the agent. I say, “If I’m stuck for a day, I could really use a place to sleep tonight.” She books me in a nearby Holiday Inn and charges me $49 for the room.

I then go to baggage reclaim to ask what’s to happen with my luggage. I have to wait in line for awhile whilst the lady working there is incredibly rude to various other passengers. Then when my turn comes, she tersely tells me, “You can have your luggage taken off for the night, but you’ll have to fill out a change order and wait two hours for it.” I am REALLY exhausted, so the thought of waiting around two hours for my luggage doesn’t appeal to me much. She tells me, “But if you just leave it, your record shows that your luggage will go with you where you go tomorrow.” I have my doubts, but I’m too tired to be bothered so I decide to go to my hotel.

I go to the hotel on a shuttle filled with American Airlines passengers who have all been stranded for the night. They’ve come in from different places, but all of them missed their connections to various parts of the world. We hang out for a few hours in the hotel bar and then all go to our rooms for a night’s sleep. It’s a good thing I have this chance to sleep because, though I don’t know it yet at this point, the next day is going to be REALLY crazy!

Friday 17 March –

I go to the airport 3 hours before my flight in the afternoon because I want to allow plenty of time.

I wait in line at the Aer Lingus desk, and when I get to the agent she looks at my baggage tag and informs me that American Airlines has not released my bag to them. She says she can’t check me in until they have the bag. “You’ll need to go back to American Airlines and get your bag from them. Then you can come check in.”

American Airlines is in a different terminal, so I take a shuttle to that terminal and arrive in a HUGE room filled with American Airlines lines that are divided into sections A,B,C,D and E. I haven’t a clue where I should go, so I explain my situation to the guy at the entrance to section C. He tells me, “Go to line E.”

I walk WAY over to section E and wait in line. When I finally speak to an agent and explain my situation, she tells me, “I can’t help you here. Go to section A.”

So I walk WAAAAY over to section A and wait in line again. When I get to the agent there and explain my situation, he makes a phone call and then comes back to me to say, “Your bag is downstairs in baggage claim. You need to go to the desk at carousel number 5 and tell them to release your bag to you.”

I ask him, “Can you guarantee me they’ll give it to me? I asked them for it last night and they said I’d have to wait two hours for it.” He assures me that if I’ll tell them “the agent upstairs” told them to give it to me because I need it for another flight they will give it to me immediately.

I take the trip back to the luggage carosels and go to carousel number 5. I wait in another line and notice that the person I am about to speak to is the exact same lady who was so rude to me the night before and wouldn’t give me my bag. When I get to her and tell her what I was told, she says, “I can’t help you. Why are you coming to me?” I told her the agent upstairs told me I was supposed to. “Well,” she huffs, “you can’t get bags off at this desk. Go to carousel number 6!”

So I go to carousel number 6 and wait in line again… When I talk to the lady there, she asks another lady what to do. The other lady goes to a back room and comes back later to tell me that my bag is not back there. She looks at my file on the computer (apparently) and then declares, “Your bag’s already in Dublin sir.” I suppress the urge to say, “The airline can get my bags to Dublin but can’t get me there?” and simply ask, “Are you sure?” She insists that it is a certainty that my bags are already in Dublin.

I go back upstairs to the HUGE room full of American Airlines desks. Now I’m struggling to think straight and don’t know where I should go next. So I go to the First Class desk because it’s the only place where there’s no line.

I explain to the agent there that I’m not a first class passenger but that I’ve been getting the run around from various people for an hour and just need to talk to somebody who can tell me what to do next. She barks at me, “Oh please! What do you mean you’ve been getting the run around! There ain’t nobody been giving you the run around!”

I remain calm and say, “I didn’t mean you personally. But I have been getting the run around from other people and I just need somebody to help me figure out what to do next because I’ve gotten confused.”

She calms down and asks me for my story. Then she explains to me that its just the baggage people because they don’t work directly for the airline. She says they always have trouble with them but that the American Airlines employees themselves are always efficient. Then she prints out a boarding pass for me and says, “Here you go sir. You’re all set.”

I notice that the boarding pass is for that evening’s American Airlines flight which I’d been told there were no seats available on. I say, “I thought I was being sent to the Aer Lingus flight.” She explains to me that she’s sorted things out and I’m now on the American Airlines flight again. I also notice that the boarding pass is on Business Class so assume she must have arranged an upgrade for me out of sympathy for my troubles.

I then get in line for security. About halfway through the line, I examine my boarding pass further and discover that its in the name of MAURICE Lewis, not Christopher Lewis.

I go back to the First Class desk. The agent I talk to is busy, but the agent next to her waves me over. I explain to him, “I was just with her and she gave me this boarding pass, but that’s not my name.” He takes my passport and compares the name with the passport. He agrees. So he goes on the computer and after awhile says, “I don’t see your name on this flight at all.”

“Right,” say I. “That makes sense. As I told her, I thought American Airlines had protected me on Aer Lingus.”

He looks me up on the Aer Lingus flight and says, “Yes. There you are. You’re on Aer Lingus. I can’t help you here then. You need to go back to Aer Lingus and check in there.”

To be fair to the last two agents, at the point when I went to First Class I would probably normally have known I had to go back to Aer Lingus, but after all the lines I’d waited in I was just confused and had gone to that desk to ask them to clear my confusion. I sighed and simply said, “Ok. I’ll go back there. But one question first. Can you confirm for certain the status of my luggage because they won’t check me in unless they’re certain.”

“Yes sir,” he said. “Your record is clear on that. You’re luggage is already in Dublin.”

I go back to Aer Lingus and wait in line again. Then I end up back with the same agent who had sent me away two hours before. “Mr Lewis!” she exclaims. “I’m so glad to see you! We were beginning to worry you wouldn’t make it back. Did you find your luggage?”

“Well,” I explain. “After two hours of waiting in various lines they have assured me that my luggage is already in Dublin.”

She looks confused and says something about how that doesn’t make sense. She says, “Just a second sir. We really can’t check you in until we’re sure about your bag.” She starts to walk away to make another phone call when another agent tells her, “Oh, American Airlines called over here to tell us that Mr Lewis’ luggage is waiting for him in Dublin.”

“OK,” says she. “I guess we can check you in then.”

She checks me in and I head to the gate. When I get there the plane is already boarding, so I get on board and fly to Dublin.

Several hours later, I arrive in Dublin and go to the baggage desk to enquire about my bag. A girl looks at my record on the computer and asks me, “Is it blue?” She then proceeds to describe it in detail.

“Yes,” say I. “That’s the one.”

“It’s still in Chicago, sir. But it will come over on the next flight, and we’ll deliver it to you tomorrow.”

Two days later my bag finally arrives. It has a big American Airlines sticker on it that says “RUSH! RUSH!”

On the 27^th of March, I fly back to America. I make it back safely, I’m glad to say, though once again my blue bag gets lost in Chicago. I can’t say that my American Airlines experience was very impressive, but the rest of the trip was great. I loved my time in Ireland and look forward to being back there again in the near future.

Remembering the piano man...

2006-03-07T22:30:00.000Z

When I was nine I had a dog named Anthony. It's an unusual name for a dog, but that was my way of paying tribute to a young man who had a special place in my heart. The human Anthony was a 19 year old young man who played piano for a musical group called the Kingsmen with whom we worked regularly in those days. He was the best piano player I would ever have the opportunity of working with, but he was more than just a piano player. He was a good man.

My family and I had a lot of good times with this young man, whose full name was Anthony Burger. We laughed together, played together, made music together, and travelled together during those early years of my life. And we always remained a part of each others' lives even though we didn't see much of each other in the later years.

The last time I saw him was at a Gaither Homecoming concert. Over the past few years, he worked for Bill Gaither as the pianist for the Gaither Vocal Band, and I heard that they were doing a concert nearby where I was preaching. Anthony didn't know I was around, so I decided to surprise him.

Anthony was standing by a stall where his CDs were being sold. I walked up to him and didn't say a word. He looked up at me, smiled and started singing, "I say L, I say L-O, L-O-V, L-O-V-E. Everything livin' needs love, everything livin' needs love." Those were the words of a song I used to sing in the concerts we were in together when I was a kid. Then the next thing I remember him saying was, "Hi Chris. How's your dad?" We had a good chat, and I also enjoyed watching him playing his piano again in the unique way in which only Anthony could play.

It was a real shock to hear recently that Anthony had suddenly passed away. He was playing at a Gaither Homecoming cruise in the carribean. After he played a song, he collapsed on stage. They tried to revive him backstage, but it was not possible. At the age of 44, he had died of an apparent heart attack.

I have a lot of good memories with Anthony, and I cherish the role he played in my childhood. He was a good man and will be missed.

Español

2006-02-18T20:47:00.000Z

I'm going back and forth between two languages lately, and I love it!

Last Sunday, I preached in English at an African American church in Chicago, the Morgan Park Church of God, and it went really well. 5 people came to faith in Christ, and afterwards I had a great time of fellowship with the people, including family members of my dear friend, Darnell, who now lives in Scotland. I also had some quality time with my good friend, Lana, who lived in Scotland for a year but is now back in Chicago.

This weekend, I'm in California and once again am preaching in Spanish. I'm back at the Winton Church of the Nazarene, which is a church I helped launch a few years ago. We had a Spanish service last night during which 3 people responded to the call to believe in Jesus Christ and 5 others told me they were rededicating their lives to Christ. Then I stayed up late with some old friends (Eddie and Mariela...I performed their wedding ceremony a few years ago) having a wonderful chat in Spanish.

I love working in Scotland, but I think one of the things I really miss when I'm there is the Spanish language. It feels great to be able to use it again during this tour of meetings in America.

back from my sabbatical...

2006-02-08T19:08:00.001Z

I’m cold.

During the month of January I was incommunicado whilst away on my long-awaited sabbatical. I was in Nicaragua, and it was amazing! I stayed with friends who have an organic farm on an island called Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. The weather on that tropical island was perfect. The view of the volcano, as pictured below, was also amazing. It was warm and sunny most of the time, and I spent many relaxing hours sitting in a hammock reading a book with a slight breeze keeping it just perfect.

But now I’m in Chicago and I’m cold.

I left Nicaragua on Friday night after the hottest day I had experienced in ages, and I arrived in Chicago on Saturday for one of the coldest days I had experienced in awhile. It’s actually not dreadfully cold for Chicago. For that matter, it’s not much colder than the kind of weather I’ve come to expect in Scotland during the coldest time of year. However, the abrupt change from the 80’s and 90’s to the 20’s and 30’s is a shock to the system indeed!

I don’t mind though. I’m really glad to be in Chicago. I love this city! I’m here to preach and teach for a few days before I go to California for the rest of the month. I preached at a Spanish speaking church on Sunday, and it was a really powerful day. I prayed with many people afterwards who said that God had really touched their lives in a life-changing way. Among them, one young man gave his life to Christ and two others rededicated their lives to Christ.

I’m grateful, however, for the time I had in Nicaragua. Now that I’m back to work I intend to update the journal regularly again, so I’ll probably share some of the stories about my time there soon.

For the moment, however, I think I’ll just crawl under a big blanket and try to warm up a bit.

Moving on...

2005-12-20T11:23:00.000Z

This last weekend marked the end of my time at the Riverside Gospel Church in Kirkintilloch. It was a time of both sadness and rejoicing. It was a sad time because it was a time of goodbyes; it was a time of rejoicing because it was a time of giving thanks for the many good things God has done in people's lives over the past two years.

On Saturday night, the church gave me a nice send off party. After a great meal, they had a program in which a number of people stood up and thanked me for the help they had received over this time. It was a touching time in which many people thanked me for things I had never even realised had made a difference. It was an encouraging reminder that God has indeed been working mightily in many people's lives.

At the end of the program on Saturday night, they presented a slide show whilst playing Michael W Smith's song "Friends." As the song played, pictures of me with all my friends from the church passed in front of me, bringing back memories of many good times together. I had a hard time holding back tears as all those wonderful memories were brought to mind.

On Sunday, I preached twice. The church was packed for the main service, and three more people talked with us afterwards to tell us that they had surrendered their lives to Christ in response to that day's message. Then in the evening, I preached my last message to the church. My friends, Narineh and Daniel, also came along to support me during my farewell service, and Narineh and I sang "How Great Thou Art" together in Spanish, Farsi and English.

I thank God for these past two years. I have seen a lot of people come to Christ and have been able to stick around long enough to watch a number of them grow. I have seen many people grow and change so much over the past two years that one would hardly recognise them as the same people. And I have made friends for whose love and friendship I will be grateful for the rest of my life because knowing them has also changed me.

time in Kirkintilloch drawing to a close

2005-12-10T15:54:00.000Z

It's hard to believe that my time in Kirkintilloch is coming so quickly to an end. That day when I arrived in October of 2003 seems just like yesterday in some ways, while in other ways it seems an eternity ago. A lot has happened in this time, and in a way I feel like an almost entirely different person than I was then.

Tonight is my first farewell event. The youth fellowship from the church is taking me out to see a pantomime. I've never been to one, so it should be an interesting experience. Then next week, the whole church is having a dinner and a special service afterwards to give thanks for the time we've spent together at Riverside.

This past week, I've been kept busy trying to make sure all the business is taken care of that needs to be done before I leave, and this next week will be more of the same. I'll also be busy at church events and visiting various people that I won't be seeing in awhile. Then my last Sunday at the church is on the 18th. It will be a sad week in some ways, but I think it will also be a time of celebration as well for the things we have seen God doing in people's lives.

Paris, Thanksgiving, etc

2005-11-30T20:20:00.000Z

I only have five minutes on this computer, and it has a French layout so some of the keys are in different places. That means I can only type a few words.

Tonight I was sitting by the River Seine in Paris with my legs dangling over the river. There was such a sense of peace. I am thankful for breaks like the one I have enjoyed this week. My brother came and I joined him in Paris for a few days after Thanksgiving. Before that I had a big dinner with an American family near Glasgow. It has been a good week. No time for details though. Time is up! Will write more soon!

Life is so fragile, handle with care

2005-11-23T00:00:00.000Z

It never ceases to amaze me how fragile human life really is, and yet we tend to act as if we will live in this world forever. This year, I have been reminded again and again of the reality of our mortality. Less than 24 hours ago, I was hit with a double portion of this reality as in one phone call I found out about two people who had just lost their lives tragically.

One was Carlos Ortega. We called him Carlitos. He was a small man with a heart of gold. Whenever I went to Guadalajara, Mexico, he would be one of our main drivers. He would come to us in his old car and take us around to wherever we needed to go. He also helped out with our work in any way he could. He was the pastor of a small church in the city and really seemed keen to learn how to better help people. He also had a great sense of humour and could always make us laugh. I counted it a blessing to know him and always looked forward to the next time that we would meet.

I just found out, however, that Carlos stepped out into a street at the wrong time and was run over by a taxi. Next time I go back to work in Guadalajara, that huge city will seem empty without him in it.

The other was a pastor of a Spanish speaking church in America. I was actually just recently planning to call him because I wanted to take a friend of mine from Scotland to visit him at his church in a few months, but I got the news in the same phone call today that he also has just died. Apparently, he fell down a mountain in very suspicious circumstances. It appears that he has been pushed. I don't think it wise for me to write any details here at this time, but I was absolutely shocked.

It never ceases to amaze me how little value some people put on human life. That they would kill my friend like that horrifies me. Whatever their "motive" may be, it is just incomprehensible to me that someone could value ANY human life that little. However, it happens all the time. One of the new Christians in our church here has been dealing with the very same kind of horror, as his girlfriend was murdered a few months ago. Apparently, his brother killed the girl and then a few days later killed himself.

Life is precious, and we need to value it. We need to value the lives of others, and we need to value our own. The truth is, none of us knows how long we have in this life. We need to make the best of the time we have, and we also need to make sure we are ready for the life to come because we really don't know how long we have here. This isn't "sermonizing". This is reality, and I have been reminded of it more times than I like to think this year.

However, I refuse to despair. I will mourn, but I will not give up. I value life too much to spend the moments I have feeling sorry for myself. I will give tribute to the lives of those who have gone before me by living my life today as well as I can, ready for eternity while I value this moment that God has given me.

So for Carlos Ortega, Stan Grenz, Daniel Cordova, Bruno Radi, and the others I knew whose lives were taken so much earlier than expected in 2005, I give thanks. Each of their lives has helped to shape me in some way and to make me who I am today. But I will honour their lives, not by lying down in self pity at having lost such great influences in my life, but by living my life and valuing each day as a gift from God. Life is fragile. It must be handled with care...and it must be cherished.

Christmas Fayre

2005-11-21T13:08:00.000Z

As I de-iced my car on Saturday morning and put my gloves on my freezing hands, I knew winter was officially on its way. And that meant that Christmas was also on its way. This fact became even more obvious as I arrived at the main hall of Oxgang Primary School and found Christmas music playing and Christmas decorations all over the room. I then knew for sure that Christmas season had officially arrived! The occasion with which we were welcoming the season was a Christmas fayre that the Riverside Church was hosting for the community of Kirkintilloch.

Various businesses and individuals took part in the Christmas Fayre. Stalls were set up selling designer clothes at good prices, hand-made Christmas cards, hand-made crafts of various kinds, and other items of interest. We also had a chocolate fountain, which brought joy to the many chocoholics in our midst, and Santa Claus himself came down from the North Pole in order to take part in the festivities. A great crowd of people came out to take part in the day, and Santa (who looked suspiciously like our own Ian Ross from church) gave away a lot of gifts to the many children who lined up to sit beside him in his grotto. Outside, there was also a fun fayre operating with bouncy castles and rides. I didn't envy the workers who were out there in the below freezing temperatures, but the children didn't seem to mind at all.

Feedback from the day's event has been fabulous. It was another good opportunity to make contact with the community and provide something for the people who live in Kirkintilloch, and we had great opportunities to share with people who just needed someone to talk to or who had questions about God and life. Some of these people also joined us in church for the first time the next day, giving us yet another opportunity to seek to know them a bit more. We also raised a good amount of money for underprivileged children that we will be using to buy gifts for children in poor families who would not otherwise be able to afford a gift for Christmas, so in every way it seems to have been a very good way to begin the Christmas season.

In the community

2005-11-15T20:07:00.000Z

I had never been much into football (soccer, for those reading this in America), but recently I found myself in charge of a soccer tournament. It was a most interesting experience, and I must say it went really well.

A couple of weeks ago, as part of an effort to get the church more involved in the community, I was in charge of a family football tournament and fun day here in Kirkintilloch. The tournament was opened by Brown McMaster, the chairman of the Partick Thistle football club, and was well attended by the community. There was a good group of young people playing football, and we also had a fun fayre (kind of a mini-carnival) with various rides and attractions.

Graeme Adams, the worship leader at the church, worked with me to organise the event and did a wonderful job. Kenny French, from church, also proved invaluable in helping to organise and advertise the event, and just about everybody from the church participated in some way or another. We also had help from the Scottish Football Association, and local businesses helped to sponsor it in various ways. For example, Tesco (the grocery store) provided burgers and hotdogs for the barbecue that we had at lunch time. Also, the local newspaper was out to take pictures. It turned out to be a great day, and already I’m seeing signs in the community that the reputation of the church is beginning to change as people are seeing it as a group of people who care about and participate in the life of the community.

On the morning of the event, it looked like we were in trouble. The clouds were ominous and rain seemed certain. However, we felt confident that we were meant to continue, so we decided to go on with things with the assumption that the rain would not come. The weather held out for the whole day and the event was a great success. At the end of the day, the people running the fun fayre told us that they had two other events the same day in nearby towns that both got rained out, so ours was the only place where the weather allowed outdoor events to continue.

Now we’re getting ready for the next community event. This coming weekend, we are having a Christmas Fayre. Then next month we plan to focus on helping to give gifts to underprivileged children. It’s exciting to be able to be a part of making a difference in the community and to see people being touched by God’s love in a practical way.

Changed lives in Kirkintilloch

2005-11-12T18:12:00.000Z

It’s been great to see how dramatically God has been changing lives lately here in Kirkintilloch. The main service at the church has grown considerably in recent months, and its done so not so much through bringing people in from other churches but through the addition of previously non-churched people coming into our midst and seeking God’s grace in their lives. And God has been granting what they’ve been seeking in some dramatic ways.

A couple of months ago, a young man came into our midst who was going through a terrible crisis. He had recently been in prison and had since experienced a double-tragedy in which two people he loved died violently. I just happened to be dropping by the pharmacy where he was getting some medication when the owner of the pharmacy told me there was someone there who could really use somebody to talk to. I sat down with him, and we talked about how nothing is impossible for God. He perked up and got really excited about the possibility that even his life was not an impossible thing for God to change. He started coming to church and soon came to faith in Christ.

The same young man brought two friends with him, and they also soon came to Christ. Then another young man came into the church through the Teen Challenge ministry that the church is involved with, and he gave his life to Christ on the same Sunday as they did. All four of these people are coming from rough backgrounds of drug-addiction, but it’s been amazing to see how dramatically their lives have been changing over the past couple of months.

We invited all four of these new Christians to have lunch with one of the families from the church on Sunday afternoons and then started having a “coffee chat” after lunch. The “coffee chat” has become an informal chat over coffee and tea about life and the things of God, and it has given us a great opportunity to help these new Christians to begin to grow and to begin to find some answers for situations they face in life.

One of the four brought a friend with him, and she expressed after the first coffee chat that she was really moved by the things we were talking about. On Wednesday afternoon, she came to the Coffee Corner, which is the coffee afternoon we have at the church in which the church is turned into a coffee shop for the afternoon and people from the community come in to visit. We had a talk over coffee, and she asked Christ into her life.

Now there are others who are starting to come into our midst from the same kinds of rough backgrounds. On Wednesday night I stopped by the church to make some photo-copies, and a young man just “happened” to be passing by and see the lights on in the church. He walked in and began to share about his need to get his life right. He said he’d come to church on Sunday.

Then today, which is Saturday, I was working on sermon preparation in D’inisi, my favourite local coffee shop, and this same young man “happened” to come in for a cappuccino. We had a great talk about God and about his life, and he went away excited about coming to church tomorrow and about seeking a new beginning in life.

Also, on the same Wednesday night, I met another man who was standing in the parking lot of the church as I was leaving. He asked, “What do you do in that building?” I explained that it was where a church met. He said, “Really? That’s interesting because I was just thinking that I need to seek God and try to get my life right.” He asked if we could help him, and I expect to be seeing more of him as well.

In addition to all of these people who are coming from the background of addiction problems, a number of other new people have come into the church lately as well. It’s exciting to watch as they grow in the realisation of God’s love for them and to see their lives changing day by day.

It seems that the foundation that has been laid over the last couple of years here is starting to really bear fruit. My prayer is that when I leave here just before Christmas, we will have everything in place for all these precious people to continue to be helped and encouraged in their faith in Jesus Christ. I believe that we are working well in that direction as they seem to be relating well with the people who are being prepared to continue working with them in the year to come.

As I prepare for yet another new beginning in my ministry at the end of the year, I am thankful for all the people who have been experiencing a greater new beginning in their lives here in Kirkintilloch. All the glory belongs to God. “He who began a good work…will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6b)

Irish bluegrass

2005-11-08T15:57:00.000Z

It was a scene I would have expected in the hills of the deep south in America. But it wasn't America. It was Northern Ireland.

A few weeks ago, whilst over in Northern Ireland for the weekend, I walked into a house I'd never been to before and took my banjo with me. A friend of mine had asked me to bring it with me because the owner of the house liked the banjo and wanted to meet me. My colleague, Mark, was with me with his guitar, so we started playing. As we played, other musicians started showing up with instruments such as the mandolin, guitar and others, and before we knew it there was a bluegrass jam session in full swing.

After we played for awhile, the owner of the house told me that they had a bluegrass band and had been asked to play for a big event in Cork for Saint Patrick's Day next year. However, they had a problem. They didn't have a banjo player, and bluegrass is incomplete without a banjo.

He said they would fly me to Ireland for the event if I would play with the band for the event. I said, "I would be glad to, but I'll be in America at the time so it would be an expensive flight." However, he was not put off by this. He said they would fly me out from America if I could just make room for the event in my calendar.

I agreed, so in a few months I'll be taking on a new role...playing banjo in an Irish bluegrass band. Life is always full of new adventures and surprises.

My computer crashed

2005-11-02T18:52:00.000Z

Though my schedule is still very busy, I've reached a point of balance where I could start keeping up with things like my journal if it weren't for one thing. My computer's crashed! I've had a lot of trouble with it lately, and it has finally reached the point that it can no longer be saved. I'm borrowing a friend's computer today so I can catch up on urgent things, but I don't think I'll be able to really catch up with things until I have another computer. I have a new one on the way next week, however, so I plan to write more then...

busy, busy, busy

2005-10-12T23:41:00.000+01:00

Wow! I can hardly believe how busy things have been these past few weeks!!!

I promised to update my journal more often, but obviously I haven't done so these past couple of weeks. I've had visitors from Aberdeen and Montana, and I have yet another visitor from California coming next week. I've also been busy with work for the church and was in Northern Ireland last weekend, so it's been CRAZY!

It has been a very good couple of weeks though. Sometime soon when I have more than 5 minutes a day at my computer I will write an update on recent happenings, particularly on the fascinating trip to Northern Ireland I just came back from on Monday night.

For now though, its late and I start again first thing in the morning, so I'm off to my bed...

Pictures of Egypt

2005-09-20T02:05:00.000+01:00

I finally got my pictures back from my recent holiday in Egypt. It turns out I took almost 250! Don't worry, though, I will only subject certain people to all of them. However, I would like to post a few of them here for those who might be interested.

(NOTE- you may click on any of the pictures to open them to fullsize)

The picture above, of course, is of me standing in front of some of the pyramids. To the right is a picture of me standing on the steps of the Great Pyramid, which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It was from this pyramid that I used my cell phone to send text messages to a few of my friends in America and Britain. It was a strange feeling really to be using such technology to communicate instantly with people all around the world while standing on stones that were erected 4565 years ago.

While on my two week holiday, I spent the first week on this Nile cruise boat. We sailed up the river, stopping at various ports and visiting ancient temples and tombs as well as other interesting sites. We also had the opportunity to see some of the local towns and meet a lot of interesting people.

The picture to the right is one of the many I took of the River Nile. I spent many peaceful hours on the deck of the boat reading books, writing in my journal, or just contemplating the beauty of God's creation.

Besides visiting a lot of tourist sites and meeting a lot of people, I also read a lot of books while I was there. One of the books I read was Death on the Nile, by Agatha Christie. Part of that book was written at the Old Cataract Hotel, which is pictured here. This hotel was featured both in the book and in the film which featured Peter Ustinov as the detective, Hercule Poirot. Feeling very much like a true tourist, I visited this hotel with the book in hand when the boat docked in the city of Aswan.

The picture below is one of the many ancient temples I visited:

It's amazing how well some of these places are preserved after thousands of years. In some places, as shown in the picture below, the original colours are even still present on the stones.

It was a real adventure! As I went through all these ancient temples, I felt like a true Indiana Jones. It was great! In the picture below I'm reading an ancient message written in heiroglyphics.

Actually, I don't have a clue what it says! All I know is it has something to do with some pharaoh.

Almost as difficult to understand as the writing on the wall, by the way, is that shirt! I'm not sure what I was thinking when I put that on. I guess it made me feel more like a tourist or something!

As interesting as the ancient culture was, however, I was also very interested in meeting the people of today. The row of shops in this picture is a typical row of local shops and reminds me in many ways of many of the villages I have known in central Africa.

When you leave the resorts and boats which are filled with tourists, you see a very different world than most of the tourists see. There is a lot of poverty in Egypt. It is not considered one of the poorest countries in the world, but still statistics say that 23 per-cent of the population were living in abject poverty in the 1980s and that the poverty rate has increased steadily since then. Most of the tourists I met did their best not to see this side of Egypt, but I made a point of going out where the people were to see for myself. What I saw, in many cases, was quite sad indeed.

On the positive side, however, the locals that I met were all gems. Though I did get hassled a lot in the tourist areas by people desperate to sell their wares, when I looked past the hassle I found genuine people with a genuine love of life.

The young man in the picture above is one of many that I enjoyed meeting. He took me and some new friends I'd made out on a felucca and showed us around a lovely little island in the middle of the Nile called Banana Island.

The island was small and consisted mostly of trees bearing bananas and other fruits, though there was one small shop which was obviously there for British tourists.

The picture to the left was taken on Banana Island with my new friends. They are a lovely family from England. The dad originally came from India, so we had some fascinating conversations about his home country, especially after they found out I'm hoping to go do some work in India next year.

The picture on the right was taken on the felucca. A felucca ride is a great way to enjoy the Nile as feluccas are small open sail boats that are small enough to sit very close to the water. As a matter of fact, they are so close to the water that I was able to reach down and put my hand in the Nile at one point as we were sailing.

The only difficulty with feluccas in Egypt is that there is often no wind at all, so when that happens they have to call a motorboat in to tow it. However, it is still a lovely way to relax out on the river, and it is a great place to be during a sunset!

The second week of my holiday was spent in a hotel in the town of Luxor. The picture to the right is the view from my hotel room. As the first week had been very busy with tours of temples, tombs and such, I took it easy for most of the second week. I read a lot of books, spent time with people, and just enjoyed being there.

I also got to visit some of the local restaurants and sample the Egyptian food. On the boat, we had mostly been given British food because most of the tourists were from Britain. Once I was on my own, however, I was able to eat what the locals eat, and the food was delicious! This picture taken in one of these restaurants on my last night there.

In the second week, the only truly busy day was on Saturday because that was when I took a day trip to Cairo. It was on that day, of course, that I visited the pyramids, and I also saw the Great Sphinx, which is 4,500 years old and is the oldest truly collosal royal statue in Egypt.

I also visited the Egyptian Museum, which is truly one of the most amazing museums in the world. It houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities anywhere, including the treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb and the mummies of many of the pharaohs, including the mummified body of Ramses II, whom many believe to have been the Pharaoh talked about in the story of Moses and the Exodus. It's a strange feeling to look at his distinct features, as you can almost visualise him as a living man even though he's been dead for over 3,200 years! I wasn't allowed to take any pictures at the museum, but I carry pictures in my head that I am sure to remember for many years to come!

I also got to go inside one of the pyramids! It was an amazing experience. The path inside was so small that I had to bend over the whole way, and though I had never suffered from claustrophobia before, as I crawled deep into this ancient structure with hundreds of people crawling through the same tunnel in front and behind me, my heart raced so fast that I could almost visualise it jumping through my chest. Though it was great to have had the experience of being inside the pyramid, it was even greater to get out!

In the picture on the right I am in typical Egyptian dress. I kept this outfit and wore it to preach at the local church here in Kirkintilloch when I got home. I don't know if anybody remembers what I preached about that day, but I doubt if they'll soon forget what I wore!

I truly had a great holiday in Egypt! I got a lot of rest, met a lot of good people, and had amazing experiences. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, and I hope one day to return!

Coffee anyone?

2005-09-16T02:12:00.000+01:00

I love coffee shops! It's not just the coffee that I love about them either. You can drink coffee anywhere, but only a proper coffee shop offers an experience. The decor and the music have to be just right. Otherwise, it might as well be a regular old restaurant. But when they get it right, for me its the perfect place to sit for hours to read a book, study, or work.

Back in 2002 to 2003, when I was still travelling all the time, I made it a habit to talk about the coffee shops I discovered in each town. I'll probably do the same thing again during my many travels in 2006, especially as many of these entries will likely be written in those coffee shops. But I've never taken the time to express my appreciation for the coffee houses here in Scotland.

When I first came to Scotland in 2001, I did not really find very many nice coffee houses. The culture was more into hanging out in pubs, and I found it very hard to locate a coffee shop that fit the standards I was looking for. However, in the last few years they have begun to pop up everywhere and are becoming very popular indeed. Some people believe that this is largely a result of the popularity of the American television series, Friends, which featured a group of young people who spent a great deal of time in a coffee shop. Whatever the case, the age of the coffee shop is definitely here in Scotland.

There are now 35 Starbucks in Scotland, though most of them are in the large cities. There are a few of them that I sometimes frequent when I'm in Glasgow, and there's a really nice one in Edinburgh that overlooks the Royal Mile. You can sit upstairs in comfortable chairs and look out over the cobblestone streets and the beautiful old buildings.

We've also got Costa Coffee and loads of other brand name franchises. However, the chain of coffee houses that I really believe to have gotten it right is Beanscene. As their website says: " Inspired by the coffee houses of 60s Soho, Greenwich Village and the Italian quarter of San Francisco, beanscene is a ‘home from home’, somewhere to kick back, relax and take life in on it’s most simple and enjoyable level." There are only ten of them so far, and once again they are just in the cities, but they are great. There is one not far from Glasgow Iranian Church where I have spent many hours preparing sermons and reading books.

Another good chain of shops is Caffè Nero. They currently have 217 shops across Britain, and they are far better than Starbucks in my opinion. Their coffee is better, and the ambience is also nicer. The only problem at the moment is that they allow smoking, whereas Starbucks doesn't, and I am allergic to cigarrette smoke so I can't stay there too long.

However, as good as all these chains may be in their own right, I don't think anything will ever take the place of a well-done locally owned coffee shop. Unfortunately, I haven't seen very many in Scotland that are well done, but we are fortunate enough to have one right here in Kirkintilloch that is well done indeed.

D'inisi is a local coffee shop that only opened here within the last few months, and it has been a wonderful blessing for me! Now I no longer have to travel half an hour's drive into the city to get a good coffee shop experience. It's owned by a local businessman who is very kind and interesting, and it has a great staff who all know me by name already. It's a great place to meet people, to read, to work, or just to sit and watch the world go by.

I suppose if my life wasn't devoted to planting churches I would be planting coffee shops. Barring that idea, though, maybe I'll just have to make sure all the churches I plant in the future are close to good ones. Rather than spending the money for an office the next church I work with could just plan cappuccinos into the budget and I could do all my work at the coffee house on the corner.

But my ramblings are getting crazy now. I've probably had too much caffeine today. I think I'll go to bed. Maybe I can write more tomorrow when I get back to the coffee shop!

A Name Change

2005-09-10T23:34:00.000+01:00

A lot has happened this week. I've been in meetings related to the probability of starting a new church here in Scotland, I've been in communication with people about exciting plans for the future in other parts of the world, and I've also begun the process of a name change.

No, I'm not changing MY name. I'm happy enough with the name of Chris, though it would be easy enough to change one's name here in Scotland. I suppose this law wouldn't actually apply to me since I was born in another country, but if someone is born or adopted in this country that person can change his or her name at any time as long as it is not with an intention to deceive or defraud.

To do so, all one must do is start going by that name. That new name can then legally be used for all purposes, though evidence of the name change may need to be produced for some official purposes. Once a person has used his/her new name for two years the name can be officially recorded with the registrar's office. As the citizen's advice bureau notes, however, "There is no legal requirement to record a change of name but it is often advisable to do so, particularly for legal purposes, such as inheritance."

I don't actually know of anyone who has made use of this law except in the case of marriage, but theoretically if my friend Andy Martin, for example, suddenly decided he wanted to go by the name Ignacio Eduardo Reyes, he could legally do so tomorrow simply by declaring that from now on that is his name. I am pretty sure, however, that Andy would not do that for at least two reasons: 1) he seems happy enough with the name he's got, and 2) he probably wouldn't know how to pronounce Ignacio Eduardo Reyes.

But I seem to have taken a trip down a wee rabbit trail, for my intention was actually to mention the name change that I am in the process of. It is not I who am taking on a new name. Rather, it is this ministry. This ministry has really grown beyond one individual and is about to expand even more, so it no longer seems appropriate for it to simply be called Chris Lewis Ministries. Therefore, the decision has been made to call this ministry "Nothing is Impossible."

When the angel appeared to Mary to tell her that she was going to have a baby and that this baby would be the promised Messiah, it came as somewhat of a surprise to her. Besides the immensity of the idea that this baby would be called the Son of God, she really couldn't understand how she could have a baby when she was a virgin. "How will this be," she asked, "since I am a virgin?" As the angel explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the baby would be born as a miracle of God, he finished his explanation with the words: "For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

This theme that nothing is impossible for God is repeated throughout the Gospels. However, we live in a world that is filled with people who feel like their lives and their problems are impossible. This ministry is dedicated to helping people to learn that whatever they are facing, they are not beyond God's reach. People may fail them, churches may fail them, but what is impossible for people is not impossible for God. As we move forward into the exciting days ahead, we feel confident that this truth is one that a despairing world needs to hear.

Therefore, we are changing our name. In a sense, that new name is already in place because we are declaring that new name now. However, it will still take some time before everything we do officially takes ownership of it. We are also planning to register the name soon as a charitable trust here in the UK.

So, like I said, a lot has happened this week. I wonder what will happen in the weeks to come! We face big challenges and will probably face big obstacles along the way too. But if God is the one who is giving us the vision, we don't have to be afraid because we know that with God NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!

A day in Linlithgow

2005-09-07T12:25:00.000+01:00

I had a lovely day off yesterday. I drove to Linlithgow, the town I lived in for awhile before I came to work at the church in Kirkintilloch. Linlithgow is an amazing little town that will always have a special place in my heart.

I visited a couple of friends from the church I was involved with from 2001-2003. One of the people I visited was one of the very first people I had the privilege of helping lead to Christ in Scotland, so it was wonderful just to see how she continues to grow and how much God has changed her in the past few years.

I also had a chance to go on my favourite walk. I walked around the loch (lake in non-Scottish English) that is pictured above. It was hot and sunny, so it was a perfect day for a walk. I have many memories of that walk, as I often took an hour or so to circle the loch and pray. That's what I did this time, and I also stopped along the way a couple of times to soak in the sunshine and read a book. Occasionally, passers by stopped and talked to me, commenting on the lovely weather. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" they would invariably say.

Along the way, I stopped at Linlithgow Palace, the magnificent ruin that sits in the park by the loch. The palace was the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots and is a favourite stop for tourists who take the time to go past Edinburgh and see the wonders of this great land. The spot of grass on the picture to the right is my favourite spot in the world to sit and meditate on life. I have spent many hours lounging in that grass, watching sunsets, praying, reading books, and just thinking. Yesterday, I returned to that favourite spot after a long absence and thought about all the things that have happened in my life over the past couple of years.

I have many great memories of Linlithgow. I had a girlfriend there (didn't last), I had a church there and started many friendships (which have lasted) that changed my life forever. I've since moved on to another place and am happy where I am, but I will also always be thankful for the rich memories that Linlithgow gave to me.I think maybe I should return for a visit more often.

Celebrating Life

2005-09-05T00:02:00.000+01:00

This has been a very good weekend. After a year that has seen too much death and tragedy amongst friends as well as around the world, this weekend was all about life. First, my friends Narineh and Daniel had a wedding...again. Then another couple of close friends welcomed a new life into the world.

I went to Dan and Narineh's wedding in Armenia a few weeks ago, but they also followed up that original event with two more. This was partially in observance of cultural customs wherein the wedding traditionally lasts more than one day, and it was also a way of giving people a chance in more than one country to be part of the celebration.

The second event was in England, but I missed it because I was in Egypt, but the third event was on Saturday night and I had the privilege of being there. They had a night of celebration in "The Crypt", which is the site of a youth church that has been started by Queen's Park Baptist Church in Glasgow. There was a lot of music, dancing and food. The groom made a speech with the bride translating so that both Farsi and English speakers could understand, and then Narineh, Daniel and I sang How Great Thou Art again. I started the song in a key that was too high for Narineh, so we struggled through the song and didn't sound as professional as we had in Armenia, but we had a good time singing together and the people seemed to enjoy it anyhow. It was a good night. The bride and groom both looked very happy, and the bride looked lovely as she got to wear her wedding dress one more time.

During the wedding event, I suddenly felt a little after 10pm that I needed to check for messages on my phone. I had left my mobile phone in the glove box of my car, so I went out to the car to see if there was something important there. And there was! Graeme and Nicola are good friends of mine from Riverside Church here in Kirkintilloch, and the message was from Graeme. He asked me to pray because he thought Nicola was starting to have contractions. After I sang the song with Narineh and Daniel a little after eleven, I told them I needed to go so I could be nearby in case there were any complications. I arrived back in Kirkintilloch a little after 1140 and got the message that the baby had just been born.

I talked to the happy dad on the phone. It had all gone very quickly. The baby was in such a hurry to enter the world that they almost didn't get Nicola into a bed in time. Little Nathan James Adams came into the world at about 1140pm. I was with him and the family the following afternoon and had the privilege of holding the new life in my arms. I was very pleased to be able to be there with the Adams family during this blessed time and to see their handsome, healthy child.

It has been a good weekend. I praise God for the gift of life!

Spam

2005-09-03T16:56:00.000+01:00

It's amazing how easy it is for our email inboxes to be filled with spam. People trying to get us to look at their website or product, people trying to trick us into giving them money in exchange for 6.3 million dollars, etc.

Some of my own relatives almost got taken in by spam this very week. A poor lady was dying of cancer and wanted to give her millions of dollars to a Christian organisation before she died. All they had to do was make a trip to Amsterdam to pick up the money and it was theirs. When I heard about it, I went online and found a copy of the exact same letter posted 3 years ago. Apparently she was dying then too and hundreds of people were responding to get the same money. I also found the same letter with a different name and a different location!

That particular letter turned out to be another version of the Nigerian Spam Scam which has been duping people around the world for quite awhile now. In America alone, the Financial Crimes Division of the Secret Service receives approximately 100 telephone calls from victims/ potential victims and 300-500 pieces of related correspondence per day about this scam! I passed the information on to my relatives and they stepped away from this business before it was too late.

Of course, not all spam is an attempt at fraud. Some of it is just annoying. But, all the same, I never read it. If I get email that looks like spam, I delete it immediately. And now spam has started coming to this website through the comments section of this journal. However, we have taken steps to stop the spam from coming in, not only for our own sake but also for the convenience of those who make and read the comments on this page.

In order to stop that spam from coming in, a "word verification" setting has been activated. Everyone who reads this journal is invited to click on the comments link at the bottom of each entry and to make comments and discuss the things I write about. I read all the comments and really appreciate them. When people enter the comments area they will be shown a series of characters and asked to type the characters shown. It will only take a moment and will verify that it is a real individual making the comment, thus keeping spam from inundating this page.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation in keeping this website spam free!

Change is in the air

2005-09-01T13:25:00.000+01:00

I got up this morning and got straight to work on all the things this ministry requires. It felt kind of strange. After the last couple of years, in which I was studying full time, suddenly I was back to being full time in the ministry. Of course, this ministry continued during that time, but I did pare back my involvement by a lot in order to accomodate a very demanding load of college work. Now things are marching forward full speed ahead and the future looks very busy indeed.

It looks like I'll be very busy on at least four continents next year, and this ministry should have the opportunity to participate in the beginnings of a number of new churches around the world. Though it doesn't make for very interesting journal reading, much of my time right now is taken up in coordinating that schedule through a large number of phone calls, emails and letters. Locally, we are also gearing up for work in the community here in Kirkintilloch. I am also looking into possibilites related to the starting of new churches in this country in the future. I believe that exciting days are ahead.

The only sad part of this week's developments is that I have had to cancel my personal involvement in Africa this year. I was supposed to be there in a couple of weeks, but circumstances have demanded that my presence is more immediately required on the Scotland front. Chris Lewis Ministries will still be involved, however, as team members Hazel Bech and Dr. Mark Redwine will still be there taking care of very important business. I'm working with them on their itinerary this week and will write more in the future about their adventures in Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is a real change to go from being a full time student back to being a full time missionary/evangelist, but I am embracing the return to my work with a passion. There is nothing I love more than doing what I believe God has created me to do!

Back from my holiday...

2005-08-28T17:52:00.000+01:00

I'm back from my holiday travels! I had planned to write more journal entries while I was travelling, but as it turned out Internet access was really limited.

I had a great time though! I saw the pyramids and the Nile river, and I had a great time of rest. I also met a lot of interesting people.

Now its time to dive back into work. There's a lot to be done. I'm beginning to lay the groundwork for a big conference in Glasgow next year, I'm preparing for work in Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo in September, I'm coordinating a very busy speaking schedule for 2006, and I'm also doing work for the church here in Kirkintilloch. However, for once in my life I had a break that was a COMPLETE break and I'm coming back rested up and ready to tackle my work.

I'll try to write more soon.

The Wedding in Armenia

2005-08-07T01:30:00.000+01:00

The wedding today was amazing. The culture is so different. It's like something I've seen on movies or something but nothing I've seen in real life. The dancing, for example, was very exotic. It seemed very Persian to me, though I'm not sure if there is a difference between Persian and Armenian dancing as I'm not an expert. It was really cool though. The food was different too, and everything else for that matter.

It's just after one in the morning. We've just returned to the hotel from the wedding. I'm tired and would be going to bed, but I'm waiting for the groom to stop by. He told me he needs to stop by for something before going on to the place their spending their wedding night...not that they're really SPENDING the night in any one place! They've got to get up at 4am to catch a plane!

This is the first time I have ever been in the former Soviet Union. It's a very different land. Armenia is very poor because the economy collapsed when they were released from communism and plunged into the blessings of democracy. The country was almost completely ruined at that time, but they are a resilient people and have been slowly rebuilding. They still maintain a lot of Russian attributes in their culture. I mentioned above that the dancing seemed very Persian to me, but its not always the case. Sometimes its very Russian. At the wedding it was mostly traditional Armenian dance (and Latin, interestingly enough), but at other places we've gone there's been a lot of Russian dancing. They also hold onto Russian customs like cognac and vodka and an immense love of these things.

I saw Mount Ararat the other day. It's beautiful. It's on the Turkey side of the border, so we couldn't actually go up to it because the border's closed due to the two countries being enemies. Armenia still hasn't completely forgiven the Turks for killing 1,500,000 Armenians during the genocide in the early 20th century, and Turkey still denies that the genocide ever happened despite the overwhelming amount of evidence, including the many graphic photographs we saw the other day at the genocide museum.The poverty here was, of course, worsened even more after independence due to a terrible war and then an earthquake that literally wiped the second largest city off the map, but they continue forward and are an admirable people.

I've got to go. The groom is here.

a garden party, a children's club and a holiday

2005-07-30T23:49:00.000+01:00

I finished up my placement with the Glasgow Iranian Church this past Sunday with a garden party. It was a real blessing! It was held in the garden of Bill and Cathie Wood here in Kirkintilloch. There was a large group from the Glasgow Iranian Church there and several Scottish friends who came along to help. We had a concert, a barbecue, a drama, and I shared a challenge from the Word of God. I had a chance to pray with a number of people right there in the garden who wanted to get their lives right with God, and the people in the community were listening as well.

One neighbour approached our worship leader when he was leaving and expressed her gratitude for the evening as she said she had been listening to the whole thing from over the fence in her own garden. A friend of mine also rededicated her life to the Lord that evening, and I have since heard several awesome testimonies about the things God did in people lives.It was a wonderful night, and though my placement is over I look forward to future opportunities to continue the wonderful relationship God has given me with the Iranian young people.

After the garden party, we had a week with the kids here in Kirkintilloch. Riverside Church had a children's club called "The Ant Hill Club" which they hold every year for the children in the community. I had a good time working with the children and also enjoyed the opportunity to get to know some adults that I had not had a chance to know before.

I also had a chance to learn to know the man in the fish and chips shop more. We spent a lot of time visiting this week. The only concern I have is that he told me he's only there every other week, and on the other weeks its his brother. As I had previously always thought it was just one man, I fear I may not know the difference between the brothers. When I return from my holiday I shall have to see if I can figure out how to tell them apart!

Now, however, I am leaving for the next few weeks. As of tomorrow, I'm officially on holiday. For the first time in what seems like ages, I am going away to simply rest. I won't be working at all! I'm very excited about it. For the first week, I'll be at a wedding in Armenia. After that, I'll be on a cruise to Egypt. I don't know how often I will find access to the Internet, but I will try to post to this journal whenever possible so that there will be a record of my adventures.

About my chicken...

2005-07-20T05:52:00.000+01:00

In response to my last journal entry, someone asked in a comment that they posted at the end of the message: "Have you named your chicken yet? Is it a laying hen? That means you could have fresh eggs for your brrreakfasts!! :-)" I've decided to dedicate a journal entry to an answer for that question...

As I mentioned in my previous journal entry, I was once given the gift of a chicken. It was a male chicken actually, so it didn't give me any eggs. At least I assume it was a male chicken because the local people called it a "cock," and I believe the term is technically meant to refer to the male of the species. However, I could be wrong as I realise local usage of the word in Kenya might possibly be different. Whatever the case, however, I'm afraid I never named my chicken. I ate it instead.

The chicken was given to me in Africa a few years ago. We visited a little house in a rural village of Africa. I think it was a mud hut with a thatched roof. It was after dark at the end of a long day of ministry, and someone from the village had asked if my team and I could stop by this house to share about God. The little house was packed full of people who were eager to receive teaching from the Bible, so though I was tired I spoke for quite some time. Then they gave us tea and bread and we finally left after it had become very late.

As I was standing outside waiting to get in the little car we were travelling in, Julius Njuki, my interpreter, told me we had been asked to wait just a moment because the host family wanted to give me a gift of appreciation. After a few minutes had passed, I was told to hold out both of my arms. As it was so dark that I couldn't really see anything, I just obediently held out my arms and waited to see what they would place in them. It was a strange feeling as they placed the gift in my arms because I could quickly tell it was alive, but I had no idea what it was. I turned to Julius and asked him, "What is it?" He said a word that, because of his accent, sounded like, "Cook. It's a cook." I didn't understand as I couldn't imagine that they had given me a cook small enough to hold in my arms. After a few attempts, however, I understood that he was saying it was "a cock."

Job, one of our team members, tied the chicken's legs and put it into the boot of our car. Then we drove on to our next destination. I actually never saw my chicken again alive. Julius kindly took it to his wife, and a few days later when we returned to Nairobi he invited me over to his house and we had a chicken dinner. The meal was really good, and now that I think of it I am glad we never got around to naming the chicken. The idea of eating a chicken supper didn't bother me, but I think it would have been difficult had it been a "Henry" supper or an "Alan" dinner. Either way, however, I was informed that the gift was considered a great hounour in the culture I was working in. One missionary was amazed when he heard about it. He said, "I have lived here for many years, and I have never been given the gift of livestock!" He said that it was a great gift indeed.

Flowers, etc.

2005-07-19T18:51:00.000+01:00

Last night, I had to bring the regular Monday night meetings with the Iranian singles from the Glasgow Iranian Church to a close. The meetings were going very well, and it has been amazing to watch how these young men have grown over the past several months. However, due to obligations at the church in Kirkintilloch, there was no way that I could continue with these meetings. It was a sad time as I have developed such a wonderful friendship with them. However, we had a great time together last night as we studied the Word of God and shared together. When I said goodbye, more than one of the guys said to me, “Thanks for everything.” It meant a lot to me to hear their words of appreciation.

The Iranian singles also gave me flowers last week. It was a wonderful surprise! They gave me a beautiful boquet of flowers to congratulate me on my graduation. I was really touched by the act as I had never been given flowers before. I had been given a number of other gifts, of course, from people I have worked with, including: shoes, shirts, a big sombrero, traditional African and Mexican outfits, a live chicken, and many other wonderful gifts. But flowers were a new thing for me, and for some reason the gesture meant a lot to me.

However, the greatest gift they have given me is the gift of friendship. That is a gift I hope to continue to share with them for a long time to come. Though the Monday meetings cannot continue, I am sure that we will continue to spend time together when we can and to enjoy the gift of friendship that God has given us.

I have finished my studies in Glasgow!!!

2005-07-11T23:30:00.000+01:00

The 20th of June was the longest day of the year. I know that if the longest day is reckoned according to the amount of hours of sunlight in the day that the 21st was the longest day, but for me the longest day was definitely the 20th…or perhaps I should say the 19th and 20th as they both went together as one day for me.

I spent that weekend at a hotel in a village called Bridge of Alan. It was my last week of college, and I was determined to finish all my papers even though I was way behind where I knew I should be. Unfortunately, my advisers at the college had failed to advise me as well as they might have, and as a result I ended up with almost twice as much work as expected in the final term. Doing close to a double load in addition to the work at the church in Kirkintilloch was really starting to take a toll on my health. However, I knew I had to finish, so I went away the last weekend so I could work without any distractions. I ended up working all night long on the 19th and continuing straight through to the evening of the 20th, at which time I taught the Bible study for the Iranian singles’ group I work with. By the time I went to bed on that day I was so exhausted I felt sick. However, I had finally broken the back of my work and reached the place where I knew I could finish my course. Two days later I turned in my last paper and went out to dinner with a friend to celebrate. After four years, I had finally completed my course in Glasgow!

Shortly after I finished my last paper, by brother came to visit. I took him all over the place so he could see the country. Then my sister and brother-in-law came at the end of my brother’s visit, and my parents are here now. I have had a great time showing them all around. I still have had very little sleep and am extremely exhausted, but I am very excited to have finished the course and am looking forward to the next chapter of my life, wherever that may lead. My parents will be here until Saturday and I plan to make the most of our rare time together. Then next week I plan to get some sleep before moving full speed ahead with the next phase of plans for the future.

Deadlines

2005-06-12T16:21:00.000+01:00

I'm continuing the long race to the finish line with my studies and am happy to say that in less than two weeks I should be completely finished.

This last week was quite the challenge, but I managed to stay on schedule with my essays...barely. I had two papers to turn in by the end of the week. One was due on Thursday by no later than 4pm and the other by 4pm on Friday. I finished the first one on Wednesday night but didn't have anything to save it onto except my hard drive. When I plugged the computer in at home to print it out on Thursday morning my computer crashed. It was a real mess and I couldn't get into it at all.

Graeme, who is our worship leader in Kirkintilloch also works with computers, so I talked to him and he tried to help me figure out a way to retrieve the file. Nothing worked. Finally I rushed back to the college and tried to reconstruct my essay as quickly as I could. A friend of mine let me use her laptop, so I got quickly to work with only a few hours to accomplish my mission.

Finally, at 3:20 I had an essay that I felt I could turn in though it was 250 words shorter than the last one and I knew it was not nearly as good. I had saved it periodically as I typed it, but somehow when I needed to print it it mysteriously disappeared.

At that point I was in BIG trouble, but I got a text through that said to call Kenny from church. He had been given the computer to look at it while I was away and had called a friend who was a hardware specialist who just happened to be in at the time though he usually wouldn't have been. He managed to access the file and printed it out for me.

Then he sent someone else from the church with it and it got to me in time to hand it in at 3:50pm, ten minutes before the deadline. However, that had now set me back a whole day when I was already pressed for time, and I still had another essay due the next day that I had not even started researching. In addition to that I had a church meeting in the evening, so I didn't get to start the next essay until the next morning.

I rushed through it and was still typing the conclusion at 3:53, but I got it in at 3:55pm!!! When I met a friend for coffee half an hour later I was so exhausted that I couldn't even make proper conversation. I just sat there like a zombie and drank my coffee.

I did get a wee breather after the stress though, so that was nice. On Friday evening I went out for dinner and bowling with a friend, and then on Saturday I went to a big birthday ceilidh for one of my friends from the college. It was great!

Then I preached this morning, and this afternoon I feel like I'm back to my zombie state again. It's all right though because tonight I'm going to just relax. Then I'll start the hectic schedule of essay writing again in the morning.

Here's hoping and praying that there are no more computer problems and that I manage my next deadline with at least a little bit more time to spare!!!

Too busy writing to write right now...

2005-05-29T11:30:00.000+01:00

I wrote 3,000 words on Friday. I'll be writing thousands more in the next few days. But somehow I can't think of anything to write in my journal. That's probably because about all I've been doing lately is writing academic papers. These past few weeks have been going well though, and I have only a few more weeks left of this college course before I graduate in July. Only 15,000 more words to go in the next three and a half weeks. Then my assignments will be done and I'll be free to think of life outside college again. I'll write more here soon...

Remembering a friend...

2005-05-13T01:00:00.000+01:00

"If you want to be great, you must treat those under you as your superiors." Those were the words of Daniel Cordova, a friend who recently passed away in Mexico. He shared those words with me once when he was talking about leadership, and I must confess those words had a lasting impact upon me. Mostly they had an impact because I could see that his life matched his words. He was a great leader and a great man. He was one of the most humble people I have ever known, but the impact his life had on the people around him in the city of Leon, Guanajuato was amazing.

Working for the Church of the Nazarene, Daniel told his brother several years ago that he was going to go to Leon to build up their church. He told his brother, who is the District Superintendant for his district (in other words, he oversees the work of the Nazarene churches in that part of Mexico), that all he needed was enough money to pay his expenses for the first few months. Then he would have the church going strongly enough that it could take care of itself. "You're crazy," his brother told him, and he put a few pesos on the table saying, "That's all you'll get." It wasn't that he didn't respect his brother, but his plan was bordering on the humanly impossible. He thought he could take a dying church and turn it quickly into a large, self-sustaining church with the power to transform the community around it. How could this be done? However, Daniel went to Leon, and the church quickly grew from a few people to over 400. It began to reach out into the community and to transform the world around it. This quiet, humble man reached out to the community in a loving way and trained up leaders who could work with him and do an amazing work. And his brother? Well, his brother Jorge also became a great friend of mine, and he loved to tell the story of the great work that Daniel was doing in Leon. He loved his brother and was proud of him. He was glad that Daniel was crazy for his God and unwilling to take no for an answer when he knew what he needed to do.

A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with cancer, and a long and difficult battle began. Through it all, however, he maintained a quiet strength that we knew could only come from his strong faith in God. Not long after I saw him last September he had received the news that the cancer was gone, but unfortunately the news was wrong. I received the news just half an hour ago that he has passed away. I had been considering making a special trip to Mexico this summer in order to visit him and speak at his church. It's hard to believe that he is no longer there. He will be missed by many.

Will his work in Leon continue? I believe it will. Why? Because he didn't raise up followers of Daniel Cordova. He raised up followers of Jesus Christ, and he empowered them to reach out and to do the work that needed to be done. In the Bible, the apostle Paul said: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" (Phillipians 2:3). That's how Daniel Cordova lived his life. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on.

My friends from Iran

2005-05-07T01:42:00.000+01:00

On Monday I will be leading a Bible study group of Iranian singles without an interpreter for the first time. Does this mean that I have learned Farsi (the Persian language) so well that I no longer need an interpreter? No. It just means that both of my interpreters will be away on holiday. I have actually only learned a few words, so unless I'm going to spend the whole evening saying hello, goodbye and God bless you, we are going to have to get by in English. Fortunately, however, they all know at least a little bit of English, so with some effort I think we will manage to communicate. Rather than try to teach anything deep, however, I will probably share a few very simple thoughts and then share pictures of Africa and possibly show a video of our work in Tanzania.

The work with the Iranian group, which I have been doing as a practical placement for my college course since last autumn, has proven to be a wonderful experience. I have been working on writing a report on the work for the college this week, so I've been spending a lot of time reflecting on it. It's a very different culture than any I had worked with before, so I've learned a lot. The following is an example of a typical experience as described in one of the drafts of my report:

On one of the first weeks of Placement, I walked into a flat in Sighthill for a dinner with the singles’ group. I started to enter the dining room directly but quickly realised everyone was taking their shoes off and I still had mine on. "This is an Iranian home" someone said. "We remove our shoes here." Fair enough. I like going without shoes at home anyhow as I find it more relaxing. I couldn't help but to smile inwardly, however, as I remembered a home I had once stayed at in the Highlands where the head of the house got very offended when he saw me come to the breakfast table without my shoes on. He accused me of being very rude and inconsiderate. Here in this Iranian home I would have been rude and inconsiderate to keep my shoes on! Its amazing what a difference these little details can make from one place to another!

There was a large dining table in the middle of the room. It was a nice, sturdy table which was covered with a lovely tablecloth. The scent of spicy food wafted in from the kitchen as we drank black tea and talked (with the help of Daniel, my interpreter for the evening). Then an announcement was made that it was time to eat. As one of the men started bringing the food into the room, the others moved the table out of the way and spread a cloth on the floor. Then everyone sat down on the floor and prepared to eat what would prove to be a fabulous Iranian feast.

The above excerpt from just one evening with this group gives just a hint of the cultural flavour. It truly is a beautiful culture, and I am only beginning to scrape the surface of its multi-faceted character. I also love to listen to my Iranian friends sing in church on Sundays. The middle-eastern sound is beautiful! However, the best part is the people themselves. They seem to me to be such genuine, humble people that they are a true joy to be around.

Most of the people in the church are asylum seekers. In case anyone wonders what an asylum seeker is, the official United Nations definition is:

"Any person, who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of Race, Religion, Nationality, Membership of a particular Social Group or Political opinion, is outside the country of his Nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country."

Of course, even though many are fleeing persecution in their own lands, they don't always escape being persecuted in other ways when they come to Britain. A recent article states: "Ironically, the evidence suggests that people trying to find protection from victimisation in their home country, are likely to become victims of crime in the UK. There have been countless attacks on asylum seekers, around Britain, including the murder of an asylum seeker in Glasgow in 2001. The murder in Glasgow prompted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to condemn the British media for provoking racial hatred." (cited 30/4/05 at www.cre.gov.uk/gdpract/refuge.html)

According to statistics there were 5587 asylum seekers in Glasgow in 2004. Most of them live in poverty, and they are often treated very badly. There is also a constant atmosphere of fear in their communities as they wait to see which ones will be accepted and which ones will be deported. In this uncertain situation in which so many find themselves, I've found that friendship is the greatest gift that I can give them. Of course, I'm convinced that this is usually the case in any culture, but in this case where people are caught between two cultures and often uncertain as to where they belong, it seems even more so. Exiled into a land so far from home, they need to know that they belong somewhere and that they are loved. This gift of friendship is, I'm sure, more important than any lesson I could teach or any event I could organise. It's also a gift that pays back in dividends that can't even be measured because they give their friendship in return.

On Monday I will be leading a Bible study group of Iranian singles without an interpreter for the first time. It won't matter though if we fully understand each others' words because we've learned to share a common language that doesn't require words. It's the language of friendship, a language that knows no boundaries of race, language or culture.

Murder and the value of life..

2005-04-29T10:56:00.000+01:00

Chicago has gained a reputation as the murder capital of America. That is a sad reputation to have, but it has certainly earned it. According to statistics, there were 599 murders in the city in the year 2003 alone. However, until recently those numbers were only statistics as I had never had a connection to any of the victims of the Chicago crime problem. The story is quite different for my friends, Karen and Darnell, however. They come from Chicago. They are currently living here in Scotland, but their family is still in Chicago, and this week their family has been hit again. Karen had to return to Chicago on Tuesday so she could be at the funeral of her nephew, Larry, who was shot and killed on the weekend. Somebody came up to him on the street and popped four bullets into his chest. Larry's brother had been killed on the very same street 12 years earlier, and Darnell's cousin was also murdered in the same place. I went over to Karen and Darnell's house the night before she returned to Chicago, and we had a good talk about it all. It never ceases to amaze me that people could value life so little as to take someone else's life away!

Of course, Chicago isn't the only place where bad things happen. It was exactly two years ago this past Wednesday that my friend, Larry Whitefield, was shot and killed in Woodlake, California. And, of course, Scotland is not immune to crime. In the year 2003 there were 108 reported murders in Scotland. Of course, that's still less than in Chicago even when you consider that there are 8 million people in Chicago and 5 million in Scotland, but its still 108 people too many. A friend of mine here also grew up in a family of gangsters and used to be friends with a hitman. Another friend of mine used to "collect" money in rather violent ways for rather questionable purposes. And the drug culture is killing many many more here in the Glasgow area. We were just discussing with someone how another friend had been surprised when he found out that there are drug dealers in Kirkie! But of course there are! We truly live in a broken world, and this is truly nothing new. People have been killing people since Cain and Able.

I'm just glad for the comfort of knowing that all life does have meaning. A problem I have noticed with a lot of people who are in the world of gangsters, drug-pushers and crime of varying degrees is that they feel like they are stuck in that world and that there is no way out. I remember one friend in America who kept trying to straighten his life out but became convinced that the world he was in was one that he could never escape. He has since spent his life in and out of prison. However, I also know many who have come out and are changed people. I hope and pray that in my life I will continue to be able to reach some with hope so that they don't have to live and die in a world that sees no value in life.

I'll have the regular please!

2005-04-26T19:53:00.000+01:00

"I'll have my regular please." Those are words I was accustomed to saying in severa places when I lived in America, but it is only recently that I can do so here in Scotland. It seems to take longer here to get past the "professional" barrier in restaurants and shops than it does in most of the States. However, I felt like the great barrier had truly been broken the other day when I went into the chippy (fish and chips shop) across the street and the man who runs the place started an all out conversation with me. He asked me all about myself out of genuine interest, and we had a great chat. I had started going into that shop several times a week about a year ago because I wanted to establish a relationship with the people in local businesses. Sometimes I go there for my meals, and sometimes I go there just for a carton of milk or a bottle of Coke. These purchases cost just a bit more than they would at the supermarket, but I figured the investment was worth it and was sure the barrier would be broken eventually if I came in often enough. Now every time I go in he treats me like a friend, and I'm enjoying learning to know him and his staff. In recent months the employees of several other local shops have also begun to acknowledge their recognition of me and to talk to me as more than just a "customer." Now why am I excited about this? I think it's because I know it's out of genuine interest that they are taking in me and not just professional courtesy. They just wouldn't bother here if they didn't really want to learn to know me, so this means that I am becoming much more than just a stranger living in the community. I am become part of the community. It's exciting to me that Kirkintilloch is becoming more and more "home." Of course, the confusing part is that I'm thinking of leaving in December, but I don't really know for sure what lies ahead. Whatever the case, no matter where I live I have a feeling that this town will always be a home to me.

Update on Africa, Scotland & Northern Ireland

2005-03-22T12:39:00.000Z

I've recently received a report from Erick Oguta, my good friend who is in charge of the Nazarene churches in northern Tanzania. The work there continues to go well. It is encouraging to hear how the churches continue to grow, and it is such an honour to be able to be a part of the work there. He had some bad news though. There was a couple in Arusha that we always visited when we were in the area. Mr and Mrs Nunduma were relatively wealthy people as he had a senior position with Tanzania National Parks. They always had us over to their house for dinner, and we enjoyed great times with them. Unfortunately, however, she had passed away last summer, and now he also has died. They have left behind three young children, Shilu, Manka and Elijah. We need to pray that God will provide the best way for these orphans to be taken care of. I think Erick and his wife, Getrude, will try to take them in themselves, but if they do they will need a lot of support as they already took Getrude's sisters' children not long ago when her sister died. It will be a big charge indeed and very expensive for this couple that makes so little money already. However, I am confident that God will provide in some way.

On other notes, I had a great time at the Nazarene District Assembly last week in Bangor, Northern Ireland. Jim Diehl, the man who ordained me in America, presided over the assembly and had great and challenging words to share with us. I also enjoyed a good few days off in West Linton, a little village south of Edinburgh where some friends of mine live. I had a good time with friends and also enjoyed some good drives and walks in the hills. One day I ended up on some strangers' farm out in the middle of nowhere and couldn't figure out how to get out of it for awhile, but eventually I found the right trail down through a valley to the next hill so I managed to survive my wanderings without ending up permenantly lost somewhere in the hills of Scotland!

This week I'm going back into Northern Ireland for a few days. I'll be staying with my friends, Andy and Rhoda, while working on a project for the college. It will be good to be away where there are fewer distractions while I try to complete a complicated assignment. It will also be really nice to spend the evenings with my friends whom I haven't seen in quite some time. Then I'll be back on Saturday night in time to preach at the Easter services here in Kirkintilloch.

In memory of Stan Grenz

2005-03-15T16:14:00.000Z

Wow. I am away in Belfast at the moment and am typing this from an Internet kiosk in the city. I have just gotten back from the Nazarene district assembly in Bangor and was planning two days of rest and relaxation before going back to work in Kirkintilloch. I came online briefly to check emails. I have received several emails since I left home last week for my wee holiday. One was from Stan Grenz saying he was looking forward to coming to visit in July along with his wife, Edna. He sent that on Thursday.

Other emails were from friends who were informing me that Stan died on Saturday from a massive brain hemmorage. I am in shock. He was a friend and a great theologian, and he was only in his 50s. Wow! I will write more later. I do not know what to say.

Snow

2005-02-24T23:56:00.000Z

I had a really hard time getting myself to go to college yesterday. It was snowing, and I just wanted to play in the snow. As I drove to town I took some of the back roads and looked at the hills and fields covered in a blanket of white. At one point I passed by three highland cows that were covered in snow. It would have made a wonderful photo, but unfortunately I had left my camera in the boot of my mother's car last time I was in America! Oh well. You'll just have to take my word for it that it was quite the sight! Then when I was in the college I had the hardest time listening to lectures because I just kept looking out the window at the falling snow. I love the snow.

However, as I write this I realise that there's always a reason to want to be lazy in this country, and that reason is always the weather. When it snows, you want to go out and enjoy it. When its raining and cloudy, its just so gloomy that it makes it hard to want to do anything. And then on the rare occasions when the sun is shining and the weather's beautiful, the last thing in the world anyone wants to do is stay inside and work!

All that being said, though, I love Scotland. There's something enchanting about waking up with the sight of the hills out my bedroom window, the sound of the bagpipes as I walk down the streets of the city, the little curvy roads that run through the country, and the dramatic landscapes that greet me as I drive across the land. I have to admit I even like the rain most of the time! I'm not sure what that says about me psychologically, but I tend to enjoy the gloomy weather! What I love most, though, is the people. God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends here that I know my life will always be richer because of them. I may not be living here anymore a year from now as God seems to be preparing me for the next thing after I finish my time at the college here, but I do intend to make the best of the time I have left here with these wonderful people in this wonderful land!

Anyhow, I guess that's enough rambling for now. I'd better get back to work. Though maybe, before I do, I'll just go on a wee walk in the snow.

I COULD tell you, but then I'd have to kill you..

2005-02-22T19:49:00.000Z

A lot of incredible things have been happening lately, but unfortunately most of them are confidential so I can't write about them! That's one thing about the kind of work I'm doing at the church here in Kirkintilloch. A lot of what happens has to do with people's personal lives, so I can't write about the wonderful victories that I'm seeing people experience. I can say that I'm very excited about the things I've seen God doing in a number of people's lives and am very thankful for the many people around the world who are praying for the work here in Scotland! But what can I write about? Hmm. I was on the radio on Sunday. It was interesting. I used to do a lot of radio, but it had been a long time since I've done much radio, so it was kind of fun being back in the studio again.

Let's see...what else? I had a birthday on the 13th and had four birthday parties! It was great! First, on Saturday the 12th the youth group had a get together, and we watched Shrek 2 and ate cake. Then on Sunday afternoon, my actual birthday, several of my friends from church took me to a Mexican restaurant in the afternoon. The food was very good, and the company was great! Then in the evening I had a lovely quiet evening with a couple of my friends from college, and on Tuesday evening a big group of us students from the college went out for pizza to celebrate my birthday and the birthday of my fellow student, Elaine. After all that good food, I may need to go on a diet, but it was worth it! I am very thankful for all the wonderful friends God has blessed me with here in Scotland!

Well, not much more to write at the moment. I'm busy with college, teaching the Iranian singles' group and teaching and preaching here at the church in Kirkintilloch. Its a very busy time, but I'm loving it. And, like I said, some really good stuff is happening in people's lives! That makes all the hard work worth the effort.

Into the swing of things..

2005-02-06T17:22:00.000Z

I could potentially have burned by apartment down again, though this time it would have happened in my absence. My landlord has given me the message that I left my electric blanket on when I went to America. He was not happy. Oh well. I must be more careful in the future.

I had real trouble adjusting back to my schedule here after my return. For over a week I kept oversleeping, but I have now gotten back into the swing of things and am busy again with college and church work. I would love to write a very interesting entry here about the exciting things that have been happening, but I don't have a lot of material to work with this week if I am to write honestly about my life. I've been getting up, going to Glasgow, studying, stopping at Starbucks for coffee at 6, then going home. I'm teaching the Iranian singles' group on Mondays, starting up a Bible study at the church here on Thursdays, visiting with people from the church and of course I'm at church on Sundays. I also spoke to a wild group of 50 plus youth at our church's youth club on Friday. It went well as they actually listened to me. That's pretty much it.

It's all going very well though and I'm having a great time.

Making umbrella salesmen happy..

2005-01-25T15:20:00.000Z

Well, it's now officially been AGES since I last posted a journal entry. The long delay between entries all started when I failed to pay for the domain where this site is located and my website was offline for a month. Then it continued as I went to America and had three weeks of craziness in which almost nothing went according to plan and a lot of time was spent in a hospital visiting my dad. Then I got back to Scotland last week and got sick. Oh well. I'm back now and will try to be much more faithful in posting to this journal!

RAIN! I couldn't believe it! I left rainy Scotland for three whole weeks in Sunny California, and it rained almost every day!!! Oh well, that's what I get for bragging to all my friends that I'm going away to the land of sunshine! And I did at least miss the big blizzard here in Scotland last week.

My visit to the States went well in many ways. During the last 13 days of my visit I preached 15 times in Spanish evangelistic outreaches and a number of people came to Christ. I also had the wonderful opportunity of catching up with a lot of my Spanish speaking friends in California as well as with my family. However, it was also a difficult time because on the very day I arrived my dad fell and broke his hip. He ended up having surgery and staying in hospital for 19 days. Our plans to have a late Christmas dinner on the 28th of December were delayed until the 19th of January after he was finally out of hospital, but we did finally have that dinner and my dad is now safely back at home.

I also planned to visit friends in Southern California and those plans fell through due to closed roads as a result of snow and later floods, so it was a disappointment that I didn't get to see many of my friends in America as I probably won't be back for at least a year. However, for the most part it was a good trip, and it was encouraging to see God doing awesome things in the churches. I got to visit the church in Winton, California, which was started when I preached there a few years ago, and it was great to see that the work is continuing. I also got to see other works that I had been involved with in the past and see that they are progressing well and continuing to grow, and I made new friends in Modesto and Riverbank.

I've been a bit unwell the past few days, but I'm recovering again and start back at college tomorrow. I also preached here in Kirkintilloch on Sunday, and we had an especially good day. A number of people told me that they had especially been touched and challenged by the messages, and one young lady from Tanzania who lives here and visits occasionally gave her life to the Lord. I also came back to the news that two other people came to Christ here at the church while I was away. Good things are happening, and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us in the year to come.

As for the weather here in Scotland, in case you're wondering, I checked the weather forecast for the coming week. It's supposed to rain.

Busy Busy Busy..

2004-11-05T20:18:00.000Z

Last year I was so busy that I thought I could never be busier. I was wrong! My life has gotten so busy lately that it's crazy! It's been going well though. Besides my work with the local church in Kirkintilloch, I am studying three days a week in the college and also doing a practical placement with the Glasgow Iranian Church.

Though most of it is in a language you may not understand, if you click HERE you'll hear me preaching in English through an interpreter, who is one of my best friends.. her name is Narineh. I'm helping the young people at the Iranian church. On Monday nights I work with the teenagers and on Tuesdays with the single adults.

Some Sundays I'm also involved in the Sunday service, which is interesting because I'm also involved in three services and a prayer meeting at Riverside here in Kirkintilloch. How do I do it, you ask? After our second service ends around 1pm here at Riverside, I drive for half an hour to the Iranian Church, grab a bite to eat at the Subway near the church and am there in time for the service which usually begins around 230pm. The service is over by about 430pm. I stay for some coffee or tea and am on the road by 5pm. That gets me back to Riverside in time for our 530pm prayer meeting and then our 630pm service. By 9 or 10pm, I'm usually back at my flat lying on my couch with the television on and a blank stare on my face resembling that of a zombie.

Anyhow, I still get a day off every week, so I try to protect it as much as possible. Today I'm going to chat with one of my best friends, Dorian, on the Internet for a little while this morning, meet another friend for lunch, spend some time reading and drinking coffee, and then meet Narineh and another friend of hers for coffee, games and live jazz at Borders in the evening. I mention this so that any reader will know that I really DO have a life outside of work! Being the last year of college, it will inevitably have to be busy, but I'm enjoying it and am also pleased to have a good balance between hard work and quality time with good friends.

Where there's smoke..

2004-10-19T15:16:00.000+01:00

I could have died last night, but fortunately I had insomnia. At 4AM, I turned on the electric heater in my bedroom for the first time this season. Then I lay there awake for a long time wishing that I were asleep. I was amazed at how quickly the heater warmed the room. It had a strange burning smell but I thought, "Well, it hasn't been on since May so maybe this is just something that happens when it hasn't been used for awhile." (Before you judge my logic remember that it was the middle of the night and I was really only half awake) Then I thought, "It's strange though. I thought in the past that it usually took several hours for that thing to even cut the chill in weather like this. It sure is warming things up fast...and it sure smells....almost like burning plastic." That was when I looked over at it and saw the flames coming out the top. "Hmm," thought I. "I don't think it's supposed to do that."

That was when I got out of bed, realizing I was in a bit of danger. I tried to remember where the fire extinguisher was, but then I remembered that I don't have one. "Strange," thought I. "It never occurred to me until now that I didn't have a fire extinguisher. What a silly thing not to have one! What if there's a fire someday?" Of course, in my four o'clock delirium, I then remembered there was a fire now. It was still a small one, to be fair, but electrical fires can spread quite quickly.

"Right," thought I as the power of reason began to return to me, "how do you put out an electrical fire?" I remembered the rules very quickly:

1) Pull the plug out or switch off the power at the fuse box. This may stop the fire immediately.

2) Smother the fire with a fire blanket, or use a dry powder.

3) Never use water on it.

So this is what I did:

1) I pulled the plug out, but it didn't stop the fire immediately.

2) I realized the fire was inside the heater where it couldn't be reached by a fire blanket (even if I had one) and I didn't have any dry powder.

3) I poured water on it.

Well, it worked anyhow. Then I went back to bed and thought about how I had now survived two such near tragedies in this flat (see the account of the Great Rice Fire of 2003 in the journal entry for November 7th, 2003). I considered this for awhile until I realized I was shaking. It wasn't fear, of course, that bothered me. It was the cold!

I decided, now that the heater was out of commission, I would need to find another way of warming myself. Fortunately, there was another viable option. I had been given an electric blanket for my bed, so I plugged it in and turned it on. It warmed my bed nicely and felt extremely comfortable. The only problem was that now it was even more impossible for me to sleep. I kept remembering something about a movie I had seen as a child called "The Burning Bed."

Oh well. At least I knew this would give me something interesting to write about in my journal the next day.

darn wrinkles..

2004-10-11T17:11:00.000+01:00

There were no irons in the whole house. How could this be? I looked everywhere but there were none to be found. It was quite a predicament. How could I show up at the church with a wrinkled shirt? However, there was nothing else to be done, so I went ahead and left the house with wrinkles in my shirt, though I chose to cover them as much as possible by wearing a suit jacket over them.

I got in the car and encountered another problem. I tried to shift gears, but the gearshift was on the wrong side. It was then that I remembered something very important. I was in America. That meant that the gear shift was on the right of the steering wheel rather than on the left. It was a good thing to remember before I got out on the road as this realization would obviously also affect my decision as to which side of the road I was to drive on.

I was in Colville, Washington for the first of two weeks of preaching engagements in the state of Washington in the United States. When I got to the church, I also noticed that a lot of people had wrinkles in their shirts, and as the week progressed I stopped worrying about ironing.

It's interesting to me how quickly we can be affected by a change of environment or by the culture in which we live. This obsession with perfectly pressed shirts was something I would have laughed at before I came to Britain, but here they iron everything: t-shirts, trousers, and sometimes even socks! As I returned briefly to the land where I grew up, I suffered culture shock in the strangest of ways. Even ordering meals at restaurants seemed suddenly odd. In America, you can't just order a full breakfast. You have to tell them how you want your egg cooked, what kind of bread you want (and sometimes they give you 1,223.4 choices to choose from!), and you have to choose from a million options regarding every detail of your breakfast. It's amazing! I don't mind it of course, but every time I reenter the States the phenomenon of ordering breakfast does throw me and, frankly, confuse me!

I suppose one life lesson that I got from all of this during my recent two weeks in America is that we are all profoundly affected by the culture in which we live. We tend to start thinking and acting more and more like the people we spend our time with. I guess that's one reason why, no matter what country we live in, we should choose our friends carefully!

My time in America was great though. I preached for 11 days in a row in churches north of Spokane, Washington and a number of people came to Christ. I also talked with a number of people who told me that they were greatly helped and encouraged in life-changing ways during this time.

I also got to go up to Canada for part of a day. I had a few hours off, and I was already close to the border, so I took my work to a coffee shop in a little town called Grand Forks, British Columbia. It amazed me again how quickly the culture changed just across the border. In many ways, it was like I was in a different world again. The barista in the coffee shop asked me where I was staying, and I told him I was staying down in Colville, Washington. He looked at me sympathetically and made a comment about Americans. Somehow he never caught on that I was actually an American myself! The funny thing is, he thought I was Irish! I guess I've been to and lived in so many places that I am just confusing now. I don't mind though. At least not as long as there's an ironing board nearby.

!Viva Mexico!

2004-09-22T17:09:00.000+01:00

I was standing in the middle of a plaza in the city of La Piedad, Michoacan in Mexico. Wearing traditional Mexican clothes and with my arms outstretched, I shouted these words to the delight of the crowd that had come to hear me speak to them about God. "Viva Mexico!" It was a strange feeling, but I loved it.

The local church had presented me with a Mexican serape at the end of the third day of meetings in the plaza and I had put it on to show my appreciation for the gift and my love for Mexico. I felt strangely at home, almost as if I had been made for such moments.

An hour earlier I had been standing on a platform sharing the message of Christ's love with the people in Spanish. After preaching, I'd spent probably about an hour praying with people who had come forward. Some were coming to know Christ for the first time. Others were coming for prayer. All were coming because they believed Jesus had the power to touch and change their lives. On this particular day, I felt almost as if I was watching myself from afar, and I was amazed at what God had done in giving me the gift of being able to communicate in Spanish.

I found myself almost overwhelmed by a feeling that was both strange and wonderful. I was fully communicative in a language I had not even known as a child, speaking to a crowd of people in a world very different from the one in which I had begun my life. The fears and insecurities I had felt just a few years earlier in such a situation were completely gone. I was fully loved and accepted by the people, and I felt strangely and wonderfully at home.

My whole two weeks in Mexico this month were a real joy. We met resistance in Aguascalientes, where the people were forbidden to associate with us by their priest, but even there we had a great opportunity to encourage a small band of Christians who were remaining faithful in the midst of hardships. A number of people came to Christ in La Piedad, Michoacan and in a church in Guadalajara, and I also had the opportunity to work together with my teaching team, Mark Redwine and Hazel Bech, in presenting pastors' and leaders' training to a group of 42 pastors and potential leaders in Guadalajara.

It was such a pleasure to be in Mexico again, and I look forward to the next time God gives me opportunity to return. I enjoyed the best food in the world, spent time with wonderful people and saw God working in people's lives! What more could a guy want?

It's GOOD to be home..

2004-08-25T20:07:00.000+01:00

I got back from Africa yesterday. I had a wonderful team with me this year, and we had an incredible time. We did evangelistic meetings for two weeks near Dar Es Salaam and then on the third week I spoke at a conference in Nairobi and then we ended by visiting a church I had been a part of the organizing of in 1999.

While we were there this year, 454 people responded to the call to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and a new church was started. We had an incredible children's ministry led by Pauline Wood (from Scotland). Lana Wood (from the US), Mark Redwine (from the US) and Hazel Bech (from Scotland) helped me with the teaching of pastors and leaders and did a wonderful job. We also had great input from Ernie Bayton (from Scotland), who led our team devotional times and also offered great encouragement to the people we were ministering to. It was great to have such a wonderful team and to see how God used each one in such a wonderful way. We led a group of pastors and leaders through Phase Two of the East Africa version of New Church Specialties, and it went well especially as a group of 7 pastors who had gone through Phase One a year ago had successfully applied the principles they learned last year to start 9 new churches.

I think the part of this trip that encouraged me the most was the reminders I got that the work we do there has a lasting value. Our second week of evangelistic meetings was in an area we had worked in a year ago, and a lot of people came to me for prayer who said they had become Christians a year ago when I was there. It's always encouraging to see the evidence of changed lives! Also, on our last Sunday we visited the church in Kiatine, Kenya that we had been involved in organizing in 1999, and what we saw was incredibly exciting. Five years ago we had organized the church with 58 adults and 32 children meeting in a flimsy temporary structure. Now as Pauline taught the kids and I preached, we had the privilege of ministering in a nice big building filled with worshipers. The church now has at least 600 members, and they have successfully planted another church this year in a nearby village. God is good!

We all had good health while we were there too. Nobody got sick until we got home. Unfortunately, I got really sick on my first night back home and am still not doing well today, but I'm thankful that I could at least wait until I was home to get sick. Now I'm back at my place here in Scotland for a week before I leave again next Tuesday to go to Mexico. Things are really busy right now, but I'm very excited about all the things God is doing!

A life sentence..

2004-07-15T22:05:00.000+01:00

Chancy was shot to death a few days ago. I met him a few years ago when I was speaking to young people in North Pole, Alaska, and I had the privilege of leading him to Christ. A week ago Monday a friend of his was playing with a gun and accidentally killed him.

He lived long enough to tell the police it was an accident, so his friend will apparently face no criminal charges. However, he will now have to live with a sentence worse than death for the rest of his life as he will always remember the day he accidentally killed his friend. It is at least a comfort to know that Chancy was at peace with God, and we now need to pray that his family, his friend and all those close to him may find their peace in the same God during this difficult time. Our prayers go out for them today.

Did you MISS me?

2004-07-07T17:02:00.000+01:00

It's been ages since I've updated my journal. Where do I begin?

I'll start with Canada. The SoloCon Canada conference was awesome! A number of people came to Christ and a lot of others rededicated their lives to the Lord. I spoke all weekend on the subject of "The Freedom to Be Ourselves" and we dealt with many practical issues such as bondage to guilt, bitterness, fear of the future, discontent, the religious spirit, etc. and a lot of people testified to great breakthroughs. At the end of the conference we talked about practical ways to follow through with what God began in people's lives in order not to just go away having had an emotional experience but being equipped to go forward and apply what people learnt in their daily lives, and I have since received numerous testimonies from people who have continued on in the journey to newfound freedom which they began that weekend.

I finished my essays for college on the 4th of June and got excellent grades on everything, so I am happy to be done with college until October. Now I am focusing on work for the church here and preparation for Africa in August and Mexico and America in September. This is going to be a very busy month, but I am excited about what God is doing.

At the Riverside church here in Scotland, there continue to be reports of great victories in people's lives, and we are excited about the future as we begin preparations for reaching out to the community in practical ways this coming September in an effort to touch the community in a significant way at least seven times over the coming year. Of course, we want to touch the community every day as we live out Christ's love in our workplaces, colleges and schools, but we also are planning at least seven specific efforts to reach out together and show the community that we care through our actions.

The rest of the year looks promising, and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us!!!

Living life..

2004-03-31T11:00:00.000+01:00

The sun's shining outside and the weather is very nearly warm. Of course, anyone reading these words in California would probably laugh as the temperature I am calling "very nearly warm" is 11 degrees centigrade or 53 farenheit, and I happen to know it's supposed to be 21 centigrade/71 farenheit in Reedley, California where I grew up. However, it feels wonderful. If I had a bicycle, I would go out cycling right now.

However, in the absence of a bicycle, I will instead update my journal. I notice it has actually been a very long time. I remember reading some of the poetry that Oswald Chambers, the author of My Utmost for His Highest, wrote in his early years. At one point in his life, he simply stopped writing, and when asked why he said he didn't need to write poetry anymore because he was living it. Perhaps my excuse for not updating my journal could be something of the same sort: I have been too busy living life to write about it.

At any rate, I'll recap some of the ministry highlights from the past month or so. At the end of February I went to America for three weeks. I preached in Spanish and English in Modesto, California on the 29th. Then I had some time to recuperate from a long journey and visit friends and family for a few days before I preached for a series of special meetings in Exeter, California and then a youth outreach in Vancouver, Washington. A number of people came to Christ during that time, and it was exciting to see the many ways in which God worked mightily in people's lives. I also enjoyed the warm weather. The day I left California it was 90 degrees!!!

However, it's also good to be back. God is doing awesome things at Riverside here in Kirkintilloch. On the day after I got back to Scotland, we had a wonderful baptism service, and 6 people asked Christ into their lives during the service. Since then, I've had opportunities to talk to others whom I believe are close to coming to Christ, and I've seen God working in various amazing ways in a number of people's lives. He's also working in my own life in ways I can't even express. God is really good! I'm looking forward to seeing what else He has in store for the days and months to come.

But that's enough writing for now. I'm going to go take a walk in the sunshine!

The melting pot..

2004-02-16T14:58:00.000Z

I was just thinking today about the multicultural experiences which are so much a part of my life these days. Somebody mentioned on Saturday that he couldn't understand how I could have multicultural contacts in such a monocultural society as Scotland. However, I've found Scotland not to be nearly as simple as some may think. I suppose it would still be easy for someone living here in Kirkintilloch to avoid any non-European contacts as it is indeed true that most of the local population is purely British.

However, there are rich pockets of varying cultures across this country, especially in the cities, and even amongst the Scottish people there really are vast differences. I was reminded of this yesterday. We had a Ugandan friend speak to us in the evening and a missionary in the morning who spoke to us about his work in Rwanda. We also had visitors from Australia, a lovely family with two teenage daughters, one of whom wore a hat in church that looked like an upside down flower pot. It looked right on her because she was Australian and Australian girls wear such things, but I couldn't help but to think how ironic it was that if a Scottish girl wore the same hat people would think it really WAS a flower pot and begin to pray for her sanity.

But anyhow, I digress. I also have spent time lately with friends from Pakistan, Iran, Tanzania, America, and various other faraway lands who all live here within 15 miles of me. I know a man in the town of Linlithgow who is a Pakistani Muslim, owns and runs an Indian restaurant, and was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. If one looks, there is a rich tapestry of culture surrounding us in Scotland which can serve to enrich us all as we learn from one another and share our perspectives and experiences together. However, another thing that has really impressed me is the rich variety even within Scottish culture itself. In some areas of the north, you still have people who speak Gaellic, as well as remnants of other local languages such as the Doric language in Aberdeen. There is such a vast difference in the accents and dialects of Glasgow and Edinburgh that people from Edinburgh often fail even to understand the ones from Glasgow, even though they are only separated by 42 miles.

In Glasgow itself, there are many who are embroiled in the continuing rivalry between Catholics and Protestants, and they often identify themselves by the football team they support. Then there are the others who refuse to participate in that battle but in doing so forge for themselves yet another distinct culture. There are the wealthier areas, of course, and there are also ghettos such as Easterhouse that most locals avoid for fear that if they go in they might not get out. There are Christians, Muslims, agnostics, witches, Hare Krishnas and people of all kinds of religious beliefs and practices. There are communities forged by asylum seekers which are primarily middle eastern, and there are communities which are characterized by pubs and thick Glasgwegian accents.

Even in smaller towns such as the one in which I live there are many cultures. For example, on Wednesday, I'm planning to meet with a man who until very recently has been a major heroine dealer and whose name still strikes fear in the hearts of the crime world. His is, perhaps, an extreme example which reminds us that every culture has an underbelly that many try to ignore, but it also serves as a reminder that even in places of shared language and environment, there are many different lifestyles and personal backgrounds. One of our challenges here in the work of the church is to recognize that not everybody shares our cultural values or ways of thinking and to find ways to reach across the cultural divides that may separate us even from our next door neighbors so that we can reach them and love them with God's love.

This is the challenge that we are embracing here at Riverside in Kirkintilloch as we seek to move out into the community in the months to come. On Saturday, I'll be presenting a plan to the people of the church for reaching out to the community in a way that will hopefully have the effect of impacting the area with Christ's love. The goal is not to force our own culture upon the community but to build a bridge into the cultures in which the people live so that they might experience God's love for them in a tangible way. These are exciting times at Riverside!

A lot of great things have been happening in people's lives as they seem to be getting more and more hungry for God's presence in their lives and excited about their part in a shared mission in the community. I look forward to seeing what kind of adventure lies ahead as we move forward here together!

A great loss..

2004-02-07T16:54:00.000Z

Tim killed himself the other day.

It was the last thing we expected. We remember that he struggled with depression, but so do a lot of other people we know. We never saw the signs.Tim was recently a student here at the Bible college. Right now, a lot of people seem to just be walking around the college like zombies, unable to even comprehend what it is that they are feeling. Suicide is always a difficult thing to deal with.

There is a sense of great loss and also a sense of despair, and perhaps even fear as people examine themselves and ask themselves again: "Can I really trust myself to never take that route?" I think that many times Christians make the terrible mistake of ignoring depression. It's like one of those things many communities just don't talk about. Why is that? Is it because a lot of Christians think that everyone is supposed to always be happy and that being depressed is some kind of sin? We have to face up to the fact that depression is something a lot of people deal with, and if we are truly to be a Christian community we need to come around those who are struggling and support them.

When people are really depressed, sometimes they completely lose their ability to reason. Even if they wouldn't normally take such drastic action as taking their lives, some have moments when their depression takes over and it is possible that they might do something that they would normally regret. How much more likely is that if we make them feel guilty about being depressed? As a Christian community, we have an obligation to make sure that those who are struggling with depression and similar problems are made aware that we understand their problem and do not look down on them for it. In spite of what some well meaning but misinformed people might think, depression is not always a sign of some deep sin in people's lives.

There are many causes of depression, including physical causes in some cases which can be treated medically. Depressed people need to be made aware that they have people in their lives that they can turn to in their moments of despair, and sometimes they need to be reminded often that they are truly loved.Did we fail in Tim's case? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that we need to make a concentrated effort to BE the loving community that we are called to be and to make sure that we genuinely support the suffering people around us.

Here at the Bible college, we are rallying together and seeking ways to make sure that when we leave the college we maintain a support group amongst ourselves to keep in contact with each other and to provide some kind of genuine support as our fellows make the transition from college life to wherever they might be going next. Is that enough? Is that just a knee-jerk response inspired by some kind of guilt?Whatever the initial motives, there remains the fact that there are a great many of us who truly love each other and are more determined than ever to make sure that we make the effort to continually be there for each other.

If we had made more of an effort before, we are not kidding ourselves by saying we are sure Tim would still be here, and we are also not naive enough to insist that we know any efforts we make are enough. However, that's not the point. We know we need to make that effort to be there for one another because that's what love is all about.As for other things around here lately, things have been going well. A lady made a commitment to Christ over the weekend, we are working with some new people from the community who need our love and support, and on Thursday we started a new Bible study that seemed to really start off well. We are also in the process of launching a two-year plan for the church which will be focused on connecting with the community and helping the people around us who need our help.

These really are exciting times at the church, and I'm also having a great time of learning at the college. A shadow hangs over us as we remember one of our company who is no longer with us, but we are also keenly aware that life must go on and we must concentrate ourselves all the more on being there for those who are.

The plane truth is..

2004-01-21T11:51:00.000Z

I'm at the airport. I'm sitting in a Garfunkle's restaurant by large windows overlooking the tarmac where airplanes are coming and going from and to exotic locations such as Majorca, Barcelona, Paris, London (well, London’s not exactly exotic, it’s just big. But anyhow…). I love airports!

I've spent many hours of my life in airports all around the world, and I never tire of them (well, except London Heathrow which is just big…and confusing). I love listening to the conversations of people in bright outfits talking about their vacations in faraway places and the important chatter of men in dark suits talking on cell phones and playing computer games on their laptops. Strange as it may seem, I actually feel at home sitting in airport lounges drinking coffee and watching people.

I guess that's because I am and always will be a traveler at heart. But one might wonder what I am doing in an airport today. After all, aren't I in the middle of a term of study at the college as well as work at the church in Kirkintilloch? Yes, I am, but I decided to take advantage of a day off and a cheap airplane ticket to pop down to Manchester and visit a friend. It was also a good opportunity to escape the wet and chilly Scottish winter to go down to England where it was wet, chilly and foggy. My friend, Clare, and her family live on the edge of the Manchester area overlooking the moors and high on a hill where they can see into three counties.

Her dad says it's like living on top of the world. Of course, I had to take that all by faith as all I saw was fog. But I believed them.On the plane down, I was also reminded of the great skill and attention of the flight attendants who are placed on these planes not only to serve us but also to assure to our safety. One young man was particularly on top of things. I was seated in a single seat beside a big door which had great big letters on it saying EXIT. After skillfully doing his safety presentation while all the passengers read their newspapers, he leaned over me and said, "Just to let you know, that's the exit." I was so thankful for the information. He didn't ask me if I knew how to use it. He just wanted to make sure I knew what the door was there for. If he hadn't told me, who knows what I might have done! I might have thought it was the refrigerator door and opened it to look for a cold Pepsi, so he obviously saved us from disaster and saw to the safety of all.

Of course, I probably wouldn't have opened it anyhow because I have no idea how, but that's not the point... I had a great time in Manchester. I didn't understand anything anybody said to me, but I smiled a lot. While I do very well with all kinds of Scottish, English and Irish accents, the accent of Manchester will always be a mystery to me. They are truly kind people though, and I had a lot of fun with my friend as we visited museums, restaurants and coffee shops, and last night her mum made an absolutely delicious steak pie for dinner. We also had a great time talking and catching up on the things that have happened in our lives since we were in the college together last year.

I even understood her...though I do have to admit she had to repeat herself for me several times. On the flight back to bonny Glasgow, I met an older Scottish couple on their way back from a two week Caribbean cruise. They told me all about it. The gentleman patted a plastic bag filled with Scotch whisky as he told me, "I'm not an alcoholic or anything, but I've finished 12 bottles since leaving home two weeks ago." His wife told me how warm, sunny and beautiful it was in the Caribbean. She said almost every island looked alike to her (except Barbados, which she thought was flat and boring) but that they were all beautiful.

The man kept looking longingly at his plastic bag. She told me they had been traveling since early yesterday morning and were exhausted. He told me his clothes stank because he'd had them on so long. She looked at him with a "why do you share such information look" and I said, "You'll sleep well tonight, I imagine." The man replied, "Aye! After the pubs close, of course." Then they filed off the plane with everyone else, her with the luggage and him with his plastic bag. It looked heavy. I wondered how heavy it must have been two weeks ago when it was 12 bottles larger. Anyhow, that's how I ended up here at the airport. I think I’ll sit here a little longer, and then I’ll head back home and get back to work.

A London New Year

2004-01-12T20:48:00.000Z

I got to go down to London for a few days last week with my brother. It was great to be somewhere where I could speak Spanish again. I even met a few people while I was there who spoke English. London is the most multi-cultural city in Europe.

There are 300 hundred languages spoken in London and at least 37 distinct immigrant groups who are considered to represent a significant part of the city’s population. Some people don’t like that, but I love it! You don’t even have to walk more than a couple of city blocks to encounter all kinds of different cultures. You meet so many different people with different backgrounds, and of course there is no end to the variety of foods available throughout the city.My brother and I had a good time visiting museums, walking along the Thames and through the city, eating all kinds of exotic meals (including Pizza Hut three times!) and just enjoying being together. We spent the nights at Islington, a lovely London community that is best known for drugs, violence and crime. We stayed there, however, not for what the local culture had to offer but because my brother’s friend, Travis, lives there. I think Travis is a drug lord or something, but I’m not sure. He works with some organization called Youth With A Mission.

Then after my brother left on Tuesday, I stayed for a couple more nights and shifted to a “hotel” near Paddington station so I could have a couple days all by myself to just rest before coming back to work here in the Glasgow area. My “hotel” room was very interesting. It was about the size of a traditional prison cell with a plain concrete floor and one wee window covered with bars that looked out on a little enclosed “garden” which was about the size of the room and had a bush or something like it in the middle of it. I got one of the special rooms that they offered with its own bathroom, so I at least didn’t have to share facilities with the other inmates…um, I mean guests. All I had to do to get into my bathroom was close the bathroom door at the foot of the bed, squeeze between the bed and the door, duck down underneath the television which extended from the wall in the corner, open the door halfway (which is as far as it would go before hitting the bed) and then squeeze into the little room to do whatever I needed to do there.

It’s a good thing I didn’t have any emergencies that required me to rush to the bathroom in the middle of the night as rushing through that process would likely end in serious injuries. However, the place served its purpose as I mostly just needed somewhere to lay my head at night while I spent the days wandering about town. I had a good rest and am now back in my flat here in Kirkintilloch, Scotland. I started classes at the college again on Friday and preached twice on Sunday at the church, so I have now officially returned to work and am looking forward to a busy but exciting year.

Holiday Traditions

2003-12-29T19:54:00.000Z

I got a roll of tape to wrap my Christmas presents with, and it's on the roll backwards. It's facing up when it should be facing down. Ok, maybe it's not wrong. Maybe that's the way they do it here in Britain, but I felt like I needed to turn my hands around too when I was wrapping the gifts.

There are so many things here that are different than what I grew up with that sometimes I feel like I'm learning the basics of life all over again. This is my third year of calling Britain home, but there continue to be things that are new to me, and sometimes I absentmindedly even forget some of the things I learned when I first came. For example, today I went to town with one of the guys from church and when he was driving me home I went for the driver's side of the car because that's another thing they've got backwards in this country. Everybody knows the steering wheel is supposed to be on the left side of the car and not on the right! OK. Maybe we Americans are the ones who've got it backwards. Who knows? Either way, it's always a learning experience. I don't mind though. I love it here and continue to be fascinated by the little differences in language and culture. I'm sure I will always be learning.

Christmas was an especially interesting experience for me this year as in the previous years I was in the States over the holidays. They have some different traditions that I quite enjoy. For example: crackers. Not the ones you eat with cheese, mind you, but these things two people pull like a wish bone and then get the prize from the inside. Each one contains a little paper party hat, a little gift (varying from the kind of things we used to get in Cracker Jacks boxes to nicer gifts like the measuring tape I got in the first one I received), and a paper with incredibly cheesy jokes that everyone sits around the table and reads to each other. They all put on the party hats and wear them while they eat the the Christmas dinner.

I've had three Christmas dinners here now, and each time they have followed this same tradition, and each meal has included turkey with all the trimmings! I had one dinner with friends before Christmas, one on the day itself and another on the Saturday after. The continual feasting on turkey after turkey has finally resulted in the strange anomaly that I often wake up in the mornings gobbling. The best part though is the mince pie. I have come to love mince pie, and everyone serves it during this time of year. I think I'm going to insist that everyone adopt this tradition in California when I go back and become the next governor.

Of course, my new favorite holiday is Boxing Day. It's on the 26th and at least among the people I've been hanging out with it seems to be treated more or less as an extension of Christmas. It's like a second Christmas but without all the stresses of giving and getting gifts. You can relax without thinking about work, eat more mince pies (and turkey too if you want) and just enjoy being together. After all, being together with the people you love and celebrating God's love is what Christmas is really about, isn't it? This extra day, for some at least, seems to give that extra opportunity to leave aside all the stress of cooking, shopping and hassle and just enjoy Christmas.

I really like Christmas in Scotland. Naturally, I miss my family in America, but I've also really enjoyed spending quality time with my new family at Riverside Church and all the wonderful friends that God has blessed me with in this great country! I look forward to more great times with them in the new year to come!

Christmas eve..

2003-12-24T14:41:00.000Z

They've been predicting snow for at least a week now, but so far it hasn't snowed here in Kirkintilloch. However, it snowed on the hills so that for the past couple of days I've had a beautiful view of the snow-covered hills out my back window. Today, I didn't really have any kind of view at all because the weather was really ugly...just a lot of rain, heavy winds and thick clouds covering any kind of view. It was the kind of day where a person ends up drenched after just walking down the street.

The fire in my apartment is going though and a wintry day like this really seems just right for Christmas Eve.I went Christmas shopping today and yesterday. It was great! Pushing and shoving and lines long enough to read novels in while waiting! Utter chaos, noise, and shopping fatigue at the end of the day after carrying heavy bags through the rain. Some people say they wish every day could be Christmas, and I guess that would be ok, but I'm glad every day isn't the day before Christmas. That would surely kill us all!!!

I just recently had a visit from my parents. They were here for 12 days and left yesterday morning. I still had to preach a couple of times and finish my work at college while they were here, but I did get a chance to take them for a bit of sightseeing. One night, we stayed in the Hawes Inn in South Queensferry. It was great! It's right by the Firth of Forth with a beautiful view of the water and the two amazing bridges that span the firth, and the flavour of the little town still reminds one in many ways of another day.

The Hawes Inn is the same inn which was used in Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped and was the very place from which he wrote it.Things haven't all been good around here. Fiona, a young lady from St John's church in Linlithgow where I was last year, died this week of a sudden heart-attack. She was only in her thirties and left a husband with three young children. Everyone at St John's is in shock, and I'm a bit shaken up myself.However, life goes on for the rest of us, and I'm planning to make the best of this time with friends as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Tonight, we have a carol service at the church, and tomorrow will be the Big Day itself...turkey and all the trimmings, mince pies, and tons and tons of food; special times with people we love; and most importantly of all, the celebration of the gift of life we have in Jesus Christ.

Three theological turkeys..

2003-12-14T17:37:00.000Z

What do three turkeys and a theologian have in common?

The answer is, they all have had something to do with my life in the last two-and-a-half weeks. Depending on the theologian, some might argue another answer to that question as well, but not in this case.

The first Turkey was on Thanksgiving. Of course, its an American holiday and so is not celebrated here, but an American friend of mine invited me over to celebrate with him and his family. It was great!!!The theologian was Stan Grenz. He came from Canada and spoke at my church, the college and two other churches. I had a great time taking him around, and people were greatly helped everywhere he went. The second turkey was this past Thursday.

My circle of close college friends got together at Jon's house and had our Christmas dinner together. It was a wonderful time of fun, food and friendship in the midst of a busy week of essay writing. The third turkey was yesterday. My church had a Christmas party at a local Indian restaurant, and I had more turkey. I thought it was a bit different eating turkey in an Indian restaurant, but I figured maybe it was an Indian turkey. Now I'm finally finishing my last essay of the term tonight. It's a little later than planned, due to my recent illness, but I'll be rejoicing tonight when I type that last word!!!Let's see, what else has been happening between theologians and turkeys?

Preaching, studying, writing, more studying and writing, and we had a Christmas-is-coming-dinner at the church on Tuesday (yeah, we like to eat). Gabriel, from Uganda, came and sang beautifully for our program and I spoke. We really sensed the Presence of God in a special way that night, and there were a number of non-Christians there, so I hope they were blessed by their experience of Christian community.Now my parents are here for a visit until the 23rd, so I plan to take them around to see some of the sights. Maybe this afternoon I should take them out for a turkey dinner just for something different.

Good news..

2003-11-24T19:33:00.000Z

My health is improving. I'm still not well, but I am able to get up and make a cup of coffee without feeling afterwards like I've expended the effort of climbing Mount Everest.

Yesterday, I preached twice here at Riverside, and there was amazing response as God seemed to be dealing with some very important issues in people's lives. Tomorrow, I plan to dive full force back into college work.

Due to having been sick, I'm behind on my studies so the next couple of weeks are going to be crazy with lots of late nights and early mornings. I'll be writing essay after essay and just hoping I can put enough time into each one of them to sound like I know what I'm talking about. Hopefully I'll crawl past the finish line called "end of term" on the 11th of December with my last essay in hand. Then I plan to take it slow for a few weeks. Until then, I'll be in the college library. Maybe I should take my pillow with me so I can take short naps between essays.

Don't be alarmed, but..

2003-11-17T12:50:00.000Z

I'm on DRUGS!

OK.. Not drugs as in the illegal bad stuff, of course, but medication. However, the result right now is that I'm a little spaced out from the effect of it all. Ah well, I will try writing a brief journal entry anyhow and if I find once I'm well that I wrote about seeing pink elephants or flying pigs I can always delete it and try again.I've been unwell for about a week.

At first I thought it was just a common cold, but it got worse every day until on Friday I finally decided seeing a doctor might be in order. I went to a doctor, called Doctor Leach, who diagnosed me with a bronchial infection and told me to take penicillin, pain medication to get the fever down, regular puffs of a rather strong asthma inhaler, etc. I'm not sure how much it's all helping me so far, but due to the combined effects of the medications I'm not really sure of much of anything at the moment. What was my name again?

On Saturday, the church had an Alpha Day Away at Gartmore House in Aberfoyle. It's a beautiful place, and the weather was absolutely wonderful that day so I got to go on a couple of really nice walks during the breaks. The church has been taking people through what is called the Alpha Course, a course that explores the basics of the Christian faith, and it seems to have been very helpful so far for some people. On that day, two of the people made commitments to Christ, so we are all excited about that.As a result of pushing myself on Saturday when I was already unwell, however, I completely crashed that night. Early Sunday morning when I was shaking violently from the chills and crying out, "God, help me!" I finally got the idea that just maybe I should take a few days off to recover.

Though I was supposed to preach twice that day, I called one of the elders and told him my situation. He said he would preach in my place and that I should just stay in bed.While I was confined to my apartment all day, the people from the church were very supportive. Some called to tell me they were thinking of me and that they wanted me to call them if I needed anything. At noon, one of the deacons showed up with several bags of groceries, including a freshly cooked chicken and donuts.

Then later in the day, someone brought me dinner. I was very grateful for the way everyone was looking out for me.Today, a friend of mine brought me lunch and spent some time with me, which was encouraging, and I continue to get phone calls from concerned friends and church members. I also got an interesting email over the weekend. Even though I had not yet announced being unwell to anyone really, I got an email from a friend in Peru saying she was worried about me because she'd had a dream that I was sick. After the dream she had been unable to sleep, so she stayed up the rest of the night praying for me. Coincidence? Hmm.Well, today I think I really am finally on the upward mend and hope to be back to work within a few days. Until then, I'll just rest and try to recover. I'm not alone anyhow. I just saw a pink elephant come in and sit on my couch. Uh-oh. Anyhow, I'll write more in a few days when I'm no longer under the influence...

Smoky Robinson and the miracle

2003-11-08T12:00:00.000Z

I tried to burn my apartment building down the other day. OK, I didn't actually TRY to burn it down, but I very nearly succeeded in doing it anyway. You see, it was one of those little accidents that could happen to anyone. I was trying to cook some rice, and it somehow caught on fire. The smoke alarm went off and made so much noise that the first thing I did was run around frantically trying to find something tall enough to stand on so that I could yank the thing off the ceiling.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

I ran for one of the leather living room chairs and dragged it toward the doorway, intending to pull it into the hallway where the smoke detector was making its wretched noise (why DO those things make so much noise? They make you want to run right out of the house and leave all your possessions behind! ...oh yeah, guess that's why they are there, but anyhow...). I got the chair to the doorway and realized it was too big to pull through. I stood there for a second, wondering, "How did they get this in here in the first place? Up two flights of stairs and three doorways?

They could have hoisted it up to the window somehow, I guess, but the windows don't open all the way, so I'm not sure how you'd get anything through them. Hmm, I wonder how I'd get out of this place in case of fire. Oh yeah, FIRE!" Snapped out of my reverie, I continued my search for something to stand on.

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

I pulled out a little tea table and placed it under the smoke detector. Standing upon it I reached up toward that terrible sound, the pulsating sound beating upon my eardrums and smoke getting into my eyes. My hand almost reached, but not quite.

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

The search continued (OK, I know that by now any sane person would be wondering, "Why doesn't he do something about the fire?!?!?" But all I could think about was stopping that noise). I went into my bedroom and dragged the bed stand into the hallway. I stood upon it and reached up. After a twist of the wrist, the smoke detector was off the ceiling and in my hands. The only problem now was, it was unlike any smoke detector I had ever set off before (not that I make it a daily habit or anything). I didn't know how to turn it off. I tried pushing the button, twisting off the lid, and just about anything I could think of while the BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP! continued to pound into my head. I ran back into my bedroom and held it under the bed for a moment.

Magically, the sound stopped. Whether it was the lack of smoke under the shelter of my bed or something else I did, I'll probably never know, but the terrible sound was gone and everything was right with the world.I breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad that one's over!" However, the fact that the visibility in my apartment was fast diminishing and the smell of smoke was now attempting to choke me suggested to me that there was still one more thing I needed to take care of.I ran into the kitchen and turned off the burner under the rice. I also opened the windows (yes, I know! Never cook with the window closed! That's British Cooking 101, everybody knows it.

I just forgot, but don't worry.. I'll never forget again!). The rice had completely burnt to a pile of blackness that resembled something like the remains of spent charcoal, but the fire stopped and the smoke gradually started to clear, though the smell of it would linger for several days afterwards. There had been a bit of excitement in my new apartment, but fortunately it wasn't too serious, though nobody would ever be able to use that cooking pot again. My place was finally quiet...but only for a moment, because as soon as all was calm...

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

There was another smoke alarm in the living room!!!

Oh well. You live and learn.Otherwise, everything around here is going about as could be expected. I've been doing some preaching at the church and a lot of study at the college. I'm about a week behind where I feel I should be on my studies, but it will all come out in the end. It always does. Probably the greatest challenge before me at the moment, as I am living in this lovely apartment all alone, is getting down the routine of housekeeping and cooking without burning the place down. That reminds me, maybe I should reconnect those smoke detectors.