playing cat and house

That's right, not cat and mouse, but cat and house. I'm in a bind! mostly my own fault for waiting too long on some much needed detail work. i need to find a home for my two awesome cats... and people to live in my home.

please join me in prayer to get this worked out. i'm looking for some miracles here.

to meet the cats or the house, just click.

Visa update!

in order to go and visit the Russian Federation, one must be 'invited' to come to the country. i've been invited. so has amy. then, one takes the invitation, one's passport, a bunch of forms, and sometimes even more money and you send it to the Russian embassy. They then choose to either issue you a visa or not. thank the Lord, once again, i've been issued a visa to go. i don't know why it's such a crazy experience, but it is.

my last formal day of work at the university of michigan is june 9. i leave the country on june 20. i just started a to do list yesterday, it's 4 pages long so far... and i've not even TRIED to think hard yet. whoa. glad i like to do lists and getting things done (which coincidentally is the name of a book i'm reading.

a language helper

just found out that for sure this summer that i'll not have an interpreter again. instead i'll have a language helper! i hope Pavel is ready for this language student - let's hope that i don't scare him off. i've already started making a list of the types of things that i hope to study while i'm at camp (food, flora/fauna, gospel terms, unidirectional/multidirection verbs of motion, and im/perfective verb tenses). Whoa - what a language geek. it is exciting though

efficiency, productivity and geekiness

i found an entire community of people like me online. check out http://www.43folders.com/ it's all about being effective, efficient, and multitasking. i know that this officially labels me as a geek, and i'm okay with that. it's where i learned there are other people in the world who use index cards and cool pens to coordinate their lives and that spending an hour to figure out how to print on an index card is not only okay, but can bring great joy.

yes, i do have quadrille index cards, blank ones, printed ones, color ones (two sides) and a fisher space pen. i know - pitiful

Blessings...

looks like as of today I'm at 95% of my goal. I'm really excited that it looks like June is a reality for me to head off to Russia. Whoa. There's a LOT of planning to do!

a great russian adventure

i had a conversation today with amy that is really exciting. amy's going to be able to come to russia for 5 weeks this summer! it's going to be a great opportunity for us to continue to get to know one another, look to the future, and ministry together in the field. i'm thrilled.

it's also difficult because it comes on the heels of amy being delayed in her departure to her mission field in Kenya with the Masai people. it's really tough when sad/glad things happen at the same time.

i'm excited to introduce her to russia, tyumen, russian, kasha, sala, markov' po koreskij, and gurina (where we have summer camp).

when the rubber meets the road

monday I got an oil change for my car... a much needed oil change. sometimes i wish that i had the desire and the in-born ability to do things mechanical. paying someone else to get dirty isnt' really my style, but then again - it is reality. my sink has been broken for almost 4 years and it's still not fixed... it works just fine - if you know how to shut it off (now i'm embarrassed... but honest i guess). when i got the oil changed they suggested that i get new tires... interesting how i'll notice the most insignificant detail of a conversation or the lyrics in a song, but not that i have NO tread on my tires!

I've been putting a lot of miles on my car lately. Seems that a beautiful, young lady has caught my attention and I've been driving from Ann Arbor to Indianapolis twice a month for the past several months. so i thought i'd introduce you to Amy.

Amy is also in the process of becoming a missionary. she's headed to Kenya to do AIDS education with the Masai people. (Kenya is in eastern Africa, but she'll be about 2 hours west of Nairobi). Amy comes from a great family with 4 sisters and is a junior high science teacher (she'd correct me and have me tell you that she's a substitute teacher right now, because she's in process to go to the mission field). she has a very deep Christian faith and has invested herself for several years mentoring junior high and high school girls. Amy is fun loving and very active. on thursday last week she decided to run the Indianapolis mini marathon (13.1 MILES!) and ran it in under 2 hours. i'm amazed... i would likely puke by mile 2!

we met in Colorado at mission training with MTI. ironically, our rooms were across the hall from one another! our personalities are excellent compliments and we really enjoy one another's company. we have excellent conversation, enjoy being outdoors together, and we have VERY similar life goals and dreams. certainly becoming missionaries in different countries is going to be a tough, but we're excited to be on this adventure together.

i'm sure you're all dying to meet her and i hope you have an opportunity soon (or that you've already met her for a few of you!)

keeping your head above water...

Life has such an incredible way of moving faster than we do. I'm starting my fifth day in a row in Ann Arbor. It's so strange that this is the longest I've been in one place in the past 2.5 months. I've literally been around the world and back since December 21! I've really enjoyed all the travel, meeting people, deep connections, and building relationships, but honestly - my spirit is just tired. (It's also 6ish in the morning... so of course, I'm tired!)

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. There's nothing huge planned. I'm going to wear sweatpants, be comfortable, and clean the bathroom sink! I know it sounds like such a simple mundane task, but I just know that getting some of the daily things taken care of this weekend is going to help me feel purified.

There are so many things that I'm thankful for right now though. I'm still riding the spiritual high from being at mission training for 5 weeks, I'm really enjoying new relationships that have started in 2006, I've started losing a few extra pounds (a wedding in Jamaica is a good instigator for wanting to look healthier), and I've been reading some great books too.

The busyness subsides

Wow! what a whirlwind. sorry i've not posted for a while. i've not been home (ann arbor) for more than 4 days in a row since december 21. my cats are starting to get awfully needy! but now i'm home for 3 weeks in a row!

i just returned from a weekend in Indianapolis for a wedding, followed by an overnight return trip to michigan, 2 hours of sleep and then sharing a sermon with community epc church in Owosso, MI. What a phenominal church they are! an incredibly friendly place and i very much enjoyed sharing with them about Russia.

last night i got home, took a two hour nap, was saved from sleeping until 2 am by my brother who called on the phone and then i wore sweatpants for the rest of the night. yes! can't wait to put them on again today. i might even sit in front of the television for an hour tonight. the joy surges within as i think of doing a little bit of nothing...

and then - the cleaning must begin. my house is in need and my car literally looks like i've been living out of it for several weeks... which i have.

Back for a spell stateside

(attention reader - this is a boring post with only factual information - sorry if you fall asleep reading!) Just a quick post to say to y'all that I'm back in the U.S.A. and I'll be here to stay at least until the end of April. I'm pretty sure that I'll be around a bit longer than that. I'm still working on raising support. You can keep checking the support meter at the right. You may have noticed that it was at 93% and now it's back in the mid 80's - well, I had a fairly significant change in support from a major ministry partner. I'll keep y'all posted. Initially it was an emotional shock and my mood really dropped. I was sad, depressed, and I didn't understand. But, I've had a chance to get my head straightened out (amazing what prayer can do) and I'm okay with the delay that it'll cause. Just think, I'll be around in the States a little longer!

Leaving Thailand: Sunsets, Beaches, and Elephants

The end of my week in Thailand is upon me. What an incredible time of refreshment with the community of God! There are people here from literally all over the world, including non-native English speaking nationals who are a part of the World Outreach Family. We're affectionately known as the WO family here in Thailand (I think that they originally thought we were a Chinese family!)

This week was filled with all kinds of cool activities and lots and lots of fellowship. I've posted some photos here to share with you some of our activities this week, including: proof that starbucks is taking over the world, an elephant safari, dinner cruise (valentine's day), sunset viewing and walks on the beach!
I'm about to head off today for (roughly) 36 hours of travel back to the US! I fly from Phuket to Bangkok to Taipei to LA to Detroit! Yippie!!!! (at least the China Air flight from Taipei to LA (14.5 hours) has personal entertainment options!!!)

Elephant Safari

God's creation is so cool! I've seen so many beautiful things here in Thailand. Today we went on an elephant safari. I got to RIDE on an elephant! How crazy cool is that?! There was also a monkey show where we saw how monkeys are trained to pick coconuts. Did you know that a "professional" monkey can knock 300-600 coconuts from a tree in a day?! It was really cool. There was also a ride behind oxen and we got to see how rice is farmed. I had no idea that rice production took so much WORK!

Following the safari, we had lunch on the beach of an island and then got to swim and see how pearls are harvested. It was really educational and fun. It's been such a blessing to be with people from all over the world who are doing similar work and following the same call.

Tomorrow we're going to Patong beach again - I've someone managed to become a tour group coordinator for people leaving the hotel. What can I say? It's something of a gift! The Tsunami hit very hard in Patong (I was there yesterday too and had a nice tour of the bathrooms of Patong - a little stomach problem guaranteed several visits! - I'm better now thanks for asking)

the Love Boat

Tonight we went on a dinner CRUISE on the Andaman Sea (part of the Indian Ocean). I didn't really realize that Phuket is an island. They call it Ko Phuket here in Thailand and Ko means island - that's how I figured it out. The cruise was really nice. We saw a beautiful sunset over the ocean. The weather was phenominal for being out on the water. There was a Polynesian show for us too with fire twirlers and hula dancers!

one of our hula dancers

note: two dancers one behind the other

I can't express how much I love water. Growing up in Bellaire with a river in the front yard really just seemed normal when I was a kid - but I recognize how fortunate I was to grow up in such a beautiful place. Thailand is beautiful too, but really different. I'll post some photos here so you can see what Thailand looks like. Really cool.

On the other side...

... of the WORLD! 36 hours of travel, 3 plane flights, and many hours of layovers later - I'm in Phuket, Thailand! It's surreal that I'm here. It's the World Outreach triannual conference. I've never been through so many hours of travel, but it was really quite fine. May I recommend and commend to you China Air. 14.5 hours for the flight from LA to Taipei, Taiwan. We had incredible customer service and our own personal entertainment systems. No joke. Choose your own movies with pause features, games, flight information, the works. I even managed a solid uninterrupted 3 HOURS OF SLEEP! If I have to complain, the only thing I can think of is that the lumbar on the seat was too much.

I'm in Thailand and preparing for my first sleep here. It's in the high 70's now and was in the 80's when we arrived. It's dark now and I'm excited to let sleep overtake this man.

Here's the view from my window.

Safely Home!

the splice family

Well, I'm back in Ann Arbor (after a brief visit to Bellaire for the White Pine Stampede) after 5 weeks in Colorado Springs. I feel like I've just left my new family behind (after all the great times we had together at SPLICE training). I think it'll take me quite some time to process all of the things that I've learned and experienced. I think perhaps working for the 3 days that I'm home prior to leaving for Thailand wasn't the smartest for my personal processing, but it'll be great to see all the folks from work!

It was nice to return directly to Bellaire and the White Pine because all my friends were there to greet me. There were so many familiar things to help me re-enter the "real world"

Here's a photo of the gang:

l to r (Heather, Eliot, Rick, me, Charles, Shannon and Jason in front)

The race barely happened because of lack of snow, but with a reduction of 15K to the 50K race, everything went off without a hitch. 21 years of volunteer service to the white pine stampede! woo-hoo.

Scum of the Earth

Tonight a group of us from MTI went to a church in Denver called, Scum of the Earth. It was an incredible experience. I've never attended a more friendly or accepting church in all my life. The Church is based in the verses from 1 Corinthians 4:11-13 which say:

11To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

The worship was simply yet haunting. I don't know if the songs are in the mainstream, except one that has been covered by David Crowder Band, "Thank you for hearing me." The message was really simple - the story of Saul of Tarsis on the Damascus Road before he was the apostle Paul. The pastor spoke about how everyone has a commission that comes with conversion. "Nothing is frivolous in God's economy," was the quote that stuck me most. He said to take advantage of your past. It really made me think about parts of my past that I might want to discount or forget about and how what may have been intended for bad, can be used for good.

Amy was telling me about her reading in Genesis from the other week and here it is: Genesis 50:20

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (this is from the story of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers, who eventually became the right hand man of Pharoh.)

After the church service we went as a group to a Greek diner called Pete's. It really reminded me of the scene La Vie Boheme from the musical/movie Rent. Just a bunch of young, outcasts of the world hanging out together - only in this case they were talking about God. Cool.

Everyone was so welcoming, it was really an incredible time to be with the body of Christ. I'm a missionary supported by the prayers of the members of Scum of the Earth. Really, it's reframing my thoughts about how the Christian body can powerfully impact the lives of those in need.

Hostage

Today during our training we were all part of an intense simulation. We were taken hostage in a foreign country where we don’t speak the language. We were divided into two groups of about 15 each and moved into an “attic.” It was dark, cramped, and certainly started getting warm inside. We were only held for about 1.5 hours there, but several situations were given to us to solve. We needed to organize ourselves, decide if we would allow another group of 5 to join us (with unknown allegiances), decide who would be allowed to go on a rescue plane, and determine who would be executed when they came to kill some of us.

The encouraged us to really engage in the activity and to not remind ourselves that we were just in a simulation. I had to remind myself several times, but it was really a powerful experience. It was amazing being trapped with people who believe the same as I do. Although we felt helpless, we did not feel hopeless. It was also very interesting to go through this experience directly following two days of training on conflict.

My personal style of conflict is called “fox.” This style prefers to negotiate, collaborate and reach consensus. In times of stress, or when I’m in a position of authority, I tend to exhibit behaviors of the “shark” conflict group. This style is much more direct and aggressive about bringing up the conflict and resolving it quickly (but might step on folks in the process). The academic learning is really great, but the experiential practical use during the simulation was really educational.

When the first two hostages were taken out to be shot and I was appointed leader, I was surprised at the emotions I was feeling. I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to protect those entrusted to me. Then the gunshots went off and Hugo and Andrew were gone. My shoulders just started shaking with the impact. Yes, it’s a simulation – but they gave their lives to protect those of us remaining. Then the guards came back and needed two more volunteers. Suddenly, I was lying on the ground dead. I actually felt a sense of peace at that point – but really it was a selfish peace. For me it was over, but the others were left behind. I’m still processing through the feelings and intensity of the situation, but I’m glad for the experience.

NOTE: I’m not expecting to have to experience any kind of hostage situation, but I’m glad to have the opportunity to be prepared and to think about a few things first. Apparently the movie, Gorillas in their Midst, is supposed to be an interesting documentary on hostage situations. I think I’ll try to watch it.

be still and know...

It's Sunday morning here in Colorado Springs and I'm in awe of the Colorado sky. When I wake up and look out the window in my room, I see mountain foothills. The sky is a vibrant blue and snow litters the ground. It's not like a January morning in Michigan - in Michigan the sky would be grey or white. It's incredible - it's like joy is always surging around inside you because the nature is so beautiful.

I'm not sure what this entry must mean with regards to Russia. I'm certainly not going to be seeing a beautiful sky on a daily basis in Tyumen (it's an industrial city of about 600,000). I think I'm just going to have to store away memories of this place such that I can recall them in times of need. And thankfully, I'll be spending a couple of months each year out in the country with the summer camp program.

Today we're going to visit an Anglican Church. During SPLICE we're supposed to visit churches that might be different from our norm in preparation for heading to the field.

I just gotta say as a person who can have very high expectations for training and development, this is really some of the best.

a new church experience

Tonight the gang went to a Sunday evening worship service at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. The worship at this church is really incredible. I'm not used to the charasmatic experience -- and I don't think this church is completely on the charasmatic side, certainly arms are raised, emotions are full, and people jump around quite a bit. I've been to their Friday evening singles - young adult service and it's incredible (see the Mill).

They had a guest speaker while we were there named David Hogan. He's a faith healer. I've not experienced any kind of faith healing before in my life, nor had I heard anyone speak in tongues before. I don't typically think of myself as a sceptic or as a person with a closed mind to things. I think it was mostly his presentation and the words that he chose that put me off. With a linguistics degree, words are pretty important for me and he kept referring to himself and all that he had done instead of giving credit to God. It bugged me.

I am glad that I was able to have the experience and to open my thoughts to some new ideas. I'm not sure what I think still. I know that all of these things are valid and real gifts of the Spirit. I just balk when they are publicly displayed. Especially not the gift of tongues. In my understanding - it's required that there is someone there to interpret for the church. Otherwise - it's just edifying to the person speaking.

Perhaps a bit more study on this is required.

Garden of the Gods

Wow. Colorado has some of the most beautiful vistas and scenery. Today Helen, Pam, Amy, Elijah and I went to the Garden of the Gods just outside of Colorado Springs. It was really awesome to be outside in the sunshine, to hike around, and to appreciate the beauty of nature. Sometimes lately I've been thinking about how God didn't need to make things beautiful to look at, food doesn't have to taste good (although certainly I've got my picky moments: tomatoes, mushrooms, etc).

It's funny how we forget the things we love sometimes when the opportunities to experience them aren't nearby (I'm not talking people - but everyday things like walking outside, skiing, the feeling of soft fabric). I'd forgotten how much enjoyment I get from being outside for hours and climbing and hiking.

Enjoy some pictures. (I'll post them soon)