God's Promises

This past Sunday was a very special Sunday for our little family. Brenda and I were able to present Irena for baptism. It was amazing to be able to hear the form read and to hear all that God promises in baptism. I have heard that form for my entire life and also have read it during other baptisms. But sitting there and hearing it read and knowing that it is applying to my own daughter was something else. It was a special gift to be able to hear these promises.

It was also very special to be able to baptize my own daughter. It was a very special moment in our families life. It was awesome to be able to share this with our immediate family as Brenda's parents as well as my parents, brother and grandma were all able to come. It is also very special to be able to answer the questions, and then to hear the congregations response to their promise of support in helping to raise our daughter! It truly speaks to the family of God! What an amazing Sunday!

Dirty Knotty Blankie

This past Sunday I had the day off. I did not have to preach at either of the services. In fact my neighbor said to me that I am becoming a part time minister, I mean, I didnt even have to work the 2 hours a week that I normally have to work! :) (This coming from a neighbor who is a self proclaimed AAA Farmer, April, August and Arizona! Meaning they only work two months and then spend time in Arizona! That made me laugh!) Anyway, it was very refreshing to have Sunday off.

We had a guest minister who I have never heard preach before, but have heard his reports 2 times a year for the last 2 years. He is the Chaplain at the University of Calgary for the CRC. It was refreshing to be able to listen to good preaching. (Someone else said to me, "That is what others in our church were saying! ha ha ha). In the morning service though, he really tied in neatly with something I had talked about a couple of weeks ago.

A couple of weeks ago, I had done something pretty scandalous...I wore jeans and a t-shirt with a devilish looking skull with a cross going through it to church. I was talking about "By Faith alone" and how we all agree it isnt by our works, but but faith in Christ alone that saves us. The point I was trying to make was the fact that we agree with this, but how many people in our churches would accept someone coming to church dressed in this way? Every single person that morning had some thought in their mind about what I was wearing. It really helped to prove my point.

Sunday we heard about the fact that Jesus was hanging out with Prostitutes and Sinners! (gasp!) The pastor shared with us from Phillip Yancey's book "What's So Amazing about Grace" a story of a prostitute who needed to employ her 2 year old daughter. She said something along the lines of, "Why would I go to church? They just make you feel so bad." The pastor went on to talk about the fact that it was people like her, that Jesus hung out with. It wasnt the people in the suits, which we could almost associate many "Church people" as the modern day pharisees.

He used an analogy that was very moving. He talked about his kids and their blankies and how important those blankies are to his kids. The most important thing to take on any trip is those "dirty, knotty blankies." We are like the dirty knotty blankies to Jesus. He rejoices over us, like when he finds his lost sheep. He finds us and celebrates over us. The pastor's point, how do we react over the "lost sheep" are we part of the 99 that dont need to be saved? Do we accept the prostitute at our church? Or do we make her feel bad? It really tied in with my point of my friend who designed the shirt I wore to church that one Sunday.

The afternoon was equally was refreshing. I could go on and on about that here. It is amazing to me to see how a day off like that can really energize me and refresh me. I really needed that, especially as we head into the Advent/Christmas season.

New Hobby

I am finding that the more I try new things, especially new sports, I really like them. My latest thing that I found to be really fun is fly fishing. A few weeks ago I went with someone on a Monday evening. We got to the river about 4-4:30. We had to hike down to the river from the road. It was a place where the guy I went with said, "We will catch fish." Not many people go there since you have to hike down hill a bit. He also said to me, "I dont want to scare you, but I have bear spray just in case." I thought to myself, "good to know!" He said he has never encountered a bear, but he doesnt want to be caught empty handed if one did come on him.

But I tell you what, that was something I really enjoyed. We spent about 3 hours in the river fishing. By the end my feet were frozen! It is a sport that requires a lot of attention. Afterward I said I could see how a bear could sneak up on you. You are so focused on the fly and the river that you lose almost an awareness of your surroundings. It was absolutely amazing to be out in the mountains, in God's creation just enjoying his creation. It was extremely relaxing, yet not boring at the same time.

I like regular fishing as well, but after trying fly fishing only this one time, I think I might prefer it. You are constantly doing something as you fish. And it takes some skill. So, for my birthday last week, my wife bought me one of this guys fly rods and reel set up. I am excited to try my new hobby more and more...but unfortunately I have to wait until next season! Oh well, Ski season is right around the corner!!

Oh yeah, we did catch a bunch of little fish, but we let them all go.

Time Flies

I cannot believe that 5 weeks ago today, our daughter was born. It is just amazing how fast time goes these days. As I look at my blog, I notice it has been a month since I posted last. It isnt that I havent had anything to write about, it just isnt something I had as a priority I guess.

One of the things that I am finding is that it is difficult to focus while at work. I know this sounds like a familiar theme as of late, but now it is hard because it would be so nice to just be upstairs with Brenda and Irena. I need to really get myself to focus and get my work done. It isnt always an easy thing to do. I am glad that I have support from the church, and they have been really gracious to us in this time. We feel right at home here.

Great news

So, I know I am not always a "regular poster" but, I try to do one a week if not more. Well, I have an excuse for the longer time between posts. Last week Wednesday night, my wife's water broke and away we went to the hospital. Normally people would be excited about this, but my wife wasnt due for another 5 weeks. This is kind of scary. When we got to the hospital, they looked at her and said, "well, you arent going home!" Exactly 12 hours after her water broke we welcomed to the world our little daughter. She was 6lbs and 20 inches long. It is amazing to me to see again God's faithfulness. He watched over them in the accident, and watched over our daughter even though she was early, there was nothing wrong. She was out of NICU by Thursday evening and they both came home on Saturday! God is Good!

Feeling Torn

The past two weeks have been topsy-turvy for me. With the accident and all, my mind has not been too focused. This week I felt that I was geared up for the week. But there is a lot going on. There is a lot that has to be done. Now with the fact that we need to find a new vehicle, my mind is constantly thinking about that and what we should do. I havent had too much time to think about it, so I have talked to a lot of people. It is something we just werent planning on.

We got good news from insurance, but the bad news is, the second we settle with them, then we lose coverage for our rental vehicle. Which means that we have to figure out how to live again with one vehicle, or what we should do, we are not sure.

With that on my mind, I have tried to stay diligent and get my work finished. I was able to "finish" one sermon already yesterday. Which I thought was good. Now I turn to look at what I am going to preach on, I feel really torn. I began an series last week on "Life's Toughest Questions" found at the Calvin Institute for Christian worship. This weeks Question, "Why isnt life more fair?" As I began reading the "sermon notes" and the passage, I really began to feel torn.

What do I feel torn about? Well, this is a great question, that many people ask in their lifetime. I think it is one worth covering. But I wish I had more time to cover this question. I feel now there is a time crunch to get the sermon finished before Saturday, because I have to lead a candle light vigil for the family I did the funeral for a few weeks back. I would love to spend a lot of time on this sermon, but I feel I dont have that much time.

I feel torn because I would love to spend more time reflecting on this question, but dont have that much time. And I feel guilty with thinking that I shouldnt spend too much time on it if not that many people are there. Does the evening sermon deserve as much time as the morning sermon? Or should one focus more time on the morning, just because more people will be there? So, yeah, I feel torn. Instead of spending the time on it, I decide to waste time by blogging about it, ha ha ha!

Needing a clear mind

Last week I did not have to preach on Sunday, as there is 5 Sundays in August. Generally it is a great week to catch up with office work as well as some of my visits. Well, as my earlier posts shows, my week was kind of thrown for a loop. I am very thankful that everything is okay with Brenda and the baby. But wow, what a crazy week it was.

We had planned to go to Great Falls Montana to do some shopping for baby stuff. Everything is so much cheaper in the States, as well as no sales tax in Montana, what a sweet deal that is! We went down as planned and stayed by some friends in Conrad Montana. It was a great weekend. Saturday morning I golfed while Brenda shopped, good trade I thought! Then we met up and shopped some more! We got a lot of baby things.

Sunday we went to my friends church, which was a good experience. After lunch we headed home, taking the "scenic" route. We drove over to Glacier National park and drove the "Going to the Sun" road. That is an amazing road. You drive along the edge, and I mean edge of the mountain. It is so narrow that you could give other drivers a "high-five" as you drive past each other. It was pretty awesome.

But now as we are home, we have to get back to reality. I have one coat of paint in the "nursery" already yesterday. I can finish that today hopefully. We also have to wait ot hear from the insurance about our car. I have a feeling it will be totaled, but then we have to start the whole car shopping experience all over again. Do we get a minivan or car? Do we get used or new? So many things to think about.

I need to get my mind back into the sermon writing mode for this week. After last week it is a challenge. But, this weekend refreshed me and challenged me. It is good to see colleagues and how they preach in their "style." It was good to get away after all of what happened last week. But now, there is so much to do and only so little time. The baby is due in 6-8 weeks, crazy crazy!

Brenda's Accident

Yesterday morning was quite an eventful morning to say the least. Brenda had said goodbye and that she was going to go to work. I was going to sleep for another 20-30 minutes. About 10 minutes later the phone rang and she was all upset saying I needed to come get her, she had been in an accident.

She didnt see a van stopping to make a left turn down our highway. We waited until the fire department came and they said we should go in immediately since she is 31-32 weeks pregnant. We went to the Emergency and they sent us right away to Labor and delivery and did a stress test I think they called it on her and the baby. Everything seemed fine, so they called her doctor. He wanted to keep her there for a few hours to observe her and do another test. So we went back down to emergency, they checked out her knee which she had banged up and there was no crack or anything, so that was good. We went back upstairs and they did another stress test and they said that was good as well. So we were allowed to go home.

This morning we went back to the Doctor and he said it seems like everything is fine. We are very greatful that she is okay and the baby is okay and the other driver is okay.

One of the joys of living in a small community, is the fact that the people on scene soon after were all people we know from church or from the area and they all stopped to help out. By the time I got there, there were like 4-5 people from church and area helping her out. We were really greatful for this as well. Except the other side, everyone knows! So, I am thinking of putting an announcement in the bulletin to let everyone know she is okay since we dont have to be in our church this Sunday. Anyway, she is good, tired and sore, but good for the most part. We praise God that he was watching over her.

P.S - The car on the other hand, we are waiting to hear from insurance, but I have a feeling it will be totaled. We shall see. But these things are very minor considering she is okay!

Lost in Thought

Every day I take my dog out for a walk. Generally it is a mile. A half mile to the neighbors, and then back. (For my Canadian friends, I talk miles b/c in the country that is how the roads and markings are laid out. Ha ha) A lot of times I find that I while I am on the walk it is just nice to be outside and looking around at the scenery. Other times I use this time to think more about the sermon I am working on.

Yesterday I was out with the dog and we were getting close to home. I was at a point in the day where I was about to sit down and write my sermon. Now some people do this differently. Some people write a little each day and then pull it together on one day. I have found that for myself, It takes me some time to get to the point of writing the sermon, but when I finally get to that point, it doesn't take me that long to actually type it up on my computer. Anyway, yesterday I was close to writing it when I took the dog out. See, she will sleep after our walk, so I could get some good work in. As we were getting close to home I was in a sort of daze. I was so focused on thinking about the sermon, the walking down the road was just instinct. I really don't remember certain parts of the walk. Just walking and looking at the road ahead. The only reason I came to this realization was my dog decided to bark at something. Which is unusual for her to do on our walks. When she did this, it sort of snapped me out of my daze to realize we were almost home.

I just find this interesting. I find it interesting because I never really viewed myself as a person who would get so deep in thought that you forget your surroundings. Granted it was a beautiful day so I wasn't thinking about nasty weather or anything. I love the fact that I can go on one of these walks and think about my sermon. I can get lost in thinking about God's word and how to apply it to the congregation. It was an interesting experience.

Things they didnt teach in Seminary

In the past week, I have discovered that there are a couple of things that they really don't teach in Seminary. And I mean, these aren't the things that you would expect like: How do you do a wedding? How do you do a funeral? Things like that. Those are the obvious ones. Not to mention some other difficult ones that arise in different situations.

I have had two very interesting things happen in the last week that I never thought I would have been doing. The first one occurred last week. It was a wet week as it was raining a bit here. My dog needed to be let out, so I took her up the stairs to where we normally let her out. As I get to the kitchen I look out the sliding door and I see a cow in the backyard. They never told me in Seminary that if you are a pastor of a country church, you might need to know how to get cows out of your yard!

The second thing just happened last night. At about 10 PM the phone rang. When the phone rings late at night, or early in the morning my first thought is, what happened? As my wife picked up the phone I heard someone who was rather frantic on the other end of the line. But, my wife's reaction wasn't that excited so, I figured it couldn't be that bad. Basically, someone had a bat in their house and needed my help to catch it and throw it out of the house. Again, another thing they did not teach me in Seminary.

I have learned a lot of things since moving to the country. Growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles you think you see a lot. But man, my upbringing did not prepare me for some of these things!

Frustration

For those who read my blog, (I dont know how many actually do, but I know there are some faithful ones) you would know that I try not to complain on here much. I have learned from other peoples mistakes in this area. I learned that some people think that this is a forum just to complain about anything and everything, and think there will be no repercussions from it. This is not a private thing, but a very public forum. So as much as sometimes I want to complain, or whine about something, I feel this is not the correct avenue to do so.

With that being said, I don't want this to sound like a complaining session, but a some things frustrations I have felt and I want to try to learn from them. The only reason I am writing about this is because someone was very public in their complaints last night in our evening service.

I don't know if I have mentioned it before or not, but our evening service attendance is not the greatest on good weeks. I try to keep a very positive attitude about this even when others are negative about this. I try to remind myself of what an elder has said, "Those who are there want to be there. You aren't preaching for those who aren't there. You are preaching to those who want to be there." I try to keep this positive mindset as I prepare each week.

The last two weeks have been especially bad for attendance as far as numbers go. At least in my opinion. The reason I talk about it now, is because of what someone said very publicly last night. As I usually do, I was taking prayer requests and someone said, "What do we do to get more people to night church?" in a very stern tone of voice. First of all, how do I respond to this? ha ha ha. Secondly, this is a good question.

At what point should we evaluate/re-evaluate the second service? There are times, and last week I felt was one of them, where I feel really guilty about not making visits, but I needed to get my two sermons done for the week. There are other times, when it comes really easy and I get more visits in. I am saying this, and I feel I am in a great church that really is not a high demanding church on its minister.

I guess what I really am interested in is knowing why people don't come to the second service. Even when I did things differently and lead a bible study/discussion rather than a sermon, it really didnt impact numbers much at all. I am curious to know why people dont come. Is it because we are too busy? If that is the case, what are we too busy with? What causes us to be too busy? Is it the time of the service? Talking with an elder once before he said we have tried all of that before and nothing has ever changed. A question I have in my mind is, how does this affect us spiritually? Are people coming to the second service out of a sense of "I have to be there" because this is what we have always done? Or is it they want to be there to hear God's word again?

Is there a way to really get at the heart of some of these questions? Is there a way that we can find out what is keeping people away? Or is it something that people just dont want to talk about. Do people not want to say why they dont come to church because they feel guilty for not going? If we changed the service to gear it towards their "desires" will that really get them to come regularly?

As I said, I dont like complaining, and I hope this doesnt sound too much like complaining. It was just made more fresh since last night, and these are things that I wonder about. If anyone has any thoughts on this issue, I would love to hear them. Thanks

August Long Weekend

This past weekend was the Civic Holiday in Canada. Basically an excuse to have a day off of work, as far as I can understand it! We were invited by some people from church to join them in camping in Kananaskis Provincial Park. I had been through Kananaskis a few weeks before on our way home from Banff, as well as in 1996 with the Cadets camping there. It is truly a beautiful place to be!

On Saturday a group of us went on a long hike. It was 4.5 km's long, which, doesnt sound that bad. Until most of it is up the mountain. As I have been thinking about the hike it made me think of a saying we had to say during basketball in High School. It is a saying I guess made famous by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Coach John Wooden probably made use of it as well. But our coach made us say it time and time again: "Life is a journey, not a destination." On our hike, we had a destination in mind. We wanted to get to the lakes. But we first had to climb this mountain and go over the peak to get to the lakes. Along the way it was a challenge. One of the guys along the way was a great encourager. Affectionately known as T-Roy he encouraged us along the way. (He is by the way an amazing speed walker! Cant wait for the video to hit facebook...)

Thinking about encouragement along the way, it made me think of our life's journey. Often times along the way we need people to encourage us in our walk. In my own life there have been a lot of people that I can think of that have encouraged me. I think we dont realize how important it is to encourage one another, especially if you are going through a challenging time. Think about this and try to encourage each other on our journey of life together.

Reflecting on Another First

Last week I thought I was going to have an "easy" week generally speaking. Sunday would only consist of preaching once due to the interdenominational service at the Gospel Jamboree in the morning. I figured I would have an easier week and get some visits that needed to be done. Plus we were having some friends come Friday night, so I thought I could get some things done on time.

Things were going well, and I had the sermon done by Wednesday evening. I was golfing Thursday with someone from church, so things were going well. I got home Thursday from golfing and there was a message on my phone from someone looking for some help. Her brother was 27 years old and had died from an accident he was in earlier in July. She said they could not find anyone to help them out with the funeral. They were really running stuck.

So, obviously they did not really have a church connection to speak of since they did not have anyone to do the service. I thought, since I have extra time I could help them out. The sister had called me back saying her mom had found someone else, which was fine, but then called back again a few minutes later asking if I could still do it. She really wanted a Christian minister to do the funeral. Even though there was no direct connection to a church, there was a sense of needing a Christian minister to do the funeral.

This whole situation was a little more frustrating then I thought it would be. I met with the mother on Friday and went over the order of the service. She told me her daughter would get back to me on a couple of different scripture readings. I started to put some things together for the message. But I was waiting for the sister to get back to me. She never did. I got up Saturday morning at 6:30 to put the message together.

Saturday the funeral was going to be at 11:00 at at a hall on the Reservation. I didnt know how to get there, so I asked the funeral home. They gave me some bad directions. I went passed a certain town for a while, then turned around and went back to ask for directions. They did give me good directions, but I didnt realize how far out the hall would be on gravel roads. It made for a stressful drive, but I got there 25 minutes early. But the whole family didnt really show up until 11:25 or so.

We got the service going and I was informed of some changes and as we went through, some werent there who were supposed to be. The graveside service was really interesting. They wanted to watch the casket lowered all the way as well as the lid being put on the grave. They then threw luggage into the grave packed with his clothing I assume. Then people threw dirt on the grave as well. It was sure different then what I was used to.

Looking back on the whole service and graveside it was interesting to be a part of. The question I ask myself, Would I do it again? At this point I dont know. I am glad I was able to help a family out in their time of grieving. It is a privilege to be with a family through this time, yet there wasnt a personal connection with the family as I would with a family in the church. Where is the family at in their faith life? Could I be one step in a line of steps to get this family to believe? I dont know. Did they hear the message of the gospel, how does it affect them? Ultimately it is up to God to work in their lives. I guess that is what it means to be an instrument of God. All I can do is bring the message, and God can work in their lives. Overall, it was very interesting to say the least. But yet there are a lot of questions still in my mind.

Follow-up

I am happy to report that the article concerning the upcoming Jamboree was done in an overall positive tone. I am glad to see that. Sure the Bishop of Calgary is pretty outspoken and "Controversial" but he is still a man of God and can bring God's message. I hope that our unity can show the world Christ's Love.

Still puzzled

I am still puzzled by a phone call I received last week. It was from a writer at one of the local towns' paper. This coming weekend in Granum here, there is a Gospel Jamboree. This is the 12th annual Jamboree. It brings in over 1000 people to our small town of Granum. There are different groups that perform Friday night, All day Saturday and then on Sunday we have an interdenominational service. Generally speaking this is well received for the most part.

The thing that I am puzzled about is the questions the writer was asking me. He began by asking me some general information about participation and how our church was helping out. (We offer a free pancake breakfast on the Sunday morning.) At first I thought he was just looking for some information, but then he started to ask some questions about the speaker for the Sunday morning service.

The speaker this year is Bishop Fred Henry from the Catholic Church. Bishop Henry is a pretty outspoken man when it comes to certain issues. If you know anything about the background of which I come from, of course we come out of the Reformation separating from the Catholic Church.

The writer knows a bit of this history and started to ask me some questions about this. Asking whether or not it was acceptable from our point of view to have him lead the worship service. He was asking questions about whether or not we are like "arch-enemies."

When I hung up the phone, I was almost angry. Angry at the fact that this writer seemed to be trying to get me to say something that would be controversial, I am still waiting to see what he has to say. I mean, obviously our traditions dont agree with each other. There are some things that we just cant agree on. But the purpose of this Jamboree is to praise God. It is not a denominational service. It is to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this service once a year, the local churches can show our unity in Christ. One of the reasons I think I was a bit angry is because this is coming from a town where there is really, in my opinion, no unity between the churches. In another small town I am a part of a ministerial where the local churches get together and plan events together. It helps to show the community that we are not out to get one another, but we can work together for the broader good. It bothers me that this man would want to, at least seemingly, to stir the pot and try to show that we are not unified. The world is already antagonistic towards the Christian Church in general, in an event like this, it is an opportunity to show that even though we disagree, we are still unified in our Faith in Christ.

Rest and Relaxation?

The weeks leading up to my parents coming here for vacation were really busy. I was really looking forward to having time off to go camping with my parents. My parents arrived on Saturday and I had a wedding to do yet that day. On Sunday we had our normal service in the morning, followed by our church picnic and then an outdoor service. When that was done, it felt good to be able to relax. The problem I had though, was the fact that my parents have never been to Alberta for an extended period of time, so we wanted to show them everything.

On Monday, my dad and I got up and went and golfed. He beat me by one stroke. We got home and we hooked everything up and were ready for the road. On the way to Banff, we got hit by some heavy rain at times. My new bike rack worked really well, I just needed to make sure the straps stayed tied down. We got to Banff and set up camp. We had dinner and went to check out the town of Banff and the water fall near the hotel. We decided to take a cruise through the golf course, where we saw a heard of elk right on the course, it was pretty awesome.

Tuesday we went to Lake Louise. We walked a bit around the lake and took some awesome pictures. We then went to Moraine Lake which was absolutely amazing. From there we grabbed some lunch. During this time it started to rain a bit. On the way back we went to Johnston Canyon. We hiked here to the lower falls, and then my mom, Brenda and myself continued to the upper falls. On our hike to the upper falls, we got rained on a bit, but when we returned, dad had gotten hit a lot harder by the rain, he was soaked.

On Wednesday we decided to sleep in a bit, then we headed into Calgary to go to the Stampede. Of course that had to be the day that it decided to rain a lot. We managed to miss most of it, but we did get wet. The Chuck wagon races were fun because it was completely muddy. The evening program was good, but we didnt get to see everything due to the rain. But it was still a good show.

Thursday, my dad and I drove to Kananaskis to an old Ranch turned into a golf course. This course had amazing scenery. We were at the base of the rocky mountains. THis time, I was able to beat him by three strokes, since we didnt golf again the rest of the week, I beat him by a total of 2 strokes if you count total strokes. He will tell you were were tied, one to one. That afternoon we stayed around the trailer mostly.

Friday we packed up and headed home. We took the scenic drive home through Kananaskis Country. It was absolutely beautiful to drive through here. That along with the fact it wasnt that much longer to drive made it definitely worth while.

Saturday we headed to Waterton National Park. Every time we go I am simply amazed at the beauty of God's creation. On the way home, we were able to stop at this little place that said they had mexican food. This is something that I really miss living here in Canada. Some really good Authentic Mexican food. This place was awesome. My parents even raved about it saying it compared to places down in California. This will definitely be a stopping point every time we go to Waterton!

Sunday we went to Church and relaxed at home more. It was a busy week, but we wanted to see everything. There were other things that I would have loved to shown my parents, but we just didnt have enough time. It was really good to have them see where we live and what we can enjoy here. I was really glad that even though we had rain almost every day, it didnt stop us from doing what we wanted to do. Now the hard part, getting back into the swing of things. I always find it challenging to get back into the mindset of work after taking a week off. But, I am glad I was able to do it, and am a bit re-energized to get back to it.

Vacation

The last couple of weeks have been really busy. I had a funeral last week and a wedding tomorrow. I am really looking forward to my vacation in a couple of days. Tomorrow my parents should arrive maybe late morning, or early afternoon. On Monday we are heading up to Banff National Park. This will be my first time in Banff in the Summer since 1996. My parents have never been, so it should be pretty good. On Wednesday we are heading into Calgary to go to the Stampede. Friday we head home, but on Saturday we will head to Waterton National Park and check out some of the sights there.

I know my parents are really looking forward to this, It has almost been a year since we last saw them, which is the longest time I have gone without seeing them. They left California at 3:30 am on Thursday, and left again from Utah at 5:30 this morning. I think they really want to get here! Anyway, I hope the weather holds up and I am sure we will have a good time no matter what.

Two places at once

One of the difficulties of being a pastor is when things happen and you want to/need to/should be at two places at the exact same time. I wish there was a way in which I was able to do this. Tonight, I had planned on going to an Ordination service of a colleague in the United Reformed Church. Now, there have been tensions in the past between our denominations. Most of my colleagues in the CRC in Southern Alberta feel this is an important step in helping to build bridges with them again. I think it is a nice gesture to welcome him into the ministry and into the ministry in our area.

The other thing is there is a funeral in our church tomorrow. Now, in Ontario, and California, and almost everywhere I have lived it is the tradition to have family visiting the night before the funeral. This happens so people can come and visit with the family and offer condolences and such. Coming to Alberta I have found that this is not practiced as much, which I have found awfully strange. When these visitations happen, I generally like to go and open with devotions with the immediate family and offer a word of prayer. In Ontario, often times an elder would then come at the end of the evening and close in prayer.

The thing I have found here, however, is the fact that since family visitation is not practiced all that much, it is not in their DNA to have such a practice. So tonight I have the dilemma of being in two places at the EXACT same time. It would be okay if they were both in the same town. But the fact that they are about 45 minutes to an Hour apart, it makes it impossible.

What I have decided to do was then to have an elder go and lead devotions with the family at the visitation and I would go to the Ordination service representing our church. Is this the right decision? Should I have sent an elder to the church instead, and myself go to the visitation, since it affects a large number of people in our church? This is the struggle that I face, I hope I have made the right decision. Let me know what you think.

Collegiality

The church that I serve is in a rural area. When I say rural, I mean RURAL! We live 5 miles from the closest "town" which mainly consists of a post office, a bar, and a gas station. Which, if you have ever seen the Canadian comedy show "Corner Gas" it really reminds me of that! Anyway, it seems as if our church is in the middle of nowhere sometimes.

With that being said, I am really blessed to live in a part of the country that has a number of churches within our denomination close by, relatively speaking of course. I am blessed by this in a number of ways. First of all, having colleagues close by to bounce ideas off of is helpful. To have people close by to help out when I get busy is also a major plus.

The one thing that I appreciate the most, especially as a young minister, is the fact that we get together once a month with the other pastors and their wives if they are able to join us. It is a great time of refreshment for myself. It is a time to sit and get to know my colleagues, but also to share struggles and joys with each other. We get together and we share with each other and we pray for each other. Yesterday we were able to get together for a BBQ to end our year as we will take a few months off. Even though the weather wasn't conducive for a BBQ, we still had a great time. We had time to laugh, but we also had time to challenge each other. One of the things I appreciate the most is the collegiality that is in the group.

I am richly blessed to be in a place that has such a group. I am thankful to God that he has placed me in an area where this is possible.

Running for the Kingdom

I have always struggled with finding the motivation to go running. There is always some excuse. Oh, we live in the country, there is nothing to see. Oh, it is too early. Oh, it is not that fun by yourself. There are a lot of reasons as to why I choose to be lazy and not run. Lately I have been proud of the fact that I at least would walk at least a mile a day with the dog. I have tried to play basketball once a week, but only for 3 weeks at a time due to a meeting. I wish I could play basketball more, but I need to find something to keep me in shape.

This past Sunday I met a man who was incredible. His testimony was amazing. His name is Tim Borland, you can check out his website: www.timborland.com. What was so amazing about this guy is not just the fact that he is a runner. In 2007 he ran 63 marathons in 63 days! To most people, running 1 marathon in their lifetime is a major achievement. He ran to raise awareness for A-T which is an incurable disease that affects motor skills and mobility in kids and it is a fatal disease. They did a documentary on this and they hope to get it to mass release, it is called "Feat." Not only did Tim run 63 marathons in 63 days, he met someone at the last one in New York that invited him to run "Ultra-Marathons" in Canada for a different cause. So in 2008, he ran 50 miles a day in all the Canadian provinces and territories in as many days. That is 50 miles a day, plus traveling in 13 provinces and territories in 13 days. Next year he hopes to run 143 marathons to raise awareness for the 143 million orphans in the world.

In talking to him, I asked him how he got connected with A-T. He shared a story with me about wanting to use the gift God had given him to further the kingdom. He shared with me how he came to meet a pastor whose daughter had A-T and that is how he got started with A-T. He has a powerful testimony.

It was amazing to see how he wanted to be led by God to run for something to make a difference. He recognized his gift and wanted to use it. This is something I would like to see more of. It was a great encouragement to hear his story. It has motivated me to do some running on my own. I dont think I will ever do 1 marathon, much less 63. I think it is great to be reminded to use the gifts God has given us to further his kingdom in anyway possible. If that means running 63 marathons, do it. If it means playing basketball with people you dont know, but come to build a relationship with, do it. If it means, hanging out with High School kids and showing interest, do it. If it means golfing with your work buddies and being able to connect with them, do it. If it means going out for coffee with someone who just needs to talk, do it. There are many different ways that God can use you. Be open to the possibilities.

Almost Canadian

I had some exciting mail today when I went to the post office. I received a letter from Canada immigration saying that they have reviewed my application for permanent residency and an exemption to the immigration act had been granted. But a final interview will need to be had on June 30th. This is exciting news, as we applied for this back in December. The problem is it said I had received earlier notification about this decision, but I never remember receiving anything, oh well.

So now, on June 30th, I have to have an interview, luckily it is right here in Lethbridge. Brenda has to join me as she is my "sponsor." I pray that all may go well with that interview.

Truth vs. Grace

You might think this is an interesting title. Truth vs. Grace, shouldn't the two be together? What do I mean by this title? There is something that I have been struggling with for a while. The thing that I am struggling with is how the church, should address certain issues with members within a given church.

The problem is, that in this day and age, "Church discipline" is not something that is really practiced very much. Many people are not comfortable with confronting people. We don't want to stir the pot, we want to let everything be as it is. The church tends to lean towards a "hands off" approach. We don't want to upset people.

The thing that bothers me about this way of doing things is that we seem to be afraid to stand on the truth. We are afraid of upsetting people to the point that we would rather not say or do anything. Even if it is complete and outright sinful, we would rather not say or do anything. Even if is directly contrary to what the Word of God has to say, we still don't want to get involved.

When I write, "Truth vs. Grace" I mean that many people would rather see grace then stand for the truth. Even when people are living lives in a sinful way. How should the church respond in these times? Should we continue with a "hands-off" approach, or should we take a stand for what is right and true?

As I am writing this, I am thinking about some of the reasons why we are afraid to stand for the truth. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think maybe one reason might be we are afraid of people calling us "hypocrites." Are we afraid that people will say that we are too "judgmental." I don't really know, just some of my thoughts. What do you think??

Be Still

Every few months I have the opportunity as part of a local ministerial (a gathering of local ministers) to write an article for the "Local Press." I never know what to write for these things. But here is my latest effort anyway. If you have any suggestions for me for future articles I would really appreciate them! Thanks.

Be Still and Know

Now that the weather is finally warming up, and it seems to be staying, we all begin to think about the coming summer. We think, finally, we will be able to slow down and relax. We will finally be able to enjoy time with our families. During the school year things are just so busy. I mean we have to take Johnny to hockey practice and games how many times a week. After dropping Johnny off, we have to take Susie to dance practice or skating lessons. Not to mention making sure they get all their school work done.

Even though I am not a parent yet, I know what this is like. I was one of the causes of my parents running all over town to make sure I made it to sports practice of some kind. Parents get excited at the end of hockey season because finally, we can maybe slow down…but then soccer starts up, then baseball…you name it there always seems to be something.

We live in a culture of busyness. We are busy people. We don’t really have time for “extra” things. We don’t have time to slow down and to look at the things around us. We don’t have time to “stop and smell the roses.” Often times in this busyness, we get caught up, we lose focus of something that is important: we lose focus of God.

Some people think, when summer hits then I will be less busy, then I can spend more time with God. Summer is supposed to be a time of relaxation, and rest. But in this part of the world, it seems to be the opposite, it seems to be when people are the busiest. God calls us even in the midst of all this busyness to focus on him. He says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

This is difficult for most of us. We just don’t have the time to “Be still.” One of the things that I have come to love about where we live is the opportunity to get out and to see all that God has made. We live not too far from a couple of National Parks. We live close to the mountains. We can see amazing things at different provincial parks. It is amazing to take the time to “be still” and see what God has done. This summer, I hope that everyone is able to take some time to get out and see all God has made. To take time to “Be still and know that [he is] God.” It isn’t always easy to take the time. But when you do, you will be refreshed and renewed in knowing that the one who created all things, that he is God.

Highlights

There are some things in ministry that I see as being highlights. Being able to baptize a child I find as one of them. Another is when someone accepts the promises of God in baptism and they make profession of faith.

Last night as a council we were able to experience the highlight of having a couple of young people come to make profession of faith. It is exciting for me to see. We spent the last few weeks discussing what it means to be a Reformed Christian as well as what the Bible is about. It is great to have them come and tell us why they are at a point they want to make a public profession of faith. It was really moving for me. Praise God!

Sermon or Discussion for Evening Service???

For anyone who might read this, I would like to have your feedback with what you think I should do. Since I have been at this church, I have been going through the Heidelberg Catechism in our evening service. I wanted to do this as it is something that has been neglected I think over the last number of years. But also, it helps my preaching schedule. I have been here a year and a few months, and we are getting to the end.

For the last number of weeks instead of having an actual "sermon" I have been leading a discussion based on the specific Lord's Day. I did this because we were dealing with the Ten Commandments and I felt it served as a good discussion starter. The discussions were based on Ethics class from Seminary as well as my Catechism class I taught in Ontario. Some discussions went better than others. A lot of good and challenging questions came out of our discussions.

Of course with doing something different there is different feedback. Is it good or not? Well, I have of course heard the "negative" side of the feedback from a few of the loyal second service attenders. But to my delight there are a number of people who really enjoyed these discussions.

Now the things that I am faced with, we are finished with the Ten Commandments. Now do I go back to preaching a sermon, or do I continue to lead discussions. The last section deals with Prayer, and the Lord's Prayer, specifically. Some might lend to good discussion.

Now some of the reasons why I did the discussion on the Ten Commandments. 1. They bring up things that we deal with all the time, and it can open our eyes to the wider meaning of the command. 2. I had the discussions pretty much made up from catechism a year ago, and it made it less work. 3. Smaller crowd makes a discussion easier to do.

I have found that after the discussions, often times the discussion continues in the foyer. Rather than the first thing out of people's mouths "well, have you started seeding yet?" "Is the weather going to hold this week to allow us in the fields?" I hear more people continuing the discussion, even if it is joking around, they are discussing it and it seems to be applied more. I don't know.

The thing I struggle with is whether or not to lead discussion. Was it done in an attempt to get more people to come to the evening service? Possibly. Did it work? Not necessarily. I must say that lately we have had a good turnout, 20-30 people. The numbers thing really doesn't bother me too much, I have come to accept that fact that people just don't come. Why that is, is probably another blog post!

Anyway, I guess what I am looking for is what people think. There are positives and negatives. I am just interested in what other people think about this topic.

Camping Season

It has been a long winter. Or so it seems. It seems as if it will never stop snowing. In fact this past week we have had more snow, and as I type there is still some on the ground outside. Should be gone today...But just a bit south of us, only like 30-40 minutes south of us, they got about 5 feet of snow, unbelievable. But, there is hope! The forecast seems nice for the next few days.

I am looking forward to taking our tent trailer out a few times this year. Last year we never really got to use it except on our way back up from California. In a few weeks is May long weekend, (the week before Memorial Day in the States.) I just made reservations to camp there for the weekend as I have the Sunday off.

This morning, I spent over an hour trying to make these reservations. It is only two weeks away, and I tried to reserve the other day, but they said they didnt start until May 1. It didnt make much sense to me, as many people want to go camping on this particular weekend. I tried calling, and the recording said to try the website. So I did. But that was too busy. So I tried calling again, busy signal. I did this over and over again, until finally, an hour later, I got through on the website. I find it a bit ridiculous that they tell you on the phone they are too busy, try the website, but then the website is too busy. Wow, I guess everyone wants to go camping that weekend! Anyway, I am really looking forward to this. It should be a good time!

Oh yeah, we are camping at Writing on Stone provincial park. Just for those who are interested, it is only a few miles from the Montana border I guess...Looks like a neat place.

Lost in the Busyness

Last week was a busy week. Not only did we have Good Friday and Easter, I had a funeral to do on Thursday. The thing that I found out was that it was really busy. But I tried to make sure that I didnt get lost in the busyness of the week. It would have been very easy to get lost in making all those sermons and planning the worship services.

I am extremely thankful for people who are willing and able to help during a busy week. There is one person who really helped me with the planning of the Good Friday service as well as Easter. It was a relief to be able to sit with her and plan the service. It took a major weight off my shoulders. As a result I was able to enjoy the worship services on Good Friday and Easter and not be too stressed out about them. These are highlights of the Church year and to get lost in the busyness of it all would be a shame. It was great to hear the story of how Christ was crucified for our sins and then on the Third day he rose from the grave! A story that we hear each year, but yet never gets old!

I was thinking that I am probably not the only person who felt overwhelmed with how much was going on. A lot of people have big Easter celebrations. Many people get stressed out over these things. I am sure they too could have felt lost in the busyness. I hope that they too were able enjoy the special day and that they were able to remember why we celebrate this each year.

Exciting News

For those who read this, (I dont know who reads this generally), but you notice I dont post on Sunday's because generally I am too busy, tired, etc. But, my wife and I wanted to be able to share our exciting news with everyone. So, I thought it would be good to write this today.

My wife and I are expecting our first baby in October 2009. We are really excited about this, but also nervous as it is a major adjustment. That along with the fact we dont have our families near us. That is one of the hardest things about this, but know that our church supports us in all things. Anyway, that is our exciting news, I would love to hear any comments you migt have. Thanks

Work or Play?

One of the interesting things about ministry is that sometimes the line between work and play can become very fuzzy, if there is a line at all I wonder sometimes. For example, each week we play volleyball at the local school. Generally it is all people from church who play. Now the question I ask is: "Is this work, or is this play?" One that I have no real answer for.

Another example in ministry is our monthly gatherings of local pastors and spouses, (if they can make it, since a lot have other jobs.) We meet once a month on a Monday at someone's house, and then go for lunch. Usually it is a nice time of talking and also a time of prayer with each other. So, is this work or is this play? Monday's are usually my day off, so should I attend this on my day off, or is this outside of work?

Another little example is going to the Christian school spring program. Is that work or play? The reason I ask that is, would I go if I wasnt the pastor and there are 8-10 kids from church in it?

Another example is playing basketball on Wednesday nights. I go and play pick up ball with a bunch of random people, generally the same crowd. For the most part they dont know what I do. There is another pastor who organizes it each week. It is great to get to know these guys and talk with them about what is going on in their lives, but they dont go to our church, is it work or play? But if I take members from church, or meet people there from church, is it work or play?

And then another example from yesterday. I was supposed to go skiing with my wife and someone from church, but then I hurt my ankle and cant ski. So, I was going to get some more work done. My wife was going to play cards with somoene, and her husband asked what I was going to do. He called and asked if I wanted to go and shoot some gophers as he had to go to see his bees. We spent quite a bit of time shooting gophers in the field. Then went to his bees and we had to dig out some pallets of bees. There was a lot of snow around them and so we had to get at some of the pallets. I could only do a little since my ankle is hurt. I helped him with treating the bees and then we went back to shooting gophers on the way home. Is this work or play? Especially since we could talk all the way too and from the bees.

In general, I guess almost anything I do, could be considered work. The way I look at it, we are all called to be Christians at all times. Sure my job is a pastor, so then I should be who I am at all times. But those who call themselves Christians should also be who they are at all times. They should also represent Christ. For many people it is easy to distinguish between work and play. My job makes it a bit harder.

Psalms for Lent

This year for Lent I decided to use Psalms for a Lenten journey from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship (www.calvin.edu/worship). The psalms that we have looked at so far are: Psalm 1, 34, 32, 91. This week we will look at Psalm 73.

It is amazing to me to read through these psalms. I love the psalms and love to preach the psalms. Last week I was able to read a sermon on Psalm 91 by Cornelius Plantinga Jr, which was simply amazing. It made it that much more difficult to write my own, because his was so good.

As I have been preparing these sermons, I am realizing how much I love the psalms. The biggest theme that we covered last week was that the Lord is in fact our Refuge. This phrase is a phrase that is often times over used in our world. It has become a quainte cliche that people use. But really, if we think of the image Psalm 91 gives us, it talks about complete coverage. It does seem to paint a pretty optimistic picture, some would question if it is reality or not. But the main point is that God is able to completely cover us.

As we celebrate lent we prepare ourselves to remember what Christ did for us on the cross. He is able to completely cover us and protect us because he spread his arms out for us. He took the pain so we dont have to. As long as we acknowledge him and fear him, he will protect us. What an amazing promise. It has just been a good reminder for me this year during lent.

Still learning

Yesterday I was able to go and enjoy the outdoors again. There had been some real warm weather recently, but also some new snow on Sunday, so I thought it would be great to go skiing again. I drove up to the mountain with some snow in the morning. I got to the ski hill and no one was there. It was awesome. Skiing on Mondays are perfect, no one is there.

As I am still learning, I decided to take another lesson. This time I had the director of the snow school. He had seen me each time sign up, so he took me himself, and he asked how far I have come. He then told me, we are getting you to ski parallel today. We are getting rid of the snow plow. Well, It took some work, and I finally feel like I am starting to get the hang of it. It was such a nice day. He made me go faster than I had gone before, he wanted me to feel the speed to get used to it. It really seemed to help.

I hope to go again next week, and maybe take one more lesson for the year. Hopefully there will still be some good snow. It was really great to be in the Mountains again, it is so awesome there. Anyway, it is coming along. Still no expert though.

More thoughts on the trip

This past Sunday our group from the Dominican trip was able to give a presentation in church. We had a brief slideshow followed by members of the group talking about their experience. I thought it was really great to hear what people had to say. Each person learned something different. We all experienced the same thing, but we all experienced it differently. It was really fun going through the pictures and remembering all that we had done. Hearing people describe it too, brought back good memories.

I was really pleased to talk to a couple different people who told me how the trip impacted them. It is amazing how 10 days on a trip like this can really have an impact. I think it is a great experience for people to have, but especially people who have never left home, or far from it anyway.

Like I said before, it was a great experience, it challenged me more than I realize sometimes. It really causes one to think about all the blessings that we have and how often times we take everything for granted. I would encourage anyone to go on a trip like this if they are able to.

Trip - Day 10, Feb 20

Short night with not that great of sleep. 6:00 am the alarm goes off, a.k.k Jerry knocking on our door. Pack up and head to the airport. Mano drove us in his van, whoa what an experience. Our first flight left at 10:00 to San Juan. So we had breakfast, with Duane helping everyone order one last time. We said goodbye and off we went. Everything went fine on that flight. We cleared customs in Puerto Rico, we quickly grabbed something to eat. The next flight was scheduled for 12:45 left at 1:15. No problems as we arrived in Dallas a few minutes late. After a nice meal at T.G.I. Fridays we wait again as our plane is a bit late. It will be a late night again.

As I am flying, I finished the second book of the trip and try to sleep. It just isn't working. As I sit here I begin to reflect on the trip even more. I begin to think about the questions Kyndra asked me, "So, did you enjoy it?" This will be a question I am sure I will be asked a lot. The easy answer is yes, I really enjoyed it. The hard thing to do in my mind at least, is to answer - why? What about the trip really made it enjoyable? As I think about this more, I think it really has to do with the fact I can truly see what Paul is talking about in Galatians 4:26-28, we are all "one in Christ Jesus." We spent a lot of time talking about how in our culture, money talks. When frustrations ariseon the jobsite, it is easy for us rich North Americans to want to buy our way out of those frustrations. What I mean by that is that we can buy more supplies, we can buy more equipment, etc. But is this the right thing to do is the real question.

This trip has stretched me. I feel I was blessed in my upbringing of having a lot of diversity around me in the suburbs of Los Angeles. But this trip got me out of my little bubble that I was comfortable in. This trip allowed me to see brothers and sisters in Christ in a whole new way. Often times we can become complacent, comfortable in our faith, in our way of doing things. This trip has helped me to see how passionate people are for the Lord even though it appears as if they dont have anything.

The question I posed to the group is: "What can we take home from this experience?" Does this change how we live? Or do we jump back into our materialistic mindset and culture? Or do we challenge that mindset, do we challenge our families and friends who have this mindset?

The thing I wonder about is how do we as a group, or me specifically as a pastor, challenge our church to see as a reality we are in fact one. That even though there are differences in culture, race, skin color, worship styles, etc, that we all worship the same Lord. This trip sort of reminded me that in North America we are very self-centered in everything we do. If worship doesn't meet my needs I will find a church that does. But we are putting the focus on ourselves rather than on God. At their church service, we were like honored guests. How do we treat others in our churches? We are one, but we tend to put our needs first in North America.

I definitely learned a lot on this trip. I am glad I went. I am sure I will add more thoughts in the days and weeks ahead. I hope to have the group over and talk about these things again in a few weeks.

Trip - Day 9, Feb 19

*I wrote two entries today since I was gone yesterday.

Cathedral built in 1500's

Ryan showing us what people looked like before the firing squad


The Ministry Center in Santo Domingo


This morning we went to visit some interesting places. The first place we stopped at was in San Pedro. Really cool note, real famous major league baseball players come from San Pedro. The place we stopped at was a Christian school that was built by volunteers. It is a CoCRef school (Collegio Christiana Reformada). It was really cool to see all the kids playing. These schools give kids an opportunity to go to school when otherwise they might not be able to.

We then went through downtown Santo Domingo, it was interesting to see all the traffic and the fact 3 million people live there. We went to the ministry center where most of the groups stay. We met Guido and he gave us a tour. He showed us the dorms as well as the new offices that were being built for CRWRC, CoCRef and other ministries. We had lunch there and met some of the workers and some from another group.

After lunch we drove to the colonial center. We were able to see the original fort built in the 1500's as well as the Cathedral there. We then had time to check out some stores. It was really interesting to see how badly they want Americans (or Canadians in this case) in their stores. How pushy they can be even when you say no. I had one kid who tried to polish my sandals. People will do anything for a few pesos. Kids will even was your windows while waiting for the light to change. Duane wont pay them unless they ask first.

After dinner we had a good discussion about the trip and the work. It was great to hear how everyone felt about the week. AFter Duane left, Jerry asked me my thoughts. I feel this week was really good. It truly opened my eyes to a completely different culture. We all said that someone really has to experience it to fully understand what people mean when they describe it. Some have said in the past that they feel closer to God. I don't know if I can say that, but I can definitely say it really excited me to see how other Christians live. It really excited me to see how they worship. We can learn from them in some areas as well.

The thing we also talked about was how do we get more people excited about these opportunities to want to come along. I wish that there would have bee more time spent in devotions and/or prayer that might have brought the group together even more.

In general, I am very glad I went, I got to know some people even better than before. I probably will write another one after I think more on the plane. 6:00 am will come pretty early.

Trip - Day 8, Feb 18

*I will post two today, since I was gone all day yesterday.*

Today we got started as usual. Everyone started by helping to take off the forms of the columns we poured yesterday. Some got started forming the last corners and some got started forming the top of the wall for the solid beam. Another group finished the last column. Before lunch we poured the two columns. After lunch there was a lot of standing around. It was really frustrating at these points, not having anything to do. Once we were able to pour the concrete beam things really moved. Then we had to pour the final column.

I got a sense that we didnt get as far as some would have wanted. We ran into problems with materials. We werent able to get as much done as we would have liked. We hope they are motivated to finish the project. Duane has told us they should have enough money to do so. All of us would love to come back and see the completed job.

Tomorrow we are heading to Santo Domingo. On the way we are going to visit a Christian school. Then we will visit the Ministry Center and a market of some sort.

Tonight was good as we had dinner then walked for ice cream again. It was an okay day, but pretty frustrating.

Trip - Day 7, Feb 17

Today we kind of expected it to be a slow day. We got started as usual with breakfast. After arriving at the job site we got to work right away. We began by taking off the forms from around the windows and columns. We got started with one more door way and a corner column and a side column. When I was finished helping in the back I went to help on the side column. I was helping Jerry and others and we had some fun. They joke with me that the only took me along because of my height. I dont need scaffolding and Jerry used me as a shade tree. We were able to pour three columns before lunch. It was hilarious to see the nationals get a bucket brigade going to pour concrete for the columns. They were having such a good time, it was great to see.

After lunch we really didn't have anything to do. We organized things and that was about all we could do. Tomorrowow we could get quite a ways but it is our last day as well.

As a result we quit early and went to the beach for a few hours. It wasnt as nice as before, but the locals use it more.

After dinner we had a good discussion again on differences between cultures, and how as Christians we are to respond when confronted with different cultures. It was a great chance to discuss these things again. We then walked for ice cream. When we got back we played some cards for a while.

All in all it has been a great experience so far. I am really glad I came and hope Brenda can come on one sometime in the future.