TBA

2011-09-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

The glory of the Christian walk is that we have the FREEDOM to be INTENTIONAL.

Without Christ, our nature inclines us to one thing, and one thing only: sin.

Through Christ we are able to choose life and with life we are enabled to be intentional. This should not overwhelm us, but instead, this empowers us to do exactly as our new nature would both choose and enable us to live.

On Anxiety...

2010-08-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

Take 20 minutes to put your anxiety in perspective.

Listen

\manda

Prayer:

2010-02-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

Remember there is absolutely nothing outside the reach of God. And since He is outside of time, it is never too late to pray about anything."

Isaiah 65:24, "I will answer them before they even call to Me.

Learning is fun...

2010-02-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

Writing paper?

Studying?

Time for a break!!

Check IT out..

LISTEN

2010-02-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

Now:

Listen.

What does this song say about God?

Let this settle in your heart and not just in your head.

Choosing TO BE vs. Choosing to NOT BE

2010-02-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

"Okay," you say, "that's all very well and good, but now what? We understand that we are called into BEING first, out of which flows our doing. We see that this began right at the Fall, where Eve believed that by doing something first, this would cause her to become someone as a result. And upon evaluation, how many of my friends notice WHO I am separate from what I do? How do I BE first and DO second?"

Well, it is ironic that my first inclination would be to give you a list of things you should DO to help you to BE. So instead of doing that I think I would like to raise some points for consideration about what SHOULD NOT be done. And we can work from there...

I think it is really important to make the distinction between you choosing NOT to "be like that" as opposed TO choosing "to be like that." Confusing? Let me use an example. I have had conversations with many different couples early on in their relationship - and they have said to me things like: "We don't want to be like so-and-so..." or "We don't want to do what they do when such-and-such happened" and so on. All of these sentences cloaked in "don'ts" and looking at...who? Looking at other couples. They choose who they become as a couple based on what parts of other couples they don't (or sometimes do) like. But the focus is all wrong. Rather then frolicking (I love that word!) in the freedom of choice that we have in Christ to BE someone as opposed to NOT be someone...they look horizontally at others and decide what the standard should be.

So, I think the first point of consideration: what is the standard for which you are striving? Who are you called to be? And not: who are you called to NOT be.

The First Lie of Identity...right in Eden

2010-01-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

Read Gen. 3.

Have you ever noticed that Satan challenges Eve's identity when he is laying the trap for her to eat the apple? He says, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." He inverts the natural order of "being" right here! Let me explain:

We read that God creates Adam and Eve himself in Chapter 2:7. The creation of humankind has special significance because God does not "speak them into being" as He had the rest of creation. Instead we read that he forms mankind from the dust of the ground - and then breathes life into them. From the moment they are given life WHO they are is (literally) from God Himself. Only after they have their identity (which is elaborated on in the latter half of Chapter 2) then they are given the command to tend the garden, and it is because of WHO they are (and who they are called to be) that God commands them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen.2:16-17). What they are to do is established as a result of WHO they are. Their deeds (or what they should not do) flows out of their identity.

Then, when Satan comes along - he not only causes Eve to question God's character but he twists around God's created order for "being." In essence, Satan says to Eve 'Do this (eat of the tree)...which will make you like this (God). WOW! Do something and this will make you someone.
God had established WHO Adam and Eve and their deeds flowed out of who they were called to be. Satan twists this and says...do this...and it will make WHO you are.

There really is nothing new under the sun.

Pic: courtesy of: http://lostprovince.net/illustrations/images/Serpent.jpg

Calling Out the Lies by Bringing them into the Light of Christ: 1.

2010-01-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

Studying in SEMINARY has made me realize how easily it is for us to let ourselves become defined by what we DO instead of WHO WE ARE. The reason I think this is obvious in this environment is because we are studying what we believe we are being called to DO, becoming equipped for it. Yet it is so easy in this process to forget that equipping is not the same as transforming.

I remember being convicted of this within my own life when I moved to Honduras. A few months into the new job and culture, I realized that I was doing all these great things "in the Name of Christ" but that in that I was forgetting to pursue CHRIST HIMSELF. In other words, I was one of those people in Matt.7 - those who bang on the door of the banquet room and say "Did we not do _________ (substitute your own doing) in your Name?" And Christ says "I never knew you."

It is so easy in the Christian life to pursue a life of great doings for Christ - rather then the life of great being in Christ. I am not saying by any means that I have it figured out but here are some questions that may help in your personal meditation:

1) If what I was doing right now (or the role that I am in) was taken away from me, would my identity be lost?

2) Am I often the subject of compliments from others about what I do, rather then WHO I am when I am, when with them. (THIS IS A BIGGIE!!) That doesn't mean the encouragement regarding what you do is wrong, just take a second to reflect on how often people see WHO you are outside of what you are doing.

3) And then...am I able to see character in others that is apart from what they do? Actively search to SEE PEOPLE rather then their jobs.

4) Who am I called to be? Yes, the obvious answer is "Jesus" but reflect on what that means. This does not mean think about WWJD - but WHO Jesus was. Then the question of what you should do will be answered.

Maybe I can live 2010 in THIS TRUTH

2010-01-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some, it is in everyone.

And, as we let our light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

This year I learnt that...

2009-12-31T13:02:00.000-08:00

you can make plans,
and dream with the desires
and knowledge that you have

BUT

hold them with an open hand
and with an ear to the voice of the Holy Spirit,
and with a heart that longs to follow Him.

THEN

He will bless you
beyond what you could have imagined,
teach you things you didn't know you needed to learn,
heal wounds you didn't know were there,
and fill you with joy amid struggle,
and give you peace and certainty

THAT

the journey you are taking,
is part of the destination you strive for.

Reflections on 2009...A Year of Surprises

2009-12-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

Last year at this time I thought I would be:

- either in Honduras OR in the States studying for a M.A. in Counselling

I am doing neither.

I never thought I would have:

- hitch hiked along the north coast of Honduras
- seen the famous Mayan Ruinas of Tikal
- taken a ferry boat to Belize
- played and sung in a Spanish worship group
- learnt to become proficient in another language
- be studying at Tyndale
- made some amazing friends
- come to know God even more a realized that He has bigger plans for His people then they do for themselves

When I look back on 2009 I think of the hopes and dreams and ideas I had for myself and realized that following after God surprises you every time.

2009-12-22T16:48:00.001-08:00

The next few solos and Choruses talk about how Jesus was mocked, how we was sorrowful, and how we took on our transgressions. Then the Soprano sings about Jesus triumph over Hell and the Chorus responds with : Lift Up youp Heads Oh Yeah Gates. Listen to how closely the strings imitate the chorus - or the chorus imitates the strings.

Then we have another favourite solo done by bass (wow if you can sing low!) Here is another example of how the strings are used to create the truth of the text within the melody. Why do the nations so furiously rage together.

And then after a tenor solo you have the most famous piece of the Messiah (you should recognize it from various movies, such as Shrek).

The Hallelujah Chorus. This song gives me goose bumps. If imperfect man can sing this - imagine heaven!! If you also ever hear this live you will stand up for this song because when it was first performed for the King in Handel's time, (I think George) he stood up. And so now, every performance of this song the audience stands.

Enjoy!

2009-12-21T17:30:00.001-08:00

Without drawing this out and making it a real bore - I have just selected a few songs as highlights. These are songs that you may know once you hear them.

We are now in Part II - which is the passion of Christ. It opens with "Behold the Lamb of God." You may have noticed that the first part was about the life of Christ, but it never discussed what Christ said. Messiah favours covering a "broad" - or comprehensive - understanding of Christ's life. Therefore you have his birth talked about, his healings (as prophesied in Isaiah) and that He is a shepherd. This metaphor will be picked up on in Part II.

Then the Chorus sings two heart rending songs.

Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs
- is a choral piece that unites everyone in song - uniting us in our guilt about the necessity of Christ to bear sin for us. The message is haunting...and so is the music.
- listen to the music chord change at "the chastisment" - even if you are "not musical" you will know the part when you hear it.

AND one of my favorites, picking up on the sheep theme again.

All We Like Sheep...have gone astray. We have turned (and the music for this part is dizzying. The effect of the music is meant to create the effect of turning away from God - there is only confusion.) And a good conductor will have the choir, when they are singing many notes but only one word, it actually sounds like the Baahh of sheep. It is a wonderful song because the mode of music creates the reality of the text. If you don't listen to any other song, listen to this one. And just remember that sheep are also some of the dumbest animals;)

Soprano: Narrates

2009-12-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

The next three solos are by the soprano (don't worry they are not long) - who narrates about the experience of the shepherds in hearing the message of Christ's birth.

Solo:

And then you hear the voices of the angels as sung by the Chorus. Beautiful!! Close your eyes and image this song as sung to you by the angels.

Oops..I thought this was posted..and it wasn't.

2009-12-15T08:10:00.000-08:00

The biblical texts of Handel's Messiah were selected by Charles Jennen, a literary scholar who worked with Shakespeare. He selected texts from the King James Version of the Old and New Testaments that Handel would eventually put to music.

We are still in part one, where the prophecies about Jesus are being sung.

In "Thus saith the Lord" the audience is introduced to the bass voice and in "But Who May Abide" we hear the alto (and sorry to say men, but this part has been done by a man as well - called a counter-tenor)

Finally we have the chorus in "And He Shall Purify". In this particular version the conductor has chosen to use some instruments that are more characteristic of the time of Handel. You can here the strings in the beginning...and a bassoon-like instrument throughout the bass. Here how it mimics the bass singers. You can also hear the harpsichord - which was either 1) a harp laid horizontally or b) an early piano - depending on how you look at it.

NOW: the actually story - short alto solo - then stay on the same page and listen to the next song.

Behold, a virgin shall conceive

AND a piece that you probably have heard before but did not know it was part of the Messiah:

"For unto us a child is born" - and just listen to how the strings and the melody create the joy of the message being given.

A Handle on Handel (Did you see that? Did you see what I did just there?)

2009-12-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

So. I don't know if you have every composed a piece of music. But it usually takes a LONG time - at least even when played usually there is some part you feel that you could do better on. Imagine composing a host of music - a two-three hour-long symphony...and all in three weeks. And this is not just chord writing, or music for one instrument. We are talking four voice choir, plus four soloists, plus an ENTIRE orchestra!!! That is exactly how Handel's Messiah was composed: 24 days and one of the greatest classical masterpieces of all time. It is said that during this time he forgot to eat, and that the servants of the house could here his sobs as he wrote the music.

Messiah is composed in three parts
1) Advent and Christmas stories
2) The Passion, Resurrection & Ascension of Christ
3) Christ's return

Messiah begins with prophetic messages from the Old Testament.

Comfort Ye (tenor solo). Listen to the words of the prophet as spoken by the angel at Jesus' birth. God among me was not a source of fear but a source of Joy.

Handel does something called "text painting": where the musical notes mimic what the text is saying. (The most famous song being "Hallelujah Chorus": where the music expresses that Hallelujah by the way it is structured. Listen to the following songs with your eyes closed and see how the words are reflected in the music to which it is put. Listen to this idea in the following songs.

Every Valley (Tenor Solo)
And the Glory (Chorus)

Confessions of a Choral Junkie...and subsequent instruction

2009-12-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

I am a choral junkie. I love choral music and grew up listening to my parents various CD collections: I progressed through the years of playing with my dolls, to card games, to reading, to reading, to reading...to playing with my dolls...just kidding - but all happening with classical music playing in the background. As I entered my teenage years and discovered groups such as Delirious, The Grits, Michael W. Smith, Rich Mullins, et al. the classics started to fade into the background. Many people my age didn't listen to the stories of Scripture set to "flowery" instrumental music with male vocalists who sung vibrato. Instead, various guitars with bass that made your lungs vibrate and drums that made you question you ability to return to sanity, grew in popularity.

When I entered university and had the oppurtunity to sing in a choir - I jumped at the chance. Having had exposure to more popular Christian music I was excited to see that choral composition was still occuring - with Biblical truth embedded in the songs, that didn't need drums or volume to promote feeling but through use of voice, melody, dissonance, and contrast, were able to let the music come alive.

I am NOT saying that this does not happen with contemporary worship music, but it happens less frequently because we can find ourselves "feeling" the music by the beat and volume rather than by the truth and words of the song. I feel a sadness that people have missed out / are missing out on the richness of a multi-century tradition that has a lot to offer contemporary music in this way. So, the next few posts will be dedicated to opening this world up to people - specifically in the context of Christmas with one of the most famous choral compositions of all time: Handel's Messiah.

Start here by listening to the Overture. This is a total instrumental piece of music that opens Messiah. Messiah is the story of the life of Jesus Christ, from the prophecy about his birth until His return: BUT ALL SCRIPTURE IS TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM THE BIBLE AND PUT TO MUSIC!! The Overture is exactly that: an introduction...an opening to the story of the life of Christ. I have selected this choral piece because it is usually sung at this time of year.

Next post : background on the writing of the Messiah and more pieces. Enjoy!!

Christian leaders & the heart of God

2009-12-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world withi nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.

The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? But: Are you in love with Jesus...In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enourmous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, cares, reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response. It is a heart that suffers immensely because it sees the magnitude of human pain and the great resistance to trusting the heart of God who wants to offer consolation and hope.

The Christian leader of the future is the one who truly knows the heart of God as it has become flesh...

when you are bored...or procrastinating...or writing a paper...

2009-12-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

write a song...to the tune of Three Blind Mice (or Hot Cross Buns)

Here is mine...

I am bored
I am bored
Papers are dumb
Papers are dumb
I'd rather be cleaning the bathroom floor
Or shutting ten fingers hard in the door
I am bored
I am bored

What's your song?!?!

Prayer...

2009-11-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

I recently read some writings of Augustine and one little phrase struck me. Augustine was discussing man's desire for happiness in his life - and that this can only be attained by uniting ourselves to God in love. The security of possessing Him, he wrote, will make us happy. He continued to write that this love for God, will need a medium of expression, and that need "is supplied by prayer which is the affectionate reaching out of the mind for God." I don't know that I had really ever thought of prayer before as affectionate. As worship, yes. Adoration, yes. Supplication, yes. But affection? Hmmm... I pondered and pondered, and then realized that I liked this way of putting it because it allowed you to be before God as yourself. Often in Christian traditions we have learnt how to pray (in a manner of speaking, just as someone learns how to become a doctor, or how to sew). All engage the mind of the student, all are practiced by the student - and one can DO all these thing without ever engaging the heart, or arousing emotion in the student. This is, what I think, Augustine meant here: that our intellectual understanding and emotional response to God come together when we engage in prayer. By using the term affection - he delibrately points the participant to engage his whole being in his conversation with God.

Furthermore, when you have affection for someone or something, you are drawn towards the person, or thing. In relationships - we want to share ourselves, to share our lives. This is what we need to do with God! I had to question myself: how do I show affection for God? Is He the one that I want to go to with happy and sad things? Does my mind show affection to Him by reaching to Him in prayer? Or do I seek others instead?

Sometimes...the ironies of life

2009-11-22T13:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes
- it is amazing that we can make plans - but the memories that stay with us are usually the unplanned spontaneous times spent.

- it is when we are weak - that GOD uses us the most to show His strength.

- the things that we have to fight the hardest through - are the things that end up having the most value in shaping who we become

- the things that we are the most frightened of control us - until we learn to step out into faith and realize that we never had the control in the first place...God did.

- the relationships we have where we are vulnerable are the ones where we the most richly blessed because we get to be ourselves

- victory comes only after full surrender. Think of Jesus on the Cross.

- Sometimes reality is the exact opposite of what we think.

Redeeming the Curse

2009-11-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

Doing good in a fallen world requires an ability to wrap our hands around a
thorny weed, feel the pain of needles piercing through our gloves, and yet pull
with the kind of might that does not stop at the first signs of resistance.
Strength involves a willingness to bleed...
- D Allender & T Longman - Bold Love (213)

2009-11-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

There was a landslide in El Salvador - where a friend of mine (from Honduras) was visiting with family for a friend. These are some of her pictures. Let us not forget the rest of the world and the dangers they face - even though we have our own.

Pic 1: people walking in what used to be the street - looking for loved ones

Pic 2: my friend looking for clothes for the kids

Pic 3: what used to be the garage - the water is beginning to reside

Pic 4: outside in what used to be the street

Contemplations on the Heart - what does it mean to be a Christian?

2009-11-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

I have come to realize more and more just how much God wants our heart. Christians today are the ancestors of rich traditions that emphasize the importance of attending church, bible study participation, social justice, outreach and other such activities. However, I realize that one of the biggest obstacles to Christianity is exactly that: our faith has become our activities. We have allowed ourselves to be defined by what we do - rather than WHO we are. Don't get me wrong, there is a definite place for these activities. BUT when they become the marker of what it means to be a Christian, when the become THE relationship - it is then that they lose their intended purpose.

All these things mean nothing when they do not origin in a heart that longs to know God better, put or old self to death, and be clothed with the character of Christ. For some reason we have somehow equated the character of Christ with the performance of certain "Christian" activities - rather than be known for our relationships with people - we allow ourselves to be defined by our place in the church, our work, our familial status, our possessions, whatever. In the end, however, it is these things that should be transformed by WHO we are. If the heart inside us changes, these activities will be part of what we do = but will not come to define us. This means that when these things are taken away, when things don't turn out as we had hoped, we do not lose our identity because our identity is found in the Person Jesus Christ and not in the actions we perform.

In no way do I write this as person who has mastered this or understands it completely - but as an encouragement for US to be purposeful in WHO we become. So, where is your heart?

pic: www.karengillistaylor.com

2009-10-30T14:43:00.001-07:00

I am feeling type of cultural disconnect in the hype about the H1N1 virus. Suddenly, I am wondering if I need to get the vaccine. Six months ago - that thought would not even have occured to me.

Six months ago it was a big deal to get safetly from Point A to Point B. It was exciting when your power didn't turn off randomly in the middle of the day. It was exciting that our water tank was functioning. It was an adventure just to go grocery shopping. And yes, the scare last spring did result in Hondurans wearing masks in the grocery store - but the thought of getting a vaccine so that maybe I wouldn't get a virus I may not every be exposed to? The thought didn't even mention my head - and I was not even that far away from the Mexican outbreak.

Now I am back in Canada - and suddenly I don't have to worry about electricity, water, and safety (at least as much as I did.) So - what else do I have to worry about? What else do WE have to worry about - ah yes - the possibility of getting H1N1. This is not to sound cynical - but when we have the basics that we need for survival, our worries get taken up with other things that others do not even have the luxery of worrying about. This chaos - it seems to only create more noise so that we cannot hear what is truly worrysome: that thousands across the world go hungry every night, millions are without good drinking water, and over half the world lives in fear of personal safety. And here we are worried about maybe getting sick - so we inject our bodies with ....what? What about the millions of people who have no choice but to drink dirty water and expose themselves to who-knows-what. We need to remember what is truly important - and not let the noise of the chaos overwhelm us and make us into people of fear (and inaction) and not people of faith (and action.)

I'm just saying.

Pay ATTENTION!!!

2009-10-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

I read in today's Honduran newspaper that Daniel Ortega, president of Nicaragua - and pocket buddy of Bolivian president Hugo Chavez - has succeeded in the first step toward securing the possibility of re-election. Although the Constitution forbids it, the Constitutional Court has decided that the article that forbides a president to re-run in un-applicable. The judges went so far as to say that they are the mouth of the law and therefore ordered the Supreme Electoral Council to permit Ortega to run again, should he so chose.

HELLO!! If what just happened in Honduras is not an indication of how people are really feeling. The court and people of Honduras put a stop to their president in his attempt to do the same thing - and the world (wrongfully) labelled it a coup. Now Nicaragua has, at an basic level, opened the door for the same thing to happen again - but it will be dependant on how the majortity of people chose to/chose to not respond.

People need to start paying attention!! Chavez is inflitrating Central America - with strong feeling againsts western thinking. (that may be an understatement). I hope the world wakes up and realizes that what is happening in Nicaragua right now was what Hondurans - as a nation - forbade of their leader - calling him to account to the people.

The Three Month Hurdle...

2009-10-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I have been back from Honduras for just over three months - and I am still adjusting. I have a hard time knowing when to share my experiences (or not) because I do not want to be someone that become an old-record player..."in Honduras it was..." However, this fear has made me realize that I have NOT talked about it enough. So here are some of my thoughts on being back - and some things that I have noticed has changed.

I LOVE how clean Canada is - and the whole movement against plastic bag usage is AMAZING. The only problem is that in the back of my mind I see Honduras littered with garbage - and most of them little plastic bags that have been used to hold drinking water. It seems to be all or nothing. Either there is no garbage litter (here) or it is everywhere (there). Oh, and we use way too much water from the tap - I mean sometimes I didn't even have water. Here we get HOT water out of the tap. (This still gives me thrills:)

I can still walk into a room and be the minority - and one of the taller people. THIS blows my mind - BUT I LOVE the cultural diversity of Canada. It is exciting to learn to live among other cultures. And to eat there food. (Though I really do miss a baleada. If you don't know what that is click here.)

I love being able to worship in English - but I find myself unable to express certain songs in English because they have more meaning in Spanish. I miss my church's worship team.

I love being able to walk, AT NIGHT, with an umbrella, in the rain. This is a four part thanks. 1) I can walk at night and not worry about theft, my safety, etc. 2) I can walk - on a sidewalk. No ditches or drains to worry about twisting my ankle in. 3) I can use an umbrella without worry about it blocking my view from being aware of who is around me. 4) When it rains here, you can still walk in it. It is not like a waterfall from heaven - which floods the street.

Bittersweet: the weather. I love fall, and feel that I appreciate it more. However, I also miss the heat and the fact that soon it will take twice as long to get anywhere because we all seem to forget how to drive in the snow.

I miss the community. When you walk and bike everywhere in Honduras, you know who lives near you and on your way to work. We all go in our cars, by ourselves, listen to our radios, and generally exist in our boxes. Walking and biking everywhere makes you feel like you belong.

Driving: a lot more rules but a lot more safe. It is not a free-for-all - though I do wish some drivers were more agressive ;p)

I miss the SIMPLICITY. I felt that because I had to make such a delibrate choice to be there - to be away from the familiar, away from family, friends, and a culture I "understand" that my calling to be there was really firm. Here, there is so much 'noise' in the way of pulling - I have to learn how to listen and to learn how to choose to BE WHERE I AM.

2009-10-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't had fall in three years - it is beautiful!!!

A Reflection on "Blessed Be Your Name"

2009-10-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

I think too often I sing this song without thinking of the significance of the words. I mean, would I still bless God if things (especially good things) are taken away from me?

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

So true!! I have so much here. Access to good healthcare and trained doctors. Access to education. I am safe when I drive, I am safe when I walk - I don't need to worry about kidnapping, robbery, or rape. I have family and friends nearby.

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

I think different people may have different wilderness. Mine was/is the last three months - coming back here and struggling with finding community, with finding a place to serve, with finding, (wait for it) REST. God is still good, no matter what is going on.

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

What is blessing? I don't think it means that it is something that is, in its experience, good. I think it can also be struggle. Because through struggle we are brought closer to God. When that darkness comes, we can call on the name of the Lord.

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Bless: to extol as holy, to bestow good upon. God IS HOLY, HE IS GOOD. So often I define Him by my experience or my feelings of Him. The truth is, God is good, no matter what I am experiencing. He remains the same: yesterday, today, forever.

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

It's always seems easier to sing praise as you walk through the color-rich trees, as you hear the leaves crunch under your feet, and as you see the sun filter down through the branches. WHY?

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

God's name is to be raised up through the suffering in our lives. When I am weak, He is made strong. The offering to Him of ourselves in weakness and in strength is the greatest way of blessing His Name. Blessing someone does not just occur with words.

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

I need to ask God to see His blessings. We have everything so "set up" here. His work in my life sometimes seems harder to "discover." In Honduras, SOMETHING would always happen when I went out: either I didn't understand fully because of the language barrier, breaks on the car would go, I would get yelled at, laughed at, hassled. Every day I really experienced his protection and His care because it was NEEDED because things were not "in place." Here things are "in place" and I think we have lost the ability to thank God for those things.

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

This part is the hardest to write - because I felt like Honduras, with all its struggles still was good. It was given to me and now it has been taken away. I know without a doubt how much I am meant to be here - and we can be very happy when things are taken away from us that are hard to deal with. But how do you deal with it when GOOD things are taken? Ask anyone who has health problems, who has lost someone. God has His purposes - we need to ask to see them. But first we need to trust and remember who HE IS for then we will BLESS HIS NAME.

We need to run to Christ...

2009-10-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

Listen

2009-09-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Corn: Ontario, Canada - September 2009

Sugar Cane: Trujillo, Honduras - January 2009

Please explain to me...!!!

2009-09-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

Please explain to me:

WHY Hilary Clinton has to call for Zelaya's re-instatement when SHE HAS NO IDEA NOR HAS SHE ASKED HONDURANS WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON.

WHY big newspapers are still calling what happened in Honduras a military coup - when elected officials voted to use the military (the only group with the resources) to remove a president who was breaking the constitution.

WHY Zelaya is still carrying on about this when he would be out of a job in two months anyway? (Hello anyone - does this not reek of hidden agenda?)

WHY newspapers are wrongly labelling anti-Zelaya protests as pro-Zelaya?

WHY the U.S. has stopped all foreign aid to a crippled country?

Photo courtesy of: http://osmoothie.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/manuel-zelaya.jpg
\manda

I Want to Know You, God

2009-09-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

In the secret

In the quiet place

In the stillness

You are there

In the secret

In the quiet hour

I wait only for You

Cause, I want to know You more

Chorus:I want to know You

I want to hear Your voice

I want to know You more

I want to touch You
I want to see Your face

I want to know You more

I am reaching for the highest goal

That I might receive the prize

Pressing onward

Pushing every hindrance aside

Out of my way

Cause, I want to know You more.

Sonficflood

You have no excuse...

2009-09-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3-11

I still...(reverse culture shock)

2009-08-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

get thrills: when hot water comes out of the showerhead and I don't have to worry about be electrocuted by it.

am excited: when I can drink water from the tap

end up bored: at night because I don't have people over every night like I did in Honduras

wind up giddy: at the thought of going to the library

am mixed up: I still don't speak English properly and I am about to start school

miss: Honduras

You (also) need to read...

2009-08-21T18:01:00.001-07:00

While myself and many others spent our childhood growing up in the freedom of North American society, without the worries of family members disappearing in the night, people watching and listening for 'slips of the tongue' against the government, and most importantly, with the ability and opportunity to dream of the future without reference to the whims and cruelty of others - there were those across the world who lived with this reality. Children who did not know if the security of their life would be shattered by the manic. Parents who could only hope that their children had the courage to dream outside themselves.

I just finished this book:

and I realized how priviledged I AM. This book shares the story of a woman who was thrown into prison and tortured - and her vow to share the stories of other women and prisoners under Saddam Hussein. I could not read it before bed - the evilness of the human heart did not leave me in any state to sleep. But it opens my eyes : this is STILL going on!!! Ignorance is not going to change the world - it can only stifle the human spirit because it ignores the truth. So, read it.

You need to read...

2009-08-14T13:27:00.001-07:00

You need to read this book if:

- you live in an area with poverty, drunkeness, abuse...oh wait - that's anywhere in the world.

- ESPECIALLY if you live in or near Toronto

- you want to know how Christian love hits the dirtiest road

Quotes from the family

2009-08-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Rachel: (nurse) "All my good decisions are made at the hospital. The rest is lunacy."

Theo: (7 years old) "I have no modesty."

2009-08-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sony played this video at their executive conference this year...

2009-07-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ben Stein's Final Column

For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called 'Monday Night At Morton's.' (Morton's is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.) Now, Ben is terminating the column to move on to other things in his life. Reading his final column is worth a few minutes of your time.

Ben Stein's Last Column... How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?

As I begin to write this, I 'slug' it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is 'eonline FINAL,' and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started... I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it.. On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.Beyond that, a bigger change has happened..? I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a 'star' we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails..They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq . He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad . He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him..A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad .The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines... The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament...the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.But, I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York . I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human. Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.

By Ben Stein

Honduras: People it is STILL not over

2009-07-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Mel Z tried to enter Honduras from Nicaragua - he was about as effective as bee without a stinger - all noise and absolutely no point. He stepped over the border - waved at some supporters and retreated back to Nicaragua because no one could guarentee his safety. Smart man. Keep playing for the cameras that Honduras is some military-crazy, out-of-control country that is in need of a wealthy farmer who-makes-deals-with-leftist-politicians to lead the country out of its primal actions. And there is Obama waiting to swallow Mel Z fish - in fact - he even has the tarter sauce to go with it. PUH-LEAZ. As if these pics don`t tell you enough about how the people are feeling:

you know you have (fill in appropriate word) issues when...

2009-07-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

you know you have commitment issues when you don't want to commit to a three-year phone plan

it's still happening...

2009-07-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Pray for Kidnapped Missionaries in Yemen

Would you take a moment to join us in prayer for the safety of six fellow believers who were kidnapped by suspected al-Qaeda linked terrorists in Yemen? On June 12, a group of Christians, including 7 Germans, 1 British man and 1 South Korean were kidnapped while picnicking in the northern Yemeni province of Saada. The believers were aid workers based at al-Jumhuri hospital in northern Yemen.

Three days later, the bodies of two Germans, Rita Stumpp, 26, and Anita Gruenwald, 24 (picture at right), as well as a South Korean woman, Eom Young Sun, 33 (picture at bottom right), were found in el-Nashour, in northern Yemen. Yemeni security officials have been searching for the other six Christians who are still missing. They are: Johannes Henschel and his wife Sabine, a German couple, and their three children - Lydia, 4, Anna, 3, and Simon, 11-months, and an unnamed British man.

Please pray for:-

- Comfort and strength for the families of the three murdered believers.
- Strength and comfort for the six still missing. Ask God to give them hope and faith as they go through this ordeal.
- The success for security officials in finding the six missing believers. - For Muslims in Yemen to open up to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,

Jeff King
President, ICC

our true identity

2009-07-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Failure to deal with the presence of sin can often be traced back to spiritual amnesia – forgetting our new, true, real identity. As a believer, I am someone who has been delivered from the dominion of sin and who therefore is free and motivated to fight against the remnants of sin in my heart. You must know, rest in, think through, and act upon your new identity – you are in Christ" — Sinclair B. Ferguson (In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life)

You should review it. Then you should read it.

FIY

2009-07-14T12:21:00.001-07:00

The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache.

Reverse Cultural Shock (r.c.s.)

2009-07-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

Over the next few weeks you may be hearing some random posts/venting/i-don't-know-what about my transition back into a developed country. Here are few things I have noticed so far:

- MAN do people waste power. Let's light up entire empty streets at 2am - and for WHAT PURPOSE? and they turned our power off like how many times?
- I have to think about what language to talk in when people are serving me at the counter or at a table
- People can understand me when I am talking to my friends/family in line - meaning - I can't comment about what is going on around me
- I am an average height
- I haven't been told I love you by any man (other than my father or brothers) IN OVER 5 DAYS!!! lol

Honduras: maybe some people are on the right track..

2009-07-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Finally! One of the more accurate reportings of what is happening...(at least in my opinion)

http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=1767103

Honduras: forcing a crippled economy to its knees.

2009-07-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from a two year teaching stint in Honduras, Central America. We left on the day that it was rumoured that Manuel Zelaya, ex-President of Honduras, was to return to reclaim his role.

I spent the last two years watching Hondurans react to different laws that Mel Zelaya has passed which have included things such as raising the minimum wage by 60%. Now teachers and cleaners are making almost the same wage. Many companies had to fire employees in order to keep the staff paid at the required wage.

I spent the last week among Hondurans watching their reaction as they heard the news about their president - which for most was primarily one of anxious anticipation. This anxiety was partly due to the relief of having something done about the president - about people having the care to do something. The lack of apathy was refreshing. However, as public coverage spread - their anxiety grew as the world was informed that their president had not exiled but removed in a military coup. Oh, the joys of semantics. The media use of the world "coup" only sent shivers through many Westerners as it brought to mind the different military coups of the last 25 years. In reality, the Congressional Assembly (which is elected) had voted for the removal of President Mel on the morning of the referendum which was to allow him to change the constitution (to let him run for another term in the coming November elections.)

This reaction was the most painful for me to watch: the Hondurans realizing that the world was being presented with a Honduras that was not an accurate reflection of what was happening. For a country that is so poor, and is barely on the news as it is, to have their country portrayed in the same way as communist countries of the past, CNN's coverage and other media stations did nothing to help Honduras' reputation infront of the world. Furthermore, other nations offering Honduras foreign aid and imports had threatened to pull out their support if they did not welcome Mel Zelaya back as Honduran president. For a country that is already on its knees economically this blow will only proceed to lower them further.

And now there is the country is not even united. There are those who are for Mel - many poor, working class people who have in some way benefited financially from Mel's pocketbook and then there are those who are for Micheletti...then there are those who are just against mel but not necessarily for Micheletti...and then there is many people who just want freedom and democracy that is actually TRUE freedom and democracy. But of course the countries that are supposed to stand up for democracy (EU, United States, et. al) have actually come down on the side of Zelaya - who is openly aligned with leftist governments. It is disillusioning for many Hondurans to see the country many of them prize (the United States) backing men who have no interest in freedom. Hmmm.... maybe someone will pay attention?!?!

Honduras: NOT a military coup - but arresting and exiling a president for violating the Constitution!!!

2009-06-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning at around 5am - soldiers, acting as policemen, arrested Honduran president Mel Zelaya and forced him into exile where he was granted asylum in Costa Rica. As this was taking place, people around the world and Honduras were being told that it was a military coup. And it did have the appearance of that - especially given the fact that the soldiers did the arresting. What did not help the fact was that the president spoke publically and said that he had been kidnapped. What he did not mention was that he had been trying to hold a referendum (in which the only vote was yes) that would allow him to run another term for president - which is in clear violation of the Constitution. Elections were to be held this coming November. Zelaya is not a popular president - passing many laws (such as raising the minium wage) that have not helped the already shaky Honduran economy. His continuing alliance with Venezualan president Hugo Chavez has not helped in solidifying any relationship with the United States, where it is rumoured at least 1/4 of Honduran GNP comes from.

Just be careful about what you read. Many people are interested in turning the events into certain ways to have thing turn in their favor.

Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary to these very special people in my life...

2009-06-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

sometimes...

2009-06-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

sometimes you move almost exactly to the day one month before you move out of the country.

sometimes you move out of your house on days when it is really hot

sometimes you want to help move heavy things - but can't because your back is hurting.

sometimes you could get frustrated

or sometimes you could just enjoy the friends who are able to lift for you and laugh with you.

The Horror of Living in a country at war...remembering Christians around the world

2009-06-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

Pray for ICC Supported Orphans in Burma

I just wanted to let you know that one of our worst fears has been realized. Our orphanage in Burma was attacked by the Burmese army last night.
The orphanage was a new project for us. The buildings (dorms, church, and a school) had just been finished in April. We had 30 kids in the orphanage. Their stories, such as the ones below, are heartbreaking.

My name is Kham Loo, I am 13 years old. I have been here for eleven months. My parents were killed in Burma. I am an only child. It was very dangerous for me to get here. I had to avoid the many landmines. I saw the Burmese soldiers come into my village and have witnessed many of my friends being murdered. Many girls have been raped and then killed by Burmese soldiers. Other girls who were gang raped became crazy. The Burmese soldiers also took our harvest.

My name is Seng Mon. I am 11 years old. I have been here four months. It took me one day to travel here. My father died and my mother was taken away by the Burmese soldiers. I came here, because in Burma it is very dangerous. I have seen the Burmese soldiers raping girls. There are many landmines around our village in Burma. I feel safe here and I want to learn to speak English.

The project was such a success that another 60 kids (persecuted and traumatized by war but not orphans) had come to the orphanage for an education and relative safety (compared to living without defense in the jungle on the constant run from the army). But last night, these kids were trapped and had to flee in the middle of the night. The only way to safety was across the river into Thailand (photo at right). Not all of the kids knew how to swim so we are on pins and needles waiting to hear what happened. The initial report is that most survived (Praise God!!).
A few days ago our representative on the ground had warned us that there were fears that the Burmese army might attack because the fighting was getting increasingly close and the Burmese army was going to make a final push this year to defeat the Karen people.
Well, last night those rumors became reality. Here is the report from our partners on the ground.

As far as we know, we have 400 children and some adults on the Thai side, somewhere in hiding in a ____________. It is rainy season and kids need to get clothes and plastic tarps and rice for now.

The army attacked the camp in Burma first, then went and crossed the river and went into Thailand! They then crossed the river again from the Thai side into the other camp, our kids were trapped and could not run deeper into Burma because there were landmines placed around the camp. The only way to escape was to cross the river into Thailand. This created, of course, major panic. Many of the little ones cannot swim and it was pitch dark. (The initial report is that) most of the children survived though they are traumatized and don't have dry clothes or food to eat. Please, Please, pray for this urgent situation.

We will keep you updated as we learn more. Obviously, we want you to pray and ask for help for these kids. Also, if you want to help with financial needs for the kids, you can go to http://www.persecution.org/suffering/donation.php and include in the note that your gift is for the "Burma orphanage."

Thank you,

Jeff King
President, ICC

International Christian Concern
P.O. Box 8056
Silver Spring, MD 20907
Phone: (800) ICC-5441
Fax: (301) 585-5918

Earthquake!!!

2009-06-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday: 2:24am - I am awakened by the vigorious moving of my bed - but I know that I am not the culprit. It takes a few moments to register that things are NOT normal - and in my subconscious I register the fact that the curtains are moving. But they are not moving in a way that hints at wind - but in a way that one would expect movement on a boat. I sit up - hoping to find the culprit lying on the floor shaking my bed - trying to make sense of this bizarre experience. Within seconds I feel very ill as I watch and feel my room move like a boat on some ways. Finally it registers - though it seems like such an impossibility I feel the need to immediately call for Katharine. To make sure I am not insane. But I am not. It is an earthquake!! The house continues to shake - and I glance out the window to see the walls moving - and our house is swaying like it is on water. I start to feel slightly seasick. After about a minute - the moving stops. And then silence.

Within minutes the cellphone networks are so busy that you are lucky if you get a call through. There is no internet - but we are one of the ones with power. Others don't have any. It is not until the next morning that we find out exactly what it was.

I had to go to sleep with the light on. I have felt shakes like before - but never to that extent. Wow - it is just amazing to me that the firm thing (or what I think is firm) really isn't. I think it is a call to attention when you get things like that. Nothing here is firm. We need God.

\manda

2009-05-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

...nothing can cure you of the desire to receive honour from men, or of the sensitivity and pain and anger which come when it is not given, except giving yourself to seek only the glory that comes from God. Let the glory of the all-glorious God be everything to you. You will be freed from the glory of men and of self, and be content and glad to be nothing. Out of this nothingness you will grow strong in faith, giving glory to God. You will find that the deeper you sink in humility before Him, the nearer He is to fulfill every desire of your faith.
Andrew Murry - Humility

An interesting afternoon...

2009-05-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

(the pics are off the field beside our house and our street - so not near the center of town where I was....I didn't have my camera.) But on the right - that is not a river it is a 2.5 foot deep drainage/sewer that is completely submerged.)

So I meandered into town this afternoon to sit at a bakery and catch up on some grading. (Yeah for the last time of ever having to mark Grade 11 History Exams!!!!) When I finished up I slowly walked down the street, heading in the general direction of home, but with no real intent of making a speedy trip. A few raindrops began to fall and before long I realized that this was not going to be just a quick shower - we were going to get a downpour. I pick up the pace and found myself in the local supermarket. And it poured and poured...hundreds of raindrops upon the metal roof (I love that sound) while I tried to look like I was buying groceries when really all I wanted to do was pay for my turkey bacon and leave.

But the rain didn't stop. And more and more people collected at the door and we all watched as the water level on the street rose higher and higher. Within less then half an hour the water had begun to creep up the entrance to the store. More people began to collect at the door - all of us hoping it would let up so we could leave. Alas, it did not...but instead the water level rose higher and higher until you could not tell anymore that there was a street - it was just a very large pond/river.

By this time I was bored out of my brain - and so I sat down in the restaurant and had a coffee while I worked on some more Spanish. (I know, I know...nerd...) It continued to rain, and when I had had enough I decided I would try to make my escape. When I returned to the front door they had placed sort of sandbags around the entrance and water was actually IN the store. We are talking like 2.5 feet of rain in less then an hour. I waited for someone to head outside - and finally a drunk man decided he was going to go for it. The doors opened and out he flopped - literally, because he fell and landed facefirst in the street-pond...after which he floundered around a bit, got his feet under him, and proceeded to fall AGAIN. (Much to the amusement of all of us waiting inside.)

Then the sun came out and the rain stopped. I decided it was my time to make a go of it. Slipping off my trusty Canadian tire flipflops I hopped over ther sandbags and onto what had been the sidewalk. Not a joke - the water was just under my knees. I waded through the pond the the amusement of other Hondurans around the corner. Eventually I made it onto drier street and padded home in my bare feet.

Life Lessons of Amanda: How to apply for Honduran residency #101

2009-05-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

1) Move to Honduras
2) Begin application for residency.
3) Believing that you will only be there for one year state that you would like residency for one year.
4) Teach.
5) Wait for residency.
6) Really enjoy teaching
7) Decide to stay for another year.
8) Fill in more paperwork.
9) Wait
10) Wait some more while all workers in migration office are fired and new people are hired.
11) Wait some more after paperwork is stolen
12) Visit various places in Honduras and learn that if you had residency card you would pay Honduran prices and not "white prices."
13) Get frustrated.
14) More waiting.
15) Sign some more paperwork.
16) Decide that you are not going to return for another year.
17) Teach some more.
18) Learn that your residency needs to be ready within a month or you will have to start all over again.
19) FINALLY: go to capital to sign paperwork/
20) Get fingerprinted.
20a) Have powder bleach poured directly into your hand by the lady to wash off the ink stains.
20b) Proceed across government building with white powder in palm of hand, thinking, this cannot be happening.
21) Receive reciept for residency pickup within 60 days.
22) Realize that the date to pick up residency is exactlly to the DAY that you will be leaving the country for good.
23) Receive one year residency, two years after application.
24) Laugh.

Sorry foreigners...do you mind?

2009-05-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

This may sound a bit like venting...and I think actually it is.

This past week found me travelling on a bus up north to meet my parents and sister. We came to a sudden stop in the middle of nowhere as a car had just gone off the road and was in the process of being hoisted back onto the road. As we sat there people started to alight from their cars including a couple in their early twenties. The girl was very obviously bored out of her brain and so proceeded to lie across the front of the car in various suggestive poses. Soon her boy friend was out of the car as well and the two them proceeded to arrange themselves very suggestively across the front of the car. Allthewhile more and more Hondurans were captured by this display.

I stood in the middle of the bus and was more and more embarrassed - and grew more and more angry - this was exactly WHY white girls have to deal with the reputation in Honduras that white women are "loose."

Please. When you are visiting a country, how you behave, how you treat the people of the country, every step, leaves behind baggage. And the people who are foreigners trying to make a home in the country and build relationships with the people there have to deal with the baggage that you leave behind. The stereotypes and the impressions that visitors to a country leave with the people affect the relationships that we build.

So please, next time you are visiting another country, please think of how you are representing others who bear the same skin colour, language, religion, whatever, to the people you are visiting.

"A Time for Everything II"

2009-05-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

The girls did this one:

"A Time for Everything"

2009-05-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Grade 9 is studying drama this unit. Here is their work on Eccl. 3: "A Time for Everything."

Safety Second.

2009-05-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Yes. That is a power cable draped over the top of our bus. Safe.

To get the bus out the man lifted the cord high so the bus could back out. Safer.

Mirror, Mirror...

2009-04-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

"For most teenagers, what they see in the mirror comprises nine-tenths of thier identity. But the mirror always lies because it can only reveal an image, a shell. Not a soul."
Tim Huff - Bent Hope: a street journal

2009-04-26T11:44:00.001-07:00

I have seen people ride bikes.

I have seen people carry passangers on bikes: 1) infront of the ride 2) behind the rider standing or 3) behind the rider sitting.

I have never seen this before: A saddle on the back of a bike - (yes, I know he was probably just transporting it)

\manda

Trip Continued....a little of Guatemala

2009-04-23T16:33:00.001-07:00

Guatemala really is a beautiful place. We ended up in Flores - a small town very reminisant of towns in Europe - with small streets, colourful houses, and a lot of public space. I would definately go back - plus it is right on a lake (which Honduras only has one) that is clean and refreshing to swim in.

Nearby are also the famous Mayan Ruins of Tikal - which were hidden by the jungle until they were discovered within the last century. Below is a picture of the highest temples sticking out among the jungle. It is one of the most amazing sites I have seen...

2009-04-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

"...in this world are very few things made from logic alone. It is illogical for a man to be too logical. Some thing we must just let stand. The mystery is more important than any possible explanation...The searcher after truth must search with humanity. Ruthless logic is the sign of a limited mind. The truth can only add to the sum of what you know, while a harmless mystery left unexplored often adds to the meaning of life. When a truth is not so important, it is better left as a mystery."

the Doc to Peekay in The Power of One by Bruce Courtenay

Sometimes being a (white) girl can have its advantages...

2009-04-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

A few days ago one of my friends lost her phone on a side gutter (which has little slats - that are like 4 inches - too small for an arm) late at night. She couldn't find it in the dark and couldn't go back to retrieve it the next day - and since I was heading that way I offered to see what I could do. Others had thier doubts - put I voiced my plan. I would stand where I found the cell phone and look really lost and helpless. This would, I hoped, allow me to ask people for help and maybe, elicit the muchismo of the some of the men, to retrieve the phone. I don't think my friends believed this was my actual plan - but it was.

So the following day Brittany and I headed down the street for lunch, intending on stopping on the way to see if we could spot the cellphone. We found the cellphone, and Brittany went on all fours and tried to reach it but could not. I stood there and looked around and my eyes fell on three boys of around 12 coming toward us. In Spanish I politely asked if they could try to retrieve my cellphone. They tried and tried but could not. Traffic started to slow down and people started to gather. I went off down the road to a restaurant that we frequent and asked for a broom and a mop. By the time I returned more people had gathered - including a small boy - who with the help of his father and the broom and mop handles - was able to retrieve the phone.

Yeah for turning a usual spectacle of white femininity into something useful.

\manda

Belize...but alas, no snorkelling...

2009-04-15T19:22:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Belize to the welcoming customs officers who required that we open our bags and they peered in - patting the top items - and then proceeding to clear us through. Really, I could have smuggled in a person and then some with their thoroughness.

I must say that I really enjoyed the diversity of people in Belize; from fair skinned Spanish speaking Latinos to night-black akin-Africans the people there were laid back and friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed culture - though when Megan and I experienced yet another tire problem on the bus through Belize - the men quickly mobilized together and had the tire changed with 20minutes!

It was also weird to remember that people could understand me when I talked in English - which I think may be a problem when I come back! It was only when I arrived in Guatemala that I felt more at home again because I had to switch back and forth between two languages. Amazing what you get accustomed to!

I also really emjoyed the bright colours of this place - many objects, especially houses, are painted bright and zany colours which make for a happy-go-lucky vibe where ever you walk.

Next stop: Gualemala

\manda

Sights & Sites of Central America

2009-04-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

The week before Easter Weekend is very important in Latin America. It is called Semana Santa (Holy Week) and the entire country (pretty much) takes a holiday. So the past week we were able to travel to "far off" places - depending on your starting point - and see some really cool spots.

Sunday Megan and I headed out of town on a bus to meet our friends up north. About 1 hour in there is a big bang - the bus has run over a large piece of metal - but in everyone's best interest but the health of the bus - we continue to drive at a steady pace of around 23.4km/hour until a group of men decide that we should pull over and see if they can get it out. They can't - so on the bus we go again. Half-naked sweaty babies are crying, mothers are breastfeeding - and people are getting restless. So are Megan and I. The bus pulls over again and flags down another bus - we quickly alight and board the other bus along with four screaming children and their mothers. The bus takes off leaving the rest of the disgruntled passengers on the side of the road. I have no idea why they are left there...but we are on the bus and that is what is important. The driver, for lack of better expression, drove like a bat out of hell, and we arrived in San Pedro in record time.

We boarded another bus for about another hour - and bumped along the road. This time, thankfully, there were no tire problems. We met up with our friends in Puerto Cortes, where we stayed the night, and early the next morning took the ferry to Belize. (pic: the reef which I sadly did not get the chance to snorkel because the boat would have left me behind)

Next post: Belize

Reflections on the Cross

2009-04-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

The words of Jesus on the cross to his Father of: "My God, My God, why have you foresaken me?" will never be fully understood by me because Christ has born the full weight of the wrath of God for my sin. Because He has experienced this I will never need to. And while many Christian communities talk about this phrase as the time when Jesus cried out to His Father as He felt the weight of God's wrath against sin I have learned that this holds much deeper meaning then this.

Remember that God Himself exists in a relationship of three persons; He is relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When Jesus died on the cross for our sin He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (Colossians.) While this means that He did not use his divinity to come down off the cross He still had to be divine to live the perfect life and to bear the wrath of God. Only God could have born the wrath of God.

But at the same time, He subjected Himself to breaking this perfect relationship. Maybe when Jesus cried out these words He also felt the weight of:

1) The brokeness of His relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit (so part of Himself) and 2) The full reality or experience of the brokeness of our relationship with God.

In that moment He fully understood what sin had done to the world. Sin had broken everythings and everyone's relationship. To be God and to foresaken by God broke Him. And to be human and to be rejected by God and humanity broke Him.

How great this lament!

And how much more victorious His death & resurrection. His death because it reunited Him within His proper relationship with Himself - and His resurrection because it redeemed his humanity for us in proper relationship with God.

How great is this sacrafice! How great His resurrection! How wonderful our relationship with Him because of Him!

\manda

2009-04-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Time: Wednesday night
What: one of the biggest rivalry football matches within Honduran history of football. It was world cup 2010 match of Mexico vs. Honduras.
Who: football fans and friends
How: back of pickup truck - 2 hours there, 2 hours back.

Good memories.

sometimes beauty takes you by surprise

2009-03-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

My backyard - 5:20 am.

2009-03-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

So my grade 11 History Class and I have been waiting to finish the movie "Luther" for two weeks. So two days ago I told them that if we didn't watch it the next day (Wednesday) that they could all punch me in the face.

There was no power on Wednesday.

Thankfully my face is still in tact.

\manda

Daily battles...

2009-03-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Today in chapel Brian (a fellow teacher) spoke about how Christ lived on earth 30 years as a carpenter before He began his three year mission to the people. His question was: Why would Jesus have to live 30 years before setting out on his mission? One of the answers he gave - made me pause for thought. He said that this was so - because Jesus really lived the life that we live. He learned to "sympathize" with us. Yes there are days when we do not want to go to work or we do not feel like doing something. He probably had those days too. But he still lived out his life - he still went to work, did what he was supposed to do...WAS OBEDIENT to the calling of his life: putting the best of what was in Him into what God wanted Him to do at that moment.

Sometimes I can too easily make what I feel about my situation - the reality of my situation. This is dangerous. Because my feelings many times do not reflect objective truth about life and about who God is. God is good - no matter how I feel. This is true - and when concentrate on how I FEEL about my life I take my eyes off of who HE is.

Let me keep my eyes focussed on the right things.

\manda

How to make tortillas #101...

2009-03-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I began to study at "La Escuela de La Tortilla." (The School of the Tortilla.) The following is the notes that I scribbled after class.

1) Ask vendor at tortilla stand (where we go every week after Youth Group) to teach me how to make tortillas.

2) Show up right before a group of Honduran men - so that you can immediately put your learning into practice and make baleadas (tortillas with beans, cheese, and sour cream - see picture below) for them.

3) Have the lady start you off with a small piece of dough. Flip the dough back and forth between both hands, with quick, hard bursts. (as seen in picture.)

4) Miss catching dough with one hand. It lands in the dirt.

5) Pick it up to try again - not to waste dough because it most likely will happen again - only to be told that the dirt ruins how the dough spreads.

6) Receive a tea towel and must use it to imitate the same motions as above.

7) All people around laugh

8) Pass Level 1 - now graduate from tea towel to using real dough.

9) Very slowly with great force - almost create a round tortilla. Which is fixed and then placed on a hot plate to cook for less then a minute.

10) Continue to practice making baleadas - which are served to customers arriving.

11) Make my own baleada and eat it. Lick fingers. Yum.

12) Have vendor-lady's husband request that I make his baleada.

13) Do not wash hands.

14) Start with a piece of dough and "correct" motions. Do this facing the wall so that no one can see.

15) Complete tortilla.

16) Have satisfied customer. Receive payment of large bottle of coke.

17) Leave vendor stand with many people laughing at two white girls.

\manda

A small difference...

2009-03-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

Yes - believe it or not this is me running with three 15 year old boys on the beach. This happened while we were on our "educational trip." Since we have beent training for the last six weeks for Mini-Olympics and doing a lot of running, one boy asked if we could run together on the beach in our free time. The other two joined in. Wow! I was completely floored - just because I see that what I am teaching is affecting them. I have also had other students tell me that they went running with their parents, did sit-ups with their aunts and uncles, or have anti-prespirant and not deoderant (this was after we did the health unit on what was better for us.) It is nice to know that I am making a small difference.

\manda

Where are all the dogs?

2009-03-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

So another circus is in town. And dogs have started to disappear. Rumour has it that the dogs get fed to the circus animals. This apparently happened last year with another circus.

Yes, I think Sigua could do with a few less dogs.

But elephants, zebras, and camels are herbivores.

ohh...but it might be the tigers.

Some pics.

\manda

Southern Honduras

2009-03-04T18:33:00.001-08:00

Last week we went on a type of "educational trip" (in quotations for a reason - depends on your definition of education.) We had a good time and really became more familiar with towns in Honduras.

Depart: 4:15AM (ahhh....)

Most of the day is spent in the bus with a stop at Zanmorano - a very prestigious agricultural school. (picture at right)

The next day we are off in a boat to see the Golf of Fonseca - which are the primary straits for the southern port in Honduras. It is through these straits that all automobile imports come from Asia: Kia, Mitsibushi, Toyota, and others that I forget.

Then we went off to visit Choleteca - which I later learned is call the Devil's Cauldron because it is so hot. And it is HOT!! In some places the ground was cracked - and dry season has not even started. You can see here the yellowness of the ground from lack of water.

The next morning off we went to visit Isle de Tigre upon which Amapala (town) is located. From these boats we could see El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua!! It was pretty sweet. I even got a message on my cell phone saying "Bienvenidos a El Salvador."

We then spent the afternoon on the beach -

That night we checked out the town where our hotel was - San Lorenzo. They had these enormous statues of different random animals. Yes - this ia a giant shrimp. I think, but am not sure, that San Lorenzo may be considered the shrimp capital of Honduras - I need to find a reason for having this statue.

Finally it was time to go home - and we stopped on the way at a town called Prespire (or something close to the word perspire in English.)

I really was blessed to get to know my students in a different environment and in a different way.

I may still be recovering from lack of sleep.

For more pics: here

The Art of Coffee Harvest...

2009-03-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

Last week we went to a finca (farm) where coffee is grown and harvested. For all you coffee-drinkers out there I wanted to show you that there is quite the process that goes into your drink. I also apologize to those of you who know more them me about this process - if I am mistaken at any point please feel free to correct me.

1) The beans are picked by hand of the trees. They look like this: (kind of reminds me of the stuff we use at Christmas.

2) Next they are run through this machine which removes the outermost shell. (The red shell.) This is done in Honduras by hand. Notice the pile of shells in the background.

3) They come out looking like this. Then they are dried in the sun. After another machine removes the membrane that is covering the bean (that is why it is white.)

4) Then it is roasted. The wood that is used and different factors affect the flavour of the bean.

5) Then it is either bagged and sold for you to grind - or it is ground a packaged.

6) You make coffee.

7) You drink it.

8) You enjoy it.

\manda

Let's Play the Game: "Identify that Sound!"

2009-02-17T19:06:00.000-08:00

(All these scenerios are actually things I get confused about.)

Are those fireworks - or are those gunshots? An even split. (I hope mom and dad are not reading this.)

Is that someone hammering metal - or is that a horse running down the street at full gallup? It is a horse.

Is that my friend yelling at me to get my attention - or is that some random guy who likes white girls? ahh - it's no one I know

Is that a cellphone vibrating on the table - or is that a cow mooing in the field next door? It's the cow.

\manda

The best Valentine ever...

2009-02-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

This is what I received in an envelope at the Youth Group:

(Hi Amanda, I love you and want you to be my girlfriend.)

Unfortunately he didn't leave his name.

Hilarious

\manda

oh canada

2009-02-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

I am not really a donut person. But today I just really wanted a Maple Dip donut from Tim Horton's. A little taste of home.

For that same reason I refuse to by Cheerios here - the smell and the sound of them hitting the bowl should only occur in my kitchen in Canada with my siblings fighting over who gets the last bowl of Lucky Charms.

\manda

Science Fair

2009-02-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

This past Friday was the Science Fair at our school - and I have to say that I was really impressed with many of the student's work. Grade 7-9 did theirs in English and Grade 10-11 did theirs in Spanish. The theme was the environment and they built models about water purification, mines, plant growth, soil type, the damage of pollution etc.

For some pics:

\manda

The realities of growing up dutch...

2009-02-04T16:43:00.001-08:00

My mom sent me an interesting forward labelled "You Know You Are Dutch When..." And so I thought that I would post some of the things which definately were part of my childhood - so that those who don't know me may make some sense of me (only some) and those who do know me (and are probably dutch - if you are not...good for you!) can probably relate to some of this:

- oh and maybe I made a few comments in relation to life here and those habits that Katharine has to put up with.

You Know You're Dutch When...

When looking in the fridge, you never trust that the yogurt or margarine containers contain what the label says. - sorry K...they are just cheap tupperware
You were green before it was popular. Why recycle when you can just reuse! - only here they don't recycle. I'm getting out of practice.
You have a pair a wooden shoes in your house. - not in Honduras...but if this sentence doesn't faze you then you have already been sucked in.
You've eaten oliebollen at New Years. The frying going on here could give oliebollen a run for its money!
You enjoy chocolate sprinkle (hagelslag) sandwiches. They have it here - but it is for baking only!
You have cousins who wear size 14 shoes and are over 6'4" Hey anyone in Honduras over 5'8 is already special.
You wash and reuse plastic cups and plastic cutlery. Why wouldn't you?
The most frequent phrase uttered growing up was "Turn off the lights!" Sorry Katharine - I think I picked that up.
You get a chocolate letter every year for Christmas. This year was the first year in my life the I did not.
You like krokets. That is not a spelling error - though if I tried to describe this yumminess here it would end up sounding really gross. It is a food - and it is really good.
You know that Vla is better than regular old pudding. No, "Vla" is not a swear word.
You have an afghan knitted by your Oma. I had a sweater that was bright pink - my cousin had one that was flourscent green. We glowed.
Your Oma had a calendar with everyone's birthdays & anniversaries spelled out in capital letters (bonus points if it hung in the bathroom!) Sorry to say but I have complex problems not having one here. I have no idea whose birthday it is when.
You've been known to recycle aluminum foil... and ziploc bags. Excuse me but both these products are not biodegradable and should be reused.
You own a special utensil that is only used for cutting cheese. And to think that I brought in this object to science class for them to guess what it was!!!
You reuse teabags. You don't?
You put a little water into the jar of tomato sauce and shake it to make sure you got it all out. Don't you?
You like dubbel zout drops, and have occasionally tricked a friend into trying one. Yeah, or may have tricked my students.
You've put mayonnaise on your french fries. H--e-ll--oo.
You go to the "Dutch Store" because the smell brings back so many childhood memories. Why go to the Dutch Store when you can open a bag of dropjies and get the same high?
Everything is Do-It-Yourself - it's cheaper than hiring someone. Ahh, this may explain my tendency not to let people do things for me.

This was quite a self-revelatory exercise.

North Coast Tour

2009-02-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the chance to do a bit of travelling because it was our exam week and since I teach PE there are no exams. So Monday afternoon we took a 7 hour bus ride to Trujillo (up north and east) to see a bit more of Honduras. While this little town (and that is what it was) has some great history - and I was really excited to see the historical fort - in the end there really was nothing to see. A few cannons and some stone walls and a great view. Note: Hondurans also pay a third of the price to get into things (and sometimes even less) and although we live here they charge us the white price.

So we took off for a place just outside of town - really in the middle of nowhere and hung out there for a few days. Although windy (which meant not very good snorkelling - there was sun. So we spent a leisurely day and a half moving from our beds, to the hammock, to the beach, to the dining room, to the hammock - generally reclining and taking it easy. Boy it was a much needed time to be refreshed before starting the other half of the year.

As one of our travellers was on a low budget we ended up hitch hiking back to La Ceiba. (Not encouraged in this area because of the high drug traffic - but definately fun! Oh and don't tell mom or dad.) Just make sure you have a lot of time. Four rides later - and 5 hours past (usually 2 driving) we ended up in La Ceiba where we met Brian.

Friday morning we headed off to Cayos Cochinos - which is said to be the place for snorkelling because it is very remote and therefore the reef has not been wrecked. And beautiful it was. If you come to Honduras - you need to go see it. A boat ride to most of the islands, two snorkelling stops, lunch on a Garifuna island (northern culture here - coconut milk so is REALLY good), and white sandy beaches with water as blue as the sky... It was like the one picture you can have as your desktop background on your computer - but it was real life! Check out the attached pics - but here is one for as an example:

I had a really great time with friends, got to know the country better, and feel refreshed and ready to attack the next half - year!

\manda

2009-01-28T15:59:00.000-08:00

Quote from student: "I don't want to be deaf in the mouth."

\manda

And all before 7:30 am.

2009-01-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

So we were driving to work this morning and sitting at one of the stoplights when some man with obvious problems (whether self-induced or genetic based I could not tell) looked in our window and yelled "whore" (in Spanish obviously) and the proceeded to take a bull run at our car but stopped himself short right before he came into contact with the wheel. Then he ran around the car with his arms spread open like he was trying to take flight - and turned and ran at a group of people on the corner.

It was not even 7:30 am. An excellent start to the day.

\manda

quote

2009-01-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

My Grade 11 Students had to write a short paper on leadership and captaining a team. And this is a great quote from one of them:

"Next time I will like to win, because who ever said that participating is what is important, was probably a loser."

Oh truth.

\manda

Have some humble pie

2009-01-11T17:41:00.000-08:00

"Humility is thinking that other people are more important than you."

The first step is realizing that you think you are more then you are.

And then realizing that God thinks you are the most special thing ever - for absolutely no reason at all except that is who He is.

\manda

2009-01-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

(translation: "in need of males")

Welcome Back!!

2009-01-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

...this morning I had to take a shower at my neighbours because we have no water.

Welcome back!

\manda

Courtesy of My Brother...

2008-12-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

A good - but if not ironic quote from my 6 year old brother this morning.

We were at the breakfast table and I asked him if he could read.

"Yes," he replied. "I can read all my memory versus from the bible."

\manda

2008-12-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

maybe it was over 25C today and sunny

next week I hope I will get a white Christmas...

then I come back to the sun and heat

ohhh....exciting

How to have an eye exam 101....

2008-12-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

So I had an eye exam this week...and we definately had everybody in the shop laughing with our antics. So the following is a list of suggestions for having an exam:

1) Make sure you speak the same language. If you don't, instructions like "Tell me when the two dots are on top of each other" might not be the question that you actually answer...and cause man to have small seizure
2) Make sure you that you can say all letters and objects on the chart. If you cannot be prepared to play charades.
3) Make sure you know the words for "pain", "redness", and "right" and "left." Things could be VERY disastrous if you misunderstand.

All in all - a good time.

\manda

I guess I am a PE teacher at heart...

2008-12-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

So the last two days I have had the priviledge of teaching my high school students baseball "from scratch." I mean they knew nothing. We learned how to throw, how to catch, and how to bat. We learned that you have to run from home to first base, then to second, then to third and home. And boy did I have fun. Because they definately started out by telling me that baseball was boring - but they got into it pretty quickly. (Kind of like Ultimate Frisbee last year.)

My "ah-ha" moment came when I taught my students how to bat. No - I didn't place the ball on a stick and tell them to hit it. I pitched it to them after I showed them how to stand, how to hold the bat, and how to know when to hit the ball. And you know what? EVERYONE of my students hit the ball from a pitch - in under 5 pitches! I was/am so proud. This made me realize that I am doing the right thing.

\manda

Yes, Jesus Loves Me!!

2008-12-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

One of things that I learned this weekend....which I already knew in a knowledge type of way...but not in any real personal type of way is this:

GOD LOVES ME NOT BECAUSE OF WHO I AM BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS!!

And I just got a forward that reaffirmed to me this simple truth... read the whole thing because it has a different spin..

JESUS LOVES ME
Jesus loves me, this I know,
Though my hair is white as snow.
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in Him.
(CHORUS) YES, JESUS LOVES ME...
YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

Though my steps are oh, so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go.
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way. (CHORUS)

Though I am no longer young,
I have much which He's begun.
Let me serve Christ with a smile,
Go with others the extra mile. (CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song.
Telling me in words so clear,
'Have no fear, for I am near.' (CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done,
And life's victories have been won.
He will take me home above,
Then I'll understand His love. (CHORUS)

I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love Him every day.

Do you tell him that you love Him everyday?

\manda

In honour of American Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

*** notice that "honour" is spelt the Canadian way ;)

I would like to share some things I am thankful for - and some thoughts on thanksgiving/gratitude.

Paul was right when he wrote that we need to bring every petition to God with thanksgiving. It really gives us the bigger picture - plus it takes our focus off ourselves and puts it on who God is.

I need to be more thankful
I am thankful for:
- my health, which at times is a struggle, I still have a body that is fully functioning and works and is strong enough for me to live in another country
- I am thankful for my house here in Honduras - which is comfortable - and at the end of the day I feel that I am coming home. It also is a place for my friends to be...
- I am thankful for my students - who at times may make me want to cry but who also make me laugh. In fact I usually laugh more often.
- I am thankful for my safety - especially in this country
- I am thankful for the sun...which I have not seen in a few days...and would like to see again soon
- I am thankful for the internet - which allows me to keep in contact with you all...and not even pay a lot to do it.

I need to say "thank you" to more people more often
- thank you to my family - who is such a constant support for me and I can't wait to have a hug
- thank you to my friends - you know who you are - you are special to me and walk with me through my joys and struggles
- thank you to my Honduran housemate-sister. You are very dear to me and thanks for your patience with me!
- thank you to my financial and spiritual supporters who believe enough that God called me to Honduras to help me live here
- thank you to my Spanish teacher - who is helping me to become a better communicator here

And all of this is possible because of WHO GOD IS. THANK YOU JESUS!

\manda

Wanted:

2008-11-21T20:00:00.001-08:00

Wanted: Grade 10-11 English Teacher for 6 month teaching commitment in Honduras.

Beginning January 2009 - June 2009

Interested? amanda.vanhalteren@gmail.com

\manda

Out of the mouths of babes....

2008-11-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

My students had to pick a character from the class novel we are studying upon which to base their final project. They also had to give a reason as to why they picked their character. One in particular I found quite amusing:

I choose Brad because I am a boy and don't want to pick a girl and talk a lot about them. (paraphrased)

Hilarious.

\manda

Wisdom, wisdom, where art thou?

2008-11-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

There are times in my life when I really want God to be a person that is sitting across from me and so that when I share things that I am struggling with or questions that (yes, yes here it is...) I would like answered - namely those questions where I want to know what He wants me to do - or what His will is for me in that situation. And I know there have been times in my life when I am sure of God's will for a situation - or that I see a situation through God's eyes. But I think that I lose that when I allow my own sinfulness to eclipse the speaking of God into my life. Or when I am in a state where I am greatly aware of my human sinfulness - it is then that I feel I am in no place to be sure of God's will for me because I am so sinful. It is these times that I want Him to speak - and me just to be able to follow - because He is good - all the time. I can't trust my instincts because they are not focused correctly.

Thoughts?

\manda

Where are the gun laws?

2008-11-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today we drove by a man AS HE LOADED HIS CARTRIDGE INTO HIS GUN on the corner.

After which he proceeded to shoot the gun.

\manda

Update...

2008-11-07T15:28:00.001-08:00

Man in chair has changed clothes for the first time in six days.

Is still sitting in chair but now has another blue one to rotate positions.

\manda