Olympics
Aug 30, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Great | TIVO: VMAs }
Did anyone else watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics and think that the torch looked like a giant joint?
Back in the Saddle
Aug 30, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Cautiously Optimistic | ITUNES: “Simple Twist of Fate” - Bob Dylan }
I am starting to crank on all the fall stuff and I have quite a pile. My goal this summer (just like it is every year) was to get ahead so I wouldn’t be cranking now. But here I am. My friend Chris told me today, “You are the busiest man alive.” I’m not sure I like that.
On the other hand, I seem to work better under the gun. So the question becomes “Am I becoming something I am not wired to be when I try too hard to get ahead?” I remember something Erwin McManus wrote. He said all good leaders are off balance. He said that is what makes them a good leader. If that’s the definition of a good leader, I must be the best leader in the entire world.
Anyhoo, off to write my message.
Lysh
Aug 28, 2004 Uncategorized
A bunch of people who are not from around here have asked for more details on what happened with Lysh. Here are a few articles from the last week or so in the paper:
From today’s paper, the guy who hit them is being charged on two counts of 2nd degree murder.
Paperformers
Aug 28, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Transformerific | NOISE: Jesse Eating }
So this is soooo cool. If only I had the time, this would be a great hobby.
Lysh
Aug 27, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Contemplative | NOISE: Kids playing video games, Grace scheduling people for nursery }
Tomorrow is Lysh’s funeral. It’s kinda weird. I went back and read her blog again this morning and it was surreal. I don’t think it has completely sunk in yet. It is weird when you read her friend’s page. It’s like her blog is still going on through there, because she is what everyone is talking about.
Please pray for all her friends and family. Sean told me, “this is definitely the hardest thing I have ever been through” and I suspect that is the understatement of the year.
Outstanding
Aug 27, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Great, except for the headache | ITUNES: “Few and Far Between” - 10,000 Maniacs }
This is truly outstanding. Bravo.
Poland and Prague
Aug 26, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Still catching up }
I finally got the rest of my pictures up.
To see the rest of the Prague pictures, click here.
To see the Poland pictures, click here.
Olympics
Aug 26, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Gettin’ back in the groove | NOISE: Beaners }
I started watching the Olympics while I was in Europe because it was the only thing on in English. My kids started watching it because my dad was watching it when they were at his house. So last night, we continued the tradition and watched it together.
If you were not watching, the women’s triathalon was amazing. This Austrian chick came out of the water in 40th place, off of the bikes in 10th place, and then in the last lap, blasted past the Australian and took the gold. It was awesome!
Anyhoo, back to work.
Matt and Mary
Aug 25, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: 7.0, Suprisingly }
I got a chance to perform my friend’s Matt and Mary’s wedding last night at sunset on a beach in Shelby Township. It was very cool. Barefoot and all. Congrats, guys.
Home
Aug 24, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Relaxed | NOISE: Kids watching some TV show }
It is very nice to be home. Slept in my own bed, rode my bike this morning. Tonight, I have a wedding for a few friends, so that should be fun.
Unfortunately, there is also bad news. I found out that a friend from church died in a car accident last night. Some drunk jerk crossed the line and hit the car she was in with 5 other. 2 died, 2 are critical, 2 had broken limbs and the guy who hit them appears to be in decent shape. So this week will have two weddings and 2 funerals. No fun. Pray for Sean and Keaton and all the core people.
Leaving Europe
Aug 23, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Excited }
Well, Grace and I have had an absolutely awesome time. We connected again as a married couple, we got to see some amazing cities and sites and such. Then, the conference was awesome. We got to get into the lives of young people who are seriously giving stuff up for Christ. It’s amazing to think about the sacrifices some of these teens have made. As one of them said, “it’s not just that our parents have been sent here, we have too.” Both Grace and I have definitely had our world vison stretched during this trip.
And now we come home. And we are very excited to do so. We hop on a plane in a few hours. So, we’ll see you all later.
Internet Cafe, Mountains, and Sore Legs
Aug 21, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Sweaty }
We found this internet cafe in Wisla so we are going to post our thoughts from the last several days. You will see them below this entry, posted by date.
Today we took a ski lift up a mountain and then hiked higher. We hiked all the way up to the border between Poland and Czech Republic. It was awesome. Then, we did these bobsled deals (I will post pictures later). After that, we hiked down the mountain. Grace took the easy way (which she still thinks was steep) and I took the hard, mountainous terrai (Grace is punching me right now…she must be embarrassed that she took the easy way). “Um…it wasn’t easy,” says Grace.
Anyhoo, it took us 45 minutes to hike down but it was so worth it. Very cool. You climbing guys would love this.
Tonight we have our last meeting, so pray for us. It should be cool.
Here are some pics from our last few days. Here is Grace and I in Prague with Kristen (an MK from Italy) and Gabri (an Italian from Italy…duh):
Here is Grace in the mountains:
Here is us at the border of Poland and Czech Republic:
Here is our group half way up the mountain:
So, anyhoo. We will hit you with more later. Ciao.
Friday
Aug 20, 2004 Uncategorized
FRIDAY MORNING
Last night was amazing! Instead of doing the traditional worship/message thing, I opened it up after the worship and asked them what they are dealing with, etc. It was so cool, partially because the very thing I had prepared to teach on was what was brought up. In fact, the guy who started the conversation actually used the passage I was going to use as my main text! (This has actually happened several times so far…weird how God works) We talked for a very long time, then I asked everyone if they wanted to continue, and they sad yes, so we took a 5 minute break and went back at it for another hour or so!
I’ll tell you what, these kids are cool. Grace and I are really enjoying getting to know them. I kinda feel like we are part of their group now. Today, we are changing up what we are doing because of last night’s time.
Well, it’s time for breakfast!
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
So today has been a pretty good day. We had a good time this morning discussing how to hate sin and love people. A lot of conversation surrounded the concept that Christianity is really a faith of things held in tension. It’s really a both/and faith, not an either/or faith if that makes sense.
This afternoon we were going to head into town to do some exploring but it broke out in some pretty heavy storms and we stayed and goofed around. We played a little foosball, then we played a game we invented. It is basically a card game based on “Rich Man, Poor Man” if you have ever played that. But we put an intensely capitalist spin on it and made it extra vindictive. We started with 12 or 13 people and eliminated people as we went. Yes, yes, I won. And Grace was second place. The two Americans living in America won the capitalist game. It’s a beautiful and scary thing.
FRIDAY NIGHT
One of the highlights of this trip has been getting to know Daniel Goering. He is a pastor at the church in Dortmond, Germany. He is a great thinker (reminds me of Paul DenHerder) who sits in a meeting and just processes info. By the time he speaks up, he really has something to say. In addition, he seems to know the word so well. It is amazing. It has kinda inspired me to get into the word more.
Tonight was a blast. We had a two hour conversation about gray areas. Specifically, how do we determine what is a gray are in differing cultures. For instance, the first day we met up with the team from Italy, we had dinner, including beer with the family and the 18 year old had one. Then, yesterday, one of the teens walked into the place we are staying, drinking a beer.
Then there is the issue of nudity. One family just got back from the south of France wear everyone was enjoying the summer au naturale.
The conversation was awesome. These teens have great heads on their shoulders and are really good at thinking things through. So cool.
Then I beat Grace at air hockey. Life just remains so good.
Thursday
Aug 19, 2004 Uncategorized
Last night was cool, we got a chance to get to know the teens and adults and it is amazing to hear all of their stories. We had them tell us who they are and where they come from. It was amazing. We have teens from Spain, Holland, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, and Poland. Some have practically lived overseas their entire lives and some have only been there for 10 months. And the issues they are dealing with are so different from what Christian teens at home are experiencing. American teens – you don’t even realize how good you have it!
We had our first full session this morning and it seemed to go OK. I was hoping for a little more discussion, so it was kinda hard when they didn’t talk much. I am not naturally good at the smaller group thing, so it’s kinda hard to gauge.
We went up to this little field and played soccer after the meeting today and that was a blast! I can now say that I have played soccer in five countries on three continents! Nice.
There is this weird little canal I want to take a picture of today. It is running along the side of the street. And today was a super hot day and there were a ton of people hanging out in and around the canal. It was like a beach. So so strange.
Wednesday
Aug 18, 2004 Uncategorized
I will not have internet access for the time we are in Poland, so I am still going to try to blog everyday and I will post my thoughts when I get home. Hopefully this will make sense when we get back.
Today we arrived in Poland. It was an adventure getting here. I never understood how hard it would be to travel in another country without the vaguest sense of where you are going. It took us for ever to find the entrance into Poland, then we were within a few miles of our final destination and we just couldn’t find it for the life of us. We stopped and asked directions about every 20 feet. And I am not joking about that. Luckily, we found a nice trick to getting help. If you ask someone if they speak English, they will sometimes blow you off. So Gabri (who is Italian) would ask them in Italian if they spoke Italian and they would say no and then he would say, “English then?” And then they would help. Very cool.
I haven’t had time to comment on the architecture of this part of the world yet, so I want to for a bit.
It was interesting to be in Prague, because essentially you have this cacophony of different styles. I can’t think of very many places in the world that have this strange combination. You have
*A 13th Century bridge, and Castle and Cathedral in the Castle. Along with that you have a 13-14th century church in the main square.
*A very Gothic style church in the same main square.
*A very baroque style church in the same main square (which I think is around 17th century, but I may be wrong).
(And because Hitler was basically handed Prague, this city is untouched by war which is very different for many of these European cities).
*Then you have what appears to be a gap in the timeline until the communist era and you have “commie condos.” Essentially, stark housing and bleak concrete architecture that reflects not only communism but the entire modern period.
*Now you have a new twist. Tourism and commercialism. Intermingled with all the aforementioned are tons of little touristy shops and restaurants (apparently, there were NO restaurants in Prague unless you wanted pork and dumplings. Now, everywhere you go there is a restaurant), KFC, McDonalds, a Marriot and tons of American and European clothing stores.
*Not only that, but the communist architecture has been given a little flair. They have done their best to color and liven it up, changing the style.
Anyhoo, we are having our first meeting of EHSLT tonight and I will post more tomorrow.
Leaving
Aug 18, 2004 Uncategorized
Yesterday was an interesting day. Our plan was to get up early and rent a car. Then we were gonna just drive around the Czech Countryside. Well, we way overslept. So, I went upstairs to the !internet closet and tried to check some stuff out online. I decided as long as I was doing that, I might as well upload our pictures. So I began uploading pictures and left my computer in the closet. I went down to ask Grace a question. She suggested that it may be a bad idea to leave my computer there, so I went up to get it.
The door was locked.
And my key no longer worked. Nice.
That started an hour long situation with the hotel staff. The majority of them do not speak english and those who do do not do so well. So, I could not explain to them that my computer was stuck in the internet closet. Finally, I was able to get through to them and we worked several different keys to no avail.
That was when I was told we would have to “wait for the man with the chi and the computer.” Apparently the electronic door was stuck and the repairman would have to come. While I was expressing my concern for my computer, ‘the man with the chi” arrived and I got my computer back.
By the time all of this was done, it was too late to rent a car so we just putzed around the city again. Then, we met up with Paul, Kristen, and Gabriella from the Italian church and had a great dinner for a super low price! We all ate very well, we all had drinks, bread, everything and it was forty bucks!
So, today we head off for Poland. I will try to fnd internet access, but just in case I don’t, CYA!
Outstanding
Aug 16, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Grrrrrreat! | NOISE: Hummmmmm }
I am sitting in the Hotel Golden City’s “internet cafe” (or as I like to call it “closet”) and I just figured out that I can steal their network cable from their computer and plug it into my PowerBook and “Whalla” no more typing on a Czech Keyboard.
Yay. Off to Czech my email.
Prague
Aug 15, 2004 Uncategorized
( MOOD: Great NOISE: Hotel Reception Noises )
So we made it to Prague. First off, let me say that I am typing this on a Czech Keyboard, so some of the letters are in different places. If I can’t stand fixing the typos, I amjust going to type whatever and you will have to deal with it. 
THE PLANE, THE PLANE
Well, it was a miracle we made it to the airport. That was because Chaz drove us. (However, we have found a worse driver…more later) We got to the airport, everything went smoothly until we were on our plane…where we sat for a couple hours while the computer was repaired. Let mé say this, to those people who complain during situation like this. Would you like to fly on a plane without a computer? Methinks not.
Anyhoo, this lateness was a blessing, because it afforded us the chance to be laid over in Amsterdam for the day. Verý cool. Grace and I wandered around the city. And I do mean wandered. We were so frikkin tired we couldn§t think straight.. So we wandered and wandered and basically saw the whole city. Cool parts being getting a Shwarma (mmmmmmm) and taking Grace for her first trip t a casino.
(For fun, I am not going to fix any typos in the next section to show you what I am dealing with.)
CRAYZ DRIVER PART TWO
So we land in Prague and can§t find our suitcases in the luggage area. We look around and find them just sitting with others in a pile where apparentlz thez had been for quite awhile. 9Thez beat us there0 Nice. Apparentlz nothing was stolen, but our brand new travel iron was broken. Then, the worlds fastest taxi driver picks us up and zowaya. He was flzing1 He seriosulz but Chay to shame. Speeding, driving int he wrong lane, driving through construction yones 9and I mean the ones that are closed to cars1110
HOTEL GOLDEN CITZ¨
The name betrazs this lovelz place¨s beautz. I think !golden! refers to the sign out in front of our window.
Zes, zes, that is our view. Later I will show zou a picture of the internet cafe that comes free with the room.¨
COWS
There are cows all over the citz. Apparentlz somethin is happening called the Parade of Cows and it is a charitz deal for homeless kids. 9zou can check out a site about it here. I will show zou more pictures later, for now, check out this one decorated as a bee”
COOL ARCHITECTURE
I§ll explain more later. FOr now, check this picture out.
MORE PICTURES
Here are more pictures I am too tired to tzpe about. I§ll tell zou later.
Oh, and I had the most amaying dinner tonight. One of the top ten meals of all time. A steak with a creamz peppercornnz sauce with these amaying potatoe things and a nice glass of Merlot.
Well, off to bed. And I mean bed. SInce I have a twin to mzself. Grace has her own, as well. It§s verz Oyyz in Harriet sort of waz.
Off we go
Aug 13, 2004 Uncategorized
{ MOOD: Good | NOISE: Nicole laughing at Grace’s pages and pages of notes on how to watch our kids }
We take off in about an hour for Europe. Pray for us. Wee ha.
