Son of the King

Demon Dog

2012-02-16T22:50:00.000+10:30

Today I present to you....(insert drum roll here)... Demon Dog.

Michelle (you know who you are), you don't wanna keep reading this post. This vile animal is one of the hundred, if not thousands, of feral dogs that roam the streets of Guiuan. No one owns them. They're strays and they're gross. The thing with Demon Dog - and the reason I've grown to actually hate this animal - is that he comes into our (fenced and gated) yard several times a day to "have his way" with Paul and Gerrah's two dogs.

You see, here in the Philippines there exists a caste system among the dogs. Theres the ferals and there's the pets...and they live very different lives! The ferals are...duh, feral. The pets however are looked after: fed, washed, patted, etc. You would never touch Demon Dog or his minions for fear of what you'd catch. A common feast for the ferals is to rummage through the trash that people put out for collection and eat the contents of babies napies, which can only be good for spreading germs and desease.

The ferals are also responsible for killing the pets. Paul and Gerrah have lost several animals to the ferals, inluding dogs and monkeys. Earlier in my time here some of the runty dogs were also coming into the yard to mate with Jelly and Stellar, by squeezing their scrawny selves through a gap between the fence and the fence post. The usual thing to do is to bait them. It's a fast working bait that should knock them out within minutes. I say "should" because Demon Dog - again living up to his moniker - has defied the power of the bait, not once, but twice!

This animal seems invincible and thus my hatred grows - I will not be defeated by a dog, and I think Paul feels the same way. Now the battle is not even about him coming in the yard and defiling the pets. Now it's about war. And we will prevail! (Sounds like Braveheart or something)

I know it sounds like I hate all the dogs. No, just Demon Dog. Animals like this one I just feel sorry for. Something really should be done about this...

On the other hand, there are the pets. Let me introduce Jelly (black and white) and Stellar (brown)...at least that's what I've been calling them.

Stellar

Jelly

Dodgy action shot - never work with children or animals?!

Notice how their eyes are green - I imagine Demon Dog's to be red...just sayin.

Stellar is a licking dog and it drives me crazy. I've told her I don't appreciate being licked but she hasn't got the message. And I think she's the one that Demon Dog has been coming in the yard for so, in my head, she's a bit of a tart too. Jelly is my favourite. She seems a bit insecure and shy but is happy to come up and just sit next to me while I'm reading or whatever. If I've been patting her and I stop then she'll just stick her paw out (like she's trying to "shake hands") but she's not annoying.

Anyway, that's some of the other wildlife - it's not all lizards and bugs!

Note: It is crucial that you understand I would never normally (in my comfortable, middle-class, western mentality) think that poisoning a dog is reasonable. And while you might not be able to understand this course of action, I challenge you to come here, see the problem first hand and then offer a more reasonable solution, before you judge the choices made here.

Devestated

2012-02-15T19:56:00.000+10:30

As mentioned previously I have a cold...aka Man Flu. Instead of heading up to Cogon (church) to hang out with Franco at the Student Centre and then go and see Indian George I stayed home and helped Paul by painting the undercoat on a bunch of skirting boards he plans to install shortly. It was a bugger of a job because the saw-stools that Paul has are about a foot from the ground. My back was in agony. I kept getting up and down, changing positions, kneeling, sitting, squatting, etc...none of it helped though. After it was finished - about two and a half hours later - I just lay on the tiles until lunch time...which turned into nap time!

We headed into town to buy a few things and when we got home I asked Paul if there was anything he needed help with. His answer "no" was all I needed to jump on the computer and see what was happening int he world of iView for me to watch. I was pretty sure there were some episodes of At The Movies and On Gordon Street Tonight that I wanted to watch. Then the horror...

Apparently I can't watch iView outside Australia.

IView doesn't allow viewers overseas to watch episodes here. So disappointed. If anyone knows how I can get around that please let me know! I was so disappointed that I grabbed a block of chocolate from the fridge, opened it and now it is all gone (Don't freak out Mum, it's only 75gms).

I had planned on watching iView tonight during home group - it's all in Waray Waray so I wont understand it anyway, but also with my head the way it is I simply wouldn't make it through I don't think. Anway, now that iView is out of the question I think it'll be a night of watching a DVD, I'll knock over a couple of chapters in the Craig Groeschel book I'm reading, and eat some cheese.

Tomorrow I'm meeting again with Franco, this time at Cogon and I'll stick around at the Student Centre until after lunch. Hopefully I'll get to see Indian George too - I've been meaning to for a few days...

Hot and colds

2012-02-15T11:57:00.001+10:30

So it's finally warming up over here. Last night I had both the fan and the air conditioner on in my room before I went to sleep. Yesterday was really quite sticky too. I guess this is what I have to get used to.

Two nights ago I started feeling like I was getting a cold. Sure enough, I was. And still do. It's bad enough when the dreaded man-flu strikes, but when you're hot and sweaty and have man-flu its even worse. Thankfully my survival kit from Travel Bug has some demazin with pseudoephedrine so I popped one last night which gave me a solid nights sleep - unlike the night before. I am torn between taking them throughout the day to kill this cold or just taking them at night to help me sleep. What do you think is the best way forward? (not a rhetorical question, especially directed to Leigh, Tamara, Peta & Mum's) The problem is that there are not many in the pack so I don't want to use them up and potentially need them again while I'm here...

My meeting with Merasol yesterday went really well. I'm not working with her on anything in particular, more so just for encouragement. I was concerned that she wouldn't be very talkative because when I've seen her other times she's been very shy and won't speak in English much. Thankfully this was not the case. We chatted - and her English is the best of anyone else from the church here - and then we prayed. It was a good time for both of us I think.

Today I had plans to head to church and start reorganising the room for the gym and then was gonna call in to Indian George to say g'day. The weather is no good today though and while I could take the tank I'd prefer to ride the motorbike. Instead I think I'll hang out at the house and help Paul with some painting that he wants to get done. Not the most exciting day... But they can't all be, right?

Things I'm learning here

2012-02-14T00:22:00.000+10:30

1. Shoes are stupid in the tropics: This might not be a newsflash for some of you but I wish someone had told me not to bother. I've worn them maybe 3 times since coming to Guiuan. I made the mistake of wearing them to youth group. I was being picked up in a car, going straight to church, then coming home. Should've been safe, right? Nope. The floor of the car has holes in it and the rain - which was torrential - saturated my shoes through the floor. And the problem with wet shoes here - they never actually dry out! Thankfully I bought with me a pair of hiking sandle type thing before I left and they are my new favourite pair of shoes! On Saturday when I rode the motorbike to church along a muddy, puddly track I was convinced that I'd be spending most of the next 5 months with these...

Keen Owyhee Mens, available from Kathmandu.

2. Racism sucks (especially when you're on the other side): I'm one of those white westerners who often sees immigrants to Australia who can't speak English and makes comments along the lines of "surely if you were moving to another country you'd learn the language". I know I'm not the only person who says things like this. In fact, I know some of you reading this have made similar comments to me. Tonight I had a meeting at church. Albert speaks Waray Waray and no English. Franco and Erick speak Waray Waray and can speak English as a second language. And Paul speaks English with Waray Waray as a second language. I felt really left out at this meeting because most of it was in Waray Waray. I was having a vent to Paul on the way home about how frustrating it is not being able to understand the language, especially when they can speak English. Then it hit me right between the eyes as I was talking: I'm in their country. It's not up to them to change, I need to. It's gonna be hard...just like it is for all those new Australian who have to learn English as a second language!

3. What happens in the Philippines, stays in the Philippines: There are some things about living here that you simply would not understand if you've never been here. In fact, I HAVE been here before and there's some things that I was never exposed to last time I was here. This covers everything: government, shopping, birth control, values, shopping, corruption, problem solving, justice, ethics, religion, and the list goes on. Already I have heard things come out of my mouth that I never would say in Australia. The default response here is a very different one to the life I'm used to. I can't say it's better, but I wont say it's worse either. It is what it is. And I think this really reiterates something that I've believed for a long time, that everyone should experience cross-cultural mission. Even if you're not a Christian and get involved in a Christian mission, there are Aid and Building missions that go all over the world and you can definitely get on board there. I guarantee that your life will be changed!

These are three of the things I've learned so far. There are many more things to add to the list, but I'll save some for another time!

Not much to report

2012-02-13T21:20:00.001+10:30

The last few days have been reasonably uneventful...

Saturday: I had a lazy morning around the house. Managed to Skype a couple of people and send a few emails but other than that I had no plans until 4pm. I had scheduled a meeting with Karl but when I headed to church (on the motorbike, solo) he wasn't there and didn't show up. Erick, Franco, Merasol and some of the others were there, just hanging out and thinking about music practice. I spent some time with them but they kept talking in Waray which left me out of most of the conversation. That was disappointing. I stayed about 2hrs with them before heading home before it got dark - and before it rained again. Saturday was also a scheduled black out for Guiuan so at home we had the generator running all day. While I was at church the power came back on so I knew that when I got home I'd be able to get online and send some more emails.

Sunday: We woke again with no power. This one was not scheduled but because we were on the way to church we didn't bother with the generator at home. Church has one but while we were there the power came back on. But still SO MUCH rain. I've never seen so much rain. Ever! Because of the rain there wasnt much to do at home so I napped in the afternoon which turned into a 3hr sleep! Wow, I must've needed it. But then it mucked up my whole pattern for the day. When I went to go to sleep last night I was wide awake until 2am.

Today: Determined to get my system back into shape I woke up at about 830, skipped breakfast, just grabbed a glass of water and went for a walk into town. I'd wanted to go to the store to grab a few things and thought about taking the bike, but decided a walk would do me good. Talk about conspicuous! Giant white man sticks out like a sore thumb...and everyone stops to look. One lady even called out from her sari-sari store "hello, you're so big". Once in town I grabbed some crackers to have with the camembert cheese I bought in the city last week. I had tried with bread but the bread here is so sweet it just wasn't right. Also Vegemite toast was disappointing because of the sweetness. So I had my supplies and started walking home. A guy driving a motortrike stopped and asked if I wanted a ride home. Since it was pretty warm and I was carrying shopping I jumped in. I asked how much, to which he replied P40. I thought that's a good deal so I didn't question it. When I got home Paul said it should've been P7!! Oh dear, that guy certainly saw me coming. I'm sure he went home not having to work for the rest of the day!

At home Paul asked me to pressure clean the concrete out the front. It was really mouldy and slippery and we've both skidded on it a few times. That took a couple of hours and, although the naps/siesta has become routine, today it was well appreciated! Paul and I then headed up to the church for Men's meeting with Franco, Albert and Erick. It was hard going. Paul was trying to accomodate me by asking the guys questions in English but they keep responding in Waray Waray. It felt like a great waste of time being there because I couldn't get anything out of it and I couldn't contribute because I had no idea what they were talking about. Anyway, Paul believes that once he is gone things will be different. I tend to agree because they guys are happy to speak English when we meet one-on-one, it's just in the group, and when Paul is there, that they revert back to Waray.

It's a hard position to be in. I know that I'm the visitor to their country and if the tables were turned I'd expect the visitor to learn English. What makes it difficult for me is that, for now, I don't speak Waray, but they DO speak English. It would make things a lot easier for us all to speak the common language that we all know...in my opinion. We'll see how that plays out. Paul's suggestion was to pray and ask for the gift of tongues - I have been, but nothing new happening yet...

Anyway, I've just got home and made my self a dinner of corn flakes, coffee and crackers. Hopefully my Skype appointment wont be too far away, although she is already 35 minutes late... Must be working on Filipino time!

Kinder Field Trip

2012-02-11T22:00:00.000+10:30

Each year the Kinder run at the church has two big events. One is a family day, usually at the church property with games and food, while the other is a Field Trip. Yesterday I went along for the Field Trip and it was great. There were some places that Paul was planning on taking me and we covered just about all of them yesterday.

First stop was the Guiuan Airport. When you come to visit me this will be your first impression of Guiuan.

Franco, Merasol, Erick and one of the Kinder mums in the recently renovated terminal building. Things are gearing up for the Cebu - Guiuan - Cebu flights starting later this month. Book online thru Mid Sea Express.

Parents chasing their children across the tarmac. Good fun!

After the airport we headed to the Department of Fisheries which is just down the road from the house. It was interesting too.

Giant Clam at the Dept of Fisheries.

I was introduced to this lady as "She's the Muslim"... and she's lovely.

After Fisheries we headed to Calicoan Surf Camp - AMAZING! I spotted this place online a few weeks ago and thought it'd be good to go there. Having visited now, I totally want to stay there sometime. If any visitors from Oz are coming over, we will definitely head out there for a few nights!

Even on an overcast day the view from the pool is impressive.

Enjoying sitting by the pool - definitely something I could get used to.

The restaurant at Calicoan Surf Camp.

I really could post more pics of this place. It was magic. But, after a brief time there we headed to Sulangan for lunch. Sulangan was one of the places we visited 8 years ago with the GLO team. Some of you may've seen the 2005 GLO Calendar which had a GLO team posing on front of a boat at a beach in the Philippines. Well that photo was my GLO team and it was at Sulangan. It was good to go back there and visit.

This is the location of that famous calendar shoot 8 years ago.

Merasol - Kinder Teacher, singer, Sunday School Teacher, youth leader - organised the Field Trip...and hates having her photo taken.

The lunch we enjoyed at Sulangan.

After we left lunch Paul took me to see some amazing waves from the Pacific Ocean where they crash on the rocks here. Spectaular!

Waves crashing - that's the Pacific Ocean - nothing "pacific" about it if you ask me!

If you look hard, squint, and hold your head the right way you can not see California in the distance.

Then we headed home. I went to youth group and that was that. Youth group was fun but difficult because of the language barrier. They ALL speak English but again they're shy about it. No photos of youth group - I took them but it's taken all day to upload these ones. Maybe tomorrow I'll do that.

For everyone who has been commenting: Thanks! I know the "I can't hear you" post might've sounded needy. I guess that's because it's true. I have needs. I need to know that I have you guys behind me - or better put: walking with me! Thanks for the support. Please keep it coming. (Remember comments are public too. If it's private, just email me...)

And to those who I've been able to Skype or facebook chat with, thanks also. It's also been great to have that connection with you too!

Grace and peace,
Ben.

Black out

2012-02-11T09:41:00.001+10:30

Sorry. Today we ave no power. That means no Internet until Paul shows me how to use the generator. This is typed quickly on my phone - too expensive to Skype/blog much on here. Will update when I can. -Ben.

Short and Sweet

2012-02-09T23:30:00.000+10:30

This is just going to be a quick one - I think - because it's late and I'm tired. It's been an eventful day.

This morning I met up with Erick at the house for our first mentoring session. We've booked in Thursday mornings as the standard meeting time and I'm looking forward to spending more time with him. We wanted to start this week by looking at the Sunday morning schedules for church. It wasn't what I had planned to start with but the current schedule runs out in 10 days so it seems like the most pressing need at this time. When we caught up on Monnight I asked Erick to come prepared with some thoughts about 1st Peter, 2nd Peter and Titus - which he had suggested be the books for sermon series'. When he showed up this morning I was more than pleasantly surprised. Erick had looked at Titus mainly and had written out a very comprehensive outline on the book. He had also looked at 1st Peter a bit but not 2nd Peter. It was enough to make a good start on the schedule and I was super encouraged by the work he had done.

After meeting with Erick was booked in time with Franco. We were needing to do a similar session as with Erick, but looking at Youth Group as Franco is caretaker for that while Dave is away. Franco is more of an effort for me. His English is holding him back. Not that he's lacking in skill, only confidence. He also is not interested in being the organiser for Youth Group but is only in this capacity while Dave is away out of necessity. I'm sure one of the girls could do it (Rahina, Merasol, etc) but the church's "role of women policy" is different to mine and it simply isn't my place to fight that here. Anyway, something that was encouraging with Franco - and it's a small victory - is at the end of our time today I was about to pray but first asked him "if you could be doing anything, what would it be". Immediately it was obvious that he's never been challenged to think about possibilities other than the here and now. And from talks with Paul, that's pretty standard for Filipino culture. The way things are is the way things are...and that's that. I've been a bit discouraged by Franco, thinking that he's just not really interested in anything, but even as I type this I'm getting excited because I think, while it will be hard work, God might've just put me here for Him to use to uncover something in Franco that nobody else - even himself - has seen yet. When he did answer my question it was, "I'm not interested in upfront ministry, I'd rather serve behind or support people". Praise God! At least Franco knows, and is content with, having a servant heart. All part of being the "body of Christ". Amen!

Then after a brief nap it was time for my motorbike lesson. Without being too up myself, it was pretty straight forward. I was a bit of a natural...until I came off! It was quite spectacular I imagine. Certainly it was from my point of view. I'd only been driving for about 100 meters and came to a T junction. I was turning left and just didn't lean or turn enough. That took me off the road and in my panic I accelerated instead of braked and that was where it all fell apart. My helmet literally fell apart! The bike went down in a flash, I went over the handlebars and landed face-first in the dirt, and Erick - who was sitting behind me - went over me and also landed in the dirt. But Erick landed a little smoother than me and remained uninjured thankfully. And for me, apart from smashing up my knee, both wrists and my face a little, I'm all good. From previous car accidents I knew that the best thing was to make sure everyone was not seriously injured, let the adrenaline release a little and have a good laugh about it, then get straight back on the bike and go again. And that's exactly what we did. Franco had been taking photos and video for me, but he didn't get our crash as he was around the corner (very disappointing). Anyway, we went back to the airport carpark (airport still unused until Feb 20th) and I just did laps there. It was great and I'm very confident I can ride now.

Doing laps around the airport carpark.

War wounds, prior to the swelling and blood.

I got home, cleaned up my knee and other grazes then Paul and I had dinner and watched a DVD. I showed him "To Save A Life" to see if he thought it would be suitable to watch at Youth Group here. He gave it the nod, so I will suggest it to Dave when he's back in town.

My knee is still sore, my jaw/chin is still quite swollen and sore and my left wrist is painful when I touch it, BUT I did have a good laugh about it, and I know that God was still watching and protected me nonetheless. Here's how I know that: About an inch from where my face impacted the soft, damp ground, covered with leaves and grass, was a rock. It was about half a foot high, pyramidal (is that a word) in shape with sharp, jagged edges on the side nearest to my head. Had I connected with that rock I know it would've been a very different outcome. With nothing less than a concussion and much greater, devestating potential, it simply is by the hand of God that I missed it and could get up, shake myself off and laugh about it. Furthermore, the viser came off the helmet when my face hit the dirt, but my glasses survived completely unaffected; and I didn't lose any teeth even though my chin/jaw/bottom lip copped much of the brunt. Mum, I know you're reading this and freaking out, but reread the part about getting up and laughing. I am really ok. And God once again came through, proved His faithfulness and holds me tight in the palm of his hand! Praise Jesus!

So much for a short post tonight.... Tomorrow is the Kinder Field Trip which I'm going along to help Merasol. I've got no idea where we're going or what the plan is other than I have to meet at the town centre at 8am. Then in the evening is Youth Group music practice at 4, followed by Youth Group at 7. Might not be blogging tomorrow but will definitely on Saturday. Please keep praying for all this stuff...and perhaps in the comments box, let me know how I can pray for you! (If you want it to be private, simply leave the comment and say it's private and I wont approve it for publishing BUT you could always leave it public and I know my readers will pray for you too - your call on that one).

Grace and peace,
Ben.

I Can't Hear You...

2012-02-09T02:06:00.000+10:30

I'm not feeling the love. I've been blogging daily for a week and not a single comment has been left. So I ask myself, "why?" Maybe no-one knows how to comment? Your lesson begins now:

Don't You Dare Close Your Eyes

2012-02-09T01:35:00.001+10:30

I feel like God is saying this to me about this current season I'm in:

Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky.

A whole new world
Don't you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath - it gets better
I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be.

A whole new world
Every turn a surprise
With new horizons to pursue
Every moment red-letter
I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you.
(From Disney's Aladdin (C) 1992)

On the road to Tacloban.

It's been nice (rubbish word!) to be able to "live it up" and treat ourselves the last couple of days while we were in Tacloban, especially with things that we simply don't have access to in Guiuan. It might seem that I'm on a cruisy holiday around SE Asia based on the photos from this morning's post. Let me assure you, that is not the case.

A rice field along the Guiuan-Tacloban road.

By comparison to mission work 100 years ago, yeah, I'm got it good. By comparison to the world I've left behind, no, this is tough. But don't think I'm trying to sound self-important by writing this - far from it. It hit me while we were having dinner at Guisseppe's just how strange it all is. Mission in the 21st Century. We have phones, the internet, Skype, blogs, shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants, ATMs, cars, planes and digital cameras. 100 years ago a missionary would have his (or her) Bible, a suitcase and some maybe some basic medication. And they'd be dropped in the middle of deepest, darkest, dingo-woop-woop and told to preach the Gospel and hope they don't get eaten by natives. I'm afraid of the power going out...because then I'd have to use the generator. Things are different now.

They can MacGyver up just about anything to serve a purpose.

And the mission is different too. I'm not here to preach the Gospel to the masses. God hasn't sent me here for that. My purpose in this place is to equip the saints, to build the workers up, encouragement, training and mentoring, for the work of Gospel preaching that they will do.

The San Juanico Bridge between Leyte and Samar.

For a long time, in the lead up to this mission trip, I didn't see myself as a missionary. People would call me that, but I'd argue against it in my head. But I am here as Christ's ambassador. I'm here on His orders. He has sent me here, doing a mission that He has ordained, and that I'm trusting He will bless and complete. I guess that makes me a "missionary".

I think this is self-explanatory. I certainly have no words for it!

My first meeting - as in official mentoring session - is tomorrow morning at 9am. That's 1130am for those in SA and 12pm for Sydneysiders. I'm telling you that info so you can schedule it in to pray for me and the guys during the day, and the session more specifically. Tomorrow it's Erick at 9am then Franco at 1030am (SA=1pm, NSW=130pm), then, weather permitting, a motorbike lesson with Erick in the arvo. This is also a cause for prayer!!!

No real agenda with these photos - just some that I took on the trip to Tacloban.

The Big Smoke

2012-02-08T10:01:00.001+10:30

Yesterday Paul and I drove the almost three hour trip to Tacloban, the nearest city to Guiuan. This is usually where you'd fly to if you were coming to Guiuan (or into Cebu and catch the ferry to Ormoc/Tacloban). Paul had a list a mile long of things to achieve and was sure it'd take two days to do it. Fortunately the Lord went before us and sorted out the anticipated rigmarole and we got it mostly done in one day. Paul thinks that I'm gonna spend some time in Tacloban every now and then but certainly not if I can help it! This place is nuts. Especially driving. Perhaps I might come on the motorbike one day but it's doubtful that I'd come in the Tank. Anyway we went out for dinner last night to a nice little Italian restaurant. Great food and little wonder that it was filled with white foreigners. Definitely the kind of place, food and ambiance we'd expect in a city in Oz.

Chicken Parmy at Guisseppe's Ristorante in Tacloban. Notice the rice (I didn't ask for that)!

Tiramisu at Guisseppe's. Good but not as good as Urban Chick's!

Eight years ago when I was here with GLO we stayed at the Manhattan Inn when we overnighted in Tacloban. I'm stayed here last night again. It's not much but it is clean and air conditioned, AND they have hot water so I enjoyed a hot shower last night (we don't have hot water at Paul & Gerrah's place). And all for less than $25/night!

I also spotted this jeepney driving past and had to get a photo of that! And this last photo is especially for Cait. She argued ages ago that frozen coke was called froke in Adelaide like frozen yoghurt was called froyo. Well, as it turns out froyo is a bit more widely accepted.

This is about the third Bat-Jeepney I spotted in Tacloban. Even saw a Bat-Bus too but missed a photo of that one.

FroYo - For Cait.

I mentioned that usually you'd fly into Tacloban if you were going to visit Guiuan but soon this is all going to change. We heard a rumour that flights between Cebu & Guiuan were to open up this month. Paul was skeptical because it's been promised for years and nothing was ever done about it. Well I just online and googled away and was able to call out, "Paul, I've got some good news for you!" A company called Midsea Express is going to begin flights twice a week between Cebu and Guiuan. Great news! Cebu airport is much easier to deal with than Manila so if people want to visit its simply a flight into Cebu (it's an international terminal) and a 50m flight to Guiuan, which eliminates the nightmare of Manila airport AND the awful 3hr van ride to Guiuan from Tacloban. So, I'm just putting it out there that you should consider it. And to entice you even more google this: Calicoan Surf Camp. Enjoy & see you soon ;-)

Christians and Critters

2012-02-06T23:46:00.000+10:30

In my last post I mentioned how GCF stands out on the dirt tracks of Baragay Cogon among the trees and shacks around it. On my way there tonight I took some photos to show what I mean...

This is the track on the way to GCF.

Right in the middle of this shot you can see the GCF building. As you can see it stands out significantly in the clearing. It's such a great place and resource for the community.

These are a couple of the "houses" across the track from GCF.

Also in the previous post I mentioned that my nephew Jordy was asking about the critters here. Well tonight I stumbled upon - and then chased into a corner - a frog. the locals call it American Frog and it's quite poisonous (nice to know in hindsight - I wouldn't've gone near it if I knew that before).

The poisonous American Frog I cornered at GCF tonight.

And I finally met the footlong lizard that lives in the kitchen - mind you I had to go outside to find him under the eave. He only just had his head sticking out tonight but I snapped a quick photo of his head for Jordy. I was thinking of naming him after a TV chef. Any suggestions?

The Kitchen Lizard...outside.

Tonight Paul and I headed up to Cogon to meet with Erick and Franco for the weekly Men's meeting, kind of like the elders meetings we have at home, without any elders. It gave me a really good insight into the work that's cut out for me here. Erick was running late (Filipino Time) and I started asking Franco about youth group for this Friday. He mentioned that the program was going to be games and that he was giving the devotion himself. Then I made the mistake of asking what the devo topic was...
Franco: I don't know
Ben: Is there a program?
F: yes there is
B: what's on the program for the devotion topic
F: I don't know
B: how do you know you're on?
F: there's a program
B: does the program have the topics?
F: yes
B: what is the topic?
F: I don't know
B: is there a topic?
F: no
B: when will you decide the topic?
F: maybe tomorrow...
Yeah, so you can see that there's some work to do here. Since I come from a world (WHICH I LOVE) of rosters, programs, planning, diaries, forethought, schedules and organisation - and this is what Paul wants me to instill here - I'm gonna have an interesting few months!

When Erick got there I was given a glimmer of hope. When we asked about the plan for Sunday mornings - since the current schedule ends in two weeks - they told us there was no plan beyond two weeks, but they both said they had ideas of the teaching series to do. That at least showed they've thought about it. When I probed a little deeper I found that they have some ideas but no clue as how to make that work. While they were talking with Paul I just wrote in my book the dates they needed to roster for 3 months, worked out a series that I planned to help them prepare from the book of Titus, and then explained that it really was a simple as getting that basic information, having an idea of the topics/book of the Bible and then filling in the blanks. Erick seemed to get it and I'm excited that I'll be able to work with him to make Sunday mornings function really well. He sees and understands the importance and value of planning, and I can tell that he wants to make it work. Hopefully with a bit of coaching he'll get to the point where he can proactively own that himself. A prayer point for you who are praying about the work here.

With Franco, I have to cut him some slack. He's been given the caretaking role of running youth group while Dave is at Bible camp, so it's really not his strength or area of passion and that's coming though loud and clear! It'll take a bit longer to work out what exactly makes him tick and working out how to switch that on. Another prayer point right there!

Tomorrow Paul and I are heading to Tacloban for the day as Paul needs to register the car, needs to post the girls school books back to Open Access and there's other running around we need to do. I was hoping we could go on Friday because then I would've been paid and could grab some things from the "big smoke" myself. Oh well, not this time. Anyway, with that in mind, and the 6am ETD, I'd better head to bed!

church@guiuan

2012-02-06T18:58:00.000+10:30

Yesterday, being Sunday, we spent the morning at church. About 830 we jumped in the tank (my affectionate name for Paul's beast of a car) and headed up to Barangay Cogon where the Guiuan Christian Fellowship church is located. It's up a series of rabbit-warren streets then a turn down a ~~dirt~~ mud track to get to the church property. It sits as an oasis, open grassland and buildings in the midst of the "jungle", trees and shacks along the track.

The entrance of Guiuan Christian Fellowship, not so much a "city on a hill" as much as a "clearing in the jungle".

Thanks to the heavy rain the last few days the local children have a "pool" to splash about in at the front of the GCF property.

The Sunday morning program at GCF begins with Sunday School: an age specific small group really, which focusses on the previous week's message. This was mainly in Waray Waray which meant I couldn't follow a lot of what was being talked about but Paul translated every so often to keep me in the loop. As per usual it started on Philippino time (also known as Kuli Time at C@PV, or Indian Time, and I think you get the point) - 45 minutes late. This of course meant it finished late but when we eventually got into the main church building for the service I was much more in the loop. Four of the five songs were in English - and the one that wasn't is the one that's been stuck in my head since then! Erick led the music with vocal and guitar while 3 of the girls also did vocal and Franco played drums.

Merasol and Erick leading the music

One of the other guys (whose name I can't remember) shared before communion and then Erick gave the message from Joshua 14. He made his main points in English so I could follow along - it's a simple gesture but I really appreciated it! I was able to follow along in the passage and managed to make some decent notes throughout. It was good.

After the church service and most people had left the building some of the young adults hung around and chatted at the back of the hall. They were speaking in Waray Waray, while Erick and I were chatting privately in English. Then we joined them and Erick said that one of the girls, Roxan, spoke Japanese. She laughed it off and I mentioned the few words I know in Japanese (Conichiwa, Arigato, Ichi, nee, sun, shi, go, rocko - Sally Davis, please ignore the spelling) and she replied in turn with a few things. I asked if she, or the group spoke English and they all said no, then we joked about other languages and similarly to our Japanese, we covered German, French, Spanish and Chinese. When we were all giggling about how silly it all was Paul sat down and said, "Alright, Ben's here so we all have to speak English"... and they DID! Perfectly. I had no trouble understanding them, even though they all lack the confidence to admit they speak it. At least I know now that it's only a confidence issue but the ability is there. That gives me something to work with.

After church we dropped some of them home and then headed home for lunch, siesta and then dinner at Tanghay View Lodge. There I managed to get a couple of photos for Jordy (my second nephew). He's been asking questions about the lizards and bugs so I've tried to get some pics. The lizards dont let me close enough but the crab was fairly slow moving...

This little guy joined us for dinner last night.

Manila Vanilla

2012-02-06T00:37:00.000+10:30

Manila is far from Vanilla! I really enjoyed the time Paul and I spent in Manila but it really highlighted the issue that faces many developing countries: the poor are very poor and the rich are very rich.

We had a day to kill since our flights to Guiuan were booked for Wednesday so on Tuesday we decided to head into town, armed with my camera, and be a couple of tourists. It was very interesting. Paul remembered that there is a river cruise/barge that would take us past Makati (the CBD/wealthy area) to the old walled city of Manila. We headed there but were advised on arrival that the barge was stopped about 12 months ago.

While we were at the barge dock there were some guys hanging about the water. I wondered what they were up to...but in hindsight I wish I didn't ask! One of them had a long bamboo pole with a cable attached and at one end was a metal basket. He was obviously a fisherman of some kind. Where things got a bit dicey was when I realised he had rigged this cable up to the power cables and was using it to electricute/stun the fish as he put the basket in the water. I got it on video but it's taking too long to upload. Perhaps when I'm at an airport or something with a better connection speed I will upload it then...

After that we took a taxi into Makati and visited the Ayala Museum. It was really interesting and included a gallery as well. I've become a bit of a fan of one of their national artists: Fernando Zobel, and especially his Saeta series. The museum houses a collection of 60 miniture scenes depicting the history of the Philippines from when people lived in caves right through to the Marcos era. It was fascinating to see.

Saeta #42 by Fernando Zobel

Ayala Museum and Gallery in Makati

Greenbelt Makati, near the Ayala Museum

A view of Makati/Manila from over the Pasig

While at Greenbelt Makati we grabbed some lunch from a pretty fancy Italian looking place. It was great, and again showed the contrast between rich and poor when we compared the meal wo what we ate at the Bible camp the day before. City life is certainly different to rural life! After lunch we headed to The Walled City of Manila, kind of an historic area that used to be the city. It was fascinating and beautiful to see and I got some good photos there (in my opinion).

Typical touristy thing to do - but these ones are so skinny, I had to contort so you souldn't see me behind the board.

Outside the Old City Gate

Scenes around the Old Walled City of Manila

Scenes around the ruins of the Old Walled City of Manila

Scenes around the Old Walled City of Manila

Then we walked along the park to Roxas Blvd (Rohas) before getting a taxi to Mall of Asia. This place is huge, and has everything! Paul was telling me that the guy who started the SM business began with a small shoe market (hence SM), and built from there to now what is worth a squillion dollars and a chain equivelant to our Westfields (although I'm sure the SM's are bigger than any Westfield I've seen). The Mall of Asia property is all reclaimed land too - it used to be the bay, but he filled it in with dirt and built a mall on it! Anyway, just one more pic, then I'm heading to bed - super tired and I'm also afraid the internet will die before I've posted this and I'll lose the lot (it's been raining all day and I'm afraid there'll be a black out again - two earlier tonight).

Mall of Asia

Ciao. xx

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

2012-02-05T16:55:00.001+10:30

I just got home from church and I'm about to Skype my sister and her kids so I'll type more later. For now, here are some pics...

On the flight from Manila to Tacloban the air conditioner was pumping this disconcerting mist into the cabin.

One of Paul and Gerrah's dogs - this one wont come near me though.

View of the Leyte Gulf from the backyard.

View of the house from the backyard.

Coya ("older brother" sign of respect) Paul at the market.

More of the market.

This room is likely to become the gym/fitness room when I get my act together.

More of the proposed gym/fitness room.

The coconut palm I determined to climb.

The toilet block which I helped to paint in 2004 and the Guiuan Christian Fellowship property.

The Eagle Has Landed

2012-02-04T16:23:00.000+10:30

Well, I'm here. In Guiuan. At Paul and Gerrah's place. I left Adelaide almost a week ago when Phil, Christine, Jackie, Danny, Caitlin, Sonya and Bodes took me to the airport to make sure I left. I walked through security and sat down to wait for boarding the plane and it was about that time when I began to second guess my decision to come here. I was feeling quite inadequate and doubted my ability to follow this through. But more on that later...

On the plane I was sitting next to a fellow Adelaidean - named Simon - who was also en route to Manila, for a business meeting. He represents a not-for-profit group that helps other NFPs set up their technology systems, based in Australia but trying to make inroads in Asia. Sounded pretty interesting and it was great to have someone easy to talk to on the plane. I also watched a couple of movies on the plane: Contagion and Flypaper. Contagion was terrifying, about the spread of a deadly virus around the world that kills millions of people. I spent the rest of the flight looking at all the different opportunities for cross-contamination and the spread of germs. Not the best things to be worried about when coming to the Philippines. If you had OCD you could not survive here! The second movie - Flypaper - was funny. It went straight to DVD apparently but I really enjoyed it. It has Dr whats-his-name from Greys Anatomy in it along with Ashley Judd I think, and was about a bank that gets held up by two different groups of robbers at the same time. It had a slightly predictable twist but was fun.

At Kuala Lumpur airport we stuck together and went in search of a beer. We stopped and asked two different information desks if there was any bar in the terminal and both said no, so we settled for a coffee. It was my shout for coffee because they had a minimum eftpost and Simon had no ringits. That was a good call. While drinking coffee Simon looked up his iPad and found that there is indeed places to buy beer in the terminal so off we went. This time it was his shout. Ben = winner! After a couple of Corona's we went to the gate and changed Simon's ticket to put us together for the KL to Manila flight. The flight was ridiculous. On the first plane we had the exit row: loads of leg room, TVs with dozens of movies and TV shows to choose from and it was great. On the KL to Manila though, we had no TV, it was cramped, awful. Just before landing they came around with a tray of cups offering water. We gratefully took some and went to drink it but it was hot! Simon queried it saying "excuse me, the water is hot", to which the stewardess replied, "yes, hot water". Weird. We did a bit of talking, laughed a bit at how dodgy it all it then slept.

Landing in Manila was fairly straight forward. I lied on my customs/immigration card and thought I'd end up on border security or something, but they didn't even read it. Just stamp-stamp and move on. (My lie was to the question about brining in electronic equipment purchased outside the Philippines - I have my laptop, ereader and iPhone with me but I took the question to be about commercial/resellable stuff)

Paul met us and helped point Simon in the right direction for finding a taxi to his hotel - which it turns out is in the red-light district of Manila - and then Paul, Arjay, Dave and I got a cab to our accommodation. We stayed in an appartment owned by the Radio Bible Class (I think) which was really perfect: clean and air conditioned. It was good to spend an evening talking with Arjay and Dave and getting a bit familiar with them. They stayed with us and then we took them to the Bible Camp they're studying at for the next month or two, on Monday.

My initial observations of Dave and Arjay are that Dave is quite confident and this comes out through his English. He is able to understand and make jokes in English and is very conversational. On the other hand, Arjay is less confident and at one stage I didn't understand what he said and when I asked him to repeat it he clammed right up.

I took some photos of the food at both the Bible Camp lunch and then what we ate for dinner to show the contrast of it all but I'm having some tech issues getting things from my phone, and with my email. Instead you'll have this picture:

Some of you have heard me say I'm going to be able to climb a coconut tree by the time I leave. This is the tree I've chosen. It's near the gym/fitness room and at the back of the property so I should be able to practice quite privately - as long as I dont land on the barbwire fence at the tree's base!

Genesis 2:18

2012-02-04T00:35:00.000+10:30

Never has that verse been more real to me than tonight.

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him."

You might be disappointed to read that this first of my (hopefully) many Philippines posts is a bit of a downer, but that's where my head's at today. At the dinner table tonight I was overwhelmed by just how hard life is here. Paul has been telling me each day about all the different things I need to do here. And there's loads!

When I signed up to come over I was agreeing to mentor the 4 interns/workers and help with their ongoing personal development. That task initially seemed huge, but achievable. Now that I'm here though, that job is the tip of the ice berg and by far the most managable! The tough part is just doing life. Getting by. Keeping things running.

There are so many things here that I'm just not used to - some of which terrify me: Lizards (!!!), rats, cockroaches, dodgy water, driving on the right hand side, new language, the markets (!!), and EVERYTHING breaking down... It's all stuff that Paul and Gerrah deal with each day but stuff that I am NOT used to, or prepared for.

Thankfully Paul is here to help me learn the ropes. You really need to pray with me that I WILL learn them because once Paul goes home, I'm kinda stuffed. Hence the significance of the verse above. Alone. I'll be alone. When Paul and Gerrah are here they have each other. They have their kids. And they have friends who speak the same language as them. I'll be alone. It is not good for the man to be alone...

Anyway, when it's all said and done - and tearful breakdowns aside - I am here for a job, I'm here with a purpose and I believe I'm here because God wants me to be, just as much today as He did a month ago. I have to remind myself of that.

On the plane on the way here I had some feelings of inadequacy. Thinking things along the lines of "What am I even going to offer them" or "How am I going to make a difference". Today I finally got up to the church property and I have a really good feeling about the job I was sent here to do. I met Erick, Franco and Merasol today and they all speak English. That will make things much easier. The difficulty will be with Albert and Imelda - the property "care-takers" - because their English is not so good. And Paul's advice for when I meet with Albert is simply to do all the talking and pray at the end. Interesting!

This is the room that will be transformed into the gym/exercise room at the church

So, I'm really going to have my work cut out for me. And I'm going to be leaning on God to get me thru each day. I remember praying about 12-18 months ago, asking God to help me to trust Him more because I felt my life had become very safe, to the point where I wasn't necessarily relying on Him for everything. Well, prayer answered. I'm difinitely in the deep end!

I had intentions of making my first blog about the different things that happened on the way over here and I've been making notes accordingly, but I think that'll just have to wait for another time. I think this was a much more suitable post for how I've been feeling today. And it gives you - my few readers - something to pray for. If you have any questions, you can always comment below or send me an sms to my Philippines cell phone (yeah, it's a cell phone here not a mobile!).

Grace and peace,
Ciao
Ben.

Where in the world is Ben Herdon?

2012-01-31T21:44:00.002+10:30

Enjoy your guest post from Caitlin. Ben wanted to update his masses of blog fans ;) but he won't have internet access until Thursday.

This will be short as I only have limited but good information.

Ben has arrived. He is safe and well. He has met some of the interns which went well from what I can gather from the short text message he sent to me. Today he enjoyed playing tourist in Manila.

He has a new mobile number, not sure if it's safe to publish on this public blog but if you would like it then please contact me caitlin[at]churchatpv.org.au or ask him for it via Facebook message/email and he'll get back to you when he has the internet again. If you text message him, international text messages are really expensive for him to send so don't expect a reply back or if he has credit you may get a really short reply (hence my limited information) BUT do email or Facebook message him and do expect a reply ... unless he doesn't like you, but I'm sure that's no one out there reading this.

The End.

ps: It's weird writing on someone else's blog.

Family Ties

2012-01-24T23:38:00.000+10:30

I leave the country in 5 days! I wanted to leave my car with Renate and Brett so they could use it since their own car is a bit (a lot) cactus at the moment. Dad flew in to Adelaide on Sunday morning and we drove together to Sydney on Sunday night and Monday. It was a good drive and we had a good chance to talk. We told some old jokes, played "Who am I" and listened to some music. I introduced Dad to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra which he really enjoyed. We told some jokes - and shared our lack of appreciation for Aboriginal jokes. Dad told me a lot about India - more than I've heard before which was really interesting. And I spoke about things that are happening inside my head these days and the various ideas I have about future ministry, both in Guiuan and Adelaide.

When we drove past the Picton Sky Diving place Dad pointed out that it was 10 years ago since we did our sky dive together, and that led me to thinking and commenting about other things that have happened during the last 10 years. For me:

Bought a house
Did a Contiki tour of New Zealand
Visited friends in the United States for Christmas
Sold a house
Went to GLO
Did a mission trip to Guiuan
Moved to Adelaide
Promoted through the ranks of CommBank
Wrote off a car
Bought the "batmobile"
Got tattoos
Became an elder at church@paravista

Just to name a few.

It's been quite a journey to this point and I've met some wonderful people along the way. I've also come to realise and appreciate the people who have been there since the beginning of the journey: my family. As I'm heading to Guiuan again in a few days time, I've taken this trip to Sydney to see family before going away, as well as dropping off my car. Today and tonight have been great.

Dad, Mum & Peta (and Simon and I) playing Monopoly Deal

Tonight Peta and Simon and the tribe came over for dinner and we played some games afterwards. We've always been a games family, whether it's charades or cards, chess or quoits, we've played games for as long as I can remember. And I think that's one of the things that keeps our family strong. Having a shared Christian faith is probably the main thing but to get enjoyment from playing games together is a big help too.

It was great to see the nephews and neices too. Adam played "A Whole New World" on guitar tonight which was fantastic. He lost his way during it and became a bit self conscious but it sounded great and he's certainly got a lot of talent there. Jordy had carved some small figurines which he showed me earlier in the night and just before he left he said I could keep them. He's so creative like that and generous too! If Craftmanship and encouragement are not his spiritual gifts then I'll be very surpised. Elise and Amy were good tonight too - those girls are just gorgeous.

Nan always said "you love those 9's" when we played cards during my childhood & adolescence - we played today and this was my first hand!

I saw Renate and Adira this morning for a couple of hours then headed to the nursing home to see Nan. We played cards and chatted about things. With her memory going it was mostly repetative but I think she enjoyed our visit. She's still pretty sharp on the cards even though she tries to tell herself that she can't remember. She won a few hands so I think she remembers just fine!

This is Harold Herdon & Muriel Herdon - my grandparents, Pop and Nan - this photo is by Nan's bedside

So, in a few hours I leave Sydneytown and head to Adelaide again for a final few hectic days before leaving for Guiuan. It's really at the business end now. I can hardly wait for it and I'm super excited to just get on that plane and be on the way. I've tried to plan it so that this week I'll be seeing each of the pastors (except Roy because he had other plans that couldn't be changed) and I'm looking forward to just spending a bit of time with each of them to pray and chat before I head off. And then I pack and then I go!

And while I'm excited, I'm also very aware that none of this is possible without God's hand of guidance, power, grace and His Holy Spirit going before, and with, me. While I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, I can also do nothing without Him! In Him I can be strong and courageous. In Him I can defeat giants, walk on water and move mountains. But it's all about Him. It's in the name of Jesus Christ that I can even think about taking this mission trip. It's only to glorify His name. And it's Him who I am called to be an ambassador for. All to Jesus, All for Jesus, and Only with Jesus...I will follow! Lead on my King...aka Dad!

A Belated and Backdated Post

2012-01-20T18:43:00.000+10:30

This was Friday 20th January's post but the iPhone wouldn't let me submit it until now...

What a day today has been. It ended well. I can comfortably say that. Well, apart from not being able to sleep because the music is too loud outside my door, but I jut walked in the door from Kevin's 21st which was a good evening. Barry & Helen are such good people. I like them a lot. Kevin too. And Russell & Heidi. They're all good people.

I leave behind good people at Modbury CommBank too - today was my last day there. And it was a crappy day. I have some great mates at Modbury branch (including not one but TWO daytime wives) but they weren't at work today. Well some were there...but neither of the wives & G only appeared half the day. Talk about a disappointing end to something I've pumped more than three years of my life into! They DID buy me a great farewell present though! And Urban Chic made tiramisu which was AMAZING! Earlier in the week My Favourite Arab mate cupcakes as well - both appear below:

Tiramisu by Urban Chic

Cupcakes by My Favourite Arab

It's now nine days until I leave the country. NINE DAYS! And the service for my commissioning is only a couple of days away too!

Mark emailed today with the program for Sunday & I'm super excited. Paul is going to talk about Moses & his Commission of Joshua. I find it really comforting because Joshua is my favourite historical figure as well as being my favourite book of the Bible.

I wish I were more like Joshua. I suppose I could be if I was prepared to make some tougher choices. Joshua was able to sit under the leadership & discipleship of Moses. I have also been blessed with some great men of God: Roy, Danny, Mike, Mark, Phil, Glen, Luke, my Dad & others! They may not've seen the glory of God on a mountain BUT they HAVE been filled with the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead! Moses was a the leader of the nation of Israel. I am a leader of leaders in a church. Joshua led the nation to many victories to take the Promised land. I lead people to seek Christ for personal victory in their lives. I guess there are some things that are similar but I wish I had more faith, like Joshua. That's one of my prayers for the first half of 2012: to become more like Christ and more like Joshua (mainly Christ though)!

So I've invited a bunch of people from work to my Commissioning. I hope they can come! It would mean a lot to have them there.

And I know I'm rambling - I'm trying to get into the habit of blogging for when I'm away in Guiuan...

Baseball

2012-01-20T00:12:00.000+10:30

Tonight Vanessa and I went to the baseball. This weekend is the Bite's last home game so I really wanted to go, and Vanessa brought some of her mates too. Pizza Capers for dinner, followed by a couple of beers at the game, a win (5-3) and an autographed hat meant a successful night for our small crowd. The Parade was partly closed for the Pasta on Parade event which was a bit lame. I stuck to what I know and ate the Lambada pizza from Capers which was amazing!

Vanessa and I at The Parade

At the last baseball game I went to Sonya said that Alex was mates with one of the players, Stefan Welch. Stefan plays in the States now and for Adelaide in the off season. Tonight there were some things done for "Ladies Day" at the ballgame including a silent auction of some autographed hats. I decided to buy the Stefan Welch hat for Sonya, which I won the bid and had a photo with Stefan after the game. Happy days. Happy Sonya.

Me and Stefan Welch

I'm not sure where my love for baseball came from but I really enjoy the nights there...even if it means I'm out of the will (according to my cricket-faithful Dad).

Countdowns

2012-01-18T22:15:00.000+10:30

At this time, in 11 days from today, I will be clearing customs in Manila airport having spent the best part of today traveling from Adelaide. It will be the beginning of my 5 month mission trip based in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. But that’s still way off from now.

In four days from today, I will be in bed, having spent most of the day at church for my two commissioning services and a fellowship lunch. And the 7 day countdown will have begun. But that’s still a few days from now.

At this time, right now, I am sitting in bed blogging about the adventure that is about to begin! And what adventure it will be. Right now, I need to keep thinking about right now. There’s much to do, and only 10 days left to do it in.

Christmas 2011 with Modbury Branch

Tomorrow I start counting down to the end of my work at CBA Modbury. It’s the end of an era in a way. Modbury branch has been home for the past 3 ¼ years. And they have been good years. I’ve been blessed with some great friends – including my daytime ‘wife’, LuLu. They’re a good bunch of people and we’ve had some great times together. LuLu, Lu-Bomb, Princess or Poof are all the nicknames for my daytime wife – she’s definitely my best friend at work and I’ll miss her, and Pedro, loads. But I can’t have favourites. I’ll miss them all: Spoggie, Magpie, Wazza, Buddy, Creesy, Genie, JenJen, G-Banger, Wally, Nenna, Shirl, Brades, and of course my favourite Arab!

Echo, LuLu, me & Arab

Me, LuLu, Shirl & Alan

On Saturday night we went to Grumpy’s at Hahndorf for my farewell dinner for work, followed by a cider at the German Arms, then more cider and cards at LuLu’s place. What a laugh! Everything was covered (except Echo’s legs because of his terrible shorts) and some highlights were: the cartwheels, Zorba the Sheep, Tap Out girl, the beanies, and spoons!
Anyway, it’s only two more days of working with that crew left. There may be tears on Friday…

But I’m also counting down to the trip itself and the amazing opportunity I have to impact the next generation church in the Philippines. I don’t see myself as any kind of great white hope or anything so narcissistic as that but I do see an opportunity to influence a generation for Christ and that’s something to be reached for, grasped and not let go of come what may!

the small things

2011-05-10T09:51:00.003+09:30

I'm home!

Well, kind of. I'm back in Adelaide, which is where Australia Post, the Bank and a bunch of other organisations say I call home. My Adelaide friends would know that this is "home", and most people I know in Sydney would say this is "home" too. Until about 2 weeks ago I would've whole-heartedly agreed that Adelaide is home. So what has changed?

I went away from "home". That's what changed. I went back to the place I used to call "home" and spent close to 3 weeks at the place I grew up. And somehow things were different. I've done the trip back to Sydney/Blue Mountains a bunch of times. I haven't spent as long back there since I moved away, but I have been there for a week or 10 days a couple of times in the last (almost) six years. Even on my most recent trip before this one, when I went back to Sydney overnight for my friend's bucks night, I couldn't stop talking about how much I didn't even like NSW anymore and that if it weren't for the people I love that live there, I wouldn't come back at all... WHOA, Crazy turning around, huh!

This trip back to Sydney has really messed me up. Having been in a frame of mind that was very convinced that Adelaide is not only where I'm "meant" to be but also where I absolutely WANTED to be. Normally I would try to cram in as many coffee or dinner dates, with as many people that I used to know, as possible. I'd spend the whole week making small talk, with the exceptions being when I was with family, R or B&R. I'd go to the church I grew up in and put on a happy face, smiling and nodding all the time while a bunch of people, who I used to have a lot of love for, would say things like "it's so good to see you" and "I've been meaning to write" or, worse, "when are you coming home". It has always been so fake. Why do I think it was fake? Because, for one couple in particular, in the last twelve months I've sent several emails, SMS, phone calls, facebook messages and an invite to my 30th birthday by post. To none of these things have I ever got a reply and yet even on this trip the "he" of the "they" came bounding up to me on the first Sunday I was there, stuck out his hand and said something forgettable along the lines of those comments above. I've had enough of faking it there though so on my second Sunday I left immediately after the service had finished to avoid all the crap.

What was GREAT about the first Sunday I was there was that G&M were visiting from Melbourne the same weekend. And I also got to meet my "penpal" C who I'd only been facebook friends with before then. C&K are two of the people who made this trip much different to other times. See, on this last two weeks of holiday in "The Old Country" I didn't make an effort with the old "friends" who say they cared but didn't back it up with anything. This time, I only spent time with the people who I care about and who I know care about me.

I spent a lot of time with S&P and their kids. Lots of time with D&M, especially playing my new favourite game Monopoly Deal. I saw Nan a couple of times, which were special for me, and I hope she remembers something about them. There were times are The Blue Wail with C&K and B. Lunch with B. I saw R every day for a week leading up to his wedding. I spent some time with some guys I used to go to school with, one of whom I hope to stay in touch with more. I spent an afternoon with some other family which was perhaps the best time we've spent together in years. All-in-all, it was a great trip. It established some new strong emotional connections with the place again, as well as strengthening the good existing ones.

And then when it came time to go "home" I began to question a lot about where that was exactly. I know that my sister is praying for God to call me back to Sydney, and I know my parents would love for that to happen too. I have always been convinced that Adelaide is where I'm meant to be. I still am, I just "want" to be here a little less than I did two weeks ago. Last night P & I were messaging each other:

B: yeah, I'd like to be closer too, but God is God. You'd better take it up with Him. This time was the hardest to leave. Just crawled into bed 2 seconds ago.

P: Glad u r safe... And [I] have already taken it up with Him :) who knows whats around the corner, eh? But make sure u r seeking and willing to be led :) love you lots my bro xxxx

B: Where He goes, I'll go; Where He stays, I'll stay; When He moves, I'll move; I will Follow...

...And I hope I will follow Him whereever He leads. At the moment that looks like it's gonna be the Adelaide for now, the Philippines for 6 months in '12 then on God's good humour after that. Would I go back to Sydney? Who knows - but if that is where God wants me he'll have to make that very VERY clear. Then there's the problem of the church I grew up in. I swore I'd never call it home again after I left... do I have the humility to go against that if BGC is where God wants me?

Anyway, I think Dorothy had it right: There's no place like home.

At least she knew where that was... .. .

(being - doing) + going = ...

2011-04-30T23:42:00.005+09:30

I’m reading “My Seventh Monsoon” (Naomi Reed, Ark House Press, 2007) at the moment. Today it was as if she dove deep into my heart, found the questions I’ve been asking myself lately and came up with the answers…

“It was in my prayer times with Lalu that I got the greatest sense of God just saying to me that He wanted me to ‘be’; that being in Him, remaining in Him was far and away more important than the ‘doing’, even the doing of good things. ‘Mission is all about going, not a lot about doing and everything about being’ (unknown). The strange thing seems to be that the more we focus on the ‘being’ and the less we focus on the ‘doing’, the more we see God at work around us”. (pg 78)

This is exactly what I needed to hear after having a bit of a meltdown the other day. Am I in the right ministry? I still don’t know the answer, but I do know that it’s not so much about what I’m doing but more about me ‘being’ in, remaining in, Him. As the song says, “In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song”. I need to worry less about whether I’m doing the right things and more about being right with God. I’m not even talking about salvation. I know I’m saved, and I don’t believe that it can be lost. But I know I can still be going to heaven but not be living a life that is honouring to God. And I think that’s where I’ve been lately. I know I’ve taken my eyes of both the prize and the mission. And I’ve been ignoring the voice that I know is the Holy Spirit in certain times of struggle.

When I had coffee with CH on Wednesday night, after the movie, we talked a lot about his mission and how he sees God opening up doors of opportunity in Blaxland for him to minister to the lost. He is so enthusiastic, so passionate. CH thinks outside the box, see what could be, not necessarily what is. And he loves people, loves the unlovable people. And he reminds me of the me I used to be before I got ‘busy’. I used to be the guy who was following God into the great unknown, sure of the call, but completely unsure of the outcome – although sure that God had it taken care of already. But something changed. I’m not sure when, why, how or who to blame. But it happened none the less. I got safe, I got dull, and I began to live an unchallenged life taking only the ‘risks’ that I could calculate, control and predict – clearly not ‘risks’ at all. Now I live a life of weekly meetings, ministry, work & church, worrying about bills, and getting fat (and not the good kind of F.A.T. either). Busy. I got busy. And I remember a preacher once talking about being busy as Being Under Satan’s Yoke. That’s totally where I am. What’s most disturbing about it is that, when I first heard the message, I swore I wouldn’t allow that to happen to me.

I used to be – and still my heart longs to be – the Barbarian; The guy that Erwin McManus writes about in The Barbarian Way. That is what I long for: to “unleash the untamed faith within”…but I’m not sure if I have an ‘untamed faith’ within anymore. It is all a bit too tamed.

I was talking with RW the other day and I mentioned that I struggle a lot with wondering if I’m being selfish with my time/money/whatever when I want to pull back on ministry stuff to focus on personal stuff. I still don’t have the answer, but while I’m typing this I’m thinking a million thoughts about whether I’m doing too much, whether I need to take more time out to ‘be’ instead of constantly ‘doing’. But when I think about it, I also think I’d like more time to spend with friends, meeting/dating a potential partner, at work or even simply taking better care of myself. This is where it gets complicated. If I stepped down from music ministry to spend more time with God, as well as going to the gym then it feels selfish. And I just don’t have the answer for that. Perhaps it’s stupid to think it and I might be totally within my rights to make that call, but I also know that it would be frowned upon by the people whose frowns manage to affect me more than anyone’s frown ever should.

So, while I’m not sure I have any more answers – in fact perhaps I have more questions – I am sure that I need to spend more time with God, just walking and talking, listening, reading, listening more and making sure that I am ‘being’ above ‘doing’…and to make sure I’m ‘going’ also!

Back to the Future

2011-04-27T01:20:00.002+09:30

I went back to the future tonight.

Remember the scenes when Marty went to an alternate 1985 when Biff was a millionaire and was running Hill Valley? Everything had changed: Biff was loaded, crime had skyrocketed, the school principle carried a shotgun and Mrs McFly had had a boob job. Tonight, when Cam & I were having a coffee in Penrith this is what it felt like. Ok, so not completely. I didn’t see a shotgun, I don’t know anyone with a shotgun and my mum hasn’t had a boob job. I don’t even know about crime rates going up, but it just seemed like a much worse place to be than it used to be. For a while now I’ve been losing love for NSW and tonight it was clear that this world is not the world I used to live in anymore.

We went to the movies. Saw Thor. CH & I chilled out beforehand at the Blue Wail, then again after the movie at some dive pide place in High St. Chillin out = great. High St pide place = dodgy. When did it become right to go out on a cold & rainy night wearing a wifebeater? Why is that the done thing? I don’t care if you’ve got the body that looks good in that gear – and credit where it’s due, they did – but it’s just stupid! The girls with these blokes were rugged up with trackies, jackets & ugg boots – at least they understood what was appropriate. Maybe I’m just a grumpy old man having a rant. But I am ranting on a blog so I cant be that old…just grumpy!

Anyway, Thor was great. I really enjoyed it. Chris Hemsworth leads a hot cast and the two supporting actresses are very fine indeed. I don’t think there’ll be any Oscar’s heading their way but it was enjoyable. Chris has certainly come a long way from Summer Bay!

CH & I talked about a lot of stuff. Good stuff. I like that even though we met in person only a few days ago we’re able to talk so openly about things that really matter. CH was talking about how it must be good to be single to be able to serve God more fully. I agreed. Then I wondered if I actually agree with that thought. I agree with the idea. Am I actually glad to be single so I can serve God more or do I resent the fact that I’m single? Am I fully trusting in Him to provide a life partner in His timing, if at all, or am I begrudgingly biding time until I get the guts up to take dating matters into my own hands? Am I serving God with as much passion and enthusiasm as I could be given the amount of time and energy I have at my disposal since I am single? I talk about having to give up “ministry” if I were to meet someone I wanted to date but would I really need to? Am I making my life count as much as I could? Or am I wasting my – and God’s – time? I think I need to talk a good long hard look at myself and give myself a bit of a heart check. Am I living the life God has put me here for? Am I where I’m meant to be? Am I working where I’m meant to be working? Am I working enough? Too much? Am I in the ministries I’m meant to be in? Am I in too many? Am I in enough? Am I living in the town I’m meant to? City? Country? Am I missing the life-partner I’m meant to be with? Am I spending the time with God – one-on-one – that He wants to? Am I dealing with the dark areas of my heart that need some urgent attention? Am I listening to God? Or ignoring Him?

That Chris Tomlin song says, “Where You go, I’ll go; where You stay, I’ll stay; when You move, I’ll move; Who You love, I’ll love; how You serve, I’ll serve; if this life I lose, I will follow”, and I sing it every time. Heck, I taught it to the music team! Now I wonder if I’m living it? Am I where God wants me? Have I moved where He moved? Have I stayed where He stayed? Am I loving who He loves? Serving how He served? Am I following Jesus or simply holding a membership card to the Christianity Club?

I stopped going to church many years ago because I felt it was full of hypocrites. Then when I got my head around the fact that we’re all hypocrites I went back to church. And I’ve been ok with it for a long time. I’m not sure that I am anymore. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I want to be real. And I want to be the man of God that He wants me to be. And I want to be able to live that life wholeheartedly, regardless of whether His plans and my plans align. I want to want what He wants. I don’t wanna be a hypocrite any more.

Is it possible? Can I live a life of complete honesty with God and with the people He brings into my life? I hope so. I don’t know the answers but I certainly have a lot of questions. I don’t know who’s reading this. Perhaps no one. And I’m ok with that. In fact if you are reading this, I don’t wanna know. All I want is for you to pray for me. Stand with me and fight for some answers. Actually don’t’ stand: kneel. This battle has gotta be fought on our knees!

That’s all I have to say about that.

Angels

2010-10-02T08:26:00.001+09:30

I'm not sure what I think of this but certainly found it interesting:

The Holy Guardian Angels

The doctrine that every individual soul has a guardian angel has never been defined by the Church and so is not an article of faith, but it is present in both the Old and New Testaments. As Jesus says, See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven always gaze on the face of my Father in heaven. Thus even little children have guardian angels, and these angels remain in the presence of God even as they fulfil their mission on earth.
Anciently, all angels were celebrated together on the feast of St Michael. A separate feast of the Guardian Angels began in Valencia in 1411. At the reform of the Breviary in the 16th century it was included among the local feasts, and it was raised to the status of a feast in the General Calendar in 1608, placed on the first free day after the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.
One of the benefits of this feast is that it reminds us that God cares for us each, individually. We all know this in theory, but it is easy – in times of depression or temptation – to convince ourselves that we are too small to matter, for good or ill. Let us use this feast to remind ourselves that each of us has an angel of our very own looking after us; and also to pray to God for our own Guardian Angel. What a bore and a burden to them some of us are. May we one day be a cause of rejoicing for them also.

- Posted using my iPhone

Happy days

2010-08-27T11:02:00.001+09:30

I have an interview!!

- Posted using my iPhone

Location:The Golden Way,Greenwith,Australia

The Last Days

2010-08-16T18:22:00.001+09:30

No, I haven't had a word from God about Jesus' return. Don't get your hopes up about my status. I only mean, the last few days...

I'm off facebook so I've decided blogging is the appropriate procrastinationary substitute for the next week. It's probably healthier anyway as I can say what I want & no body's gonna read it. Unless you're reading it in which case drop me a line so I know...

Today after work I went & did some groceries. I had the exact money in my pocket + $2. I take this to mean that it's ok for me to have a hash brown on Wednesday at work. Happy days.

I also got a new battery for my car today. That was interesting. I was sworn at by another customer because I was having a joke with the guy as he changed the battery. She screamed out of her car "you think it's f**kin funny do ya?". I'm not sure what she thought I was laughing at, but se certainly gave us some more to laugh at! Weirdo.

I was wondering today about the guy who was broken down last night. I have the number in my phone that he called so I could check if I wanted to...but that's also a bit creepy. Maybe I'll just drop it. What do you think?

I'm going to bed soon. Perhaps a chicken curry cup-a-soup first...

- Posted using my iPhone

Location:Yale Ln,Golden Grove,Australia

How very frightening

2010-08-10T00:07:00.001+09:30

A Gavel Falls on Marriage: The Proposition 8 Decision

Albert Mohler
(Author, Speaker, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)

The importance of the decision handed down yesterday by U. S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker in California's Proposition 8 trial will be difficult to exaggerate. Proponents of same-sex marriage immediately declared a major victory — and for good reason. The editorial board of The New York Times declared the verdict "an instant landmark in American legal history," and so it is, even if later reversed upon appeal.

Judge Walker's decision is sweeping and comprehensive, basically affirming every argument and claim put forth by those demanding that California's Proposition 8 be declared unconstitutional. That proposition, affirmed by a clear majority of California voters, amended the state's constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. In one brazen act of judicial energy, California's voters were told that they had no right to define marriage, and thousands of years of human wisdom were discarded as irrational.

Even as the case is immediately appealed, the reality is that a Federal court has now declared that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Pressing beyond this verdict, Judge Walker also released a set of "findings" that include some of the most radical statements about marriage yet encountered.

In rendering his verdict, Judge Walker declared that California's Proposition 8 violates both the equal protection and due process rights of homosexual citizens. The proposition, he concluded, "fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license." He continued: "Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."

In order to reach this conclusion, Judge Walker provided more than 100 pages of legal reasoning, based on the evidence that he allowed or accepted. On page after page, Judge Walker arbitrarily accepted the claims put forth by proponents of same-sex marriage as rational, and declares the evidence and arguments put forth by the defenders of Proposition 8 as lacking in any rational basis.

The decision handed down Wednesday in San Francisco comes with virtually no surprise. Judge Walker's statements and rulings in the course of the trial proceedings pointed directly to the decision released yesterday.

This decision, whatever its final resolution, serves as an undeniable reminder of the power of Federal judges. A single unelected judge nullified the will of the voters of California as expressed through the electoral process. Those who have been arguing that judicial activism is a fiction will have to look this decision in the face. The New York Times celebrated Judge Walker's usurpation of the political process, arguing that "there are times when legal opinions help lead public opinions." The paper and the proponents of same-sex marriage clearly hope that this is one of those times.

That is clearly the most significant dimension of the verdict. Judge Walker's decision, bearing the full force of a Federal court, adds to the sense of inevitability that the proponents of same-sex marriage have been so carefully constructing in recent years. Defenders of marriage as a heterosexual institution should resist the temptation to minimize the significance of this decision, even as the verdict is vigorously appealed. Yesterday's ruling is a huge win for the homosexual community, and a significant step toward the full normalization of homosexuality within the culture.

Anyone who reads Judge Walker's decision will see that the normalization of homosexuality was one of his major concerns. Any belief that heterosexual relations are morally superior to homosexual relations "is not a proper basis on which to legislate," he asserted. Proposition 8, he insisted, "was premised on the belief that same-sex couples simply are not as good as opposite-sex couples." The judge claimed to have "uncloaked" the real reason California's voters adopted Proposition 8 — "a desire to advance the belief that opposite-sex couples are morally superior to same-sex couples."

The judge released enumerated "findings" within his decision. Among the most important — and startling — of these are the following:

"Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians."

"Children do not need to be raised by a male parent and a female parent to be well-adjusted, and having both a male and a female parent does not increase the likelihood that a child will be well-adjusted."

"The gender of a child's parent is not a factor in the child's adjustment. The sexual orientation of an individual does not determine whether that individual can be a good parent."

"Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions."

In a breathtaking and brief sentence, Judge Walker asserted: "Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals."

Until this verdict, such language had never appeared in a decision of a Federal court. If gender is no longer "an essential part of marriage," then marriage has been essentially redefined right before our eyes.

The religious liberty dimensions of the decision are momentous and deeply troubling. While Judge Walker declared that the religious freedoms of citizens and religious bodies were not violated because no such body is required to recognize or perform same-sex marriage, the very structure of his argument condemned religious and theological objections to homosexuality and same-sex marriage as both harmful and irrational.

Beyond this, Judge Walker claimed to read the minds of California's voters, arguing that the majority voted for Proposition 8 based on religious opposition to homosexuality, which he then rejected as an illegitimate state interest. In essence, this establishes secularism as the only acceptable basis for moral judgment on the part of voters. The judge's statements condemning religious opposition to homosexuality speak for themselves in terms of animus.

Judge Walker's decision will be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, also located in San Francisco — the most notoriously liberal appeals court in the nation. Inevitably, the case will be then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision handed down by Judge Walker, especially as expressed in his findings, was clearly constructed with such appeals in mind.

Thousands of cases make their way through the Federal courts each year. Some are important, but only a few have lasting legal significance. Whatever happens on appeal, the decision handed down yesterday by Judge Vaughn R. Walker will reverberate for decades to come. Yesterday, a very important gavel fell on marriage. The central institution of human civilization suffered a direct hit, and its future hangs in the balance.

- Posted using my iPhone

Location:The Golden Way,Greenwith,Australia

2010-07-19T18:30:00.001+09:30

Ben wonders why the NetBank "Help" Desk is the most unhelpful (or least helpful, or most helpless) people in our company. Spoke to an imbecile Novacastrian who didn't know how to use our system, wouldn't listen to my advice on using the afformentioned system, locked my Internet banking account & then their system "crashed" and they (collegues intervention by now) couldn't fix it. Annoyed? Much. God still in control? Yup. Thanking Him for my telephone banking password!

- Posted using my iPhone

Batmanism

2010-07-13T23:48:00.001+09:30

So CJ & I were just talking about what the weirdest thing about my Batmanism is. It came up because her friend just got Taylor Swifts autograph tattooed on her wrist. CJ thought it was a good argumet for me having meaningful tatts. I thought it was a bit silly like my Batman tattoo. We agrees that at least Batman has proved his longevity whereas Taylor is sure to be forgotten before too long.

So what is the weirdest part of Batmanism? I said "that it exists at all". There are many, many benefits though...

- ease of gift buying: basically I'm happy with whatever you buy/make me if it has Batman on it, or even just keeps with a black theme, bats or superheroes at all. It makes it so simple for people, knowing they can buy me a towel or sticker book or shot glasses or car seats or comics. If you keep with Batman the chances are I'll love it!
- fun: I think there's something endearing, albeit silly, about being a Batman fan. People want to know why, they laugh, I laugh, I show my collection, it breaks down walls. Almost everyone has heard of Batman so he's fairly universal & people will talk about him with me. It's very helpful in building rapport.
- I just don't see anything wrong with Batmanism. It's not like I worship him. I worship God. This blog is called Son of the King, as HE ALONE IS WHO I WORSHIP. But I do enjoy Batman stuff. It's fun. It's silly. It's part of who I am.

While I say I wanna be Batman when I grow up the truth is I wanna be like Christ. Are the two very different? Heck yeah. Does serving Christ mean I can't enjoy Batman? I don't think so. What is the weirdest thing about Batmanism? I don't know. Apart from being a 30 y/o guy with a growing collection of Batman stuff, including tattoo, cufflinks, Christmas decorations, doona, number plates & books - apart from that stuff, there's nothing weird about it, I guess.

Something weird about Taylor Swift-ism? Absolutely!

- Posted using my iPhone

Location:Sugarwood Pl,Greenwith,Australia

For old times' sake

2010-07-13T23:06:00.001+09:30

So, I don't really have much to write about even though it's been forever since I did write here. Everything & nothing has happened. I guess I just wanna see if this still works. Here goes nothin...!

- Posted using my iPhone

Location:The Golden Way,Greenwith,Australia

Sucky emotions

2010-01-17T14:29:00.001+10:30

What a week! On Friday I left Adelaide to head for sydney. I didn't count on it being just so hard. I did see wicked & that was fantastic!

Before seeing Wicked, Kaye & I split up. That sucked, even though it was necessary. Dinner with Roger was good fun though and the Thai curry was tasty.

Saturday was hard too. I didn't cry but it was still hard to go through the whole thing of the service for Pa & then scattering his ashes at the beach. It wasn't all bad because there were some pretty funny moments too.

Mima saw my tatts. That didn't go well but then Lloyd took his shirt off and Mima saw his too. Mums also made a comment about being able to come to the beach in future & watch Pa swimming! Funny.

I was really angered by some stuff said at the funeral too. No about Pa so much but about the gospel & what God's standards are. It seemed like it's ok to dilute the message of the gospel so you don't make non-Christians feel bad about losing someone! Argh! Maybe Pa was a Christian based on his thankfullness about "His Lord & Master" bringing him out of the POW camp. Maybe he wasn't.

So now I'm at the airport & I just want to go home. Home will be different too though because Benjamin has moved out of the house. Of all th loss this weekend I think this is the biggest impact. I'll miss him a lot from the house. John is moving in though so that'll be good ...I hope.

So in two days I've lost Pa, Kaye & Benjamin...but not many tears. They're all things accompanied but a lot of mixed emotions. I'm no good at emotions I've realized. At least not all at once.

I can hardly wait to go home! I think that's my boarding call...

- Posted using my iPhone

Christmas eve eve eve

2009-12-23T08:16:00.001+10:30

What a day yesterday! The zoo was good fun for the most part although I have no idea how Kaye is so good with kids. While I was pulling my hair out she was so into Elise's continuous clinginess. The zoo was cool because we accidentally were at the big cats for feeding time & they did a maccaw show on the lawn where we had lunch.

Wang Wang & Funi were major let downs. Like Dad said they couldve just been stuffed animals & the line up for 30 mins to see a sleeping animal behind some glass isn't worth it!

There was a crazy turtle in with the Aligator & he kept slapping it's face with his flipper & trying to put his head inside the gators mouth. Crazy. But the Aligator just kept moving away & turning it's head. That's one gutsy turtle. I'm sure he was a Ninja Turtle!

After the zoo Kaye & I met her friend Rohan & his friend Nadine at the Malls Balls. That was a fun time too & I got to have a lemon crush to make up for no lemon crush last friday.

After the pizza ordering fiasco we set up for Christmas craft. It went well & I have the most original tree ever!

...complete with Port Power angel!

A big day. But it's good to sleep in today!!!

- Posted using my iPhone

Decorating & Doctors

2009-12-21T22:43:00.001+10:30

Wow, what a day!

I decided to tackle TTP not just once today, but twice. It was crazy. But not all that hard to get parking surprisingly. And I found what I wanted. There were plans to make Christmas decorations with the family today but that didn't happen largely due to the shopping trips, going to the Bank & Dad needing a doctor. Kaye & Mum put the tree up but it's still bare... A little sad.

Tonight we had dinner with my biological family & my adopted family. It was a lot of fun & really encouraging to see these two major loves of my life come together so well. I truly am blessed to have them all in my life.

Tomorrow I hoped to go to Victor Harbor (before you say I spelt that wrong it IS actually how the place is spelt - crazy South Aussies with their inconsistant Englishness). Turns out we can't go early because Dad has to go back to the doctor for more tests/results. Not exactly how I imagined the holiday going but whatever will be, will be. Maybe tomorrow the decorations will get made?

- Posted using my iPhone

Location:NE Rd,Tea Tree Gully,Australia

Testing testing 1 2 3?

2009-12-21T02:14:00.000+10:30

So, really I just wanna check that this works. It's the first blog from my iPhone & if successful then I'll b back here more often. Can someone who's reading this please email me so I know it's working. Thanks!
Blessings,
Ben.

- Posted using my iPhone

Sick Of Being Sick

2009-08-15T14:04:00.002+09:30

I've been in bed for a week. Well, not just in bed - I've had some quality sofa time too. Me and the DVD remote are pretty tight now. Last Thursday night when I got home from work at 630 and started cooking dinner and by 830 it was as if someone had pressed the "be sick" button. It hit me like a tonne of bricks with aching muscles, pounding head, coughing uncontrollably and fever. It was crazy. I went straight to bed but didn't sleep for hours. Went to work Friday but they sent me home early. Went to Pulse Friday night but they sent me home early. Doctors Saturday and tested for Swine Flu. It wasn't Swine Flu and on Tuesday at the Doctors again they started me on Antibiotics to stop whatever I have turning into a chest and/or sinus infection.

My Dad made a mercy dash across the country and flew in on Tuesday afternoon to take care of me. He did a lot to help around the place and just having some company was good. I couldn't read because it hurt my head too much but I've been hanging out to read "Tomorrow, When The War Began". So Dad read it to me. It was cool. Dad's cool.

August Remembering

2009-08-06T21:16:00.002+09:30

Ok, so here's the deal. I can't be bothered. This daily writing stuff down isn't gonna happen. High hopes but not gonna happen. There's just too much else to do. I will continue every few days but not what I had initially planned. It might become August, September and October Remembering...

2nd & 3rd August Remembering

2009-08-03T22:20:00.003+09:30

Mr Hodge

In year 5 I had a teacher named Mr Hodge. He was a great teacher and I had a lot of respect for him and still do. That year our school musical was Sir Oliver’s Song and at the time I was in the school choir, of which Mr Hodge was choirmaster. Although I didn’t even audition for the role, Mr Hodge cast me in the lead as Stevie – opposite Belinda Sinclair’s Nancy. The next year we all sung in the Sydney Opera House for the Combined School’s Choir. Although I’m not a great singer I do have a great love of singing and musicals. I’m sure my parents had a lot to do with that, but I’m also aware of and thankful for Mr Hodge’s influence too. He was always very encouraging and I still have some projects that were done back then with his comments on them. Mr Hodge had a good sense of humour too and I remember him fooling around in class a bit too so we would all enjoy the lessons.

Lord Of The Rings

A few years back Dad, Mum & I sat down on a wet Saturday morning and started watching the Lord of The Rings Trilogy. In one day we watched all three extended editions of Lord of The Rings! Crazy. We’ve done it before though too. When I was going through my X Files phase we would sit down and watch a couple of episodes each weekend. A waste of time? Nah, good times. Times that are significant enough for me to write about now, years later. Dad & Mum have always been good company – ok, maybe not always, but certainly when we’re not pissing each other off. We all have similar taste in movies and music, and similar senses of humour. People say that you grow up to be like your parents – once upon a time I would’ve had a problem with that but the older I get the more I’m glad to follow in their footsteps. They are – and always have been – a blessing to me.

Jim Farrer

Jim Farrer was only in my life for a brief moment in time but it was a moment with great eternal significance. Jim interviewed me for the job applied for in Adelaide while I was still living in Sydney. It was a phone interview and was the worst job interview I’ve ever had! I fumbled my words, I avoided some questions and I said “I don’t know” a lot. Convinced that I didn’t get the job I was completely surprised when he called me back to say I was successful. The fleece I laid out regarding to the move to Adelaide was the job so within a month of getting the phone call from Jim I had moved from the Blue Mountains with everything and everyone I’ve known to Adelaide where I knew 3 people. Three years later I met a woman who also applied for that job. Jadzia is far more qualified and would’ve been more suitable for the role so it’s totally the hand of God that moved Jim to make the decision to hire me.

Cry Yourself Goodnight

In 2001 I was kinda dating a girl named Sheree who I worked with. I say “kinda dating” because I never told anyone we were together, some people from work found out but it was never a big deal to any one – including us. Sheree had a housemate named Jayne. Jayne was horrible and the two of us knew exactly how to piss off the other. Jayne was a real homebody too and Sheree was the closest thing she had to a friend – although Sheree never felt the same way. There was a fair bit of jealousy between Jayne and I about who Sheree spent her time with. Anyway, I wrote a song about Jayne. It wasn’t a nice song. I never wrote the tune down but it was firmly embedded in my head and has been since. When I was a GLO I recorded a different song with Rogvi for Fiona’s birthday and after we’d done that I sung my song. Rogvi played it straight away – so talented – and we recorded it too. Then it was buried for a few years. Finally last year it came up again. Elspeth helped me actually write the music down and together we turned it into a song that wasn’t half bad. I’m not saying that Bon Jovi’s gonna be knocking on my door wanting me to write for him, but El’s playing certainly made it come to life. “Even the dog with the purple hair wont cry your tears no more…”

1st August Remembering

2009-08-01T22:54:00.002+09:30

Pastor Mike:

One of my favourite people alive today is Pastor Mike & I’m so glad I can call him my friend. Mike is a painter by trade, a pastor by responsibility, a devoted husband, a loving father, a faithful mentor, a gifted preacher/teacher, and a good mate. As far as I know Mike got into painting because his father was a painter and he’s been doing it for a long time. Only in recent days has Mike slowed down and even then it’s only been because of injury. He has committed much of his own time, energy, money, blood, sweat, tears, love and prayers on serving Dad’s Kingdom over the years. He and his good friend Johnny A planted Golden Grove Community Church 20-odd years ago and although it’s changed it’s name since then to church[at]paravista Mike is still faithfully serving on the Pastoral Team. Being a man who is all too aware of God’s command to “go and make disciples” Mike has devoted himself to the teaching of the Word in several countries and has a particular passion for the people of India, and locally he lectures at GLO, studies at BCSA and serves on the CYC Committees. He does all of this with Dott by his side and also makes time for his growing tribe of grandchildren. Mike and I first met at GLO where he lectured on a NT Survey and 1st Corinthians. Now that we share a church family I am privileged to be mentored by Mike and I am thankful for the time, effort and prayer that he commits to me. We have been going through Romans for some months now and while it is slow going, I really value the time we have talking about a great many other things. Mike and I have many similar ideas and think along the same lines.
Thanks Dad for blessing me – and the church[at]paravista – with Ps Mike.

My First Answered Prayer:

The earliest prayer that I remember was once when Peta had a major nosebleed. I can’t remember the circumstances exactly but we were in the dining room at the Centre Cres house and Peta’s nose started bleeding and Mum was doing all the usual things you try when a nose bleed happens. It went on for ages. Dad grabbed me, we went to the lounge room and we started praying for Peta’s nose to stop bleeding. Within no time at all Mum came in and told us that Pete’s nose stopped bleeding at the same time that we started praying! This was the first memory I have of God’s faithfulness in answering prayer and I think has been really instrumental in teaching me that God is there in the big and small things. Although a nosebleed isn’t the end of the world it still mattered to God. And I matter to God. I’m grateful for the lesson taught back then and for the memory of it.

No, no, no, no, no Umbrella...ella...ella...

2009-07-30T19:56:00.004+09:30

It stopped raining! Briefly.

Today was a strange day. Anthony was hung over. Wayne visited and was pissed off because the ATM was dirty. Caroline made Barbie Doll & I laugh (a lot). Jenny is in a slump. Rachael bought new Gosford boots. I mistakenly sent Home Loan docs to Melbourne (Batman Street ironically). Laura was in a good mood.

Count Them All

2009-07-29T22:44:00.002+09:30

Tonight I was reminded - as I am most Wednesday nights - just how much I love my GO group. We had two newbies tonight: Em & Nick; as well as Matt, Lara, Sam & myself. Rach was sick, Tim was tired and Bec...well, I assume it's the usual (whatever that is). I don't think Sarah is coming back.
It is an interesting group. We are all very similar: similar enough to know each other really well, but so similar that we piss each other off really well too. We have a lot of laughs, but sometimes it crosses the line into either inappropriate, crude or plain nasty. I guess it's a testimony to the work of the Holy Spirit that we're all able to forgive and get on with it all. Tonight we covered the Gospel - the topic of the study (always encouraging when the topic gets covered) - but Spiritual Gifts, The 7 Year Revelation Feast (Jury's still undecided what Matt was talking about with this one), Pubic Hair, the effect of liquorice on peoples bowels, and we had a good argument about whether or not Matt was argumentative. Good times.

Does This Justify A Sickie?

2009-07-28T22:50:00.001+09:30

I'm sick of being yelled at.

Obviously

2009-07-25T02:27:00.003+09:30

Okay, so this isn't rocket surgery - or brain science - but God's pretty cool, right!? Yesterday there was Pulse & Yuk for the first week back of T309. Cait & Jordy were in charge and I had no doubt it was gonna be great. Rach and I were unprepared for Devo but I was sure God would give us some message. Luke was sick - poor bloke. And everything still went well. There were hiccups of course but nothing insurmountable. Someone said something to someone else which meant that a third person wanted to bash both of them. Someone's girlfriend didn't believe them about something so they were fighting. Transport was interesting too, but we got there. In spite of everything I know that some really God-honouring conversations occurred. I had one that I was sure God made happen and gave me to ability to listen. Another one He gave me the words I needed to say to calm down a volatile situation. The bus run home went so well. 50 minutes from leaving the bus with an overloaded bus and it was empty! It was almost too easy. But then the next hiccup: I went and put fuel in my car but the EFT declined my creditcard, the banks IVR hung up on me and when I called Cait to netbank a transfer between my accounts Netbank was unavailable. After leaving all my details with the servo and dropping Rach home I called the Bank again and after 20 minutes it was sorted and I headed back to the servo to pay. All done. Again, God came through for me. It was a crazy night. I hope I didn't let God down too much.

Six Steps To Talking About Sesame Street

2009-07-23T20:03:00.003+09:30

Last night I began a study with my young adults home group - GO - called "Six Steps To Talking About Christ". As I was preparing yesterday - short notice due to a supply issue with the books - I read the introduction of the book. It says: "Think of the people you meet each day"...and immediately my brain starts singing "Who are the people in your neighboorhood" from Sesame Street. Here is a youtube clip so you too can go a little crazy like I am. (yeah, the song has been in my head all day!)

Penises

2009-07-22T22:11:00.001+09:30

So, why do penises always get mentioned in conversations at our church meetings or home groups? I have no answer for this but it perplexes me. Even tonight in our home group talking about Evangelism and then our Sponsor Child, penises still were talked about. There was also talk of Grandma and Papa K sunbaking and that disturbed me a little...

The Vicar Of Information Nights

2009-07-21T23:11:00.005+09:30

It's a spin-off from The Vicar Of Dibley set in the church@paravista and tells the story of the church's quarterly information nights. A full load of quirky characters in the true spirit of Dibley - just as mad but not so inbred. Paul will tell us all about the dollars and cents, but he wont have balloons which will let him down on presentation, but he will open with a joke which may be his redemption. Danny and Roy will entertain with banter across the room, infact everyone will have a good laugh at this pair during the show at some point. Caitlin will be refreshing, giving Paul her balloons to make him feel interesting, and she'll give her whole presentation without taking a breath. At some point in the night either the Bread or the Urn will take over as the most controversial point of the night - this is my personal highlight, solely based in the predictability of it all. Donna will offer concerns about the OH&S issues we face and Helen splits the church based on whether they laugh or cringe when she asks a question (The "you're all simple minded" episode was the Logie winning one for me). During the show you will find yourself asking "Why hasn't someone pulled the screen down on the lefthand side of the church but no-one actually voices it for fear that they wont understand Jordy's answer. So there you have it. The Vicar Of Information Nights is suitable for all ages and will have you laughing, crying, rolling your eyes, grumbling, cheering and praying for a long time to come - this is a keeper!

Seriously guys - whoever reads this - please know that I love the church@paravista and everyone I've mentioned here is someone that I love dearly and have shared with previously about my love of the Information Nights. I am truly blessed to belong to this family!

Facts About Today

2009-07-20T17:49:00.003+09:30

I complain too much
I'm tired
Pulse meetings start tonight
Working on Sunday isn't preferable
People at work bitch a lot
There's been no news about Nan
I'm waiting on an email but it hasn't come
Louise fell off her chair today
I think I'll go and have a power nap

The end.

BLAST OFF!!! On This day...

2009-07-19T23:39:00.001+09:30

July 19, 2005 (Tuesday)

Weezer was seen in concert by several good friends.
Three British Soldiers are to face war crimes charges as well as criminal charges at a Court-Martial following the death of a detainee in Iraq in September 2003.
6 killed in Srinagar blast near school. The suicide bomber rammed his car on a passing army jeep, causing a massive explosion. Pakistani group Hizbul Mujahideen is suspected to be behind the attack.
US President George W. Bush has nominated federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.
According to reports from Russia, at least 14 people have been killed and several injured in an explosion in Chechnya.
In the Philippines, President Gloria Arroyo announces that she intends to form a truth commission to investigate charges of poll fraud against her.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India addresses joint session of US Congress in his historic visit to the US.
In Thailand, dozens of newspapers editors of Thai Journalist's Association protest against new emergency laws that include media censorship and phone tapping
UK court sentences Afghan warlord Faryadi Sarwar Zardad for 20 years in jail for war crimes
Former Bosnian Croat soldier Miroslav Bralo pleads guilty for war crimes in the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague
In Lebanon, prime minister Fouad Siniora announces his new cabinet after long negotiations. Cabinet members include representative of Hezbollah when Christian leader Michel Aoun refuses to join
In Spain, huge forest fire continues to rage, threatening villages of Selas and Ablanque. A group of ten day-trippers has confessed being responsible for the start of the fire and one of them has been charged
AND
I drove into Adelaide to live!

One

2009-07-18T14:49:00.003+09:30

Brilliant!

2009-07-17T22:10:00.001+09:30

Two

2009-07-17T00:04:00.003+09:30

Three (for yesterday)

2009-07-17T00:01:00.003+09:30

Four

2009-07-15T22:30:00.002+09:30

Markers

2009-07-15T21:51:00.004+09:30

I was thinking tonight about markers. You know those things that we either put in our brain or around us physically to remind us of different things. Maybe you don't. Maybe it's just me.

Cait and I watched It's A Wonderful Life last weekend and in the movie Uncle Willie used to tie strings around his fingers to remind him of things he had to do that day. He'd still have to try to remember what it was that he had to do, but there was a reminder that there was something important he couldn't forget. I think a lot of us have markers.

I have a few that come to mind immediately, but I'm sure there are others. I have two very obvious ones in my tattoos. Both the sentiments of The Barbarian Way and Joshua 1:6, 8, 9 are things that I don't want to ever forget so I got some 'markers' by way of tattoos to be a constant reminder.

Another marker I have is the 9 of diamonds that I carry in my wallet. In 2006 Roger, The L and I went to the U2 concert in Adelaide. We waited in a queue for ages and to kill time people were playing cards, then left them on the ground when the line moved. I picked up the 9 of diamonds because I wanted something to remember that moment. Why the 9? I wanted something to remind me to think of and pray for my Nan.

When I was younger I would play cards with Nan and we'd play a game called Rummy where we had to make runs of consecutive numbers or sets of the same numbers. Through no particular planning of mine it seemed that I would automatically collect 9's and I can still hear Nan say, "you always collect those nines". It's something about Nan that I wont forget.

Now that there's a chance Nan might be on her last days I've began thinking about what I might say at her funeral. The 9 keeps coming up and I think it's important that I pay attention to that. The 9 of Diamonds is all about me spending all that quality time with Nan. After school each day, waiting for Mum to pick me up, we'd play cards. We'd talk. Laugh. She'd scratch my back. We'd play chess. I'd eat toast (because Nan had REAL butter). She'd drink tea...or at least half a cup. We'd watch Gilligan's Island or I Dream Of Jeanie. I'd change the clock batteries because Nan couldn't reach them. We'd eat mangos. We'd do crosswords. Look at photos. Talk about India. Talk about school. Watch Easter Parade. They were good times. Happy times.

FIVE

2009-07-14T23:04:00.002+09:30

A Bit Naughty

2009-07-14T20:28:00.002+09:30

Ok, so I know it's a little bit naughty but at the same time it's a little bit funny too. The ads below for Air New Zealand gave me a chuckle...

I'm not sure what made me laugh most: the fact they're naked or listening to their accents!

Remembering. August.

2009-07-14T18:19:00.004+09:30

In August I'll be starting a series of daily blogs about significant people and / or events in my life. They will be in no particular order, and will not necessarily be the most significant people / events in my life, but they will be significant nonetheless. I hope you will enjoy the trip down memory lane as much as I will. It will include:

My Earliest Answered Prayer
Move To Adelaide
The Grierson's Toothpaste Lid
Brain non-Tumour
Peachtree Gym With Glenn & Mark
My First Tattoo
GLO 2004
Sylvana Making Me Cry

And will include the following people too:

Parents
Roy
Christine Caine
Rogvi
Peta
Mr Hodge
Kurt
Renate

I'm not sure it'll be easy to write them all because not all memories are happy and not all influences are positive. But I trust it will be helpful to look back and review the situations I've experienced and the people who experienced them with me.

To Inspire Caitlin's Llama Tattoo

2009-07-14T18:07:00.002+09:30

Yeah, so Caitlin will never get a llama tattoo - of this I am very sure. However, it doesn't mean I can't tease her with a few tempting ideas...afterall if there can be Llamafest, there can be llama tatts!

Deli Choices

2009-07-13T17:24:00.002+09:30

No, this isn't an advertisement for McDonald's. Today for lunch I thought, "will I go home and get take out on the way, or should I just go to Foodland and buy stuff to make my own"? Foodland won...althought not without a saga attached to the experience.

I grabbed some turkish bread...

...some cheese...

...some pastrami...

...and some tomato chutney...

...and headed for the checkout. Some shiela was in the 12 Items or less queue (my queue) with a FULL trolley load - I'm not anal and wouldn't count someone's items if they had 15 or 20 items but her load was FULL - and then she dropped the eggs she wanted to buy so she made the poor checkout chick go and get more. Ridiculous. So I ended up joining another queue and finally got through, headed for the office and began getting lunch ready. Upon opening my cheese I noticed that the cheese was covered in black furry spots about the size of a 50 cent coin - gross! So back I trot to Foodland to exchange it. Finally I sat down to eat lunch...and it was good! The tomato chutney really added something. I'm a big fan now!

Tattoo ideas

2009-07-12T02:18:00.005+09:30

This is a tattoo that I like.

Everyone thought that my first tattoo was going to be the Batman symbol or a cross...far too predictable, but I like the look of this tattoo.

Nightchurch Programming, an acrostic:

2009-07-09T22:04:00.005+09:30

Stuff that for a joke. I did attempt to write an acrostic for Nightchurch Programming but I got to the second "H" and gave up - too hard at this late stage. I had a good night tonight.

PB is one of my favourite people. He is such a down to earth, genuine guy and is easy to talk to, and easy not to talk to. You know how sometimes there are "awkward silences" when neither person in a two person conversation has anything to say? Well with PB they're not awkward - it's actually ok to not talk.

We did comver a lot of subjects tonight. Yes, nightchurch programming was done, and should be good. But we also covered topics including the Gaza Strip, Audrey Hepburn, the antichrist, customer service and Madagascar 2. We also talked about some deep stuff - some of it stuff that I have only told a couple of people. It felt good to be able to have a deep conversation with someone who isn't trying to fix problems or even there to listen, but to be able to get it naturally into conversation and talk opening about it. I feel like true fellowship is experienced with Phil. I'm thankful for him in my life - a good friend.

2009-07-07T22:57:00.005+09:30

Good friends, a haiku:

House of G and M
Curry, chocolate, convos.
A good time for all.

Tattoos, church and girls
Improptu Bible study
Shared holiday plans.

Remembering friends
Lamented the days of old
All agree God's good!

No current photos
Only from P C's birthday
Gotta love Charades!

Batmobile

2009-07-07T17:35:00.002+09:30

The Batmobile is finally official!

Not Happy Jan

2009-07-06T22:24:00.004+09:30

I just spent 40 minutes typing a massive email to my parents with all the news from the last week and a whole bunch of other stuff. When I went to save it - incase anything happened - the computer deleted EVERYTHING I had written. Everything. I tried the "undo" button but nothing would work. Autosave didn't come into play. And now I'm mad! Mum and Dad, if you're reading this: I'm sorry, but I'll write again tomorrow when I'm less pissed off.

Cajun

2009-07-05T13:12:00.006+09:30

Last night Leigh, Tamara & Paula came over for dinner and I cooked Cajun Meatloaf. The recipe is coutesy of Ryan Detzel and can be found on Pioneer Ree's website. Ryan has posted photo's of his steps so I thought I'd compare notes...

How Do I Describe The Day I've Had

2009-07-02T15:17:00.002+09:30

I woke up. That was planned. But I woke up late. That was unplanned - but appreciated nonetheless. I went to church to meet Mike to do some painting. That was planned. Mike didn't show up. That was unplanned. I came home and started watching The Bourne Supremacy. That was planned. I received an sms from Susy saying Mike's car was sick and he'd be late. That was unplanned, but since I received the sms an hour after it was sent I headed to the church. Mike wasn't there because his car has died completely. That was unplanned. I went to Coles to buy groceries. That was planned. I went home, unpacked the groceries then shaved my beard off. That was unplanned. I finished watching the Bourne Supremacy. That was planned. What a strange day...

What Will Be, Will Be...Or Will It?

2009-07-01T23:15:00.006+09:30

Tonight GO didn't happen. Matt and Lara bailed (reasons undisclosed), Tim and Rach are sick, and Beck...well, Beck comes about as often as Hayleys Comet passes by. So, Sam and I ate McDonalds Chocolate Sundaes and watched Mona Lisa Smile. Sam had never seen it before but it's right up there in my Top 10. I set Sam the challenge of working out why I liked it so much - apart from the fact that Julia Roberts is the star!

At the end Sam said there was some stuff she didn't understand but on the way home she told me what it was about, and successfully guessed why I like the story so much.
Mona Lisa Smile is about a forward-thinking lecturer who takes a job at a traditional, upper-class college and during her time there faces obstacles as she attempts to broaden the horizons of the students and faculty. She encourages the girls to set their sights high, to be "tomorrow's leaders, not their wives".
On the way home we talked about our potential and what is possible for each of us. I encouraged Sam to think about what she could be. Even without God, even just in Sam's own strength, she could be great. Just imagine all that she could be if she allowed God to add His "super" to her "natural".

What's amazing about God is that if we allow Him to, when we give control to Him, He can do over and above all that we hope for or imagine. God isn't calling us to live boring, predictable lives either. Lives of faith are not boring lives. And God is not a boring God.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (by C S Lewis) really sweetly described this side of God's character with the "Is He safe" dialogue - explained here. This is what my first tattoo reflects: that God is not safe or "religious" and neither are the lives He calls us to live.

All of this also reminds me of Strictly Ballroom - another favourite of mine - about resisting the pressure to conform. The key quote from this is something Fran teaches Scott: A Life Lived In Fear Is A Life Half Lived. (I searched youtube for a clip with that quote but there wasn't one, so here's some dancing anyway).

The way forward I guess is to get my life back to the point where taking risks for God is commonplace, and living by faith not by sight is what people & God will see in me. Somehow I seem to have become "safe" and I don't like it. I want Dad to take control again. I want to do as my second tattoo says (in Hebrew) and "be strong and courageous".

(I found out while writing this that Dawn French - aka The Vicar Of Dibley - did the voice of Mrs Beaver in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)

Trolls & Ogres

2009-06-28T22:47:00.004+09:30

Carrick Hill ended up on the agenda today. I'm not entirely sure how but I'm glad it did. There were some pleasant fictions weaved involving snow angels, the pair grove and a bung hip. Good times. AND they didn't burn the soy milk in my coffee! Cait and I wandered the Children's Literary Trail and found the troll bridge - that's especially for Karen!

And this is Cait in Hobbiton...This one's for Denise!

After Carrick Hill - and a brief awkward moment at Cait's house avoiding certain people - we went to church@paravista for the first service. Roy spoke and it was fantastic. Jordy and Paul did a great job getting the techo stuff up and running. Thanks guys.

Sonya and the Music Team did a great job with the music tonight too. Great choice of songs Sonya! Thanks.

Then tonight I came home and watched some Vicar of Dibley (just for something different!) and did my grocery shopping online. Funny story. On the coles.com website they have a section called Coughs and Colds under which the first heading is "Chicken Noodle Soup". That really made me laugh.

It wasn't all good times today though. I was completely out of line tonight at church when reacted to something that I didn't want to hear. Someone said something to me that demonstrated an attitude that I really can't stand, but instead of just accepting that this person had a different view, I argued and swore. Who does that? What's the matter with me to think that's acceptable adult behaviour? Any wonder some of the youth we work with are messed up... AND all that after Roy spoke about running the race well, casting aside the things (sin, attitude, etc) that hold us back, and fixing our eyes on Jesus. It's amazing how soon we forget the lessons we learn.

What I would like to learn is how to get out of a ministry that I'm running, have no desire to run anymore and no-one else wants a bar of it but it has to be done. What is the answer to this...?

Setting Up House

2009-06-26T17:07:00.004+09:30

Today was mostly spent at church@paravista setting up and unpacking boxes. It was actually loads of fun. Grandma cracked the whip, the rest of us laughed a lot. We have good, good people in our church!

We have a new installment for the "What Else Can Our Church Debate" saga. Today we talked Cafe Settings. I'm on Team Negative because although the suggested tables and chairs look good, I really dont think they're YUK & Pulse Proof.

Also today we talked about Michael Jackson dying. No tears were shed though...I think we lamented the passing of his legend a long time ago. Shortly after the chat we saw what YUK Leaders do when no one's watching...

Good Times

2009-06-25T22:38:00.004+09:30

Tonight I was talking with my parents - just catching up on the news from our different parts of the island. We covered everything from my new church to Nan's senility, and from Christmas plans to monobrows. It was a good chat. It seems like Nan is losing (or has lost) her mind a bit. She asked Dad how old she was today and is forgetting people's names. There was a funny story about her birthday BBQ but it's too long to write here and something would be lost in translation. We talked briefly about Transformers 2 too during which Dad says, "The robots in Transformers 1 had soul but in Transformers 2 they have no soul". Umm...what?

Before I spoke with the folks I met with a youth and his mum about him possibly coming to Pulse. His mum and I had a good chat and I felt really challenged about some ideas I'd buried because they seemed too "hard" or impractical or whatever. I'm not sure what I'll do with that but it was good to have those thoughts raised again.

I've been thinking about Voltron a lot lately. He really was my childhood hero (Batman only came into my life in a clinically psychotic way as an adult). The problem with Voltron is that it seems no one remembers him...or so I thought. It turns out there's a website. The site has an online store too which includes this item which made me both laugh and cringe. I'm putting the Voltron DVDs on my birthday and Christmas wish lists though.

Found It...

2009-06-24T16:50:00.000+09:30

Stupid Words

2009-06-23T22:33:00.002+09:30

Today I am on holidays! From the Bank at least. But now I have to get a good night's sleep and wake up ready and raring to go with the church relocation tomorrow. It's exciting that we're finally going. My 8am start will involve assisting with the packing of the trucks then cleaning the GGCC building one last time.
It's funny how people think about the building & location. I too have thought, "this is such a good location with the lake and stuff" but really, how often do I look at the lake? How often do I look at the ducks? How often do I sit on the grass? Not very often for any of them. Yeah, it was cool to have the option to but really I don't think I'll miss it that much. I will miss knowing where things are for the first few weeks. I will miss not being allowed in the kitchen! But hopefully the installment of a Cafe Ministry Team Member in the Cafe every time I'm at church will alleviate that problem...
Today I panicked because I realised that next year I turn 30! That's crazy. It only took me a minute to remind myself that it is only a number, and that my identity is secured in Christ alone, not in the number of years I have lived. To be reminded that Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever too is a good thing. Knowing that whatever happens in life, whatever trials may come, whatever "issues" I may have, Dad is still in control, has never faltered in His plans, and knows the cause, depth, solution and outcome to every situation I'm ever in, this is a marvelous thing.
Romans w/ Mike was good tonight. We had a great chat about chapter 4 of Romans and how Abraham was declared righteous through his faith in God, not by observing the circumcision or the Law. Even without the Law - or Christ's sanctifying & justifying work on the cross - Abraham was found to be righteous by his faith in God.
We also talked about my disapproval of postmodernism and the thought that there is no ultimate truth. Let me tell you world: not everything is interpretive, relative or intuitive. There are some things that are black & white, set in stone (and science), and laws of the universe which are immutable. God, for instance, is one of them. As is mathematics. Just ask Pi. You might be wondering how postmodernism fits in with being righteous through faith? Well it dawned on me that more than ever in this world of relative & interpretive "truth" that the Law is still useful for understanding our sin and just how far short of God's standard we are. Without the Law we are free to interpret our own truth and whatever is moral for me can be different for you and that's ok. This isn't what God says. He sets the standard and we miss the mark majorly. BUT by faith in Christ we can be made righteous! Praise the Lord.
I've come to really dislike the word "caveat".

Insanity

2009-06-22T23:08:00.002+09:30

As of this moment I have 7 email addresses. How stupid! 2 are about to be decommissioned, and one diverts to another but still, to have 4 active email addresses is nuts!

Moving House

2009-06-21T23:21:00.006+09:30

So much moving is happening. Today Golden Grove Community Church had it's last two services ever. That's right: EVER! Next week we'll be in our new building (yay) and will have a new name: Church @ Para Vista. It's the end of an era. For nearly 20 years GGCC has been at Jubilee Way, The Church By The Lake. Now we wont have a lake. We'll be the Church By St Vinnies, or The Church By Foodland. Hopefully we'll be The Light Shining On A Hill.

Also this weekend Luke and Natasha moved out of their unit back to our parents' house while they wait for their house to settle. It's crazy and I feel sorry for them. It seems like they're always under some kind of spiritual attack - either health and now this - but I guess it's good that the enemy sees them as a threat.

And soon Leigh and Tamara are moving too. This is causing me much internal angst. I'm torn because they've become really good friends, but I know they're moving with God's purpose and blessing so who am I to argue with that? I guess when it's all said and done it's like when I moved from Sydney to Adelaide. I rationalised the potential loneliness by reminding myself that good friends are good friend no matter where in the world they are.

Hopefully I am not moving.

Here are some videos of Sonya demonstrating her liturgical dance that she hopes to introduce at C @ PV. Count me in when the flag waving starts...

Whale Spotting

2009-06-17T19:00:00.003+09:30

Whale Spotting, originally uploaded by pulse_youth.

So, it's been a few days since I wrote here. Mainly the break was because I went away on the weekend with Pulse. We headed to Victor Harbor on Friday night (via Glenelg, and a few other wrong turns) and came back Saturday arvo. It was a great weekend. I didn't sleep much - only about two hours thanks to my stupid alarm going off to tell me it was time to get ready for work (it's not smart enough to realise I dont work weekends). Anyway, I headed down to the beach at 7am with my coffee and Bible to have a Quiet Time there. It was great. Shortly after I arrived I noticed something out in the deep blue yonder. A whale was spraying it's spout right in front of me. It was so magic. OK, maybe not magic - afterall it does happen several million times a day - but it was special to me nonetheless.

Can I start again...?

2009-06-11T07:40:00.004+09:30

So, I just woke up, had my Quiet Time, had coffee, watched Sunrise news and went to the bathroom to shave before my shower. That was when I saw this...

Scary!

No, no, no, no, no...YES. Real Life Dibley!

2009-06-10T22:13:00.003+09:30

Today was a good day. Started well with an abreviated Quiet Time - overslept again so the full thing wasn't possible - but some is better than none. And work was good. I got in trouble for calling a collegue a "nympho". It just came out. Oops. I will say sorry tomorrow. Then I saw the guy with these shoes...

The rest of the work day was mostly good. I got the opportunity of a staff shortage to get some real work done again. I did a couple of new accounts and a personal loan. It's been a while since I had the chance to do that kind of stuff and it was fun to give it a crack again.

After work I had a meeting at church regarding our relocation. It was funny. I was sitting there feeling like I was watching a show (great seats too!). Roz made a comment that it was like watching "Yes, Minister" but to me it was more like sitting in a "Vicar of Dibley" Parish Council Meeting...

Clearly Paul would be David and Jim could be Jim but the problem was Kerrilee. She's too good a cook to be Mrs Cropley, too smart to be Alice and too slim to be Geraldine...although she and Gerry do share a good sense of humour! Anyway, Roz and I laughed a lot...and probably wont be invited back.

Then I picked up Sam and Rach for GO. It was a funny night. Matt believes that the boarded up door at my house blocks the gateway to Dinotopia or the Land Before Time. He also gave us a very complex theory about toilet bowl skid marks. And Tim and I worked out that Pirates, Vampires, Cupcakes, Eggs, a Garden and some kind of word game should cover the bases for Facebook3D in two weeks.

Somewhere in there we did a Bible Study too. We had some quality discussion too, especially about the question: How should a reverent fear of the risen Christ influence: how we handle temptation; the way we treat other Christians; our attitude to church; our prayer and Bible reading; facing persecution; and our evangelism?

Yo Yo Day

2009-06-09T19:29:00.004+09:30

There was no Quiet Time today. Cait and I went to the movies last night to see Night at the Museum 2 and then I came home at 1130 and got stuff ready for work today. I set my alarm for 615 to get up, spend some time with HRH Dad and go to work. Instead I slept thru my alarm, woke up late and went to work. Although it was a less than ideal start, I didn't leave my bed without first asking God to help me to still be aware of His leading and watching thru my day and to give me to resolve to honour Him - in spite of my shakey start. It ended up being a good day. Work was busy, I was flat out for most of it and for the most part, I kept it all together.

After work Mike came over to go thru Romans with me. I hadn't done the reading I was meant to but as always Mike is gracious. We chatted a bit about the book then about other stuff. Time with Mike is always beneficial. He's a keeper! Now I'm off to Home Group to watch Part 4 of The Truth Project. So far I'm loving it and am hopeful tonight will be no exception.

I did laugh a lot today. In the space of minutes I had seen an elderly lady wearing a plastic shopping bag on her hair "because she just had it set" and after that I came upon an islamic woman wearing a coat that had me asking the question "how many muppets were killed to make that coat"? They both made me laugh. Laughing is good.

My friend Helen has been thru a lot the last few years. 2 years ago her father-in-law and mother died, and her husband left her in the space of a month. 12 months later she was pushed out of her job. She'd been thru a lot and her greatest friend is her cat, Bickley. Last night Bickley was killed by a car. Helen is devestated. And she doesn't know Jesus. It's so sad.

A few of my favourite things

2009-06-08T23:32:00.004+09:30

Dad - the King - has given me many, many good things. Definately more than I could ever hope for or imagine. One of them is Cait. She'll hate reading this but that's ok. She's forgiving. We have loads of fun. We compliment each other well - most of the time - and know how to make each other laugh AND cry. This post is about her. One of my favourite things...

At the Buffalo, Glenelg...Karaoke was to come soon!

In the lift after the Bank Ball

My bum - yeah, Cait took this pic! Pervert.

My tattoo support crew.

Dear Lord, I'm so thankful for the rich and sustaining blessings your pour out to me. The family and friends you have surrounded me with are no exception. Thank you for Cait and for bringing us into each others lives. Dad, I pray that you lavish upon her life all the desires of both your heart and her own. She deserves your best in my mind. In Christ alone, amen.

Happy Birthday Liz

2009-06-08T11:41:00.004+09:30

This morning's Quiet Time talked about the fact that by the saving grace of Christ on the cross I am now free to enter into God's sanctuary. Right into the throne room. Instead of having to sacrifice animals to appease the King, Christ Himself became the perfect sacrifice. He has done the purifying work allowing me to stand, righteous, before the King, Ruler and Judge of all there is. Furthermore, because of that I can not only approach God with fear and trembling, but I am now called a child of God. A son of the King. I can call Him "Dad". He allows me to approach Him with confidence - although I must never become cavalier in my approach. God is the same yesterday, today and forever and I must remember that although He is my Dad, He also has the power to strike me down if He chooses to.
Upon thinking about entering God's throne room I was reminded of one of my favourite worship songs from church. I could only find a bit of a dodgy clip on youtube but here it is -it'll give you some idea...

Today is also the Queen's Birthday Public Holiday - yay! I was looking for something about the Queen on youtube like a profound speech or something but instead decided to keep with the Throne Room idea and went with the Coronation instead. Facinating. So much pomp and ceremony.

So, being a public holiday and having no work and no meetings tonight I'm not doing a whole lot. I've spent some time considering my God's Word and today's Quiet Time, put on a load of washing, watched the end of a movie (The Day After Tomorrow) and have made this post. Tonight I'm heading to Jackie's for dinner (She's a great cook!). And for the rest of the day I'll be getting stuff ready for Pulse's Facebook3D night coming up in a few weeks. Since deleting my Facebook account I'm heaps out of the loop with what's happening there. I think I'll stick with the old favourites of Warewolves, Vampires, Word games and Cupcakes...? We'll see. This is Jackie

And I've found this clip again. I first saw it on AlbinoBlackSheep and it cracks me up every time.

Who's on First...and Hu's in China

2009-06-08T03:08:00.004+09:30

Okay, so I think havings a knowledge of Abbott and Costello is important. What I didn't realise is that George Bush & Condeliza Rice also gave that stuff a crack...

But nothing ever will top the original, will it?

New Book from the Bible

2009-06-08T02:23:00.005+09:30

So I'm wide awake at 230am and have only one thing on my mind: The Vicar of Dibley. I've already been to sleep tonight and have no idea why I woke up thinking about the show but nevertheless here I am. I really dont want to get up and watch it because then I'll be wired the the rest of the night. Better to get this out and hopefully get back to sleep. The Vicar of Dibley would be one of my favourite shows on TV. Ever. It's the one thing that's guaranteed to make me laugh, no matter how crappy I'm feeling.

These scenes are among my favourite from the show, especially when Alice is talking about her being decended from Jesus & Mary Magdalene. Yeah, so it's a bit irreverant, but it's a funny, funny show.

From the same episode, this scene is when Geraldine sees Harry with Rosie and comes up with a very wrong conclusion. I'm glad she got it wrong - this scene is loads of fun!

Between The Eyes

2009-06-07T20:44:00.005+09:30

Ever have one of those days where it seems like everything that happens, everything you think about, everything you read or watch, everything people say, all of it is sending the same message. It's one of those days when you know beyond a shaddow of a doubt that God is trying to get your attention.

1. This morning's Quiet Time struck a chord in me. I was prompted to think about how much am I trusting God in things - both big and small - and realised that in many minor things I don't actually trust God. Mainly this is because I don't want to be a pest and figure that He has more significant things to worry about.
2. When I thought about depending on God, I was led to read Psalm 62. "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving." really stood out to me. I have a tattoo that says "Be strong and courageous" and this has always been a significant verse to me. What I do far too often is rely on my own strength though. But my strength will fail. God's strength will never fail me. And I am only truly strengthened when I am weak and depending on His strength.
3. On my way to church tonight I began singing in my head the song "More Love, More Power" which I haven't listened to for ages. I thought to myself that I hope we sing it at church tonight. I have no access to the song list for nightchurch before the service but lo-and-behold Sonya starts singing that song! "More love, more power, more of You in my life...and I will worship You with all of my heart...You are my Lord".
4. Then Roy began speaking about Joshua chapter 7 - the bit about Achan's sin against God which caused the Israelites to lose the 1st battle with Ai. Roy's points included: Trust God in the small things; Dont underestimate the enemy; Dont overestimate your own strength.
So, yeah, today God has my attention. And I'm working toward letting Him be the strength that I survive by. And not just the big things, but the small things too.
Less of me, more of Him. More of You, Lord. More of Your love and power. More of You, Dad.

Broadening Horizons

2009-06-07T13:47:00.000+09:30

Thanks to Geraldine Granger and Sonya Kulikovsky, I'm right now watching Sense and Sensibility. It's funny. Is it meant to be?

"I do not attempt to deny that I think very highly of him"...haha, who says things like that!?

I've also just downed a couple of toasted sandwiches with Pastor Ryan's Cajun Meatloaf on them. My Meatloaf didn't look quite a good, but it tasted fantastic!

Church was good this morning. Don taught about the Beatitudes. Although Matt thought that MacGyver was trying to send a Morse Code message through the PA, Don managed to keep us laughing and learning in his unique style. As usual his PowerPoint was wordy but to add to my annoyance was that Don stood infront of the screen instead of on the stage. But overall it was a good message. Thanks Don.

Sonya and the team did a good job with the music too. All but one song had Hallelujah in it! It was a good choice of songs all 'round.

We didn't have Pulse this weekend because it's the Queen's Birthday. It was good to have a night off but I do miss the youth when long weekends happen.

Anyway, back to Sense & Sensibility I go.

The First One

2009-06-07T10:07:00.000+09:30

Why I've decided to start blogging? I have no idea. Hopefully because this journey might help you. Hopefully it'll help me too.

What Journey? Where am I going? Why am I going there? Are you coming with me?

Life is the journey. I'm Heaven-bound. Jesus invited me. I hope you're coming too!

That's it in a nutshell. I know a million people out there are already blogging about their Christianity and you probably dont wanna read another one. That's fine. I'm ok with that. If you read what I share here then I hope and pray you'll be blessed, encouraged and can laugh and cry with me. If you don't travel with me, that's ok too. I'll keep hoping that you'll be blessed and encouraged by whatever you are reading. You're on a journey too!

This morning has been interesting. I was reading my devotional which said: "What's so great about God is that He can always cope with the amount of emergency calls He gets. He doesn't even mind if they're trivial or not. He just wants you to call. He wants you to know He's always there to help you. Whatever is bothering you bothers Him. You are so important to Him, you matter so much."

This is great to be reminded of but what struck me hard was the realisation that I don't go to God with trivial things. Sometimes I don't go to Him with major things just because I don't want to be a pest. I started thinking about my dependence (or rather, my independence) on God and was steered to Psalm 62: "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge."

This is significant. Too often I trust in my own strength. Find rest in my own abilities. Rely on my own wisdom. And - predictibly - I'm let down by my own shortcomings. When I was younger some mates had F.R.O.G. wristbands which I thought were just sad. (I had the WWJD ones which were so much cooler!). Perhaps if I'd paid enough attention back then I would've realised that I need to Fully Rely On God all this time?