A First

I had my first intense clinical pastoral experience this past week.

I was called in to the hospital at close to midnight a few days ago, to minister to a family who'd lost their father, an elderly man. I read Psalm 23 with them, prayed the Lord's Prayer, and then prayed extemporaneously at the end. Afterwards I just stuck around, available for individual family members to talk.

It all happened so fast. Very sad. And yet, I felt completely at peace. I was in the right place.

Lord, I pray that you'd bless this family. Give them strength to move forward. May they look to You for Guidance.

Still Playing Games...

Tonight we played board games at Patri's. Hard to believe that we started playing games 1.5 years ago, and we're still going strong. Wednesday night is now replacing Saturday afternoons as my favourite "time" of the week.

Thank you Lord, for great friends. May You be in our midst as we enjoy fellowship.

Ralph In Physiotherapy

Here are some pictures of Ralph, undergoing physiotherapy. Ralph seems to be settling in at the hospital in Abbotsford. Dad sent me these pics.

This last picture is my favourite. I love you very much, Ralph.

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on Ralph!

Trading Places

It seems so strange to me that Jun, my classmate, is thinking of leaving the Roman Catholic church in order to join the United Church. I think that's so sad. The reason he gives is that his church is too restrictive.

Me, on the other hand, I'm thinking of leaving the Anglican Church and heading to the RC or the Orthodox Church. The reason: the AC is too lax, it has lost it's moral bearings.

At the beginning I found it difficult to talk to Jun because of his "switch", but as I'm getting to know him I'm realizing that there's a story behind the reason that he gives, and it seems to be a rather painful story for him. It's much harder to dismiss someone when we hear his/her story.

I look forward to getting to know him. He seems like a great guy.

First Impressions

The statement that's stuck most with me so far in the pastoral training program is from Phil, the supervisor for the downtown group:

"In the past, the supervisor would try to break you [the students] down [psychologically] and then rebuild you back in his/her own image." A very powerful statement. Then he went on to explain that the model we'll be operating under in this current unit is very different. They [the supervisors] want to honour who we are as people: our gifts, our desires, our talents, our strengths and our weaknesses, and work with that in a process of self-discovery.

In my own theological paradigm, I hope that what he meant is that we're all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27, 9:6), and this image needs to be guarded and built up, not torn down. And in fact, a part of our image does need to be torn down - the part that does not conform to the goodness, truth, and beauty of God - but God does this work. He is the one who will "transform" us from "one degree of glory to another" (II. Corinthians 3:18).

Thus far my experience has been very positive. I get along with everyone, although I did have a little "conversation" with Jun yesterday in response to some things he said that made me feel uncomfortable.

First Day Of New Journey

Today was my first day of "classes" in the pastoral training program. I've been looking forward to this day for 6+ months (actually, even longer than that), so I was quite excited when today arrived.

My class consists of 4 other students (including me), and 1 supervisor. The setting is clinical, so we'll be located at the main hospital in Vancouver. There's another class, also of 4 students and 1 supervisor, located at hospital downtown. Most of the time the 2 groups will be working separately, but on occasion we'll gather as one group.

The students in my class are: Tom, Jun, Jenna, and me. Tom is Christian Reformed, Jun is Roman Catholic but on his way to the United Church (?), and Jenna is Buddhist. I'm Evangelical Anglican, but with great affinities towards the Roman Catholic or even Orthodox Church. What a mixed bag...

Lord, I give myself to you. Teach me your Ways. Keep me on the straight and narrow path, through your Son Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Saviour.

Mexico City > Vancouver (With Detour)

Edgar: "What are you looking for?"
Jennifer: "My entrance permit .. the one they stamped and then inserted into our passport when we arrived."
Edgar: "Oh yeah .. I think I threw mine away at the hotel in Puebla. I didn't think we needed it."
Jennifer: "What? You threw it away? We'll need it when we leave México!"
Edgar: "Hmmm .. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." (Thinks to himself: 'silly girl .. so paranoid'.)
Jennifer: (Silence). "Ah, here it is. Got it. Now I can relax."
Edgar: (Silence). "Glad you found it. Now we can both relax."

...2 hours later, as people are boarding the plane:

Flight Attendant: "Sir, your passport is here, but your entrance permit is missing."
Edgar: "What?"
FA: "Your entrance permit. Stamped. It's not here."
Edgar: "Can I see the passport?" (Opens the passport to the stamped page). "Here. Here's the stamp."
FA: "That's just the stamp in the passport. I also need the sheet that states the date of your arrival and the length of your tourism stay. Your Visa. It was given to you upon your arrival to our country and should be in the passport."
Edgar: "Well, what you're holding is all I've got."
FA: "I'm sorry Sir. I can't let you get on the plane without the entrance permit. You'll have to go back to customs and get a new one. If you hurry you might still be able to make it back before the flight leaves."

...3 hours later, and I finally got my replacement entrance stub.

After a small fine, re-applying for entrance into the country, filling out police paperwork, arguing with two different customs agents, and going in and out of the baggage claim areas three times (I had to pick up my luggage, which was taken off the plane and then lost in baggage carousel hell), and then going through security again, I finally arrived at the same gate again.

Of course, by this time, Jennifer was long gone. She'd gotten on the plane without difficulty, and in fact, the plane was at this very time probably flying over Portland, just over an hour before landing back at home. And I was still at the airport in México, stuck, waiting.

And in case that wasn't enough, the flight that I would have to take would not take me directly to Vancouver. No, if I wanted a direct flight I'd have had to wait an additional 24 hours. Instead, my options of flight for the same day were via MONTREAL or TORONTO! I refused to fly via the US. I picked Toronto.

So, whereas Jennifer arrived in Vancouver somewheres around noon, I arrived close to midnight, almost 12 hours later.

Lesson learned. It's good to be attentive to detail. It's not good to make fun of others.

On the positive side, I did get about 5,000 airmiles more then Jen did. So who has the last laugh now, eh?

Cuernavaca > México City

Jennifer and I took an early morning bus to DF, but not before a healthy fruit-milkshake.

Our bus to México City left at 9am, arriving there an hour later, and arriving at our lodging another 45 minutes after that. We checked in, took a quick nap, and then went out for lunch at a small joint virtually across the street from our room. Here's a shot of us waiting for our food. I ordered a horchata to drink which was mmmmm good.

Then off we went downtown for one last look at the city. We walked all afternoon. We're a bit tired of taking pictures, but Jennifer did take a few good pics. Actually, I should mention that about half of the pictures from the trip posted here were taken by her. Thanks Jen for sharing your pics!

We ate dinner at an Argentinian restaurant, the name of which I wont disclose here, in respect of the Argentinian cuisine. The food was not good at all (the meat was not at all tender). My facial expression sums up how I feel about the trip: It was great, but I'm tired now and look forward to sleeping in my own bed!

Cuernavaca: One Last Day At The Pool

Early this morning Ruben brought Juan to the bus station. Juan's on his way back to México City, and from there he wants to continue northward towards Guanajuato, and then Guadalajara, where his brother's wedding will take place in a few days' time.

Today's highlight (besides swimming in the pool) was a bbq, early evening, at Ruben and Tati's place.

I also took the opportunity to take pictures of Ruben and Tati's place. They have a nice little "nest" here!

Street entrance:














Front Door:














Kitchen/eating area:














Backyard:














Here are the pictures from our bbq: we had carne asada, but unlike the cuts that we're used to in Vancouver, the meat was really thinly sliced. They have a special name here for this cut, but I forgot what it is right now. Another new experience for me was bbq'd nopal (cactus). It tasted good, although a bit dry. Nopal is a common dish here. We also prepared cebollitas (small onions), sausages, and a salad.



































































Finally, we went for a night swim. Actually, we've been doing this virtually every night, but this photo's the only one worth posting. My night-shooting skills are lacking (and my tripod's broken!).

Cuernavaca: A Daytrip to Tepoztlán

Another great day in México! Today Ruben, Tati, Juan, Jennifer and I piled into Ruben's Jetta and drove an hour east (towards Puebla) to Tepoztlán. From there, Ruben and I hiked up the Tepozteco mountain to view the remains of an ancient Aztec temple. When Jen, Sanjit and I visited México 2 years ago we also did the same hike, and that time I took lots of pictures (I didn't post them), but today I didn't.

While we hiked, Tati looked after some business affairs, while Jen and Juan wandered around town. For lunch, we stopped in at - where else - Los Colorines, a colourful restaurant located on the main street of the town. After lunch we also dropped in on the main church - the Parroquia de la Natividad, formely the Convento Dominico de Tepoztlán de la Natividad - a rather large church, considering the size of the town.

The Tepozteco:














Before and after the hike:














































Los Colorines:






















































The Parroquia de la Natividad:








































One the things that intrigued me at this church was seeing the baptismal font at the entrance to the church, rather than at the back, where it is often placed nowadays. Given that baptism signifies entrance into the (church) Christian life, it seems to me so appropriate to have it placed at the front of the church. I also noticed this same design yesterday, at the Catedral de Cuernavaca.

Walking around town:





















































On the way home: I'm out, like a light:














Arriving back at Ruben and Tati's:














In the evening, watching fútbol:














Late tonight I read an email that mom sent me from home: Ralph has been transferred to the Abbotsford Regional Hospital. Apparently the Royal Columbian Hospital is overwhelmed with trauma patients so Ralph was transferred without notice. He's not ready for rehab yet, but we hope that if and when he's ready he will be transferred to a clinic that specializes in brain/spine injury rehabilitations.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on Ralph.

Cuernavaca: Palacio Cortés, Centro, Catedral

Today's another one of those days where it's best to let the pictures speak for themselves. Tragically - I say this with great sarcasm - we spent precious little time poolside, choosing instead to go sightseeing instead. I guess it's about time. It is, after all, our 4th day in Cuernavaca, and we've yet to see much. The pool always seems to get in the way...

So here is what we saw today:
1- Palacio de Cortés (followed by lunch and a walk towards the catedral)
2- Catedral de Cuernavaca
3- Dinner at Restaurante Casa Hidalgo

In between our outing to the palace and the cathedral, we did manage to return to Ruben and Tati's place for a quick dip in the pool.

Here are the pictures, beginning with the Palacio de Cortés: