Wilfrid's Visit

Karin's brother Wilfrid's here for a few days. He was travelling in China on business, and dropped by on the way back to Paraguay. We met up with him and Ted, Karin & family in the afternoon at my place, and then headed over to Stanley Park for a drive. We parked the van and went for a quick walk in the park, but it was damp and rainy outside so we didn't stay too long.

For dinner we bought the kids a pizza and rented a few videos, while Ted, Karin, Wilfred and I went out to the Yaletown Brewery Pub for dinner. Here's a pic we took at Stanley Park:

Clau's Grad Day

Today was Clau's graduation day. The ceremony was quite nice, surprisingly. The address by B. Hindmarsh was especially noteworthy: Christians are like trees: firmly rooted in the ground, but with branches stretching into the sky.

Here are some pics from graduation day.

Regent Faculty:
















Up next: Clau!
















Wuhoooooooooooooo! Congrats Clau!
















Carla, Clau, & Cub:
















Allison, Karla, Maria, Clau, & Carla:
















Clau & Ross (Professor of Missions):
















Clau:
















May God bless you, Clau, as you finish your studies and discern what's next!

Soccer! Yay!

Today was suuuuuuuuuch a great day. I played soccer for the first time in, uhm, 2.5 years? It was sooooooo much fun!

I began the day by having Claudia and Karla over for breakfast. I made pancakes.

Then, around noon, we went to a park near Chinatown, and met with others, mainly Latin Americans, and played soccer for a good 2 hours.

They play every saturday. It's co-ed. Casual. I think I'll go again next week. :D

Grad Party

Today we had a grad party at Spanish Banks, in honour of Clau, Maria, and Petro, who are graduating shortly. It was actually as much a good-bye party as a grad party, because Maria, and Petro are not only graduating they are returning to their home country, the US and Ukraine, respectively.

Clau & Maria:

But I admit, there was a selfish reason for me to organize this party, namely, that I'm graduating too, within the next couple of months. And my friend In Young, he's also graduating around the same time as I am.

Rob, In Young, & Sarah:
















Petro, Connie, Clau & Maria:

Anyways, we were hoping for a nice and sunny day, and we got one, but as the pictures show, it was windy and chilly. We played some games (soccer, frisbee ultimate), ate bbq, and had a good time. Afterwards a few of us went to my place to warm up with a hot cup of cocoa.

Carla (aka KaKarla) preparing the bbq:
















Cub:
















Spanish Banks:
















Sundown:

Here We Go Again...

In less than two weeks-time (4.29) I preach again. Last time I preached was a rather painful experience, and I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that from happening again.

My passage this time is a good one: John 13:1-20, Jesus washing the disciples' feet. I'm going to "live" in that text for the next two weeks....

May God be glorified as I seek to communicate His word to His people.

Lunch with Joy

Today I went out for lunch with Joy, at the Samosa Garden on Kingsway. Yummy Kenyan-Indian food. Gotta go there more often...

Joy's living in Surrey for the next 6 months or so, raising funds for her return to the Philippines.

We talked about the possibility of me going back there also, on a 3-4 year term. More on that mid-summer....

Happy Birthday Clau!

Today I went to the Harbour Centre for dinner with Claudia, to celebrate her birthday with her. A lovely evening with a lovely woman. Here are a few pictures:

Easter Sunday

Christ ist erstanden
von der Marter alle;
des solln wir alle froh sein,
Christ will unser Trost sein.
Kyrieleis.

Wär er nicht erstanden,
so wär die Welt vergangen;
seit daß er erstanden ist,
so lob‘n wir den Herren Jesum Christ.
Kyrieleis.

HALLLUJA, HALLELUJA, HALLELUJA.
Des solln wir alle froh sein,
Christ will unser Trost sein.
Kyrieleis.

___

Christ has risen
From all his torments;
For this we shall rejoice,
Christ shall be our comfort.
Kyrieleis.

If he had not risen,
The world would have been lost;
Since he has risen,
We will praise the Lord Jesus Christ.
Kyrieleis.

ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA.
For this we shall rejoice,
Christ shall be our comfort.
Kyrieleis.

Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750
Choralvorspiel BWV 627
Chorale prelude BWV 627

Holy Saturday

Rest Sweetly .. Sweetly Rest

We bow our heads in tears and sorrow.
Hearts cry to Thee, O Saviour blest.
Rest Thou sweetly, sweetly rest.
Death that holds Thee in its keeping,
When its bonds are loosed by Thee,
Shall become a welcome portal,
Leading man to life immortal
Where he shall Thy glory,
he shall Thy glory see.
Saviour blest, slumber on Thy Father’s breast.

We bow our heads in tears and sorrow.
Hearts cry to Thee, O Saviour blest.
Rest Thou sweetly, sweetly rest.

---

Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder

Und rufen dir im Grabe zu:

Ruhe sanfte, sanfte ruh!

Ruht, ihr ausgesognen Glieder!

Euer Grab und Leichenstein

Soll dem ängstlichen Gewissen

Ein bequemes Ruhekissen

Und der Seelen Ruhstatt sein.

Höchst vergnügt schlummern da die Augen ein.

Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder

Und rufen dir im Grabe zu:

Ruhe sanfte, sanfte ruh!

Johnann Sebastian Bach, 1685 - 1750
St. Matthews Passion, 1727

Good Friday

Nolo mortem peccatoris:
Haec sunt verba Salvatoris.

Father, I am thine only son,
Sent down from heaven mankind to save!
Father, all things fulfilled and done
According to thy will I have;
Father, now all my will is this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Father, behold my pains most smart,
Taken for man on every side,
E'en from my birth to death most tart;
No kind of pain I have denied,
But suffered all for love of this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Behold my birth, in what degree
Into this wretched world I came,
Taking man's vile nature on me,
With all the mis'ries of the same
Save only sin; and all for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Behold my tender infancy:
Scant eight days old, but that I was
Cut in my flesh most painfully;
To shed my blood for man's trespass
I not disdained, for love of this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Here dwelt I thirty years and three,
In hunger, thirst, in cold and heat,
In great contempt of the world at me,
For my good deeds and travels great,
Taken for man, and all for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

When thirty years and three were run,
Time drawing near of my most woe;
Oh! Father, now behold thy son,
My pains increasing mo and mo!
For which, O Father, harken to this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Behold my sighs, my sorrowful heart,
Behold my tears, my bloody sweat!
Behold my pains in every part
Had on the mount of Olivet,
Before my death, declaring this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Behold the Jews most fierce and wood
Thy son they sought with glaives and bills!
Behold thy son most meek of mood,
Given to their hands to do their wills,
To whom I bowed my will for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Then to a post fast was I tied,
Scourgèd and beaten on every side,
Till no skin left, but as one flayed,
There stood thy son in blood all dyed,
Most meekly suffering all for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Behold, also, then how they brought
Thy innocent lamb before their judges,
As one that had all mischief wrought,
Condemned to death upon their grudges
Grown 'gainst me for preaching this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Behold my head then, how they crowned
With thorns, yea, piercing near the brain!
My face, my neck, in blood all drowned,
My flesh all trembling in every vein,
For passing mayne, and all for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

To bear my cross then forth they drave me,
Till the great weight threw me there under,
But then hard strokes enow they gave me,
Beating me forth with shame and wonder!
All which I meekly suffered for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

My garments then to me fast cleaving,
Most violently from me they drew
The flesh, e'en from the bone then riving;
My bloody wounds they did renew
With no small pain! Oh Father! Yet this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

But then behold those cruel folk,
One at each arm, one at each foot,
Through flesh and bone great nails they stroke,
The streams of blood were set afloat,
To wash their sin that wrought all this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Then up aloft my corse they cast,
The fall whereof down in the rest
My joints and sinews all to-brast!
Which, pain of pains, was not the least
That I there meekly suffered for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Upon that cross behold I there
Hung three long hours e'er life were gone,
Having not stay my body to bear,
But those hard nails through flesh and bone;
Yet I e'en there declarèd this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

When all my blood was throughly spent,
My flesh dried up for lack of licker,
Then with a spear my heart they rent,
To try my death for man most sicker;
The which I meekly suffered for this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Who may express those pains to me dealt?
Who may bethink them to disclose,
In mine humanity sensibly felt;
Yet is there one pain more than those?
Oh Father! why should I say this?
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

This my most pain, this my most care,
Is for to see man's unkindness;
For all my death he will not spare
Me to offend, my laws transgress,
And all in hope and trust of this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

The world, the flesh, yea, and the devil,
Man will not spare to serve all three,
Taking occasion of all this evil
Of mine own words; saying to me,
Whate'er we do, yet Christ saith this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

But unto man I say again,
Death of a sinner will not I,
If he amend and sin refrain;
But when in sin still he will lie,
Then unto him I speak not this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Oh man, for thy love have I died!
I ask no more of thee therefore,
But love for love in thy deeds tried;
Forsake thy sin and keep my lore,
And then to thee I say e'en this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

Now here an end of this our song;
Now to that Lord that died for man
Give thanks, and pray for grace among,
To keep his laws, that we may then
Enjoy his merciful words in this:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.

John Redford, (d. 1547)
The Latin phrase Nolo mortem peccatoris is taken from the Rule of Saint Benedict, in his quotation of Ezekiel 33:11. It means "I do not want the death of a sinner."

Maundy Thursday

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake,
Amen
_____

Penitential Prayer, St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)

Getting There....

The past few days have been quite productive. I finished some key assignments:

History of Doctrine
* finished review on the last 4 chapter on Olson's textbook; great book .. I can't believe I got through it .. all 613 pages!
* finished review on Justo Gonzalez' book, A Theology of Liberation

Pastoral Care
* finished observation report

Now all I have left is a personal philosophy paper on Pastoral Care. Once that's done, I can start focusing on:

* Systematic Theology paper and final exam (due mid-May)
* PTC teaching lecture (mid-April)
* prepare sermon (end of April)

Movie And Dinner

Wow .. I had a great day today.

In the morning I had my regular church internship meeting at school. Then, late afternoon, I went to the bus station to pick up Ralph. He's here for the next day. We went home and drank mate until about 6:30, at which time we got into my car and drove to the movie theatre.

At the theatre, we met up with my dear friends Clau and Carla, and Connie and Alberto. We saw Amazing Grace, a great movie about the abolition of slave trade in England. It was very interesting to see how William Wilberforce was portrayed in the film. I know a little of him from my History of Christianity course at school, and from what I can tell, his portrayal in the film was quite accurate. So often nowadays, movies that have an inkling of spiritual content are deconstructed to a point beyond recognition (wouldn't want to challenge relativism now, would we), but overall I felt they did his faith justice.

Anyways, after the movie Clau pulled out a $50 gift certificate for the Spaghetti Factory. Nice..!! So we went there and wined and dined. Clau's Mexican friend, Karla, also joined us there. Man she's a blast. Great fun..... Ralph had a good time too.

I'm blessed.

Sick .. But Getting Better

Unfortunately I was unable to go to visit mom and dad yesterday. I think I got some kind of food poisoning, because I've been in bed most of today with a wicked (that is .. EVIL and PAINFUL) stomach ache throughout the day.

It would've been so good to go to Abbotsford to visit with family. Not only was it dad's birthday yesterday, it was also my parents' ??? wedding anniversary. Shame on me .. I don't even know how many years they've been married.....

I hope to visit them two weeks from now, on Easter Sunday.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is dad's 66th birthday, I trust you'll have a happy day, dad! Thank you for the many ways in which you minister to us.

God bless you abundantly!

Family Business Meeting: Take 2

Today we had our second business meeting, and as expected, the outcome wasn't all that good. Given my concerns about the purpose, continuity concerns, etc...., it just didn't make sense to go ahead with it.

Having said that, it's not all negative. Ted will put together a proposal with more concrete numbers (expected revenues, costs), and we'll re-evaluate again after looking at it.

Ted didn't seem pleased about the outcome. But I think it's better to ask hard questions now.

A New Preacher

We've got a new pastor in our Evening Service. He's actually a classmate of mine from school. He preached tonight (yes, I went). I'm glad I went. I didn't really want to go, but I forced myself to go. And I'm glad I did, because God blessed the effort. I'm (mildly) encouraged.

A Passion And A Paradox

Tonight I went to a fundraising dinner at a church (not my own) that I volunteer at once a month. The fundraiser was for a feed-the-homeless service this church operates every Thursday night.

I enjoyed the evening (Paul came also). Had a good meal, a few good speeches/testimonies, a silent auction, and an offering. The best part of the evening was a conversation that I had with Andrew, the man in charge of the program.

I'm realizing that I have a passion for the poor. There's a paradox in this passion though. The more I come in contact with issues of poverty (said differently, the more I encounter the helplessness of the poor), the more I'm convinced that there's very little I can do about it, yet at the same time the more convinced I become that I should do something about it.

I think it was Mother Teresa who said something along the lines of "Prayer drives us to the world, and the world drives us back to prayer." Simple yet profound. I like it.

Family Business Meeting: Take 1

So a few days ago my brother Ted sent me an email suggesting that we - that is, he, our brother in law, and me - open a family business. His idea is to open a house-building company: buy property, build a house, and sell it, buy another property, build a house, sell it, etc...

Tonight was our first "business meeting."

I went there in good spirits, thinking that in principle, he had a good idea. But our meeting didn't go so well, at least according to my thoughts. Now I feel quite sour about it.

The core issues are the following questions:
* why open a business? Ted has a job; Heinz has a job (he just got one earlier this week); and I, well, what the heck do I know about building and selling homes! Then again, I've been thinking about setting up some kind of an "urban Chrsitian community" in the city. Maybe our company could build and donate the house. Ha!

* continuity? Ted and family are only planning to stay in Canada for another 1.5 years at which time they will return to South America. In light of Ted's absence, who would run the business?

* given the above two issues, is it ethical to use dad's "goodwill" (money) as a guarantee? Aren't we taking a rather big risk with his money? Is this pride setting in?

* and finally (we didn't even tackle this issue at the meeting .. but it will be an issue before too long .. I know it!), what about familial conflicts regarding money? Based on past experiences, I know the greed that sets in with regards to money. It's not a pretty sight...

Skipped Church .. Again

I've skipped 2 of the last 3 Sunday evening services .. and 4 of the last 8 I think. I lack motivation. I lack energy. I lack joy. I don't want to render God the praise he is due for some reason.

Darkness looms ..

Studying With Claudia

I'm so blessed to have a friend like Claudia. She came over in the morning, around 9, and I made breakfast for her. Afterwards, we studied the day away, until about 6pm. Then she went away to a party I think, or perhaps Latin-dancing .. she does that a lot.

I spent the rest of the evening studying contently, but a part of me was very sad she left. Strange: on the one hand, I am quite content - in fact, I insist on - spending a lot of time alone; but on the other hand, there's an incredible yearning for an "Other".

I can't decide whether this "Other" is an intense search for deeper communion with God, or a desire to be in a relationship with a woman.

The good thing, or perhaps, the challenging, confusing thing, is that both of those desires are perfectly legitimate and godly.

I Don't Care

I skipped Pastoral Care today, because I'm tired of listening to my prof swearing in class. He's very good in his field (counselling), but it seems to me he's a little depressed.

Of course, it's "contextualized" swearing, meaning that the swearword is "in line" with the context he's describing, but I just don't buy that. That's such a poor excuse! As someone in a position of power and influence, a professor ought to have enough spiritual self-discipline/control to have "reign" over his tongue.

An Evening With Family And Friends

I'm writing this under today's date, even though what I'm about to describe took place last night.

Yesterday evening, around 4:30pm, 4 of my bestest friends, James, Petro, Carla, and Claudia went to Abbotsford for dinner with my family. It was a superb evening .. one of the best evenings I've had this year.

We arrived at my parent's place shortly before 6, and drank some mate before dinner. My bro, sis, and their families (including my 5 nephews and 3 nieces) came too, and it was delightful introducing them to my friends. It was equally delightful introducing friends to family.

After a few minutes of introductions and snacks, we gathered 'round the livingroom dinner table and ate a fantastic meal: baked potatoes, broccoli salad, chipa, rice, and feijoada (Carla loved this!) were only a few of the many goodies mom had prepared. Of course, dad did his part too, preparing a massively delicious bbq: steak and chicken (no vegetarians around our dinner table that's for sure!!!). My bro brought a bottle of red wine, and I brought a bottle of Portuguese rose also, which went very well with everything.

And dessert .. my gosh .. that's a whole 'nother story again. Karin made a cheesecake, and mom made a chocolate cake (sort of like a black forest cake). Of course, it didn't help that I'm lenting from coffee and chocolate .. but oh well, the cheesecake was up for grabs ... and grab I did. :D

After dinner we all sat around the table and enjoyed good conversation. In retrospect, it was more like a question-answer period: family-members asking the questions, friends answering them. Unfortunately, my friends didn't get to return the favour, and consequently the "conversation" was a bit one-sided. Oh well, next time...

Another highlight for me was when my nephew Ralph played a beautiful piece by Chopin on the piano. He is very good. It seems to me he loves to serve others with his musical gifts. Tanis, on the other hand, disappeared for much of the evening. Not sure where she went to ...

Around 10:30pm we made our way back home to Vancouver. I had so much fun. I didn't take any pictures - forgot my camera - my bad. Still, a great evening. God has blessed me with amazing family and friends!

Preparing Bible Studies

Morning/Afternoon: I went to a conference at my church on how to prepare small group Bible Studies. It was very helpful, as we went through the gospel of John (by far my favourite gospel!) and looked at 7 steps of study preparation (essentially, 7 steps of exegesis). Here are the steps:

1- write / type out the text.
2- What kind of literature is it?
3- Underline unclear, repeated, or very important words.
4- Determine context
5- Establish structure / shape of passage
6- Main idea
7- Prepare teaching outline.

Extension Granted!

Pheeeeew! I'm so relieved. This afternoon I sent off an email to my professor, asking for an extension in my Systematic B course .. and tonight I got a response in the affirmative.

So, rather than having to write a 4,000 word paper and final exam in the next 14 days, I have an additional 2 months! This is just awesome!

Now I can devote the next 5 weeks to researching my paper: "The implications of Christ's bodily resurrection on our own bodily resurrection."

Then, I have an additinoal 3 weeks to study for my final exam.

Arghhh

I had a piece of humble pie today. It didn't taste very good. I got my mark on a paper that defended moralism in the early church, and I only got a B+. Ughhhhh.....

I thought this was a good paper, and B+ is not a "bad" mark, but I was really hoping for .. well .. an A. My professor agreed with the conclusions I came to in the paper, but his feedback indicated that I didn't answer all the questions pertaining to the issue. Apparently my argument wasn't watertight (although he didn't use those words).

Well, anyways, ya can't win them all .. still, humble pie doesn't taste very good.

New Library

The new library at school opened a few weeks ago, and I have to say that studying in it is a whole lot more enjoyable than that old dungeon they called "libary" beforehand.

I heard someone refer to humans as "Luxus Tiere" (animals of luxure) once, and I think that's true. We're drawn to anything that's new, sleek, cool, and slick, and .. well .. luxurious. Now, the new library is by no means luxurious, but it's definitely new and cool.

All this to say that in the coming weeks I'll be spending more time studying at school than at home. The library has wireless too, which is nice. Wouldn't want to work without a connection to the cyberworld now, would we....

Rend Your Heart

An appropriate Scripture passage as we begin the Lenten season today, Ash Wednesday:

Joel 2:12-18 (ESV)

12 "Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."
13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.

16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.

17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?' "

The LORD's Answer

18 Then the LORD will be jealous for his land
and take pity on his people.

Sunday School

I've been teaching Sunday School now for the past month. It's been challenging, but good. I admit, I don't consider myself to be very good around kids .. except my nephews and nieces, but somehow that's different. They're family....

I get a little self-conscious and nervous around kids, because they're always so honest: they say what they think. It's a good thing to be honest, of course, but there's an element of fear that someone else's honesty can bring out in me: fear of being exposed and made vulnerable.

What if they don't like the shoes I wear? What if my socks don't match (that's never happened before). What if a piece of lettuce is stuck on my teeth and I'm completely oblivious to it? What if they see I'm nervous? What if my fly's open? What if I accidentally fart? What if they don't like the way I told the story of Joseph? The possibilities of being rejected by the kids are endless....

Of course, if I didn't take myself so serious I'd be ok with someone or other poking fun at me every now and then. Like they say .. you gotta be able to laugh at yourself. That's a skill I haven't attained yet .. but one I'm in desperate need of.

Who knows, maybe this experience of teaching kids (grades 3 and 4) will help me get over myself. That at least, is my prayer.

Break-In

Got home from school today at around 6pm, and as soon as I put my key in the front door, I knew something was wrong. It didn't fit right. It didn't feel right. I turned the key, and was shocked to find out that the door was unlocked. I opened the door, and lo and behold, someone'd been in my place.

Clothes were lying all over the floor, drawers taken out of the desk and emptied, its contents spread throughout the apartment. My balcony sliding-door was open also.

I immediately noticed that they didn't take the "big" stuff: stereo, dvd player, and printer were all intact, untouched. Even smaller electronics were still there: webcam, phone, even my external hard drive (thank goodness - all my schoolwork's on it!!).

So what did they want? What did they take? My ipod, two backpacks, and cash, about $300.

Interestingly, no, amazingly(!), my old laptop which I'd left at home (after all, I'm a a Mac user now and I'd taken my new laptop to school with me) was left untouched. I'd promised to give it to my friend Carla, who badly needs a laptop, last week, and it would've been so frustrating for it to be stolen now. I called the police, and after the policewoman arrived she was stunned when I told her that the laptop was not stolen. She said it's a miracle. I agreed. Thank you Lord!

Anyways, now it's cleanup time. It'll probably take me all weekend to clean up. I feel violated.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the thief, a sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on a sinful world.

I Converted

Bye-bye PC. Hello Mac.

Coffee on 8th Ave

I dropped by a coffee shop that's supposedly quite good, 3 blocks from my place. My friend Dan told me that they are friendly there, and they make good coffee, so I wanted to go and check it out. He was right!

The hostess, Eden (beautiful name, no?), made me a coffee .. on the house. She knew immediately that it was my first visit (impressive), she was very friendly and started talking to me.

The coffee was excellent too. It was some kind of a special (espresso) shot.

Maybe I'll go back next week with a few books and spend an afternoon there studying/reading. Only drawback is they don't have any wireless internet access, so it's no use taking my laptop there.

Macbook vs. Notebook

It seems that MAC has taken the lead over IBM in my "laptop debate." They have the same functionality, are cheaper! (who'd have thought!), and they look mighty cool. Here are the details I've found so far.

I think next week I'm going to take the plunge.

I'm going to convert.

Snow Tubing

Tonight I went snow tubing at Cypress with some friends from my small group. It was really cool, loads of fun. Larissa, Irene, Eric, Stewart and Miranda came. Afterwards we all went to Earl's in North Van for a (late) dinner.

Here are some pics from tubing. From left to right: Eric, Larissa, Irene, & Cub:

New Laptop .. Soon

I'm going to buy a new laptop.

My old clunker is so slow I can go and take a quick shower while logging into MSN and return right on time. Starting up is a whole different story too. It takes about 15 minutes to boot up, so lately I've been turning it on while still on the bus to class, so that by the time I get there it's ready to go. Otherwise I miss the first 15 minutes of lecture.

And battery life, don't even get me started...

I've decided I'm going to either get a newer version of the IBM-model I have now, or convert to Apple-land. Conversion to Apple implies a good dose of humility though, as many of my Apple-friends will tease me with all kinds of dumb slogans like "welcome to the good side" or "you've seen the light", or even "you finally repented and confessed your sins, have ya..."

Those slogans alone make me want to stay away from Apple.

Another Sermon!

I received my next preaching assignment: April 29. Yikes! I'm not sure yet which passage, but I hope I can pick it. I think I'd pick a Psalm.

Sublime

Bless the Lord, o my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless His holy name.

Bless the Lord, o my soul,

and forget not all His benefits.

Who forgiveth all thy iniquity.

who redeemeth thy life from corruption,

and crowneth thee with mercy and compassion.

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;

so that thy youth is renewed

like the eagle's.

The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment

for all that are oppressed.

Bless the Lord, o my soul,

and all that is within me,

Bless His holy name.

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit,

now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Amen.

Bless the Lord, o my soul.

_____

First Antiphon, Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom (1910), Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Mom's 65!

I like birthdays .. so long as they're not mine. :D Today was mom's birthday .. so it was a good day. It was extra-special too, because it was her 65th birthday. After spending most of the morning and afternoon with Eric, studying at a coffee shop, I drove out to Abbotsford, arriving there just in time for mate before dinner.

Besides the usual family members (except Melanie and Heinz who are on vacation in Mexico), my parents had also invited the Janzens, a missionary couple from Uruguay, now living here in Vancouver.

It was a lovely evening with fabulous food, friends, and family. A few people gave tributes to mom, it was a special time. I love her so much.

My nephews Ralph and Neal played a few pieces on the piano, and I was blessed by their talents. Ralph especially, has an amazing musical gift. He played a beautiful Nocturne by Chopin.

Incidentally, for a second or two I even regreted giving up piano (for soccer) over 20 years ago, but then I remembered all the joy soccer has brought me and those feelings quickly went away. Still, musical instruments are a beautiful thing. Music is a beautiful thing.

Also, speaking of music, Mr. Janzen - himself a funny and very gifted man - recommended Sergei Rachmaninoff's Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostsom to me. He said it's his favourite musical piece. He talked about how much of Rachmaninoff's music is only now being discovered because during the communist era it wasn't available.

Tales And Post-Modern Pipe Dreams

"Nuclear man is a man who has lost naïve faith in the possibilities of technology and is painfully aware that the same powers that enable man to create new life styles carry the potential for self-destruction." Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1972), 5.

To capture this situation of nuclear man, Nouwen tells the following Indian tale:

"Four royal sons were questioning what specialty they should master. They said to one another, 'Let us search the earth and learn a special sceince.' So they decided, and after they had agreed on a place where they would meet again, the four brothers started off, each in a different direction.

Time went by, and the brothers met again at the appointed meeting place, and they asked one another what they had learned. 'I have mastered a science,' said the first, 'which makes it possible for me, if I have nothing but a piece of bone of some creature, to create straightaway the flesh that goes with it.' 'I', said the second 'know how to grow that creature's skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones.' The third said, 'I am able to create its limbs if I have the flesh, the skin, and the hair.' 'And I', concluded the fourth, 'know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete with limbs.'

Thereupon the four brothers went into the jungle to find a piece of bone so that they could demonstrate their specialties. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion's, but they did not know that and picked up the bone. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life. Shaking its heavy mane, the ferocious beast arose with its menacing mouth, sharp teeth, and merciless claws and jumped on his creatures. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle." Tales of Ancient India, translated from the Sanskrit by J. A. B. van Buitenen (New York: Bantam, 1961), 50-51, quoted in The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen, 5-6.

What a great story to convey our self-destructive ways. How much do we trust progress to achieve? Are we really as naïve as this story depicts? Better yet, are we really as proud as the story depicts?

Nuclear man (post-modern man, in my words), says Nouwen, is characterized by historical dislocation (a break in the sense of connection), a fragmented ideology (divergent and often contrasting ideas, traditions, religoius convictions, and life styles), and a search for immortality (a new way to transcend the limitations of being human).

Once the post-modern person awakes from her/his pipe dream, however, s/he's in shock, panics and reacts in one of the following two ways: mysticism (retreat to the inner life), or revolution (activism), both of which, on their own, are completely unbalanced and unable to solve the human predicament.

Jesus, however, is different: "For a Christian, Jesus is the man in whom it has indeed become manifest that revolution and conversion cannot be separated in man's search for experiential transcendence. His appearance in our midst has made it undeniably clear that changing the human heart and changing human society are not separate tasks, but are as interconnected as the two beams of the cross."

Indeed, "Jesus was a revolutionary, who did not become an extremist, since he did not offer an ideology, but Himself. He was also a mystic, who did not use his intimate relationship with God to avoid the social evils of his time, but shocked his milieu to the point of being executed as a rebel." (The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen, 20)

A Day With Ralph

My nephew Ralph came over today from Abbotsford. He arrived at 10:30am by bus. I picked him up at the bus station downtown, and then we went to my place.

We immediately got down to business: homework. He worked on a project for his Bible class, and I read my textbook for History of Doctrine. Very cool.

At around 3:30pm I made us some sandwiches: garlic cheese bread, cheese (thanks mom), salami, red peppers, and tomatoes. I also made a sort of paste by combining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, onions, and oregano and basil leaves, and spread it as a base on the sandwiches. Then we put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Yummy. Yummy is right... !!!

4pm .. made some coffee .. then back to studying.

At 6:30 we met up with my friends Eric and Paul at the 5th Avenue Cinemas, to watch a movie about the battle over this tiny island, Iwo Jima, between the Americans and the Japanese in WWII.

Afterwards, around 10pm, we went to Moxie's, a restaurant on West Broadway. All went well until Ralph tried to convince us that Hitler was a good man. I know he was joking, but what the...?!?!? He's a bright kid, but unfortunately he spends too much time playing mindgames and powergames with people. Seems to me he tries to see how far he can push the button before it detonates. Well, detonate it did, sort of, because my good friend Paul - a historian - put him in his place. I think he will think twice before he tries to play mindgames with us again.

Around 11:30pm we made our way back home. A good day on all accounts.

De-Skunked

The best money I've spent in the last little while is $70, to have my car de-skunked. It'd been just over a week since a skunk sprayed my car while I was driving, and the smell in my car afterwards was so unbearable that I stopped driving it all-together.

So I called a car-detailing company (gonna give them a plug while I'm at it), and they sent two people to fix it. The great thing is that they came to my place .. I didn't even have to go there! Two hours later, my car looks and smells like new.

I'm still a bit bitter about the skunk though. My pacifist convictions are being tested...

The Rock That Is Solid: A Prayer

As we quieten our hearts and minds, we invite you Holy Spirit, to continue your presence in and among us. Keep our hearts and minds focused on you and on what you want to say to us.
_____

Heavenly Father, on this cold, crisp night we come to you in a spirit of praise and adoration.
We worship you, for you are worthy to be praised.

You are our refuge.
You are our strong tower against all that troubles us.
You protect us under the shelter of your wings,
And we long to dwell in your tent forever.

We come to you as broken vessels.
We confess and acknowledge our sins before you and one another.

We turn away from you and seek refuge in other people or things.
We lean on the towers of wealth, education, image, or status,
And we pretend we are self-sufficient, in no need of grace.
Indeed, we sometimes live as though things this side of eternity are everlasting and all-important.
And we forget, or more likely, we ignore
the great things you have in store for us in the life hereafter.

With the Psalmist we say “Hear our cry, Oh God!”
And from the ends of the earth we call to you, as our heart grows faint.
Have mercy on us.

Cleanse our hearts and our minds, and restore within us the joy of salvation.
Envelop us with your peace, your love, your gentle care.
Change and mould us into the likeness of your Son Jesus.
That sweet name,
That precious name,
Exalted above all names.

Lord, in your Mercy, hear our prayer!

We live in a beautiful city,
and in a peaceful country.
Thank you Heavenly Father for the opportunities to work, study, and live in a city like ours.
Thank you Heavenly Father for the safety and peace this nation offers; for the robust economic, health, and education systems.

And yet not all is right. Not all is beautiful in our city.
As we sit here comfortably, the homeless wander the streets hungry, thirsty, cold, and without a place to lay their head.

Have mercy on us, Lord, for being cold-hearted.
And teach us to share the blessings you’ve given us with those who don’t have them.

And likewise, not all is well with our country.
We are spiritually bankrupt,
And self-indulgent.

Increase the compassion of our nation Lord.
Increase the days of peace, justice, and reconciliation in the troubled parts of the world.
And Increase godly wisdom on the part of the leaders of our nation.

Lord, in your Mercy, hear our prayer!

Thank you for St. John’s,
and the many ways we are blessed here.
I pray for the clergy, the staff, and the leaders of services, Bible Studies, Ekklesia, Out of the Cold, Living Waters, and the many other ministries through which you draw people to yourself here.

May our fellowship in the gospel grow stronger.
May the name of Jesus be praised in this church.

Lord, in your Mercy, hear our prayer!

And in the final few minutes, we lift to you the following people.
Please name them quietly in your hearts and minds:

Family members and relatives

Friends and co-workers

We think of the sick, the grieving, the lonely, and the brokenhearted

And we think of anyone else the Holy Spirit places on your heart at this time

Lord, in your Mercy, hear our prayer!

You, Heavenly Father, are our God of love.
You, are our strong and gentle shepherd:

“Surely Thy sweet and wondrous love
Shall measure all my days;
And as it never shall remove,
So neither shall my praise.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

_____

Evening Service Prayer at St. John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church. Prayer is based largely on Psalm 61.

5 Days Later..

..my car still stinks. It's undriveable. I called a car-detailing company today. They will come on Monday and make it "smell like a brand new car" again.

In the meantime, I'm getting great exercise walking and bussing everywhere, even in the cold (-4) temperatures.

Oh and also, I think I will give away my microwave. I rarely use it, and it causes cancer.

Winter Semester

My final winter semester began today. I'm taking 3 courses:

Pastoral Care (blah)
History of Christian Doctrine (yay)
Systematic Theology B (undecided)

Skunks Stink

On my way to church tonight I just about ran over a skunk. I slammed on the breaks so as to avoid hitting the skunk, not realizing that in self-defence, he (maybe it was a she, who knows) would spray my car. Well, spray s/he did.

And boy stink it did. Within 10 seconds the interior of my car smelled like a skunk-infested hell, rather than a Volkswagen Jetta. I turned off the heating, as it was drawing in all the spray from outside, but it was too late. The damage had been done.

I continued driving to church. Once there, I thought to myself hopefully the smell's not on me. Within about 10 minutes, 3 people were talking about "this skunk-infested neighbourhood", and that "someone ought to do something about it."

With great innocence, I agreed, "Yeah, you're right, it smells like skunks around here. I wonder where it's coming from."

After I overheard two more people talk about it, I decided that enough was enough. I'd carried the smell of that bloody skunk with me to church, and while s/he had managed to ruin my evening, I wasn't about to let him/her ruin other people's evening too. I picked up my jacket and left church.

I went home and threw all my clothes in the washing machine. I wanted to throw myself into the machine too, but alas, a I had to be content with a normal shower. My clothes are sitting here now on my drying rack. They smell lovely.

My nostrils, however, are still full of the sheit. Plus, the interior of my car still smells putrid. I will not drive my car for at least a week. Hopefully by then the smell is gone. I may even have to get it cleaned professionally. I never thought I'd spend money on a skunk.

Next time I'm not going to slam on the breaks in mercy. Instead, I'm going to aim for the frickin' thing and hope to hit it. We'll see who has the last laugh then.....

Family Pictures, Betty Apple's, & Risk

11:30am - met with family in Abbotsford to take family pictures.

2pm - went for lunch at Betty Apple's, a buffet lunch ideal for people who like lots of food-options, but not so ideal for people who like to eat good food.

3:30pm - played Risk @ mom and dad's with Ted, Karin, Neal, Tanis, and Terrence.

Bearded: One Year Later

It's been just over a year since I started sporting a beard. Here's a pic from just before Christmas last year:

Distant

I feel distant from God. I've been unable to pray lately, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I'm nearing the end of my studies and I'm unsure where to afterwards.

I don't think I trust God to provide for me.

I'm also a bit angry. Not sure why.

NYE @ Cub's: A New Tradition?

I think a new tradition has birthed: New Year's Eve (NYE) at Cub's!

Last year I had a NYE party, and it was great fun. This year I had a party again, and on all accounts it was as good as last year, I dare say even better: great people, great atmosphere, great music, great dancing --> a great evening.

Thanks in VERY large part to my amazing amiga boliviana Claudia, who helped me plan and organize the party, I have to say it was a smashing success. She even took time out of her busy schedule and went shopping for the party with me yesterday. I'm truly greatful for such a dear friend!

So, without further due, here is how things went:

8:30pm - the "faithful" start to arrive; I use the word purposefully. The faithful were those who not only arrived on time, but upon arriving, noticed that Clau & I weren't quite finished with party preparations yet, so they rolled up their sleeves and in an amazing 30 minutes helped us finish all kinds of stuff: decorations, food & drink prep, lighting the candles, and a few other duties. Thanks to Paul, Glenn, Sanjit, and Linda especially!

10pm - people slowly started to trickle in. Many people contributed food, wine, and beer to the party! Thanks! As well, Clau got out the "party tricks" (masks and wigs), and while at first people were a little hesitant (this being in line with our reserved Canadian nature), once a few of us did it, the rest followed:

Sanjit, Connie, Clau, & Benjamin
















Benjamin, Steve, & Dan
















Connie, Clau, & Cub
















Carla & Clau

11pm - most people arrived by this time; the wine was good, the conversation was loud, and the music was even louder... some began dancing to, what else, Tears for Fears, nohting like music from the 80's...

Benjamin & Carla
















Hugh & Benny

11:30pm - I hauled out the sangria that I'd made yesterday: a mixture of red wine, ginger ale, lemonade, rum, gran marnier, and fruits. We filled everyone's glass, formed a circle, and then one-by-one, about 25 of us shared our joys and sorrows of 2006, and the challenges we hope to meet this upcoming year.

12am, Ano Domine 2007 - Happy New Year!!! Fröhliches Neues Jahr!!! Feliz Año Nuevo!!! Hugs, Prost!, estrellitas, kisses, Cheers!, popping ballons, Salud!....

12:01am - at this point the party kicked into high gear with nothing less than some Paul Oakenfold (Creamfields): Point Zero. Symphonic techno. People moving. The rhythm of life filled the room...

12:30am - after a few Oakenfold songs (I Found You, First Sight, Como Tu, 12, and Living the Dream), we switched gears back to 80's music, first Simply Red, then Tears for Fears (again). [I could've danced to Oakenfold allllllllllllllllll night long, but tragically my friends are not into electronica]. ;) Finally, we made one more switch, to Latin music.






























2am - by now, the crowd had thinned out substantially. Only the hardcore remained, still dancing, still having fun, still enjoying a great beat. The sangria was almost gone, all that was left were the fruits, saturated with wine. Oh yeah, and my apartment, it was a mess.

3:15am - I don't remember what time exactly the last people left. But I do know that around 3:45 I went to bed, totally tired, tollay exhausted, totally satisfied.

The party didn't go as long as I'd hoped, but I'm happy nonetheless, because as long as people were here, they had a good time. We laughed, we cheered, we shared, and we danced. What more is there? We had lots of alcohol, but not a single person was drunk. Isn't this how it shoud be? People enjoying fellowship without compromising God's image in us.

Next year I'd like to have a NYE party that lasts all night. Maybe if I provide a breakfast, people will come.... However, this being my last year in school, and unsure of where to after graduation, I'm not sure there will be a NYE's @ Cub's next year. It was a good but short tradition while it lasted...

Keeping in line with last year's post, here are the highlights of the party:

* people came! (a few more than last year)
* sharing-time
* sangria
* Clau's help --> without her it would never have been the same
* Paul Oakenfold
* Dancing

NYE Party Tonight

I feel much better about tonight's party then I did a few days ago. My friend Claudia told me she's coming, and that pretty much guarantees an element of "life" to the party that would otherwise not be there.

We met up yesterday and did all the shopping in preparation for the party: wigs, masks, streamers, balloons, sparklers; fruits, pop, bread, cheese, and chocolate. We even got some prizes to give-away.

Last night I spent a few hours making fruit-sangria (I found a simple recipe): red wine, ginger ale, lemonade, sugar, brandy (I didn't have any so I used grand marnier and some rum), and fruit slices. I used oranges, lemons, limes, pineapple, peaches, pears, and apples.

I expect people to arrive around 9, and my goal is that the party will still be going strong at 4am. In South America that would be a no-brainer --> stopping a NYE party before 6am there would make the party a yawner; but here, 4am would be quite a feat.

I'm also hoping to play a good variety of music: 80's, Latin, maybe some lounge, and electronica.

Worried

I'm worried about my New Year's party. I invited about 40 people, but so far only 8 have confirmed their attendance.

I'm getting tired of Vancouver's non-commital culture. Sometimes I wonder whether my friendships are real or whether they're just friendships of convenience...

A Meal And A Birthday

Two note-worthy events tonight:

1- I volunteered at Out of the Cold, a weekly meal a baptist church in the east end of the city provides for the homeless. As I helped prepare the meal and saw the guests come inside the dining hall, my heart broke. Some of the men and women coming in were likely in their mid-30's, yet they looked like they were in their 50's. The "elements" - the rain, snow, and wind - has a way of aging us, unless 'protected'. I am so lucky to live in a warm apartment, never having to worry where my next meal comes from. Lord, what did I do to deserve growing up in a wealthy family?

On an aside .. I wonder if God is calling me to serve the disadvantaged .. am I able to give up the "riches" I have and embrace a simple life for the sake of the kingdom? Is this in part what Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-11)?

2- Later on, around 8:30pm, I went to visit Connie. It was her birthday today, and she had a small gathering. It was small and intimate, a good thing, becuase her bachelor suite is tiny, but it was good to get together with some friends (Claudia, Terri, Brett) and meet some new ones. Below is a picture we took towards the end of the night:

From left to right: Terri, Juan, Benjamin, Sanjit, Connie, Lucia, Claudia, & Cub

Christmas (In Pijamas)

After waking up at around 9:30 in the morning, I went upstairs in my pj's to see what was going on, and I found mom cooking. Shortly afterwards, my nephew Ralph and my niece Tanis came up, also in their pj's, prompting a pijama breakfast-party:
















From left to right: Ralph, Tanis, & Cub

Mom made such a great breakfast: belgian waffles with a french vanilla sauce (who needs syrup when you've got french vanilla!). Eating such an amazing breakfast reminded me of my childhood. There was a period of time when mom made waffles for breakfast every single day! I find that incredible...

We spent the rest of the day with the family, eating, drinking mate, more eating, and just generally being lazy. Actually, we took a family picture too, but I posted it yesterday already (I'm writing this on January 3rd, backdating it as my memory serves).

During picture-taking, my sis managed to explode with anger at one of her kids who was annoying her. Not good. I've also been sensing a tension within the family from various angles: between my brother and my sister (and their spouses), between mom and my sis, beween dad and some of the kids, between my sis and her son Ralph, between mom and me, and between my sis and me.

A typical Christmas indeed! Gotta get me some boxing gloves for next Christmas....

A Family Christmas

After a crazy day yesterday (lunch with James, shopping, a quick get-together with Cindy, and packing for my 2-day trip to Abbotsford), I drove to Abbotsford today at around 5pm. I arrived at my parents' church at 6:10pm, about 20 minutes before the family Christmas service began. The service was fine, with lots of music, as is the tradition in their church. My nephews and nieces were very involved in the program, which was great to see.

After church we went to my parents' home and continued the tradition there: dinner, openening of presents, and dessert. We also took a family picture:
















From left to right: Ted, Karin, Cub, Dylan, Mom, Neal, Natasha, Dad, Priscila, Tanis, Heinz, Terence, Melanie, Ralph, and Derek.

At around 10:45, after all the presents were opened and gift wrapping-paper covered the living-room carpet, I took off to the Benedictine Monastery in Mission, for midnight mass. It was a long and beautiful mass, almost 2 hours. I arrived back at my parents' at around 2am.

10:21pm

I finally finished and mailed my final assignment of the semester: the notebook on I. Corinthians. It ended up being a 50+ page-notebook. I mailed it from the 7/11 post-office on Alma. It was stampted with today's date at 10:21pm - 39 minutes before the post office closed. Man, I had so much time left over, I coulda stopped somewhere for a quick drink...!

I like I. Corinthians .. even though it pulls into so many seemingly contradicting directions. Now if I only had an idea what Saint Paul tries to say in it ... hahaha!!!

I'm glad it's all done. Now I can finally focus on Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I dread tomorrow: it's going to be shopping-hell. I have yet to buy a present, and the malls will be full.

Christmas Potluck Dinner

Tonight we had a Christmas potluck dinner with my Bible Study group. We met at Dan's place, each of us with a dish to share. It was a simple but beautiful evening. These kind of evenings, characterized by friends, food, and fun, are at the heart of the Christian life: sharing joys and sorrows in community and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Everyone in our group - all 11 people - came. We also invited two guests, so 13 came in total.

2nd Annual Dopplebock

After spending the morning working on my notebook for I. Corinthians, and the afternoon with my nephew Ralph who came over for a day, I capped off the day with an evening with the boys: the 2nd annual "Dobbelbock" beer night.

Six of us - Rudy, Mike, Eric, Paul, Trevor, and Mike's friend Ashley - got together and partook of the annual Dopplebock beer, a Christmas-release by Granville Island Brewing. The Dopplebock is a double strength beer originally brewed by monks to help sustain them through the fasting of lent. As it says on the bottles: "Now that is worship!" ;)

't was a good evening.

Exegesis Paper

Today I handed in my 2nd-to-last assignment for the semester: an exegesis paper on I. Corinthians 9:1-14. Having preached on this passge a few days ago, it was not that difficult to put this paper together, but it was still a good process to go through .. mulling over this passage one last time.

In the paper I included aspects of the historical and literary context; form, structure, and movement; then a detailed analysis (9:1-3 --> authority), (9:4-12a, 13-14 --> rights), (9:12b --> relinquishment), before moving on to a synthesis and application for today.

Now .. all I have left to do for next Friday is a massive "notebook" on I. Corinthians.

A Ministry Of Freedom

Today I preached in my preaching class again. It was my last sermon of this semester - thank God! I preached on I. Corinthians 9:1-14, a tough passage in my estimation.

Sandwiched between chapters 8 and 10, two chapters about "Christian restraint" --> giving up our freedoms (rights) for the sake of our brother and/or sister, chapter 9 talks about how Saint Paul used his "rights." Not only was he an apostle, he was the apostle who brought the gospel to the Corinthians, yet he gave up his "right" to be financially and materially supported by the church, because he thought doing otherwise would prove an obstacle or hindrance the gospel.

To be sure, Saint Paul wasn't advocating that all Christians in ministry deny support from their churches, but in his situation he felt it was the best thing to do. I wonder what it would look like if some Christian ministers of the West would give up their rights. Christianity has become a religion of the rich, and contrast this with the poverty that Jesus took on when he became a helpless babe in a manger, compare the weakness and humility he displayed at the cross, compare this with the compassion he had for the poor and neglected, and I begin to wonder whether the church of the West isn't missing the point of the gospel to a great extent.

Regardless, it was a good and painful experience to preach to my classmates. I have a whole new perspective on preaching. I have a whole new respect for preachers. Examining my own life as I prepared the sermon was horrible. Doing so on a weekly basis would be absolutely terrifying. Preaching is an unbelievable responsibility not to be taken for granted, and the preachers that serve us week in and week out deserve not only our deepest respect and admiration, but our regular and heartfelt prayers, so that they continue to live - as well as preach - the gospel of grace in Christ.

$404

Today I deposited $404 in change (twoonies, loonies, quarters, nickels, dimes, and yes, even pennies!) into my bank account. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet.

It pays to have a piggybank!

It Just Dawned On Me

The women that like me are usually pessimists: down, depressed, bad attitudes, the world's going to hell in a hand-basket, the works. The women that I'm most attracted to are optimists: happy, friendly, fun, and with kick-ass smiles.

That's the problem. I finally figured it out. The ones that like me I can't deal with. The ones I like can't deal with me.

Now for solutions, here are the options:
1- remain single
2 - marry someone who manages to see the bad in just about everything
3 - marry a fun-loving sweetie (who am I kidding .. a hottie) who knows how to smile

I think I'm going to remain single. #3 ain't gonna happen, #2 would be like being buried alive, and #1 .. well, I'm used to it and growing to be content in it. I think I could grow to love it.

Problem solved.

Chau Stefan!

This afternoon was our last mate session with Stefan. He's finishing his student career and heading back to the promised land - Paraguay - to do ministry there. It was so good to get to know him over the past year. I'm getting a little worn down of all the good people walking in and out of my life.

Here's to more stability in my life: hip hp, horray! hip hip, horray! hip hip, horray!

Here are a few pics we took this afternoon:

The mate club, from left to right: Cub, Stefan, James, and Petro

Stefan and Viola

Connie, Cub, and James

Faith For The Flood: Take 2

Well, it's over. What a relief. I preached at 7:30 this morning.

I got up at 5am, and rehearsed my sermon a few times before going to church. I arrived there at 7:15. To my surprise, Neil, the person leading the service had not arrived yet. He arrived at about 7:24, 6 minutes before the service started.

Arriving just in time for the service may suit him fine, but it made things miserable for me. I needed help in finding the right size cassock and surplice, and given the time, we didn't have the time to look, so he just gave me a surplice and said "Here, wear this, this will fit ya." I put it on and said "This seems a bit big." His response, "Nah, you look fine."

We prayed, and out we went. Problem is, on our way out, one of the ladies that helps with the service said "Cub, that's too big for you." Neil turned to her and said "Ah he's fine. It's too late to change now." Inside I felt like cursing (actually, I did). I felt like an idiot, and the service hadn't even started yet. The time was 7:31.

Anyways, onto the sermon. After we recited the Apostles' Creed, I walked up to the pulpit, feeling totally self-conscious. 'Do I look like a woman in this dress?' I thought. I replied to myself: 'Maybe this dress makes me look more like an angel than a woman. That would be good, very good.'

Once I arrived at the pulpit I looked up to the crowd. No one was laughing. Good. Apparently the surplice wasn't SO big that everyone noticed I was swimming in it.

I began with the introduction I'd prepared, reading my script (I'd memorized much of what I was going to talk about, but I thought it wise to make a manuscript and take it up to the pulpit). Halfway into my second sentence, I realized that the congregation was still standing.

'WHAT? Why the he*%$* are they still standing?', I though to myself. Good thing no panic button was available, because had there been one, I'd surely have pressed it. But deep inside, about 1000 panic buttons were going off.

I mumbled my way out of the script, and began praying. Someone told me afterwards that I raced through the prayer like a racehorse.

After the prayer, I focused on the task at hand: Genesis 6:9-9:29. The sermon was on God's character in the story of the flood. God's character is trustworthy on account of his righteousness, graciousness, and faithfulness. Nevermind Noah and the flood. I was wishing God would send another flood to put us all out of our mysery....

The rest of the sermon, however, went very well. Praise God!

After the sermon a middle-aged woman came up to me and said "Hi Cub, my name is something-something, and I usually give feedback to the interns that preach here. May I give you some feedback on your sermon?"

I cringed. Do I say yes or no? I said yes.

She continued: "Your sermon was great [Cub smiles with suspicion]. The content was great [Cub senses a "but.." coming up], I was able to follow you all the way, the structure and logic made perfect sense. You're a very organized thinker, good job. BUT .." she said, "two things":

"1- I didn't understand your cross-reference to the gospel of Luke. [Ouch]. You didn't need to refer to the New Testament to argue for God's trustworthy character. You were doing just fine; and

2- What happened at the beginning? You had 'I'm very very nervous' written all across your forehead. Was evertything ok?", she asked.

I said yes, everything's ok. I thought about getting into the surplice story with her, but decided to spare Neil the embarrassement.

A few of my friends also came to hear me, which I was very greatful for. It meant a lot to have some familiar faces smiling at me while I was preaching. One of them, Loretta, said afterwards: "Great sermon Cub. Where did you buy that dress?" Nice one. Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

Another one, Kira, took this picture:

I think the worst is over. Now that I've done it once, the next time I preach [that is, if I get asked to preach again] it won't be such a huge ordeal. For next time though, I'll see if I can get a better outfit. ;)

Ready To Go

Tomorrow I'm preaching at my church. I'm ready to go.

Wine Club .. "Beer Night"

I'm a part of a wine club. Every 2nd month about 10 of us get together for dinner & wine at our friend Linda's place (she cooks marvellous meals). A few of us usually bring a bottle of wine (Linda pretty much tells us what to bring), and then we taste the different the wines, rate them according to various categories (body, aroma, finish, etc...). It's pretty fun.

Tonight, however, we had a change of pace. We substituted wine for .. well, beer. Here are 6 of the 10 beers we tried (and their approximate rankings). The reason I'm only listing 6 is that I don't remember the names of the other beers we tried (they weren't that good anyways, otheriwse they'd have made the top 6!):

1. St. Ambrose (Montreal)
2. Sleemans Cream Ale (Montreal?)
3. Singha (Thailand)
4. Edelweiss Hefeweizen (Germany)
5. Groeltsch (Holland?)
6. Bowen Island (can't remember which type; Bowen Island, BC)

Note:
* Beer & chilli make a brilliant combination. Come to think of it, so do beer & peanuts or chips. ;)
* Avoid, at all costs, girly beers like "raspberry-flavoured" beer. They are an abmoniation.