better... worse

Got my iPod fixed!

before...

after!

















And I lost about $50 worth of malaria medication...

before...

after!














That happened a while ago already. Just turned into powder. No idea why. But I'm okay with it. It was making me bald.

If you're curious, yes, my hair HAS been growing back. *thumbs up*
If you're even MORE curious... 44 hours, 10 minutes left. *thumbs WAY up*

Things are going well. Been busy at work and been busy preparing for Julia's visit. yay!

Can you hear me now?

Cellphone reception isn't always the greatest in Africa...


I haven't been a very faithful blog updater this year, which probably annoys me more than it does you. I liked to hear from people and keep them up to date, but don't get a whole lot of that when I don't update... so it's kinda a lose-lose situation. I hope to turn over a new leaf with that, but I'm not sure how realistic that's going to be. Especially in the next month or so. I'll be a tad 'distracted'... heh.

Things have been going well. I've got one last Hausa class tomorrow, then I'll be going to work until Julia comes. (woot!)

I've also added a handy-dandy link list to the side of my blog ===>
It's got all my Facebook pictures from Africa (last year and this) plus a few others. I didn't include any concerts or the like... Would've been a long list. Rather than posting the links here IN the blog, I'll post them there and mention in my blog when I've posted a new album. That way, if you ever missed a post or feel like looking back, you can! How lucky of you!

Right now I'm reading a book called The Heavenly Man which, according to the front cover, is "the remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun".

'Remarkable' is an understatement.

This man has gone through SO much. Prison, beatings, prison again and again, more beatings, friends martyred, persecuted, family imprisoned, family persecuted... It's incredible. A man of incredible faith. It really makes me see how God takes care of those who fully put their trust in him. Which seems an odd thing to say after listing off many of the things he's suffered. One chapter chronicles his incredible escape from prison and later from China. I can't even summarize it properly. He listened to God and didn't hesitate. Because of that he was able to literally just walk out of the prison. (Walk after being crippled, mind you!)

I pray for such faith. To ignore my 'conscience'/the Devils prompting and follow God's commands. To daily pick up my cross for Him. Often we pass up suffering and reason our way out of it.

"Why would God ever want me to suffer?"
"If doing such-and-such were to kill me, what's the point? I could do so much more if I was alive."

I find myself often using excuses like this. The last one I think is used by me and others to reason with ourselves as to why 'God wouldn't want' us to go through with it. One thing I've been realizing a lot of lately is how God brings His people out of incredible situations. If you believe and follow Him, God will lift you out of what you thought was a dead-end. Often in ways you never would've thought possible. I wonder how many Israelites wondered as they walked towards the Dead Sea with Pharaoh and his army behind them: "I bet God's just going to move all the water out of the way so we can just stroll across". They were running into death (by man's reasoning) and God let them walk to safety. This happens throughout the Bible repeatedly. And it doesn't stop. Brother Yun is an modern example.

Prosperity preachers are common in Nigeria, but their teachings reach the West as well. I regularly hear of 'sermons' about how God is essentially just waiting to give you loads of money and riches. I guess we just take that backwards sometimes. The West HAS loads of money and riches, therefore God has blessed us. Right? I dunno. Sometimes I see the wealth of the West as less of a blessing from God and more of an enticement into a smug life by Satan. Here I daily see blind men being led around by children, cripples dragging their legs as they pull themselves around by their hands, elderly women asking for food, children holding out bowls and begging... I see all this, and I remember those who are thankful for all that God has blessed them with. I'd still say that wealth is a blessing from God, but Satan twists it to his favour. Having thanks isn't just enough. I'm guilty of this as well, don't think I'm preaching. Working in Toronto for a while got me into the habit of ignoring beggars and I often do the same here. I still don't like handing out money, however. Not because I feel I 'deserve' the money more than someone else, I know God's given me every cent He has to use for His glory. But because I don't know enough about how the money will be used. I'd often have used that as an excuse to not give out ANYthing. "He's just going to buy booze." But my way around it now is to buy a big box of packaged cookies and keep them in my car to hand out to the kids when I can. I'll let you know how this pans out...

Not to be taken literally...

A song we learned in Hausa class, to the tune of "The B-I-B-L-E":

Littafi Mai Tsarki, abinchin rai ne shi.
Akwai koshi sai ka zo ka ci Littafi Mai Tsarki.

Translation:

The Book that owns Holiness, it is the food for life.
There is satisfaction, so then you come and eat the Book that owns Holiness.

My Hausa class is almost finished, just one more day left. I had 'the big test' today. It was an oral test, which is good. The less papers with big red Xs, the better. The classes have been fun. Got to know a bunch of other missionary/volunteer people better. Oh, and I learned some Hausa.

Julia comes in less than two weeks time! Getting closer and closer!

Before I forget, here's the Facebook photos of the Nigeria vs Kenya game.

We celebrated the 4th of July here with a swim at the local pool and a bbq. Well, the Americans celebrated it, I celebrated a late Canada Day. Here's Erica, Debbie, Amber, Dustin and the BBQ Master.
For Canada Day, my one housemate made me a poster. Stayed up until 1am the day before. Whatta guy! Guess he ran out of things to put on it, so he put a picture of Julia and a prayer card from a former volunteer who was here (Janina) who is also Canadian.A while ago, we had a goodbye/dressup party (another one...) with the theme being Blast from the Past. I went for the Julius look. Complete with laurel and a bloody knife in my back. Realized I'd never posted a photo from it I guess... So here it is. From left to right: Lisa (aka Eve), Emmanuel (aka Obi Wan Kenobi), Mark (aka didn't-dress-up-for-the-party), Matt=pilgrim, Kari is a hippy, Micah took the theme a little literally and dressed up as a blast from the past, then there's me, Julius on the end. In the front is the bride of Frankenstein, a baby, Jane Fonda? and another Eve. Oh, and Rene there in the middle is dressed up as a cavewoman (or me from the last party).I'll end this blog with a fake letter we had read to us one day during devotions. I enjoyed it and found a version of it online. Hope it makes you think as much as it did to me!


To: Rabbi Paul of Tarsus
First Christian Church
Antioch, Syria

Dear Mr. Paul: I have your application for missionary appointment before me, and will be as frank as possible concerning your qualifications as a foreign missionary. We have to be very careful in choosing our missionaries, and our Missions Board has reviewed your case thoroughly. We have decided that it would be unwise to send you to the foreign field for the following reasons:

1. It has come to our attention that you are doing secular work on the side. We do not feel that making tents and full time ministry go together very well. It seems that you do not have enough experience in trusting the Lord for your income. You should make up your mind whether you want to preach or continue your profession.
2. Your previous actions have been very rash and unseemly for a minister. We learned that in a public meeting you opposed Dr. Simon Peter, an esteemed minister with a high reputation. We also hear that you argued so violently with some of our ministers that a special council meeting had to be called at Jerusalem to prevent a serious split in the churches. We frown on such radicalism. For your own good, I am enclosing a copy of Daius’ Carnegus book on “How to Win Jews and Influence Greeks.”
3. You have consistently conflicted with mature Jewish brethren in nearly every city you have visited who simply want to encourage the converted Pagans to be properly circumcised. Paul, you must know that these men are our most learned sages with a deep sense of the roots and history of our faith. As well, and more importantly, these men control the synagogues you could be ministering in if you would simply tone down your dialogue into a more friendly and respectful exchange.
4. In checking back, we discovered your Christian education consisted of a three year course in Arabia. We find that the Arabian school has not been approved by our accreditation board.
5. Further, you admit to being an unskilled public speaker. Paul, surely you must know that people expect fine elocution from men of God, and that as a denomination we stand for the highest levels of excellence in the pulpit. Yet instead of going to much-needed oratory classes you spend your time making tents instead. From your correspondence, you also appear to be spending a considerable amount of time writing letters to insignificant little “churches” that meet in homes. Honestly now; do you really think that such misguided activities are what will lead to your success in the world of religion? We strongly suggest that you put down your tools and set aside your pen, and instead practice hand gestures and facial expressions and voice modulation in front of a mirror for several hours a day until you come up to par.
6. We also hear a rumor that you are a snake handler. We don’t have all the details on that episode at Melita, but such a reputation could only hurt the true cause of Christ and the Church.
7. It has come to the attention also that you often emphasize “the power of God” and “the gifts of the Spirit.” Also that you speak in tongues a great deal. Surely you realize that such as this only drives off the better class of people, and attracts only the riff-raff. Not only do you admit to “speaking in tongues” more than anyone else, you also state that you wish all of us would speak in tongues as well. Keep these personal practices to yourself! Do you want to split our denomination wide open? It would be better to tone down those more sensational forms of worship. You sound as though you are “off the deep end.”
8. It has been proven to our satisfaction that you had hands laid on you at Antioch with prophecy going forth, with none of the Apostles or Headquarters brethren present to conduct this ordination service in the prescribed manner. Again, all this “spooky mysticism” must stop immediately! Why can’t you be more conservative like us?
9. We see here that you have a jail record in several places. If this is true, it puts you in a bad light, for our denomination has always stood for a high standard of civic responsibility, and I fear it would damage our reputation to have someone representing us that had served time in jails and prisons. Frankly, Mr. Paul, we seriously doubt you could have been innocent and the judge wrong in so many cases. It just doesn’t look right.
10. It seems that you are a troublemaker, Mr. Paul. Several business men of Ephesus have written us that you were the cause of severe loss of business to them and even stirred mob violence. You must learn to cultivate the friendship and influence of men such as these.
11. We also have some details of a lurid “over the wall in a basket” episode at Damascus, plus a stoning at Lystra, and several other violent actions taken against your ministry. Haven’t you ever suspected that conciliatory behavior and gentler words might gain you more friends? We have never condoned such sensationalism in the ministry. This is just not the type of missionary that we send out.
12. We have learned through channels that following some trouble with a preacher on the island of Cyprus, you began to allow yourself to be known by the Gentile pronunciation of your name rather than the proper Hebrew. Yet another conflict, and then a name change. This does not seem to us to be conduct becoming to the ministry.
13. You admitted in your application that in the past you neglected such needy fields as Bithynia, just because “the Spirit didn’t lead that way,” and that you undertook a hazardous journey on the strength of a dream you had at Troas. Mr. Paul, surely you don’t expect us to go along with such flimsy and fantastic excuses for your seemingly purposeless wanderings?
14. Many times you did not stay long enough, in our opinion, to get a church established. You left your converts many times without even a pastor to guide them, and without setting the church in order in some good hierarchical denomination.
15. We hear also from Troas that you preach too long, one sermon lasting almost twenty-four hours, even to the extent that a young man fell asleep and was seriously injured. We understand that you claim to have restored his life and raised him from the dead by falling on him and embracing him. What nonsense! We need practical men in the ministry, Mr. Paul, not high strung emotional radicals. Our advice is for you to shorten your sermons considerably. We find that about twenty minutes is the longest a minister can hold the attention of his audience these days. Our motto is “Stand up, speak up, and shut up.”
16. It is reported from your home church that you could not get along with your fellow ministers; that John Mark–a commendable young man and nephew of one of our leading ministers–had to leave your party in the middle of a journey; and that you had a violent quarrel with gentle, good natured Barnabas. Now these men are well thought of in Jerusalem and we wonder why you are always having trouble with your fellow workers?
17. We have notarized affidavits from four very popular and influential preachers: Diotrephes, Demas, Hymenaeus, and Alexander; to the effect that it is impossible for them to cooperate with either you or your program.
18. From what we hear, you seem to think that you have some direct sanction from on-high, boasting about your revelations and that God has chosen you to reveal some “Mystery”. Can’t you realize that any truth that is to be revealed would come through Headquarters to the recognized, established brethren, and that after it had been checked by our Procedure and Doctrine Committee that we would pass it on to the ministry?
19. You spend too much time talking about “the second coming of Christ”. Your letters to the people at Thessalonica were almost entirely devoted to that theme. Put first things first.
20. In a recent sermon, you said, “God forbid that I should glory in anything but the cross of Christ.” It seems to us that you also ought to glory in our heritage, our denominational creeds, our confessions and distinctives, and the World Federation of Churches.
21. Finally, we hear that you claim to be an Apostle. We know nothing of this being passed upon by the proper authoritative channels and wonder how you could back that claim up, when the last Apostle was voted into office right here in Jerusalem. Now that our denomination is firmly established, why do imagine there would be any need for God to further the Apostolic gifting?

As you see, Mr. Paul, we feel definitely after close scrutiny of your case, that you are undoubtedly the most unqualified applicant we have ever seen, and my advice for you is to find a church where you can work in harmony, and use your past education as perhaps a Sunday School teacher.

I hope I have prevented you from making a terrible mistake in your life.

Sincerely Yours,

J. Flavios Fluphihead, Secy.