11 August 2017
FINALLY FIGURED OUT (Thanks, Matthew Sperling!) why my posts from the Indonesia trip weren't visible! ANYway ... following are a few comments from that amazing journey. More to come soon on these last weeks and the next weeks.
24 June 2017
We are on the final weekend our 16-day adventure to Sulawesi, Indonesia. Our small Troupe of four has the incredible privilege of spending our final weekend reflecting and relaxing in a lovely Villa in Bali.
The contrast between this opulence and the richness of this blessing with the reality of life in a Bajau or Tolaki village is not lost on me. This life is made up of rich and poor, just and unjust, and a mass of humanity comprised of billions of souls, each with their own story. I am on a different path from theirs as we all journey through life. The rich and poor all have this in common - the LORD GOD is maker of all. And that same GOD loves each individual ONE.
We prayed much in anticipation and preparation for this trip. We have prayed and worshipped much on this adventure. We look forward in excited anticipation to the fruit that will result to the Father's glory.
When I'm back at a computer I'll share pictures, stories and reflections of the incredible experiences and delightful people I've met. Besides the whole of the trip being a "first" I had the privilege of a basic Scuba diving lesson and dive! What a thrill to see an entire world hidden beneath the surging waves!
12 June 2017
Every place on this incredible Earth and every culture and society that inhabit those special geographic locations are a unique piece of this amazing puzzle of diversity! Whether it's the weather, Starbucks with different locational mugs or the beautiful and divinely unique people - what an adventure! I'm in awe of God Who created this vastly diverse planet and then created, called and gifted people to live there.
Through a silly and fun comedy of errors, we missed our final connecting flight on Bali that would have taken us to Kendari today. So we get to learn more about each other, learn how to access and use blogs from Smartphones, experience a "cooler" :-) rainy/tropical humidity, and be blessed by this very gracious culture!
It's always an interesting and educational experience to have our view of the world broadened as we open our hearts and ears to people. We visited in the airport with a charming young man, a husband, father and sports teacher from Tunisia on summer holiday, journeying to explore an Indonesian island. We laughed, learned, saw pictures of his family; for a brief and temporal moment lives intersected and we were all blessed.
Another interesting component of this journey through life in today's world ... when we arrived at our hotel last night our taxi was scanned for hidden bombs and our luggage x-rayed. Interesting world!
