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Customer service

2012-02-15T14:48:00.000-05:00

We're having an item shipped by Purolator from Guelph to Brampton, about 60 km. Took it into the Guelph shipping office on Feb. 9, and was told it would be in Brampton on the 10th. Guess what? It's travelling Canada like an Ottawa Cabinet Minister on a spending spree! ETA, Friday Feb. 17. If you have a choice of courier, think twice about this company!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T10:05:00.001-05:00

We had a lovely day celebrating Christmas with our families. We hope you are blessed this season.

Fraud

2011-11-15T11:28:00.001-05:00

By Andrew

Family members have recently been victims of identity theft and fraud. It's shameful and it makes me angry.

Some fraud preys on a person's greed. Those "too good to be true" offers that we all know to stay away from. Other types of fraud and deceit prey on trust, a person's good nature, and innocence. The latter was the case in my family. And the tools we consider benefits of modern society are the very tools that facilitate the fraud - email, online financial access, and globalization. Of course we can't do away with those things entirely; though the Amish in Lancaster and the Mennonites in St. Jacobs aren't probably blogging about cyber fraud so maybe they've got something... ! :-)

I do think that when we seek it, there can be "silver linings" in such circumstances and, in this case, the true colors of family have shown through. And who knows what the criminal's needs are. Yes it's awfully offensive, but I've never been so desperate. So we have prayed for this anonymous hacker, and are quick to acknowledge they are not unknown to God. In fact, this situation has me thinking about how it's impossible to be fraudulent with God. Many people, and I suppose I do it too, sometimes carry on as if fooling God is possible. We've recently received a follow up email from the perpetrator of the fraud, as if we aren't on to it, and now that we do know it's fraudulent the email's words are desperately hollow and pathetic and meaningless. Is that how we sound to God when we're playing games? How God must weep! So my prayer today is that I would remember to be genuine and honest with God, and with all whom I love. Have a great day!

Preaching

2011-11-01T10:45:00.000-04:00

I (Andrew) was at McMaster Divinity College last Friday for their annual preaching seminar known as the Gladstone Festival of Preaching (http://www.macdiv.ca/gladstone/index.html). It was a good series of lectures and discussions and I was glad to go... I've wanted to in past years but couldn't make it work in my schedule.

Lots of things get said at seminars that aren't exactly earth-shattering but more like strong reminders. It's not so much about novelty as it is about emphasis. And of the various excellent things discussed Friday, one emphasis that has lingered for me came from the lecturer's points on intercultural differences. He referenced a quote that Tonya had already come across a month ago... "since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves." It's an Italian saying that points to living through life's obstacles in unexpected ways... building relationships through tragedy, for example.

As many close friends and family know already, Tonya's parents' home was destroyed by fire just over a month ago. Escaping in bare feet and pyjamas, they've had to begin a path not many have had to travel. The process of removing contents still continues, though most has been ruined by heat and water and soot and smoke. Evaluating, paring down, and saying goodbye to articles accumulated through a lifetime has been as consuming a process as fire itself can be. It has meant being present in each others' lives with greater frequency, intensity, and intimacy.

Preaching can be like a fire. I don't mean the message so much as the medium. God's Holy Spirit can use preaching to remind us to allow God to refine our lives "as a consuming fire". When someone is preaching, could it be that God wants our relationship with God to grow with greater frequency, intensity, and intimacy? I think of the time following Jesus' resurrection when Jesus walks to Emmaus with two disciples. After they recognize Jesus, they say to one another, "Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?" A revision on that great Italian quote: since our hearts are on fire, let us warm ourselves...

When God seems silent

2011-10-19T15:01:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday at our home church in Guelph, Lakeside, a new 'series' of messages began called "When God Seems Silent" and the focus is on "unanswered prayer". It's an important subject to talk about. But being pretty particular about language, I (Andrew) have been reflecting a lot on the words we use. Can it really ever be said that prayer is unanswered, or that God is silent?

Of course a key word is "seems", and it has to do with our feeling of God being silent or our feeling that God is not answering. But I think our feelings can be misleading based on what we might perceive prayer to be about.

If we see prayer as primarily the exercise of bringing reqests to God and awaiting God's approval or provision, then someone might say they feel their prayers go unanswered. Many people don't understand God's "no" or "not now" as actual answers, especially if they aren't obvious closed doors, and instead feel like God is being silent.

But if in prayer the main focus is communicating with God, worshiping or praising God, growing to know God, becoming more like Jesus, or sensing God's presence by the Holy Spirit, then could it be accurate to say God is never silent, and the "answers" are instant and always "yes"?

2011-08-12T16:42:00.002-04:00

Check out our Lunau Smith Summer 2011 Newsletter - http://t.co/ley2gUi - thanks for your interest!

On the island

2011-03-09T20:38:00.000-05:00

We are now back on the island of Puerto Rico for a short visit and plan to update further after our trip. We're also excited that our nephew Trenton could come with us! Our trip here is, we hope, an "encouragement" time with friends we'd made during our time here. Lots feels familiar even after 3 years away, some "all too familiar" (e.g., traffic!), and some feels awkward and different again.

Today we had a full day at the school taking chapel, Bible classes, and leading some music oriented workshops - dancing, and Trenton gave a cool percussion demonstration.

The kids loved getting drum sticks that Trenton had arranged to be donated! Saturday Tonya will be leading the all-women staff and some guests in a prayer "retreat". And Sunday we attend the dedication service for the daughter of our dear Deaf friends, who'd invited us to be her godparents. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

School of Urban Biblical Studies: SUBS Research Report is Ready

2011-01-30T20:05:00.000-05:00

School of Urban Biblical Studies: SUBS Research Report is Ready: "A year ago SUBS began a research project as we sought to better understand a number of things about our ministry in collaborative equipping...."

Leadership lesson

2011-01-21T12:31:00.000-05:00

Rev. John Graham is the Deaf Pastor of New Life Deaf Church in Milton, ON, about 45 minutes away from where we live. I (Andrew) have never been to the church (I'll say "yet"... I really should...) but I have met John a couple of times. He's creative (he made 2 DVD movies in ASL called "The Hinge", for example). He's got a YouTube channel and recently posted a video discussing the difference between "Lion" leadership and "Tiger" leadership. Great illustration encouraging team leadership. It's in ASL, check it out if you're interested!

Grace

2011-01-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

We were saddened on the weekend to learn that Tonya's Aunt Yvonne Stackhouse has passed away. Here is a link to an obituary published in the Chicago Suburban Daily Herald.

I much appreciated the prayer of a colleague and friend on Saturday who observed Yvonne's faith as well as the sureness of her now being in God's presence. The certainty in his prayer has lingered in my mind.

Yes! Ought it not be the case that assurance of our relationship with God, of our being welcomed into His presence, is more solid than anything we must face or endure in this life? That resolve is founded on God's grace.

Over the weekend I (Andrew) sat through an introduction to Islam seminar and, while I understand it is merely scratching the surface, I was drawn to a comment that it is not only wrong for a Muslim to presume upon Allah's grace, but it is equally wrong to doubt it. It's common in Theology to have tension like that. In Christianity, God's grace underlies our salvation. But I would agree with the assertion it's wrong to presume on God's grace in the sense that we shouldn't receive it and then not let it change us (perhaps it hasn't even been received...) and I would also agree we shouldn't doubt God's grace.

Grace comes with responsibility. Grace extended to us must also flow from us. I don't understand it in the context of the webs of relationships we live in, except it seems that if God's grace is sure for me, it is as sure for another. I am wrong if I doubt God's grace exists for my "neighbour" (Jesus gives a pretty good explanation of who that is...), and I wrongly presume on God's grace if I haven't allowed it to change me towards my neighbour. I am challenged.

Yvonne is in God's presence, the sorrows of life lifted and the fullness of Christ Jesus attained. What joy she must have! Grace to all those she's left behind; may we receive it, live it, and offer it well.

Check out Harvest Bible Chapel

2010-12-28T14:29:00.000-05:00

Harvest Bible Chapel http://www.harvestoakville.ca/ in Oakville has been promoting their interpreted services for the Deaf and they have a YouTube video giving more information. We haven't been there yet so I (Andrew) can't say anything specific about it except I just thought I'd post a link in case anyone out there is looking for a church to try, or to direct any Deaf people you might know. There are, of course, other churches in other places too, so I'm not saying this is the only choice. But it seems like they have some good things going for them: a heart for promotion to attract new people to the church and the message of the gospel of Jesus, a contemporary setting and format, a Saturday night time slot (5PM), and the time of interaction at Tim Hortons following the service (at 7PM). Check them out, and let me know what you think!

How to tell the Nativity story?

2010-12-17T09:36:00.002-05:00

We've recently been told wonderful anecdotes of people who are hearing the Nativity story for the first time in their lives. Older men from China, new to Canada within the last 6 months, absolutely fascinated by the account of Jesus' birth; a young Deaf teen in Puerto Rico finding out for the first time about Jesus and asking "why I never knew?"

Some time ago as I (Andrew) wrestled with a message I was preparing, I noted to my colleage how challenging I was finding it to come up with a theme for a particular group. He noted, "you can always tell that old, old, story of Jesus." That is so true... when we point to Jesus, it helps avoid going too far on tangents.

We ought not be complacent about the truth of Christmas, especially here in Canada where we are (still) free to talk about it. Perhaps it's true that many in Canada have already heard the Nativity story and might negatively say "it's the same old, old story," not letting Jesus transform their hearts. But there are many who haven't heard even once.

And I am a fan of innovating new ways to tell the "old, old story" to help others see and understand. This week there's a YouTube video that's going viral called The Digital Story of the Nativity - a fresh and modern look at telling the story. My seminary friend Alvin passed the link on to me. Some of you may remember "flannelgraph" presentations in Sunday School growing up. Think of this in that way... if you're "plugged in" to social media, you may appreciate the medium. Enjoy, and remember it's not just a story, Jesus came to change things.

Persistence and Partnership

2010-12-10T11:14:00.000-05:00

Our new neighbourhood has a lot of squirrels. Last year at the townhouse we rented in the south end of Guelph, we didn't get one bird at our little feeder all winter. Here, we are excited to see all sorts - chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals, juncos, and blue jays. And squirrels. Lots of 'em. Black, grey, and red. We were given a great feeder that sits on a pole in our backyard, with a baffle that effectively blocks the squirrels. They are persistent, however, and many continue to try climbing the pole. To date, none have succeeded.

I decided to hang our cheapie feeder in a tree out front, and it didn't take long for the persistent and adept squirrels to drain it. They work hard at it, that's for sure. Risking themselves on a thin branch they try all they can to get the seeds.

I don't think they're "organized", but we did see different squirrels take their place at the feeder, pausing every so often to sit up straight (I'm guessing even squirrels get a "head rush"). But as one works the feeder, then other squirrels benefit from the first one's persistence. In a sense there is a partnership... reminds me of the "gleaning" rules in the Old Testament that God gave to Israel to provide food for the poor.

People in need are all around, and that message becomes more prominent at this time of year. It's probably a good thing, as people are more charitable. I have to ask myself how persistent I am at this "partnership" of providing for the poor locally and globally. Many organizations exist to partner with, even our own mission organization SIM. When I see the squirrels out front, it makes me thankful for what we have and prompts me towards persistence.

Now, I think it's time to go move that bird feeder!

Trusting

2010-08-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

We are in the midst of a house search. It's not only time consuming, but also consumes thoughts and emotion and energy. We vacate our current home by the end of the month, and so have arranged storage and a place to "lay us down to sleep" for the interim. The search has felt desperate at times. Tonya posted a sticky note to the bathroom mirror, "We do have a home, we just don't yet have a house to put it in." Profound. She has been the stronger one in terms of faith. Recently the character of Abraham has come up in a couple of conversations I (Andrew) have had, relating to the faith Abraham had in God despite not knowing where the "promised land" would be. It's an important reminder. While I know that God gives us wisdom and the ability to weigh decisions, I am prone to solve things solely by my own thinking, without exercising faith. To encourage us, a colleage at SIM was sharing her own family's similar journey in home-buying, where she was the one ready to "get it over with" and "just buy anything", while her husband encouraged them to have faith that God would direct; and soon after, God did. Stories like that remind me to keep trusting.

Pastor Mario and Mirian

2010-07-15T10:24:00.001-04:00

Pastor Mario and Mirian Estrada made it to Canada! What a wonderful couple. And their time here just flew by! We were so delighted to see them connect with a variety of Deaf churches in Ontario.

Their time here was a great opportunity for them to bring greetings from the EFATA Church of the Deaf in El Salvador to the World Mission to the Deaf conference June 19. Mario and Mirian are a true pastoral couple concerned for the Deaf of El Salvador and God is using them to impact lives.

Mirian is hearing but, as Mario shared in a number of places, she wasn't phased by his being Deaf when they first met. She learned sign language and is as fluent as any. They've been married 30 years. Mirian sang at Gospel Deaf Fellowship in Kitchener June 20, and Mario preached.

Mario and Mirian also visited St. Catharines Church of the Deaf June 27 where Mario preached, and they enjoyed a wonderful lunch from that supporting church. Here Mario Pizzacalla is giving them a handmade gift from one of the church's members.

They also spoke at mid-week meetings in Toronto at the Evangelical Church of the Deaf and Maranatha Fellowship Church of the Deaf. And they capped off their time with a weekend at the Ontario Camp for the Deaf where Mario shared his story of how God changed his life at 20 years old, and how since then he's developed to becoming a Pastor. The Sunday morning, 25 young people at the camp said they wanted the same change in their lives, that they wanted to follow Jesus. Amazing. Pray for those young people and for the churches and pastors here who will follow up and encourage these young Deaf.

And please contintue to remember Pastor Mario and Mirian and the church in El Salvador. If you'd care to support them directly, you can do so with gifts through the World Mission to the Deaf.

Faith that moves mountains!

2010-06-01T13:03:00.001-04:00

It was twenty days before Mario and Mirian Estrada are scheduled to fly from San Salvador to Toronto with purchased-on-faith round-trip airline tickets. After many months this hard-working pastoral couple finally had all the needed passports, letters of invitation from World Mission to the Deaf and churches here, six-month bank records of our personal finances as their 'sponsors', applications and fees for visas, pre-paid return flight tickets, and bus tickets to Guatamala. Canada's Embassy in Guatemala is where visa applications from El Salvador are processed. So rather than an extended processing time from El Salvador, they had decided to travel to Guatemala City. Yet it still appeared that things would need to be delayed for another week after the Canadian Embassy said they needed an international bank draft, as well as due to the timing of El Salvadoran and Guatemalan holiday days.
However, Mario and Mirian set off on Wednesday May 26 for the long five-hour bus ride with hope and faith.
They had money to stay one night in a $10-a-night hotel and having arrived safely in Guatamala City, they were in line at the Canadian Embassy bright and early on Thursday morning as it opened. Mirian, who is hearing, interpreted for her husband. All the paperwork was in order. Check. But now a few key questions...
"¿Posee usted una casa?" (Do you own a house?)
"No."
"¿Tiene usted el dinero en el banco?" (Do you have money in the bank?)
"No."
"¿Realiza usted que usted todavía tiene que pagar los honorarios de aplicación de visado cuándo negamos su aplicación?" (Do you realize that you still have to pay the visa application fee when we say no?)
"Sí. Esto estará a la altura de usted y Dios." (Yes. It will be up to you and God.)
Then a long wait- many hours. And as they waited they saw person after person after person being told "No" and sent away - at least fifty different groups were in line.
The Embassy was about to close and they had only ten minutes to spare to make their return bus ride. Finally they were called up - and told "Yes!".
After a rapid dash, they caught the bus for the five-hour ride back home.

Not long after, one of the most active volcanoes in Guatamala erupted spewing ash all over the city, disrupting much and closing the airport.

Then the first tropical storm of this season, Agatha, dumped a metre of rain on Guatamala and El Salvador. A large sink hole basically dropped into nowhere in Guatamala City, many have died, and the main bridge that the bus ride to El Salvador takes was washed out.

They could make this trip last Thursday but they could not have made this trip today!
Pastor Mario and Mirian will be here June 16-July 5. If you would like to meet them you are welcome to attend the World Mission to the Deaf annual conference at the Bob Rumball Centre, Toronto, on June 19, 2-4:30pm.
If you would be able to help increase their financial support to purchase a netbook computer (they have no computer to use and must walk fifteen minutes to purchase time at a net cafe - we use webcam on Skype to converse in sign language) and a projector for their church, please donate to World Mission to the Deaf indicating it's for Pastor Mario Estrada. Thank you so much for your continued prayers for this couple and their vibrant ministry with the deaf in El Salvador!

New Wineskins

2010-05-11T17:32:00.000-04:00

Every few weeks we visit one of the churches for the deaf in SouthWestern Ontario. Andrew is on the itinerant preacher roster for the Ontario Mission for the Deaf. Recently, he has been preaching on Luke 5, a challenge to us all.

Am I flexible to allow God's Spirit to move in my life and change me?
Do I worship God with my heart? Do I show joy in my relationship with the living Jesus?
Does my church show that worship to God is full of life and excitement and joy?
Is my church flexible? Is my church willing to change if God wants it to change?
How can my church be a "new wineskin"?
For the future of the church, it is important that we relate with all people-every ethnicity, every background, every past history, every physical challenge...

Acts 1:8

2010-05-11T16:34:00.000-04:00

We were at MissionFest Toronto, April 16-18(http://www.missionfest.org/). We had a booth for SIM (Serving in Mission) and one for SUBS (School of Urban Biblical Studies). Both were well-visited and we had many interesting, inspiring and curious conversations.

Along with booth displays, many informative seminars, speakers, and musicians shared about what God is doing all around the world through people like you and me, for people like you and me!

Emma thoroughly enjoyed the missional program for kids, from learning about manners, saying hello in different languages, trying a prison cell for followers of Christ...

That next week at school Emma came home one day saying she had led one of her grade 1

friends in a prayer to become a Christian.

We said, "How did that happen?"

Emma said, "She asked Jesus into her heart."

We said, "Does she know what that means?"

Emma said, "I told her-you have to believe in God, you have to believe Jesus died on the cross for your sin because He loves you, you have to believe He came back to life. You have to read the Bible and follow God's ways."

We said, "Wow."

Spring!

2010-04-06T12:05:00.000-04:00

Spring- the earth says 'hello'. What a glorious Easter weekend we've had, remembering and celebrating all that Christ is for us, and basking in warm weather! Emma asked to have a Passover supper and communion together on Tuesday of Holy Week, and then we had some visits with friends, a Good Friday hike, the Easter Bunny came to visit our house once again... It is so refreshing to see the buds bursting and hear the birds singing before dawn-we miss it all so much more having lived fully in tropical weather for a time! Jesus said " I came to give you life, life to the fullest!" Praise the Lord!

Birthdays

2010-02-16T11:08:00.000-05:00

February is a month of birthdays for our family. So in the midst of these cold February days we've been glad for the extra Ontario statutory holiday, introduced a couple of years ago and known as "Family Day", which we enjoyed yesterday. Appropriate for our circumstances! Tonya's mother celebrated her birthday last week in the sunny south, Andrew's mom (pictured here with Em) just passed a significant milestone on the 13th (wow, 80!), and our not-so-wee-anymore Em's is coming up Saturday. It's time to be reflective, grateful, sentimental, a bit emotional, and... stuffed with cake :-) Some of us are more adept at celebrating than others, but there is love at the heart of it. And with a dozen 6 and 7 year olds gathering together this weekend, a bit of insanity too. So, whatever your February looks like... cheers!

Kent Annan on CBC's The Hour

2010-01-26T18:34:00.003-05:00

We were happy to see Kent again last Sunday night at his book launch event! Tony Campolo was also great; direct and no-punches-pulled, as usual. :-) Kent was on CBC's The Hour last night. Check it out.

Kent Annan on 100 Huntley Street

2010-01-22T07:09:00.002-05:00

Apparently 100 Huntley Street posts interviews on YouTube. Cool.

Ongoing concern for Haiti

2010-01-19T11:43:00.002-05:00

Tonya's cousin Kent Annan is co-director of Haiti Partners and they are providing updates daily on what they are seeing and doing there. Kent arrived back in Haiti yesterday from Florida, and as far as we know he is still scheduled to be in Toronto this week for Sunday's event at Bayview Glen Church. Kent is scheduled to be on 100 Huntley Street this Thursday morning Jan 21. Thanks for praying.

Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle

2010-01-12T15:36:00.010-05:00

Tonya's cousin, Kent Annan, has just released a book called Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle, based on his years of experience in Haiti. His book was recently featured at Urbana 09 and we're excited to know there will be a book launch evening in Toronto, 7PM Sunday January 24 at Bayview Glen Church, 300 Steeles Av E. Get your tickets through Haiti Partners Canada. Kent's colleague, the dynamic Tony Campolo, will be speaking.

UPDATE: Wed. Jan. 13 - Our prayers are with the people of Haiti as they face the tragedy of the earthquake. Help them as you can. There are lots of relief efforts getting organized. Donations are also being accepted through Haiti Partners Canada. Here is a letter from Kent Annan about the earthquake. Please remember Kent and his family as they are heartbroken and concerned for their friends in Haiti. Also pray for Kent's ministry partner John Engle who is in Haiti with his wife and family, unharmed but obviously in the midst of a challenging crisis.

Prorogation and promotion

2010-01-07T13:46:00.008-05:00

Wow, people sure do have their shirts in knots concerning the prorogation of Canada's Parliament. Or do they? It's hard to know whether it's just the media that has got themselves into a froth, or if they are reporting public concerns accurately (unlikely), or if their reporting is what births and elevates so-called "concerns" and the cycle simply grows.

I (Andrew) was trained as a journalist and it's a big game. Really. There's not much integrity in reporting, it's all spun and sold. Recently I've had discussions regarding marketing in the charitable and social justice categories. I read a back issue of Geez Magazine over the holidays (not one I like, by the way...) and it features articles bemoaning the spin needed to get people to donate to worthy causes. My opinion: their "too slick for their own good" view thinks more highly of the marketer's abilities than they ought to, and thinks too lowly of the reader's ability to know the marketing material is full of hype. Of course we can see through it, but it doesn't change the desire to give. They should just get over themselves already...

Back to Canadian politics. Mainstream media also suffers from the delusion that they are smarter than the people they write for. So yesterday and today newspapers have headlines alleging Canadians don't support the proroguing of Parliament, based on a poll the media themselves commissioned and paid for. EKOS and Ipsos and Angus and their ilk are plagues on thinking people. They ask leading questions and manufacture statistics to make bold headlines and attract readers. Do people actually believe the media's hype? I don't. Are people as dumb as the media thinks? I don't think so. But perhaps if the mainstream media reported real facts rather than serve as outlets for polling companies, we'd instead be reminded that proroguing Parliament is in fact a commonly done Parliamentary practice. Look at the column called "Date of Prorogation." It happens. Instead, the media quotes the EKOS president (whom they paid) and he seems to think it is from the realm of "dusty constitutional law texts." It would seem the president of the polling company doesn't even know how Parliament works, or he too thinks people won't see through his self-serving comments.

Now to rephrase a controversial bus poster... "There's no news, so stop worrrying and enjoy the Olympics."

God rescue married gentlemen...

2009-12-28T10:34:00.002-05:00

Kids come up with the most amusing lyrics! Wee Em piped up with this one the other day. We hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we did ours. Blessings!

Carrying the torch

2009-12-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

Two days ago (Sun. the 20th) we were in St. Catharines at the church of the Deaf so Andrew could preach. Great to see folks there again! They meet in the Calvary Church building, which we learned in advance was running a pancake breakfast in lieu of their normal early service time - so we enjoyed that. They then had a special "Jingle Jam" service, so Emma had fun. Great church... friendly and welcoming people. After church we got into a bit of a traffic jam and saw people lined up on the side of the road, so we figured it was some kind of parade and made a U-turn to avoid it.

We wanted to see Niagara Falls so headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake first (priorities, y'know... fudge, bakery, yumm...), then along the Niagara Parkway. We noticed someone else had a poster about their mother being an Olympic torch bearer. Huh? When we got to NF we learned there was a whole event scheduled for the Olympic torch relay. Cool!

Right by Table Rock (close to the big horseshoe part) the mist had frozen onto the trees, ground, fences, lightposts; ice was everywhere! So amazing to see. The Olympic torch relay event drew hundreds of people, with music, videos, and fun giveaways by Coca-Cola and RBC.

We got to meet Gord Singleton (former champion cyclist) who'd been chosen to carry the torch the final leg to the stage.

Emma also had a chance to hold a torch. Great event!

At night the flame was so visible - light in darkness draws attention. Since then I've been reflecting on the torch-bearing relay and its symbolism. So many applications. Carrying light, passing the flame, community, and striving for a destination are all themes that resonate. May the light of this Christmas season draw your gaze away from whatever darkness is closing in, offering you hope in the flame of God's love - a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Not a creature was stirring...

2009-12-10T13:32:00.001-05:00

...not even a fish! Here's Em's betta fish, named "Blue Razz!", but he also goes by "Brad". All ready for Christmas. Merry Fishmas!

December newsletter

2009-12-08T13:02:00.004-05:00

We've just finished our latest newsletter and we invite you to take a look!

When I first sent out our email to our list of friends and supporters I included a link to it. But that link ended up pointing to our summer newsletter by mistake. Sigh... I'm slipping! Thanks for your patience and for actually seeking out the December 2009 version! :-) Blessings.

El Salvador

2009-11-30T10:06:00.000-05:00

El Salvador means "the Savior" in Spanish. Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, the season anticipating the Nativity of the Savior, Jesus. It's a favourite season for me and for many, despite the colder and darker days here in Canada. It can be a difficult time for many people, though, and I understand why it might be someone's least favourite, as so much of it focuses on gifts and relationships that may be non-existent for them. I want to be thankful for what I have, but I forget sometimes. So my recent trip to El Salvador with my dad was somewhat a pilgrimage for me to "The Savior".

Dad and I went to visit Escuela Cristiana para Sordos in San Salvador, a ministry that World Mission to the Deaf supports. We attended an end-of-school-year banquet at which I was asked to speak. In preparing for that, I realized again how much the Savior has blessed my life through my parents, and even through their deafness.

I was so impressed with the school and the staff there. Pray for them; the needs are great. Support a student if you can. We also met with Mario Estrada and preached at the church he pastors, full of young people excited about the Savior. God is at work.

Someone there said that the poverty, crime, and natural disasters they face, such as earthquakes and floods, draws people to seek a Savior. No doubt you can appreciate the impact of sharing a week with such people who do much with little, and who overcome what challenges they have to not just survive but thrive. This Advent, eagerly seek "El Salvador".

The search for any October

2009-10-29T14:07:00.002-04:00

Lately we've been reflecting, again, on the difference between sympathy and empathy.

Our 17-yr old nephew has been at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto for over a month with life-threatening internal bleeding. His most recent and major surgery was yesterday and, thanks be to our God, he should recover.

According to Wikipedia, sympathy recognizes the suffering and cares.

Empathy, however, is actually sharing in the suffering of others, as Jesus did. Empathy blurs the line between self and others, enters into what another is feeling in a deep way, and creates a strong desire to help.
Those who by nature, life experience, and a teachable spirit, learn to be empathetic are those rare people who will truly 'walk in another's shoes', who think of practical ways to help without being asked.

What a great blessing to be surrounded by some few who are not only sympathetic, though it has its place, but who are truly empathetic and show it in all they say and do.

Sympathy is often exhibited when one hasn't 'been there'. Empathy is sometimes exhibited when one, unfortunately, has.

Is break time over?

2009-09-17T20:20:00.002-04:00

Yikes, was THAT it? "Summer" sort of missed the slumbering (and hot, and dry) part and sped by. We were so glad to see dear friends from Puerto Rico, including the Kwasnickis when they came up to Windsor in August. Em and little Rosie hit it off like the old pals they are, and really it was wonderful to connect with Nathan and Deborah again. In some ways it felt like no time had passed since we saw them last... wish we could see them more often! Meeting wee Hannah was great too. Tonya mentioned she had prayed for some way that we could see them all again in Puerto Rico, but instead Puerto Rico came to Canada, what with James, Betsy, and Jen also all making it up here in June!

We did get a nice weekend break near Wiarton, ON, at a beautiful lakeside cottage courtesy of a generous friend of Tonya's. We enjoyed some paddling in kayaks (note the warm clothing, though, at the END of AUGUST for Pete's sake!) and a quiet place to stay.

Toasting marshmallows also made S'mores possible, which we've enjoyed several times this "summer". This was our farewell bid to "summer", such as it was, since Em had to head back to school Sept. 1st, BEFORE Labour Day, because the holiday fell so late in the calendar and Guelph's school board had to get its numbers to work out. But Em's enjoying Grade 1, and seems happy for her class with Mme White. Ironically, Emma's Saturday morning Spanish class begins this week, again with Maestra Blanca... what are the odds?! :-)

The speediness of "summer" has brought us to the busyness of September. Tonya will be leading a women's Bible study at Lakeside, our home church. SUBS launches its roster of classes in a couple of weeks, and Andrew's scrambling to get systems rolling again. One of the courses is on the subject of preaching, which Andrew plans to take. He's been given the opportunity to preach at a few deaf churches this fall, glad to be exercising that gift again, and he's looking forward to some formal training. And we're excited that he's been invited to speak at an end-of-the-school-year banquet for the Christian School for the Deaf in El Salvador this November. They are another ministry served by the World Mission to the Deaf. We would very much appreciate your prayers as we manage all these important priorities. Thanks!

Catching up

2009-07-29T14:26:00.000-04:00

We've been having a busy summer, it feels! It gives us a chance to "catch up" on some of our work with SUBS, as well as communicate and correspond with supporters, family, and friends. We've also just finished our latest newsletter - please check it out!

For Canada Day we enjoyed a great free pancake breakfast in nearby Aberfoyle, at the Puslinch community centre. Then we headed down to Hamilton harbour and visited the Parks Canada Discovery Centre and the HMCS Haida ship. Here Em's enjoying some Canada Day cake dockside.

You'll note in our newsletter that we had a chance to visit with James from Puerto Rico. He went up to the Ontario Camp for the Deaf in early July, and by mistake a box of his was left in our car after dropping him off for the bus! Oops. We decided to take a drive up to the camp to make sure he was alright and to deliver the box, which it turns out also held his camera. Good job we went! We then headed over to Henrietta's Bakery east of Huntsville (I know, not exactly around the corner...) and stopped at a touristy spot where Em was entertained by the bear statues!

We then just spent a week at Muskoka Bible Centre, appreciating the preaching and teaching of both Dr. Charles Price (Peoples Church) and Dr. Gerald Griffiths. Dr. Griffiths used to be pastor at the same church Spurgeon pastored in London, as well as at Calvary Church in Toronto until 1990; but perhaps many know his wife's bible stories even more - A Visit with Mrs G. We hadn't known of them before, but are enjoying a few now. A friend with a cottage / boat up there generously took us out in his boat for an afternoon, pulling Em on a tube - here with her Uncle Andrew and cousin Trenton. Great fun for her, but a bit of worry for daddy!

We also got out fishing a couple of times, and dear Em caught her very first fish - a Rock Bass! Like the credit card commericals say... priceless.

Then and now

2009-06-22T19:41:00.000-04:00

When I (Andrew) was in kindergarten, I made a clay "dish" and painted it yellow. I believe I gave it to my mom who, later for some (possibly self-evident) reason, gave it back to me. Without getting into an analysis of why I still have it... it is now serving a great purpose as a comparative tool. 38 years later.

For here is our wee Em's masterpiece, just received back today from the potter's kiln via her own kindergarten teacher. No, she didn't actually make the plate, but the painting work is all hers. Am I proud? You bet! She comes by her artistic bent honestly, though not paternally (just look up at THAT yellow thing). Tonya's generally the artist when it comes to visuals and color (though I do have my brief moments). The pond theme was part of her class' focus this past month. And today we released "Brad" the tad(pole); so while Em's shed a few tears over his own graduation, the plate's images will serve as a great reminder of this season of her life. Or as a comparative tool when artistic talent skips a generation.

New life, and friends

2009-06-17T11:11:00.002-04:00

This spring's been pretty cool out our front door, as robins had made a nest in the tree in front of our porch. The mom flies off many times when we come and go, giving us an opportunity to peek. A couple of weeks ago there were 4 pretty blue eggs.

And now there are babies! Oddly enough, Tonya's parents have robins nesting by their front door, and Tonya's sister has a mourning dove nesting above their porch light! So we're all enjoying signs of new life. Even Emma's enjoying watching a tadpole we caught, "Brad", develop into a frog - all the limbs are there now and the tail is shrinking. Soon he'll be back at the pond.

Our busy weekend went well. It was great seeing friends at the WMD banquet who'd come up from PR - Betsy and James - and also to see Laurie again. A bit of a reunion, actually! The event had its share of technical difficulties... broken kitchen equipment delayed the caterer's ability to put food out as scheduled but we were all flexible.

Our SUBStantial celebration event at Calvary Church on Sunday night was also well attended. Tonya did a smashing job with decor and organizing some kids' activities to keep them occupied. I've got to be honest, though, and say I'm glad that "full" weekend is over! :-) Now on to other equally important things on our plates!

Does busy = stress?

2009-06-09T10:14:00.003-04:00

Our calendar's feeling a bit full, particularly as we work this week towards the coming weekend.

Friday night in Toronto we plan to attend a memorial service for Mr. Jim Hardy, a really close friend of my dad's. I remember so many good things about him, like when I was just 17 and he came to help me change the brakes and bleed the brake fluid on my very first car. That kind of caring for a teenager leaves an impression!

Our home church in Guelph, Lakeside, is holding its annual golf tournament Saturday morning to raise funds for its missions projects, including a Habitat for Humanity project in our town. I'm golfing for the first time in a year... fore!

The World Mission to the Deaf board has its meetings Saturday afternoon in Toronto, then hosts its 30th Anniversary Banquet. We're excited to be seeing some familiar faces, including Betsy from Puerto Rico and a student, James!

The School of Urban Biblical Studies hosts our SUBStantial Celebration event in Toronto Sunday night.

We still have lots of work to do, getting ready for Saturday and Sunday in particular. Normally a pair of well-organized folks like Tonya and me have the planning well in hand. But I've felt a bit stressed about it, and I've been led to ponder, "Does being busy lead to stress?" Not always. But there's something about the nature of the busy-ness that affects me - it's all good and important and I care lots about it. So perhaps I make that stress. Anyway, if it comes to your mind please pray that we'll be strong this week, that we'll get our "tasks" done with excellence, and we'll have a great time interacting with wonderful people all weekend. Thanks!

Memory lane

2009-05-29T14:15:00.000-04:00

We've been prompted to walk down "memory lane" the last while. Tonya and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary (!) last week and in doing so looked back at some things we've collected over the years, as well as some movies and pictures. Digging out those things from boxes also led us to consider other memorabilia, such as old toys - anyone else recognize "Billy Blast Off"? I should sell him on ebay!

Tonya's former high school, Markham District HS, also had an open house this past weekend so our family gathered there where Tonya's folks led us on a tour of their own memories. We were able to show Em the church where we were married, on the Markham Musuem property, where there was another wedding happening... all Chinese. The changes over just 20 years are amazing.

Diversity and unity

2009-04-23T21:11:00.002-04:00

We were at MissionFest Toronto on the weekend, working our booth for SUBS (School of Urban Biblical Studies). MissionFest is such a strong example of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23!

How awesome to see the Church, the Bride of Christ, working together to further HIS Kingdom! It was amazing to once again witness how God uses our unique talents and passions to do His work around the world and here at "home".

And it was amazing to worship together: a teenager with Down syndrome dancing in the aisle, a middle-aged woman waving her prayer flags off to the side, a grandmother lifting her hands and bopping to the music, and various expressions in various langagues of "praise God", "Hallelujah", and "Amen".

We probably had about 200 people stop by the booth to chat and pick up information; a diversity of conversations reflecting our backgrounds, ethnicity, and experiences.

The SUBS spring semester is just launching so please pray for the students and facilitators. Each person involved has a story that God is still in the process of "writing" (Hebrews 12:2) in their lives.

Nature girl

2009-03-31T13:36:00.002-04:00

Here's a much belated "check-in" from our family. Our speaking engagement in Guelph at the end of last month went well and we were grateful for the positive feedback we received. We then took to the road south, to Florida, to visit parents / grandparents and to meet SIM folk in Sebring, FL and at the US / Int'l offices in Charlotte, NC and Fort Mill, SC.

Emma had lots of great experiences with animals - with some she was reluctant but bravely went ahead and would later say, "that wasn't scary at all!"

Here she's holding a 35-pound 'gator at the Sarasota Jungle Gardens! Weighed almost as much as she did! Elsewhere she rode on a huge tortoise, held snakes, and fed stingrays. Way cool.

Of course it was great to be someplace warm during the winter, so our trip was admittedly an escape, in part. But it was of great value to meet the SIM retirees in Sebring who pray faithfully for missionaries and missions around the world. And the folks in NC / SC were fantastic and warm. They all gave us chances to speak about what we're up to with SUBS, which seemed to help fill in the blanks for some who'd heard of the ministry but not all its details.

It doesn't take long to be "back" and into the thick of life, school and work! Tonya's busy and engaged in some mission-based events at our home church Lakeside, and also making tremendous displays for our SUBS booth, which we'll set up at MissionFest Toronto coming up April 16-18. If you're there, please stop by our booth and say hi!

Our precious six year old

2009-02-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

Our little princess has turned 6, with several fun parties and get-togethers to mark the event. For the Ontario "Family Day" holiday, we headed over to Guelph Lake for a short trail-walk and to feed the birds... and they came quickly onto our hats and in our gloves for sunflower seeds. Very cool!

The recent thaw here has been all but forgotten with more snow and colder temps again this weekend. It's not unlike our own approach to the stuff of life... well, mine (Andrew) anyway. I can be "warm" to something and keen one day, then discouraged and "cold" the next.

I've been struck by a couple of passages in the Psalms recently, which are lingering as I think on them. They have to do with discouragement and anxiety. One is Psalm 34:4-5, "I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." It actually prompts me to think about "radiant" as a key word in Charlotte's Web - the spider knits that word into her web to help save Wilbur the pig's life. Wilbur is encouraged, and his countenance is changed to reflect the word. Reminding ouselves that God answers and delivers can help me, too, to show on my face what I know to be true. But do I ever God's help on that one!

The other verses are from Psalm 94:17-19, "Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." Think on that.

Tomorrow we are sharing about our work at Calvary Church in Guelph, where Tonya's parents attend. It's great to have the opportunity. Thank you for your prayers as we continue in our ministry. We need God's wisdom daily!

Hearing

2009-01-25T13:55:00.002-05:00

While we were still in Puerto Rico, I (Tonya) remember one of the deaf mothers at the church sitting down with me to ask how to explain to her hearing 2-year-old the sounds animals make. I could write 'squeak squeak' for a mouse, 'chirp chirp' for a bird, but an elephant, a giraffe, or even a lion?

A number of months ago someone told Andrew's deaf parents how lovely a speaking voice God has gifted Andrew with. It meant a lot to them to 'hear' that.

In my bible study group we've been discussing 'hearing' God's voice - how that looks in each of our lives and how to discover it. It becomes evident that actually many of us would really like to see God - in a burning bush, on a clearly marked trail, in a bolt of lightning that shows us, 'This is what you should do, where you should go.'

The still, small voice of God is not easily heard. 1 Kings 19:10-12

Día de los Tres Reyes

2009-01-06T10:17:00.004-05:00

In Puerto Rico, we became familiar with many wonderful cultural and religious traditions. One in particular is celebrated today, January 6th - Día de los Tres Reyes - Three Kings' Day. The "wise kings of the east" who visited Jesus are commemorated each year on this day and, despite being here in the cold north, we celebrate with our Puerto Rican friends. As we have done the past couple of years, little Em set out some grass last night for the camels, and candies for the kings, and this morning she found some small gifts! So, Feliz Día de los Tres Reyes Magos!

One year ago

2008-12-19T17:06:00.001-05:00

It's been a whole year since we moved back to Canada from Puerto Rico. Tonya took this picture from the plane as we took off - looking at San Juan. A tear or two comes when we look at it. We still miss the island, our friends, and the ministry greatly!

Besides being amazed at how fast one year has passed, I chuckle when I see this picture of what we brought home when we moved. Six suitcases held all we needed to bring home, and even then many of the things we brought were gifts for family, or souveneirs.

I've had wonderful opportunities the past couple of weeks to speak at Christmas banquets for two Deaf churches, at St. Catharines and Kitchener. This Sunday (unless a snowstorm cancels things...) I'm signing a couple of Christmas Carols with the music team at Lakeside: Away in a Manger, and O Holy Night. The response was positive when we practised last night, and it's rather stirring for me to be doing this. I remember signing Away in a Manger as a young boy in Christmas pageants at the Evangelical Church of the Deaf, in Toronto! When I think about it, signing is my first language so it makes sense it would seem meaningful to me. I've resisted signing much at our church because of not wanting it to be a spectacle; but I do see its value in leading others to worship even though they may not understand the language. It's a special time of year! Blessings to you!

Advent

2008-12-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

Our little angel sang as part of a children's Christmas pageant this past weekend! They'd been practising since the end of September, so we've anticipated the pageant for some time now. She put her whole heart into it, had fun, and sang out every word!

As we anticipate Christmas, we've been deliberate in observing Advent. Tonya has set up some advent candles, found some great readings, and has made up some daily activities for us to participate in. It makes a significant difference to pause each day and consider what the season is for, who Jesus is, and why we celebrate. The season is still busy, but it is within our abilities to ensure it is meaningful.

Commute

2008-11-23T12:29:00.003-05:00

I've been reflecting on the word "commute" lately, as I've had a couple of long trips between Guelph and Toronto this week. The first real snowfall of the season made traffic worse than normal. Nothing like farther west in Ontario, but enough to make Hwy. 401 crawl.

I was also riding the GO Transit bus for 2 of those days, which took exceptionally long times. When the cost of gas was high in the summer time, it was more than comparable to pay the fares for GO Transit. Now that gas prices have come down, it's a bit of a toss-up whether I drive our car or take the bus. Relatively stress-free travel on a bus is offset by less time "at work".

And that brings me to another reason why the word has been on my mind. It's hard not to get caught up in my value being associated with productivity... even when the work is "mission"-oriented; where I get focused on how much work I can accomplish and I look at my watch thinking, "I could be doing something rather than sitting in traffic." (Yes, sitting on a bus can let me be somewhat productive, but it just ain't the same...)

It's hard to "rest" in doing nothing. Now don't get me wrong, I do think we all have a responsibility to work well, so I'm not advocating "do nothing, ever". But besides the commute's normally understood meaning, there is a deeper, original, and, if you follow, theological meaning of "commute" that I like: to convert or change a penalty to one less severe. I.e., to commute a sentence. You may understand this Christian idea of God having commuted our penalty, and in no part because of any work we've done. This week during my commute, I've appreciated the ironic chance to reflect on how my "spiritual commute" has nothing to do with productivity.

Flu shots

2008-11-13T09:33:00.002-05:00

Em's been dealing with back-to-back colds and coughs since late September, really, which is probably to be expected in that "Petri dish" known as a kindergarten class. No doubt the flu will make its rounds there too. For many years we have tried to keep up with having flu shots regularly, but missed last year's as we were still in Puerto Rico until the end of the year. We just got this year's shots last evening. Three sore shoulders this morning! Short term pain for, we hope, longer term gain.

Heaven's Rehearsal

2008-11-02T21:27:00.002-05:00

We were fortunate to have been given free tickets to attend Heaven's Rehearsal in Toronto last night, at the Rogers Centre. It was a diverse multicultural and artistic worship service, and we were glad to have been there. We saw some really wonderful interpretative dancing, and enjoyed the high quality of music. I was really drawn into the flow of the evening as they drew out passages from Revelation focused on worship in heaven.

Apparently they were in a different venue last year; it did take a bit of energy to focus on worship in such a large place like the Rogers Centre. We were sitting on an aisle which also got rather distracting, but on the positive side it did allow for movement down to the "field" level for little Em to stretch her legs. We sat among others connected with SIM and SUBS; we were glad to see the Pastor and a group from the Ethiopian Evangelical Church again. It was a late night for all of us by the time we got home to Guelph, but we gladly turned back the clocks to end DST, and enjoyed that extra hour of sleep!

On making yoghurt, and being thankful

2008-10-17T16:46:00.003-04:00

We are thankful... and there are so many reasons! Even with sore backs, aching tummies, sniffles and mild fevers, we are blessed by most standards. Last weekend Tonya had the creative idea to lay a large sheet of paper on our dining area table, and over the few days we each drew the things we are thankful for. Cartoon-ish images of one another appear in different shapes and sizes, as well as the blessings we enjoy - family, health, shelter, food. Then voting on Tuesday was a privilege; and riding the bus on Wednesday, I reflected on how fortunate we are to have had an election one day, and continued peace the next. Thank God.

Regarding our own work at SUBS, we have had lots to thank God for, including more than 100 students who began classes earlier this month. An amazing response.

I have also been thinking about a recent experience around a lunch table at SIM, where it became clear I was the only one there who has NOT had the experience of making my own yoghurt. "Huh?" I asked. Working side-by-side with missionaries who have worked farther afield, primarily Africa, I see I've barely scratched the surface of the lives they've led. Yes, apparently making one's own yoghurt is a routine task, using some "starter" from today's batch, plus other ingredients, and sitting it atop a refrigerator until the next morning. More than I really want to think about in terms of the bacterial culture happening there! And something else to be thankful for... the luxury of store-bought yoghurt, but more than that getting to know people who have been to, or are coming from, different places around the world.

Approved by SIM!

2008-09-25T10:07:00.001-04:00

We are thanking God for a great day yesterday! The final stage interviews went really well, and we were very glad to have met some of SIM Canada's hard-working board members. After a lengthy process we are happy to say they have approved us as missionaries serving with SIM!

We'll send out some detailed information by mail to those in our network of past partners very soon, explaining how to pledge prayer and financial support. This approval means we now have our SIM Missionary Number: 030651. Yay! Meanwhile, for those in Canada who would like to support our ministry financially right away, you now may do so securely at the SIM Canada web site. In Step 3 you may specify our Missionary Name "Andrew & Tonya Lunau Smith" there. Those in the US may do so through the SIM USA site, specifying our missionary number and name, and designating it for the (1)Support Acct. Thank you!

Our first project, of course, has already been occupying a great deal of our time! The School of Urban Biblical Studies (a.k.a. SUBS) has launched already, but next week is a big one with most of its classes starting. Interest has been building steadily, as has a small mountain of registration paperwork that I must address momentarily! I don't suppose that was the kind of mountain Jesus spoke of in Mark 11:22-24! Not that I want the paperwork in the sea... just filed nicely and its data into my computer! :-) Ok, I'd best get to it.

Just wanted to share our good news. Thank you for your prayers!

Tomorrow

2008-09-23T14:50:00.003-04:00

Wednesday the 24th we have our final interviews with SIM Canada's board for approving our application as missionaries. We are a bit nervous! It's involved a lot of prayer, many discussions, forms and paperwork, and waiting. Meanwhile it feels so much in the background, as we've already plunged into the work with SUBS. It has felt so much the right place for us to be, and that is a good thing. We would be glad for your prayers tomorrow - safety for the commute to Toronto from Guelph, as well as good interaction in the interviews. Thank you!

En français!

2008-09-03T20:40:00.002-04:00

Well, little Em has officially begun her formal education! She seemed to enjoy her first day of Senior Kindergarten, in a French Immersion program. After school she sang us "O Canada!" in phonetic French (not unlike many Canadians who don't really know the words...) and insisted her toy riding along with her in the car should address her "En français." And despite her being tired when we picked her up, she has caught her second wind and is still resisting sleep... 8:45 pm! Those wheels must be turning. In fact, she just noted she has a special skill of gargling and talking at the same time, which she just proved to me moments ago. Good night!

Camping at Algonquin Park

2008-08-03T13:56:00.000-04:00

We saw several deer on our recent camping trip to Algonquin Park, but no moose this time. That park is such a wonderful place. It's been 3 years since we were there last, but enjoyed seeing some of the same attractions again. The visitor's center is certainly worth it, if you're up in that part of the world.

We hadn't actually camped at Algonquin before, but decided this year to give it a try. We got a great spot on Mew Lake... this was the view from our site. It's one of the "corridor" campgrounds, and is close to Hwy. 60 so you can hear cars go by, but the view was really beautiful. No motor boats on the lake either, so just quiet canoes paddling about.

Another highlight was hearing the Wakami Wailers performing in the park. We'd heard them before, having bought their Waltz with the Woods CD several years ago. They sing a song called Log Drivers Waltz that is fabulous. The Canadian Film Board did a cartoon to that song back in the 60's or something, and it is hilarious... I think you can find a copy of it on YouTube.

As for us... we are all well. Emma's enjoying summertime, and we still find it hard to believe she'll be at school this fall. Yikes! We are also continuing in the detailed process of applying with SIM Canada, but close to completion. Meanwhile we are in "feet and boots" with SUBS and enjoying the work. Thanks for your prayers!

This and that

2008-06-19T21:54:00.000-04:00

We had a quick but great visit with David and Ruthie from PR, having them stay at our place last night, and Em was so glad to play with Rebekah again. They shared a wee hug as we said good-bye this morning, and Em said she wished we could live back in PR again. Sigh. The weather lately... well, not just lately but pretty much all the time... has caused Tonya to say similar sentiments! Chilly days in June.

But we know we are to be here now. Last Saturday we attended the World Mission to the Deaf annual conference, at the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf in Toronto, where they have a great church venue. If it comes to mind, please pray for Pastor Tom Ranger there, as he's recovering from a heart attack. I spoke about "doorways of missions", looking at Acts 16:6-10. God has us not in some places, but in others, for a reason. We are moving ahead with SIM and SUBS, and still trying to get settled into our place, and the momentum seems a bit of back and forth. Hopefully we get into a routine soon! Still a number of things to do in our application process.

Here's little Em peeking from the cockpit of an older RCAF airplane! We had spent a couple of hours at the Mission Aviation Fellowship event earlier in June, at Guelph's airport, and Em got her face painted, ate ice cream, played in a bouncy house, and got to sit in airplanes. Pretty cool!

Finally, I see today there's an article on the CBC website that says Canada's senate has approved a bill making spanking illegal. I guess it has to go through the House again now, but did you know about this? It seems to have snuck under the radar.

Our latest newsletter

2008-05-26T01:23:00.002-04:00

It's a PDF document, linked off our (very basic) Google Page. Check it out!

If you need Adobe Reader, go to:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Blessings!

Lemonade stand

2008-05-25T22:53:00.000-04:00

There's not much cuter than a lemonade stand run by a 5-year-old! Yesterday the "cousins" had a garage sale and Em set up shop with her "Super Fantastic Lemonade". Even though she was only charging a nickel, she had a few customers toss in a quarter and refuse change. :-)

There were a few spills, but besides that the inventory seemed to be disappearing rather quickly... hmmm...

Open House

2008-05-08T12:14:00.000-04:00

One of my professors at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Dr. Dennis Ngien, also runs the Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection. Each year the centre hosts an open house event at Tyndale, with some excellent preaching along with some other awards and recognitions. I won a scholarship and plaque from the centre at my convocation ceremony 2 years ago but, since we were in Puerto Rico, haven't been able to attend the open houses the past 2 years. This year is the centre's 10th anniversary, though, and since I'm here now I've got the privilege of presenting the same plaque to a new recipient some time during the evening. Everyone's welcome, it's free except for parking costs, so just show up!

School of Urban Biblical Studies

2008-04-27T10:06:00.003-04:00

After a lot of praying and thinking and talking, we are feeling led to work as missionaries with SIM. Our first posting would be as part of a new project they're supporting called the School of Urban Biblical Studies in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). If you think of us, we'd appreciate a prayer on our behalf for wisdom (and courage... it's another support-based ministry) in making this decision in the next few days. Peace and grace.

Electric cars

2008-04-21T16:40:00.002-04:00

Just heard an interview on the radio with a representative of "EV Canada". Considering the price of gas lately... yikes. Apparently they have a petition for zero emissions cars or something. Check it out.

A good article

2008-04-19T22:15:00.002-04:00

In the April issue of Christianity Today about a recent bandwagon in churches of trying to make church more "masculine".

Facebook

2008-04-04T10:57:00.005-04:00

We disabled our account, in case you're looking. Not our thing and we just don't have the interest or time to use it. I'm sure some people are making it work for them, but to us it was just too much opportunity for others to send us goofy emails, videos, and tasteless pictures. We have enough trouble with that in our Inbox already. Enjoy it if it's your cup o' tea... but we'll be happy to visit in person with those we can, when we can!

And and what's up with spam? It seems so... 90's. I've had a bit of spam here on the blog too, in the form of comments with links. Puhleeze. I deleted them but now I've got to activate blogger's "moderate comments" setting as well as requiring logins and the "fuzzy word" validation. There ought to be a circle in Dante's Inferno for 'em.

There and back again

2008-04-03T13:51:00.001-04:00

I made it to the mountains of Puerto Rico again! Had a wonderful time with the church over Easter, and it was great to see the island again. I forgot about the traffic on Easter though! On my old "route" driving some people around, I ran into the jams from Luquillo back to San Juan, with the van's old fan belt squealing and the A/C not really working too well. But fresh coconut candy from a roadside vendor made it all better. :-)

I brought back several pounds of Puerto Rican coffee (packed in Adjuntas!) so that should tide us over until... well, MAYBE June. We'll see! The coffee was in flower and has to be one of my favorite plants!

Florida pelicans are really kind of cool to look at. I was reunited with Tonya and Em and we enjoyed a few days together in Florida before our drive back up to Canada. Apart from construction lane reductions all through Georgia, I-75 was mostly clear sailing. When we arrived late on Tuesday afternoon, I was glad to see much of the snow gone!

Getting warmer

2008-03-12T11:10:00.003-04:00

Well we're heading back south again, but only for a short bit! T's folks are in Florida and we'll be driving down to see them! Yay. Apparently we chose a record-setting season for snowfall to return to Canada from the tropics! Ah well, hindsight is 20/20 as they say. It will be nice to get out of it awhile. I'm then flying down to PR to see friends and to speak at the church's annual Easter Camp while Ton and Em enjoy Fl. I've missed those lovely coffee-growing mountains of PR...

Happy Easter!

Pepsi ad: Bob's House

2008-02-06T12:33:00.000-05:00

A SuperBowl ad that is pretty funny, from Pepsi.

Toronto WinterCity

2008-01-27T09:28:00.000-05:00

We had a fun day yesterday in Toronto at the WinterCity festival, and Em enjoyed a chance to skate at Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall. We took the subway down which she also loved, and we had a friendly driver tell us all about the signal lights on our way back home.

There was lots to see and do... including a sort of weird but magical version of Alice in Wonderland, and an artist's exhibit of flaming clay pots that was both cool and warm!

Cold!

2008-01-20T11:10:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's cold! Of course the Guelph temp is in C while the Fajardo temp is F, but it's still drastically different. Today it's sunny, which usually does mean colder temp's. A tradeoff, I guess, though we appreciate the sunlight. No significant snow out there but it is white.

Do we ever miss the warm! Starting with Em, we have all come down with sore throats and colds so today we're laying low.

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T09:32:00.000-05:00

It is sinking in that we are back in Canada. Boots, coats, hats, mitts... those are the outward changes that we can't avoid noticing. Emma's loved playing in the snow, making a snowman, and riding on sleds. We are so glad to be with our families. And we miss what we grew to love about PR. I've heard it said that looking back you tend to remember the positives and not so much the negatives... which is probably a good thing, except when it stops you from moving ahead (i.e., during the Exodus). At the threshold of another new year, the image of walking into a field of new snow seems somewhat appropriate to me.

And no, that's not our dog. :-)

Home in Canada

2007-12-27T17:22:00.000-05:00

We're back in Canada, admiring the pretty but COLD landscape, and missing Puerto Rico. This was the view on our drive up to Mansfield yesterday morning... frost had settled onto the trees and everything was dressed up in ice. Our homecoming has been wonderful in seeing family and friends here again. And our friends in PR come to mind often, too. Feliz Navidad!

Happy Thanksgiving, take 2!

2007-11-24T12:18:00.001-05:00

Yikes! From one Thanksgiving to the next, and many weeks inbetween. We enjoyed two turkey dinners this week. For one, Tonya made butter tarts to add a Canadian flavor to a delicious rotisserie-style turkey dinner done only as the lechóneras can. And for the other, we made our now-famous "stuffing for 50".

As you may know, we have decided to move back to Canada. We're heading back in December. So we've had several busy weeks here in PR, continuing to do our thing at the church in San Juan but also trying to wrap things up: giving away stuff, handing off some of the work, and helping others get oriented to the responsibilities we held.

We are looking forward to our return, athough, the obvious weather and ocean aside, we've learned it's hard to say goodbye to some of the things we have grown to like about living here. Having these few months to revisit some of our favorite things has been great. It's also been hard to have the end date out there... it's a bit like trying to shut down Windows XP. Sometimes it just sits there closing and doesn't actually go anywhere :-) But now there are less than 4 weeks left.

We're still not sure what we'll do next!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-10-08T08:20:00.000-04:00

What a great week we had with Karen and "Don Esteban"! It passed far too quickly, and little Em's missing her dear aunt and uncle already. I heard they had a long wait crossing the border from Buffalo last night - that soaring loonie has sent many into the US for shopping bargains it seems.

Having family here reminds us to be thankful for the time we do have with one another, and for the many things we can count as blessings. Today is Thanksgiving in Canada - and Columbus Day in the US and Puerto Rico. Later this afternoon we're celebrating with some other Canadians (and wannabe's :-) with a Thanksgiving dinner! ¡Buen provecho!

γεγονεν

2007-09-28T23:11:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post... glad to say I've (finally) finished my first course in new testament Greek! Wrote my final exam today... yay! Mid-way through one of the teachers at the school commented to another that I looked "suitably pale and industrious"! Teacher - proctor humor I guess. :-)

Looking forward to welcoming Karen to Puerto Rico - my sister, not the tropical storm - tee hee. She and Steve shall make landfall Sunday and little Em is excited to see her Auntie, as we all are.

Violence

2007-09-13T08:40:00.001-04:00

Violence and related crime are a part of life in Puerto Rico, as in many other places in the world. Earlier this week I saw an article that said the number of "violent deaths" in PR was at 467 so far this year. Most people are family-oriented and peaceable, but there is an undercurrent of drugs, gangs, and revenge it seems. The presence of police is something you notice when you first arrive here - especially at night when cruisers keep their lights flashing most of the time, to let you know they're there. Lately there has been a lot of talk about police violence, and a recent day-time shooting of a biker by a police officer in nearby Naguabo was caught on video. Yesterday, a police officer killed his superior in the police station, after being reprimanded for missing work. Yikes!

¡Una cucaracha!

2007-09-07T13:47:00.000-04:00

"A cockroach!" It was odd to hear myself say "¡una cucaracha!" last night. For one thing, it was weird that Spanish actually came out of my mouth before English! For another, the van was full of deaf people, except Jimmie in the far back, who probably didn't even hear me at first!

I was driving people home from church last night and at Kay's house I turned on the interior light of the van so she could gather her things. Meanwhile, Carmen up in the front passenger seat noticed a ginormous (now actually a credible word in the dictionary, by the way) cockroach sitting on the edge of her purse, which was on the floor... inside the van! A stowaway from the church I'll bet, though this IS the cool cruisin' van that has broken electric windows leaving 3-inch gaps at the top... cockroaches very well may live in that thing. Anyhoo, what a panic! I had to stop myself from laughing, Carmen lifted her feet up and I thought she'd climb right up on the seat. She's a native Puerto Rican! :-) She asked around for a shoe to squash the thing, and since nobody seemed to be volunteering, I unlaced my right shoe, removed it, and rose it up ready for some serious action. Carmen then chose to bump her purse and the bug skittered off around/behind/under my seat. Man, they're quick! Carmen grabbed my shoe from my hand and started smacking the floor all around. Meanwhile, traffic was backing up behind and in front of me because Kay lives on a very narrow street. Horns started honking, and I couldn't get going because... my right shoe was being pummeled into the carpet! "Should've used my left shoe," I thought, as if I was making a note to myself for the next time this happens. How surreal. Anyway, I waved at Carmen to get my shoe back, slipped it on, and put the van into gear to get moving. Then I waved apologetically to the other drivers "waiting" for me in typical Puerto Rican fashion (the horn is supposed to be encouraging, I guess). More excitement than usual, that's for sure. I got my shoe laced up again at the next traffic light, and kept hearing the "La cucaracha" tune in my head pretty much all the way home :-)

Dean's effects

2007-08-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

We were on our way back from Humacao this afternoon and drove along the ocean past Naguabo. Hurricane Dean is passing well south of Puerto Rico, but we sure saw some strong winds and heavy rain. The haze in this picture is actually sand blowing along the beach. Back at our home in Fajardo, it was still sunny and not windy at all. Now night has fallen and we are awaiting "tropical storm" conditions overnight. We'll see!

Tomorrow's cake!

2007-08-04T12:53:00.000-04:00

The church in San Juan has a lunch the first Sunday of each month, and Tonya (and Emma!) have provided cakes on a regular basis. (In fact, you may address them as the Cake Queen and Princess.) Today their efforts produced one with a great beach theme... and no doubt it will be well-enjoyed tomorrow! And just to give you some perspective, the pan's a good 12" x 18" so that's a lot of delicious and buttery icing! I'm often torn between hoping many people turn out vs. having some cake left over! :-)

Yes, we returned to PR last week and are getting settled into life back here. Daily temp's around 90 and night-time temp's around 80 remind us of our tropical surroundings! How nice were those 60-degree nights back in Canada! :-) We are making use of the A/C's in our bedrooms these days, as we did last summer - I recall this real heat persisted into September, even. We'll see!

Happy Canada Day

2007-07-04T23:11:00.000-04:00

We are back in Canada for some time "at home", and it was great to celebrate Canada Day here.

We went to Riverside Park in Guelph to watch the fireworks on Canada Day, and wow did it cool off! We were bundled up and enjoyed the light show.

Emma also enjoyed the sparklers!

Fluffy the ... lizard!

2007-06-07T09:42:00.000-04:00

Fluffy is a lizard that has taken up residence on our balcony. Emma named him that after hearing about Grandy's Texan bronze lizard statue named likewise. Long story. He seems to live in a flower pot out there, and he is rather territorial. When other lizards come around, Fluffy flares out his neck - his "mojo" - and rocks his head up and down, and chases them off.

Our friends Mike and Lori have adopted 4 orphaned puppies. Back in February Emma was helping to feed them with a bottle.

Last week we visited the puppies and they've grown rather quickly!

Ad on a truck

2007-05-07T09:42:00.000-04:00

This struck me as funny... plagas means plagues (or pests) ... and back in my "former life" I've encountered a few executives who fit that description! :-) A little lighthearted humour for a Monday morning! Cheers!

Rain day!

2007-04-25T15:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a rain day at the school... over the weekend we had nearly 3 inches of rain, and Tuesday morning there was some flooding in the area and no electricity. No classes, and therefore an ideal time for little Em to put on the rain boots she got from Auntie Karen! The ground was saturated so there were lots of ideal puddles to jump in and splash about. I think that's about as good as it gets when you're 4 :-)

Day Trip!

2007-04-25T15:23:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we headed to the mountain town of Jayuya for their annual tomato festival. The town is situated among the highest peaks in PR - about 1200 meters - which gives them ideal growing conditions for coffee and tomatoes. Unfortunately, the information we had read was off by a week - the festival was the weekend before! (That's not the first time we've shown up somewhere and found out our information was wrong. Life in the care-free tropics!) We had some other things to see in the area, though, and one highlight was a visit to a lovely park whose focus is some petroglyphs. The park had a well-constructed boardwalk heading down to the river, and offered lots of pretty views of the valley.

The petroglyphs were carved by the Taíno indians many years ago.

Then we headed to a coffee grower called Café Tres Picachos and got to see a bit of their set-up. Nothing running that day, but here's their coffee grinder! Incredible. I resisted the 100 pound bag but still left with a good supply :-) They are a smaller operation compared to the bigger ones that supply coffee to the grocery stores, but it's all Puerto Rican grown, roasted, and ground. Pretty hard to find a bad cup of coffee around here... everybody's too picky to let it get that way!

We ended the day at a seaside restaurant on the south part of the island near Patillas, at El Mar de la Tranquilidad. Our second time there, and it's becoming a favourite! We toasted Tonya's upcoming birthday while enjoying some great food (EXCELLENT grouper fillet!), watching crabs on the rocks beside our table, admiring the sunset, and trying to spot a manatee or a dolphin (no luck this time!) In the midst of this busy time with just a few more weeks until school is done for the summer, it was great to have a day together as a family.

Farewells, camp, beaches, bullets, and colored eggs

2007-04-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

Well it's been a busy month! We said farewell to my parents yesterday as they traveled back to Canada... it's always hard to say goodbye. Dad did a fabulous job as the guest preacher at the San Juan Church and also as the speaker at the Easter camp. Lovely, cool mountains... into the mid-60's at night and that felt nice. I remembered from last year that we saw quite an assortment of bugs, especially if we left the windows open at night so the moths could get in! Here's one with some incredible colors... from above, its wing pattern looks like a tangle of twigs.

We did manage to get to the beach with my parents... Emma loves it. I'm not so big on going to the beach... I know, pretty weird for living on an island! My Dad and I got out for a short snorkel and saw some colorful fish - not as bright at 4:00 PM though, vs. high noon. Something to keep in mind! Tonya took Em to the beach a few days earlier, and they saw a guy come by who had caught an octopus. Yikes... didn't know those were in there! :-)

Sometimes, the bullet holes ARE real... We saw this car in Old San Juan. We read a statistic this week that up to the end of March, Puerto Rico has had 199 homicides so far this year. Crime is beyond a "problem" here... sometimes it isn't on our radar and other times we are well too aware of it. One of the school's students lives in a town known for its crime. There are gang problems there such that they have changed school hours so that the gangs don't have to go to school together and thus prevents them from killing each other. Sigh. I was robbed (swindled, scammed, hoodwinked...) at a gas station last week and it ain't fun. I felt so dumb. But in hindsight I know I was fortunate there wasn't a weapon involved.

I love Easter for all it means theologically. Sometimes, though, I wish I was a kid again. When coloring Easter eggs is the biggest concern of the day. Tonya got a great kit for Em to make a batch, and she had fun. It was great celebrating Easter with my parents here too... lots of treats and sweets!

New Bike!

2007-04-02T08:22:00.000-04:00

Wow, time seems to be flying by! Little Em has been practicing on her new bike, given to her by Grandma and Grandpa who are visiting from Canada. She loves it - she pedals around the basketball court like a real pro!

My Dad is here as the special guest speaker for this year's "Easter Camp" hosted by the deaf church we work with in San Juan. It's Holy Week and it is probably one of the busiest times on the island for people being on holiday - beaches will get more and more busy as the week goes on. The retreat is near Adjuntas again, Wed. - Sat., and so we are getting ready for that. Besides trying to find blankets to borrow (it gets cool overnight...), we have some things to get ready to help make the time interesting for little Em!

Bubbly: 2007 - ummm, 2007

2007-03-05T08:06:00.000-05:00

I guess some goldfish don't last so long :-) Bubbly got a case of "ick" that rather looks like it sounds. Anyway, little Em took it in stride. She says she wants another fish and it too shall be called Bubbly. We'll see!

Em's 4th birthday (!) was marked with another little party at the school and a pinata. She is growing so (too?!) fast.

Otherwise we had a busy and enjoyable February... T's folks were here and we did lots more tourist-y things. Back to the west part of the island, and to Rincón. Amazing sunset. Also took in the coffee festival in the mountain town of Maricao - crowded, but fun to see.

My folks arrive in a couple of weeks, and we'll head up to another mountain town, Adjuntas, for the church's Easter retreat. Everyone keeps talking about how cold it will be (relatively, of course!). It gets down to the low 60's at night there. I know, no complaints allowed! Sorry to hear about the horribly cold weather back home in Canada... your spring will come!

It seems we've been dealing with a string of car problems one after the other, and it's been frustrating to deal with the mechanics who aren't exactly good at troubleshooting. Glad for the internet so I can at least look things up.

Ta ta.

Pizza delivery at the marina

2007-01-27T19:23:00.000-05:00

Today we went to check out the Caribbean Boat Show at Marina Puerto del Rey, here in Fajardo. Lots of expensive yachts and sailboats to look at... and exhibitors selling all the bells and whistles. There was one company that sold swanky patio tables that get anchored down to the boat's deck - gleaming and heavily varnished wood going for around $2000. So, we figure we could start with the table and then work our way to getting the million dollar yacht to "anchor up" to it. :-) Anyhoo, we got a chuckle out of this pizza delivery boat tied up to the dock. I guess if you've got a craving for pizza...

Bubbly the goldfish

2007-01-22T18:00:00.000-05:00

Little Em has got her first pet! She named her goldfish "Bubbly" and she seems to like her new friend. Each morning it's Em's job to remember to feed her, and she's doing well.

We had a really great time in Canada over Christmas, and we've been back in Puerto Rico nearly two weeks already with full schedules and lots to do. Glad to have some cooler weather here overnight... and rather glad we aren't getting ice storms! Sorry for those of you facing the cold... we feel for ya, we really do.

The school's had a full house with some extra visitors coming to do some short-term work, which makes things interesting for the staff and students. Unfortunately, one of the other Canadian missionaries has not been permitted back through US immigration (twice!) and isn't able to get the clear story on what she needs to do. She's trying to get the same visa that Tonya and I got last year, but it seems some things changed recently - October - plus this week with the new requirements for air travellers to have a Passport to the US. Overall, a challenge that we hope we can overcome soon... her students miss her. Seems the US is not as open to non-temporary religious workers as it used to be.

Parranda!

2006-12-16T09:25:00.000-05:00

One of the traditions of a Puerto Rican Christmas is the parranda - when a group of friends gathers at the home of another friend and "surprises" them with Christmas songs. The PR version of Christmas caroling. But then it becomes a little party and, after awhile, everyone including those who you've just surprised leaves to go to another home. In some cases it goes on all night!

Last night the ECCD had its first attempt at this tradition, and it was a lot of fun! We started out with a visit to one woman in the hospital who had unexpected surgery this week... she seemed to be very happy to see us. However, we got stuck in the elevator coming down from the 6th floor! After about 15 minutes, they found the key and let us out at the first floor - about a 2 foot "climb up" to ground level. Wow, it got hot in that elevator! But after that slow start, the night went well and everyone looked like they enjoyed themselves. We called it a night close to 1 AM... which meant I was home in Fajardo around 2:30 after dropping off my passengers in Rio Grande and Luquillo. Overall, I think it was a success!

Check out our web album...

Christmas lights

2006-12-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

We've been enjoying the Advent season and the many displays of lights that have appeared everywhere. Our little town Fajardo had a parade and tree-lighting festival last week, and so did Luquillo, where the school's handbell choir performed on a very windy night. This past Wednesday we headed into Old San Juan to see the lights there. Beautiful. Check out our web album...

Santo Bautismo

2006-11-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

Gamaliel is a young deaf man in his 20's, whose family immigrated from the Dominican Republic. That in itself is an intriguing story, particularly since his mother first made the journey by small boat as so many others do, looking for a better life in Puerto Rico. He has wanted to be baptized for some time, as a symbol of his relatively new faith, and today was the day! So after the church service this morning, we piled into cars and vans and drove through San Juan's streets to one of its many public beaches.

The surf wasn't too wild under the hot noon sun, but enough to make the shoreline waters murky. Pastor David signed a few words, and someone else joked about the shark barriers, warning he'd better be quick! :-) David reminded us of Kirk and Roger's trip to Africa a few years ago, where they learned of baptisms happening fast to avoid the crocodiles! As a sacrement of the church, baptism is an important enough symbol for people to risk much. In fact, a couple of weeks ago we did some research into the church in countries that are not open to Christians worshipping freely, and we learned of some who walk hours through muddy streams in the middle of the night so they can be baptized in secluded rivers away from the eyes of the authorities.

And so Gamaliel was baptized, following what Jesus said (Matt. 28:19) "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." It was a privilege to witness it.

A very happy Gamaliel!

Pasteles

2006-11-25T19:47:00.000-05:00

You'll be glad to know our "dressing for 50" worked out! Enough to stuff a pterodactyl :-) Besides having the much-anticipated turkey and stuffing, last night's church Thanksgiving dinner included wonderful pasteles, which are a traditional Puerto Rican food wrapped in banana tree leaves. This recipe included rice, spices, olives, other veggies, meat, and I think banana or plantain. Delicious!

335 miles later...

2006-11-23T12:18:00.000-05:00

I've been having trouble with Blogger and posting pics... but maybe we have a happy solution with our new Picasa Web Album. We'll have to see how it works out... and we'll have to add more pics, of course!

It's Thanksgiving here today and we enjoyed the Macy's parade on TV... quite a show. Since the school's closed this week, we decided to head to the west part of the island, and stayed a couple of nights near Aguada. It was a really nice inn, and a great "base" for exploring places we haven't been before.

North of Aguadilla is a well-known beach called Crash Boat, famous for its colourful fishing boats. We even saw a couple of boats speed into the beach, with the drivers lifting up the outboard motors just as they skidded up the sand!

We also enjoyed a seafood restaurant where Tonya and I shared this whole Red Snapper... mild and delicious! Even though I love fish, it's still a fairly pricey choice on most menus despite PR being surrounded by ocean. So this was actually the first time we've indulged in this delicacy.

Rincón was another spot we wanted to see... a real Bohemian-type area with a few folks who look like they arrived in the '60s and never really left! Lots of surfing on this coast, and we did see a few though we were told the surf wasn't really up that day. No, I didn't "catch a wave"! :-)

Other memorable notes: seeing massive Jackfruit on the property where we stayed; visiting a sacred arts museum in San Germán and meeting Don Efraín Torres, who's one of Puerto Rico's famous carvers (santeros) of wooden Santos; visiting the 3 Kings museum in Juana Díaz and mostly understanding the all-Spanish tour!

Tomorrow we'll be heading into San Juan with pans of turkey stuffing for 50... yup, church supper! But today's a take-it-easy one, amidst the busy-ness of our condo complex that is now filling with families celebrating the season. ¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

La Lechónera

2006-11-18T14:16:00.000-05:00

Stands that serve slow-roasted pig on a spit are all over the island. It gets roasted over a fire for about a day, then they bring it out to sell. We pass one called "Lechónera Willy" every time we go to San Juan. Every festival has at least one, plus roadside tents and tables appear along the highways every weekend. We enjoyed some in the summer, in Barranquitas, when T's sister and our nephews were here... delicious. Note the carving utensil... yes, that's a machete! Slices, dices, weeds the garden... :-)

We've noticed a lechónera here in Fajardo that seems to open up on some Saturdays, so today we decided to try it out for lunch. To go... wow. This is 2 pounds of "the other white meat" (delicately sliced with a machete) and oh so very tasty.

We enjoyed it with some pan de agua... the yummy and ubiquitous Puerto Rican bread. As long as a french loaf but chubbier and softer, and it is also on the sweet side. Every bakery (panadería) on the island sells this, as do grocery stores and gas stations. Part of most people's daily diet. Some students were telling us that for Thanksgiving they'll have it with garlic as a special treat.

Speaking of sweet... there's a place in Old San Juan called Cafe Mallorca whose specialty is this sweet bread roll covered in powdered sugar, called a mallorca. They use it to make sandwiches and even breakfast sandwiches with egg, cheese, and bacon. Puts the McD's McMuffin to shame, really! :-) And today T discovered mallorcas in a Fajardo panadería so we'll have to try 'em out sometime.

Iguanas and a car fire

2006-11-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

The "granddaddy" iguanas seem to be re-emerging. When we got here last January - February, we seemed to see so many of them. Then after April, they went into hiding and we mostly saw only the younger ones. There is such a distinct difference... the older ones are huge, with big flaring neck pouches and colourful accents. Anyway, we knew they could climb trees but we still usually looked at the ground for them. Today Tonya spotted a dozen or so in the trees... and snapped this pic. Yowza... this one is probably 4 ft. long!

Tonya joined the kids from school on a field trip today, and they passed a car fire. Car fire + van load of kids = excitement! :-) It doesn't happen as often as you'd think, given the age / condition of some cars we see around.

We are getting ready for US Thanksgiving week, which means no classes at the school all next week, and at least two special church dinners. Tonya and Emma are making some little gifts for the school kids at this moment. Always good to have a craft to entertain little Em! Thanksgiving / Christmas decorations have begun to appear around town (lots of inflatable ones around...), and the stores are starting to get busy. We've been warned to stay away from shopping plazas after Thanksgiving! The weather's been nicer lately in that it isn't so humid (still in the 80's each day) and down into the mid-70's overnight which is nice for sleeping. Days are getting somewhat shorter (sunrise 6:30, sunset 5:45), but nowhere near what happens back in Canada. We missed the really long days of summer, but we'll appreciate what we have now! :-)

Let's see.. what else? I've started taking a correspondence course in New Testament Greek. We'll see!

A great week with my sis... !

2006-11-06T06:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry we've been absent from the blogosphere... busy times. My sis came from Canada to visit us the last week of Oct. and it was terrific. It's nice to feel like "locals" sometimes when we get to show people around. But we also went places we haven't been before, and that is always good too. Little Em misses her "Auntie Karen" of course, but we are anticipating a reunion with family at Christmas. Meanwhile, today Karen is having hip number 2 replaced. Amazing to see the result of her first replacement last May, but we know the surgery and 3-month recovery are grueling. If you think of it, a prayer on her behalf would be appreciated. Thank you!

Big chill

2006-10-20T11:55:00.000-04:00

We're all back in PR after a great time in Canada. We certainly saw a range of weather, and little Em just loved the snow! We flew out of Buffalo and saw some of the damage that they suffered... so weird that happened just two hours away from where we were.

We arrived to find the lock on one of our suitcases had been cut by the TSA and they put in a card saying they had checked it out. I guess we need to get an approved lock! I find it weird that by doing the inspection they actually make the suitcase less secure... shouldn't they put a cable tie on it or something? Maybe that's just me... :-)

Back in a bit...

2006-10-06T14:25:00.000-04:00

Well the humidity was the same in both places this morning, but otherwise there's a big difference! I'm sure my Canadian friends will think I'm nuts... but I am looking forward to cool weather. Air conditioners just aren't the same. I also miss the change of seasons... here in PR I honestly have lost a sense of what time of year it is. If I didn't have a calendar, I'd have no clue. It's a weird feeling. I'm also looking forward to having actually cold water out of the tap! Happy Thanksgiving!

Rural life

2006-10-06T11:25:00.000-04:00

Free grass-cutting!

Beating back the jungle

2006-10-05T15:54:00.000-04:00

Living in a tropical environ-ment, I find that we spend a lot of energy "negotiat-ing" our living arrange-ments with nature... i.e., beating back the jungle. Plants thrive and flourish in the heat and humidity here, so at the school all the grass needs to be cut weekly, and many of the hedges and vines need to be stripped down. Otherwise, the jungle overtakes everything and buildings get overrun. The same goes for bugs. Tuesday I was alerted to the presence of termites around the back of one of our buildings. A 30-foot mud "tube" had been built along the foundation, and termites were busily devouring some wooden paint easels.

To say these things are destructive is an under-statement. They tunnel through wood like nothing else. I don't know how long it took for them to set up this operation, but it would have been in a matter of weeks, not months or years... I'd been around that area regularly until about 3 weeks ago. They went to town on 3 easels, and fortunately we stopped them before they actually fell apart! Tuesday I used a pressure-washer to destroy their old tube, but I noticed today the termites were back at constructing a new one... so tomorrow I'll have to address that again.

Even in our own apartment we have our battles... ants (never-ending!), centipedes, flying ants, walking sticks, and more recently a few lizards. I'd been trying to get this guy for 2 days now... finally caught him 30 minutes ago and now he's back outside where he can roam.

Parallel parking

2006-09-27T21:23:00.000-04:00

Okay, so here's the scoop on my driver's license, and other things related. Shortly after my post about getting my "learner's license", I was able to book a road test. Apparently the 30-day waiting period law is regularly ignored! My "appointment" was scheduled for 6:00 AM... which meant show up and park in line with a bunch of other people who also have a 6:00 AM appointment. I was around 6th in line. The department of transportation examiner arrived around 7:15. By then there were probably 20 cars in line. While I was waiting in line, I struck up a conversation with a driving instructor who was there with his students. He said I needed to have someone else with me who shows their license, or else they won't let me take the test. So he asks around for me and "mi amigo" Raul steps up. Totally nice people here. The driving instructor then asks if I'm going to use the van I arrived in. "Um... yes." He says it looks a bit big for the parallel park test, but good luck with that. Hmmm... the parallel park. I do it all the time, I thought, so I guess I'll take my chances.

Driving examiner finally gets to me. She speaks mostly Spanish. Raul flashes his license, and we're ready to go. Drive straight. Turn right. Do a U turn (!). Turn left. Drive straight. Parallel park. She said my van was probably too big for it... plus she said a fair bit at that point, in Spanish, and I didn't quite get it. The space was some pylons on the ground, and it was tight (I went back later, and there's actually no way the van would fit between the cones). I began my reverse, got into the space pretty well and then shifted to forward and straighten up. She says "uh uh uh... revés solamente". I'm not allowed to go forwards in a parallel park apparently. And so she failed me. For $5, I can retake the road test whenever I'm ready. Sigh.

And that was more or less the moment when I decided we should take a trip back to Canada... to "reset" the 120 days on our licenses, and take the pressure off. So, Tonya and Emma went up last week and are enjoying some family time in chilly Canada, and I'll be heading up for the Canadian Thanksgiving. Looking forward to visiting my family. Just a short trip, but the fares were great and I can then take some more time to practice my parallel park and maybe find a smaller car to borrow for the test!

As for practicing parallel parking, I found a fun little web site game called Pépère, his car and his parallel parking that lets you try your hand. Let me know if you have any success doing this in reverse only... remember, no going forward and straightening out the car!

School Bullies

2006-09-27T20:42:00.000-04:00

Last Friday I arrived at the school to find the new pre-schooler's swingset had been tossed over. The kids were soooo excited! Overnight, two bulls came onto the property through our "weakest link"... part of our barbed wire fence had been knocked down by a fallen tree. The staff living at the school said it was around 3:30 in the morning, and the two bulls were butting heads around the playground equipment (no doubt they were fighting over who got to use the slide...) Anyway, they knocked over the swingset despite some pretty major anchors I had put in, and bent up a bunch of the posts. They also left some "pies" around. Yuck!

Pastor Bob from Luquillo came over Sat. with some young guys from their church, and they fixed the fence. Yay! Next is to salvage what we can from the swingset - it's stored inside for now. Hopefully we don't have to deal with bulls (or cows... yikes!) again. Here's a pic. the school director took Thursday morning... the day before he came back with his buddy... so this wasn't the first time this bull came in and here one of the school's resident dogs is letting him know he's not welcome.

Walking stick

2006-09-16T19:17:00.000-04:00

One thing that's cool about being in the tropics is the kind of bugs you get on your walls. Sure you've got your average pesky flies, mosquitoes, and ants... but how about a walking stick?! Amazing. To give you a sense of perspective, this guy's about 8 inches long. Amazing!

New word: backblogged

2006-09-11T17:55:00.000-04:00

As in, "We've had a busy couple of weeks and now I'm backblogged. I guess it's time to catch up on my blog posts!" :-) I've thought of posting a few times but just didn't get to it... until now. Happy reading!

First things first, Tonya's tooth is doing well. The root canal was a great success!

A couple of Sundays ago we attended a "first birthday" party for the daughter of a couple from the church. A really BIG deal here in Puerto Rican culture, with great food (it helps to have a friend who's studying to be a chef!), games, a clown, and lots of people. It started at 2:00 in the afternoon, and we left EARLY at 7:30, just after they cut the cake. Hadn't opened the gifts yet. Wow, what an event! The one-year-old was awake the whole time, too!

Every year the deaf churches on the island get together for a Labor Day picnic. Our San Juan church was "host" this year, and we held it just down the road in a public park in Hato Rey. About 100 deaf people from around the island were there, and thankfully the rain held off until the very end... then it came in torrents! It was really great to see some new folks, and I (Andrew) was glad to meet a few other deaf pastors. There are certainly people here around the island who care a lot about the deaf community. Down side: Tonya had invested a lot of time planning games for everybody, but I ended up hanging out with about 10 kids for an hour and NONE of the adults came to play. :-( Oh, and none of the kids spoke English. I had my standard repertoire of "¡mira!", "¿quiere?", "¡si!", and "¡no!" - but the plans kinda went out the window. For example, a water balloon toss game quickly degraded into a water balloon fight. I managed to stay out of the crossfire but my bucket of 50 balloons was gone in less than 2 minutes! :-)

Friday we attended the high school graduation for the son of a deaf woman at the church - some of our Canadian friends may know Zenaida and her son Brian. Brian graduated with several honours and we're all proud of him. He had been in a special National Guard program for the past 6 months in Juana Diaz (south side of the island) to help him finish his high school diploma, and the graduation ceremony was certainly a military event. Here the drill sargents are making the graduates do push-ups in front of their friends and families. Oh and it was 95 degrees in the sun that day! Poor graduates, wearing their uniforms under their grad robes :-) And I'm glad I didn't have to do push-ups at my graduation last May... right, Alvin? LOL!

Finally, we're still trying to get our driver's licenses. You may recall my post back in July when I had to begin the process, and they said they wouldn't let me take the written test until I got an "invitation" from them in the mail. They said it would come in a couple of weeks. It came 5&1/2 weeks later. I got myself over there and wrote the test, and passed. Then they said they had a problem with the VISA on my passport, since it's good for only 2&1/2 more years. The Puerto Rico driver's license is good for 6 years. They said I needed to get an extension to my VISA beyond 6 years in order to get a license. Huh?! They think that I'd stay beyond my VISA because my license wasn't expired yet? I didn't know whether to laugh... (I didn't). I explained the R-1 VISA isn't ever renewable for that long, and they said they'd take it up with upper managers. Their one solution was to leave PR every 120 days and return (you can drive here with a non-PR license for 120 days, and leaving/returning is like pressing the "reset" button). Tonya and I are now past the 120 days, though we've been trying to do the right thing all along (and Tonya's still waiting for her "invitation", by the way). Today, I learned they'll let me have the license... yay. EXCEPT now we learned they don't have reciprocity for licenses from Canada any more (i.e., they don't just take the Canadian license and give you a PR license). They used to... others here from Canada had done so in years gone by. But we seem to be facing all the new policies that have been implemented since 9/11. I now have a "learner's permit" and I have to take the road test... according to the paperwork, I can't do that until at least 30 days from now. Oh and I need to be driving with a licensed adult. So, this is what it feels like to be 16 again! :-)