Category Archives: People

The Caucuses & home again… almost. Days #14 & 15

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Our last day was a ‘nothing’ day – nothing planned out. Nothing pressing. Nothing at all.

Got up for breakfast & then I went back to bed for another couple hours of sleep, while theBean headed out to a flea market with our new friends Elisar & Dinara, an early 30’s Kazakh married couple we met at the DLT. They’re a part of the local church, but haven’t been a part of any of the previous DLT cohort; they’re friends of Al’s & he thought they’d enjoy DLT & the opportunity to invest in their new (almost 11 months of marriage) marriage. Elisar lived in the US for 12 years & Dinara is a great communicator, so their English is better than mine. This couple has truly been one of our highlights from this trip.

Wine & Coffee Bar – Meidan Bazar

After my post-breakfast nap I navigated the Tbilisi neighborhood where we stayed to jump a taxi & head to the Chateau Mukhrani, a wine & coffee bar outside the Meidan Bazaar (flea market) where they’d spent the morning. We enjoyed relative shade & lots of great talks, doing our best to avoid the 100F that has followed us throughout the trip. A couple hours later, we made our way across the Square to a row/side street full of restaurants, all shaded with a canopy, some with intermittent misters that promised, albeit apocryphally, a respite from the heat.

Restaurant row – with misters

 

The barkers in front of the restaurants were cutthroat in their approach, yet markedly similar. Twenty-somethings surgically attached to their hookah/shisha, looking bored & fried simultaneously, coming miraculously alive at passerby approaching… at the possibility their restaurant would be chosen. All the restaurants looked remarkably similar & seemed to come from a common kitchen (ala airport “cuisine.”) No matter – the place we stopped had a dedicated fan pointed at our table, full of (empty) promises to comfort us with furnace-like air.

We ordered some of our favorite Georgian food & talked. Marriage, family, priorities, meaning of life things. Precious times.

Went, by taxi, back to our hotel & packed up in preparation for our departure in the morning.

Slept great. Quick coffee in the dining area of the hotel. Taxi to Tbilisi airport. On time flight to Istanbul. Short layover – then 12 1/2 hour flight to Seattle, customs & dinner, & then home to Reno by midnight – a 24-hour travel day. Except…

When we landed in the US we had to pick up our bags & transport them through customs & passport control, then drop them off at the “connecting flights” counter… standard for our international flights not terminating in that local.

Made sure to check & double check our Reno flight – 9:40 p.m. Last one of the day. Still good. Navigated customs & passports, dropped off our bags & went through security again & got the full American experience of having TSA officials either A) be oblivious on their phones, completely ignoring us (& all the other travelers) or B) loudly lecturing me for leaving my iPad in my carry-on (which Seemed to Be Ok as we’d already cleared Tbilisi & Istanbul airports without an incident). I found that 20 hours of travel with no sleep PLUS that guy is a perfect recipe for grumpy Louie to emerge. But I didn’t take the bait. I just looked at him & thought of things that made me smile… like the taste of Coke Zero – Cherry, the laughter of the youngest of them all – Elo, the hug of a Jane-bug, seeing & hugging my kids & all the other grandkids… & a couple other sarcastic & pointed retorts that I DID NOT let out of my mouth. But they were funny to me.

And we made our way towards our gate – C18 – looking, dutifully, at the DEPARTURES monitor as we passed them – always checking – because OCD & because practice.

And then it said “CANCELLED.” For reals.

Turns out Alaska is STILL being plagued by IT problems – & we had already been rebooked on a 4 pm flight for the next day (Tuesday 8/5). After some shenanigans & deciding to submit receipts for reimbursement (instead of standing in line for Guest Services in the C gates – along with 40 other people in front of us) we found a hotel within a mile of SEATAC that also had a free shuttle, booked a room & navigated America to our room.

Ate a nice dinner – split wings & a burger, grabbed a hot shower, watched a Hallmark show & crashed hard. Slept til 3:30 a.m. Watched part of a Hallmark show; went back to sleep til 10. Got our included breakfast & a late-ish checkout, 1:30 p.m. Flight today is still a “GO;” we’re heading out around 1:45-2 p.m. to SEATAC, & God-willing, will be home by 6 p.m. & in our own beds tonight. For reals this time.

Thank you to all of you who joined us for prayer & care on this trip – you are loved & appreciated. We’ve already gotten great feedback from our DLT friends in Central Asia & the Caucuses – & theBean & I feel a sense of both relief & accomplishment at a mission completed… for now. Looking forward to continuing these relationships & seeing where they go & how our paths may cross again in the near future.

The Caucuses – Day #13 – Last Sessions & Late Night Food/Fun/Fellowship

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Morning coffee never hit so good as it did before the last DLT sessions. Like most places theBean & I have been privileged to stay when we travel in this part of the world, there is a top notch “what’s your pleasure” coffee machine in the dining area. My go-to this trip was: Hit the Americano with an espresso topper, then add my own milk.

Sessions were: the roles of Fathers & Mothers – both in the natural family order as parents & also in spiritual terms, where we’re given the opportunity to help nurture & care for & contend for the spiritual life, development & well-being of others… esp. in situations/places where people are virtually parent-less (no leadership, no input from others, no direction, no care) & have no real idea on how to mature, grow up, live out the life of a Christ-follower.

We see all sorts of examples & precedents for this in Scripture, most notable with the Apostle Paul & Timothy (& Titus, though we hear more about the Paul/Timothy relationship.) Timothy was the son of a Greek man & a Jewish woman. A believer, at some point Paul encountered him & his mom (never really heard anything about dad) & took an interest in his growth & development as a Christian. Paul invited him to travel with him on one of his trips & took the time to impart everything he knew to him through the day-to-day process of sharing the Gospel Good News in new places, helping establish churches for the new believers, & in navigating the challenges & difficulties brought about in opposition, persecution, & other points of adversity. Paul refers to Timothy as his “true son in the faith” & writes at least 2 letters to him (1 & 2 Timothy); we also know that Paul installed Timothy as the pastor of the church at Ephesus as well.

The main encouragements we wanted to offer are these: God can give His people a ‘heart’ to care for others, esp. new believers & people without (obvious) help, leaders, & the like. As we grow up in Jesus, one of the things (I believe) that we’re to do is to take an interest in the well-being & development of others. To intentionally bless, care for, & impart what we’ve learned in Christ ourselves to those we encounter. That can often involve the development & ongoing maintaining of deep relationships that often mirror those of chosen family – spiritual parents if you will – that, like natural parents are called to do with their own &/or adopted offspring, care for & encourage their spiritual children.

I’ve never tried to declare myself to be someone’s spiritual “father” – I don’t know that you can demand/declare that you be given that role of significance & influence in the life of another. I believe it can be given by a person who adopts you as a person of influence & care for them. Its a beautiful thing – & it is a very helpful one, esp. in areas where there aren’t many (any?) visible spiritual elders, mature in the faith, to help lead & guide & offer direction to the believers in an area.

We asked our friend Ewald to share from his perspective what it means to him to be a spiritual father – we’ve known him for about 25 years, having met him & his wife Kerstin years ago at a German pastors conference. He is probably the person I know who most exemplifies what it means to be a spiritual father; the way he cares for the well-being & ongoing development of new (newish) believers in Central Asia (& beyond) is truly inspirational… & I’m praying that many in the room received a deposit of that same Father’s Heart from the things he shared.

Our final session was on Balancing Family Life & Work/Ministry. We talked from our own experiences – burnout, rhythm, rest, Sabbath. Saying “yes” & “no” congruently. Prioritizing family & having a strong sense of what “SUCCESS” looks like for you. Accountability. Margin. Life in all its fullness – as it was intended, by Jesus, to be lived. Our Eurasian Bible College host (& lead pastor/overseer T) shared about the power of rest & rhythm, as our time in this DLT came to a close.

We shared communion together over a light meal, & our time as a group came to an end as the first travelers gathered their stuff & said their goodbyes before heading out to the real world & home.

TheBean & I went to a store on the corner & I bought some Coke Zero & kleenex; we settled in around 9 p.m. to what we thought would be a quiet night, watching a movie & then heading to bed.

And then we got a text inviting us to go for a brief walk & a glass of wine.

Which turned into a group of 12 of us walking the cobblestone streets, somehow making our way only about 1/4 mile from the hotel to a really great Georgian food restaurant (same one we ate at a couple days ago.) The glass of wine & walk idea disappeared into a raucous, joy-filled fellowship around a couple long tables pushed together, as people from 5 nations ate from a smorgasbord of Georgian cuisine. TheBean & I sat at the end of a table, kind of away from party-central but still close enough to be a part. We heard the stories of a young man in a closed ‘stan country who has created a budding travel agency in his country to cover over his movements around the country as he shares the gospel. We listened to (& watched) the music & videos created by another young man, musician & producer, tied to celebrating Jesus & Christmas outreach to his city. We ate the sausages wrapped in tortilla; the lamb skewers. Drank copious amounts of mineral water.

Finally, just after midnight, theBean & I excused ourselves & made our way back to the hotel, navigating the still-bustling city streets. Climbed the 5 floors to our room & finished our movie over a Coke Zero. And, with joy & contentment, fell asleep.

Today is Sunday – nothing on the agenda for us beyond morning coffee except perhaps a trip to a flea market with some of our new friends. We’ll be saying goodbye to others later in the day, & then tomorrow, 8/4, we’ll head to the local airport around 8:30 a.m. to begin our trek home.

Life is good. Jesus is great.

The Caucuses – Day #12 – Friends, food, & digging into challenging Scriptures

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Another hot day… & it lingers in a way we don’t get at home, never really reaching a cooling down. Our hotel room is on the 5th floor & there’s one elevator so we’ve been taking the stairs to the 1st floor conference room or the ground floor lobby/dining area. The top couple floors of the stairwell are a sauna & its a lot of fun to walk down, if nothing else than to get a modicum of relief by the time you hit the 2nd floor.

During breaks & at lunch we’ve been heading out into the neighborhood for a quick mental health break… but also to see this section of the city & walking among the crowds of people. Businessmen, shoppers, beggars. 20-somethings dressed the same as you’d see someone at home dressed; 50-somethings in traditional clothes. This city is a combination of old & new, traditional & cutting edge, east & west.

Lunch yesterday we were invited to a local place known for great Georgian cuisine. A group of us sampled dish after dish as we talked about life, family, food, & the like. Some of the food/drink I have only the vaguest idea what it was… a green carbonated “health” drink that turned out to be tarragon water. Khachapuri, a cheesy bread that looks like: a pizza-like dish (no red sauce; just crust & a lightly salty cheese filling &/or topping, cut into the familiar pizza-style triangles, or shaped like a Venetian gondola with cheese filling & a raw-ish (barely cooked) egg sunny side up. Khinkali, a dumpling filled with meats & spices & a broth that your supposed to slurp out of the side of the dumpling as you hold it by the ‘handle’ at the top. Fresh vegetables, cheeses, bread samplers, spiced sausage wrapped in a tortilla, & deliciously charred lamb/beef skewers, minus the skewers. A real feast.

Our DLT times have been good, with lots of often ‘spirited’ interactions. Topics yesterday included Family, Marriage, Husbands & Wives. There are several countries & cultures represented – all with their own viewpoints & interpretations of the familiar Scriptures & instructions in Ephesians 5 on family/family relationships given by the Apostle Paul. Everyone here is a pastor/church leader… & navigating the theology & understandings around the often emotionally charged topics has been an exercise in walking (& talking) carefully. Some are, very intensely, solid in their belief they know exactly what these Scriptures mean & how they apply them. Very cut & dried. “Scripture says clearly” which (in my experience, & cemented in my thinking today) is usually an indicator of a core position of both identity & theology for the individual… a lens through which they see & interpret & interact with the rest of the world, without the need or desire for any wiggle room. Jesus addresses this in the Sermon on the Mount – talking about “you’ve heard it said…” & then giving “but I say to you.”

I guess what I’m trying to say is this – the intention of God’s law & commands – & our understanding of Him & having relationship with Him – centers on Him creating the ways & means for us to be able to come to Him, on His terms. In a broken world with relationships ruled by chaos, selfishness, & the like, Jesus offers a way of mutual submission, gentleness, order & care rooted in His own, lived out example. The husband is called the “head” of the woman – not to lord authority over her & dominate her, but to provide a space of love, care, & protection where she can thrive & become all God has for her – based in the example given by the Lord – love your wife like Christ loves the Church, giving Himself up for her, laying down His life for her. Calling the instruction given for a wife to submit to her own husband, as she does to Christ – isn’t a punishment or a justly deserved consequence because “Eve didn’t listen to her husband, so she (& all the other subsequent women) need to be “kept in line” by a strong husband & his strong & sure (rigid? inflexible? letter of the law that kills?) interpretation of Scriptures.

Lots of prayers for grace & gentleness & (hopefully) clear & precise language in my communications the last couple days… asking God to help me manage & moderate my own expressions, non-verbals, & tone… when you don’t understand someone’s language & are relying only on a translation (or a 2nd hand translation where you talk through a translator who then is translated into the target language) its easy to misunderstand a person, esp. when they are from a totally different culture & people group & the norms aren’t the same as what you’re used to.

1 more day – 4 more sessions. Looking forward to our times together today…

Thank you for your prayers & support & encouragement.

to the Caucuses – Day #10 & 11? – The Heat is On

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Had a short (1 hour or so) delay to our flight leaving Central Asia, & arrived in the HEAT (35C/95F) of the Caucuses around 10:30 p.m. Turns out we had a few fellow DLT attendees on the plane with us, & we navigated the belly of the airport relatively unscathed. The cleanliness of the bathrooms really was impressive – they even smelled good. Cleared customs without an issues & gathered our luggages from the crawling carousel. Thank you Jesus.

Met our host for the next few days in the waiting area just outside of baggage claim & began the sometimes awkward (for me at least) process of meeting new people… a daunting task for me on a good day at home; especially challenging given the combo of everyone’s tiredness, late night, language challenges/barriers, & newness. We got sorted into a collection of Ubers & began the circuitous 30 minute journey to our hotel, weaving in & out of stop & go traffic, navigating the labyrinth of streets & combo of downtown neighborhoods & McCarran like streets. And then we arrived at our hotel. Kind of.

I’ve gotta say – getting dropped off in an alley, albeit with a sign for the hotel announcing its presence, was more than a little daunting. Hotel sign is there – where’s the hotel? Pulled our suitcases deeper into the alley, which, to be fair, had a bend at the end, so it wasn’t like we were in an alley with no exit… just no visible exit. Dark. Foreboding. Unfamiliar. We got about 10 yards into the alley & saw a collection of big city, almost Chicago-style restaurants inhabiting the ground floors of the myriad buildings crowded in around us, topped with what seemed to be a tetris collection of flats, apartments, & unknowns.

Right then, a car we hadn’t seen because of the darkness & probably our tiredness backed out of an alcove in the alley. It stopped & the driver rolled down the window & said, “You are looking for ….” & named the hotel. We said “Yes” & he pointed around the corner, smiled & headed out. We made our way in that direction & yes, indeed, there was our hotel, a 1920’s themed hotel built out into a 6 story old(?) new building. Seamlessly checked in & made our way to our top-floor room… to discover the temp in our room was 92. Ahhh. Quickly found the thermostat & worked out how to crank that A/C DOWN to 20C/68F. (BTW – that was Wednesday night; right now it is 7:30 a.m. Friday & it STILL hasn’t gotten below 22C/71F). But 71 > 92, at least when it comes to the temperature of one’s hotel room.

The room is about 1/3 the size of our room at the Be Fine, but it is still workable although without adequate dressers & with 1/2 the room taking on the low, sloping slant of the roof…  once we got our bags mostly stowed & our clothes put where they needed to be for the next few days, it was time for bed. Mostly. Too hot to sleep still I loaded up our VPN  & we watched part of a Hallmark show, a pleasant reminder of home.

Good sleep, slow morning, & breakfast in the hotel dining room. Typical setup of a boutique hotel breakfast area, but with local cuisine & breakfast items… & of course, cocoa puffs. Before this trip I hadn’t eaten them in at least 5 years. I ate two bowls. Went back to the room & crashed for another hour or so, then puttered around until lunchtime connections with our other DLT friends in the dining room. Got to meet a few new friends from nearby countries; I’m thankful that everyone speaks at least a tiny bit of English.

Our longtime friend from Germany, Ewald, is here. He’s on the board of directors of the Eurasian Bible College & has been ministering in the region for > 2 decades. He is a steadying force of a man, stable, encouraging, & grandfatherly (he has appeared that way since i met him back in the early 2000’s… even though he’s a little younger than me.) There have been logistical challenges & spiritual attacks/circumstances that will (probably) keep a couple handfuls of people who were signed up for the DLT from coming. There were about 25-30 people registered & we had about 15 who made it to the first session last night. Not 100% sure, but I think this might be the total number. We’re meeting in the hotel’s conference room, a small, odd-shaped room with few amenities or technology, but plenty of places to sit & comfy/cozy layout that facilitates squeezing into chairs around the tables & having easy conversations.

What precious people. Our hearts are moved & we feel connected to them as well…

Van Gogh in the live

Even though it was hot, we decided to brave the night with Ewald, our friend from last year, A, & a young 30 something couple who actually live in the city we were just in in Central Asia. We both connected with them & spent the next couple of hours walking the often cobblestoned streets of this ancient city & neighborhood looking at the things, taking the sights, sounds, & smells. Barkers stood outside their restaurants, hawking their food choices; humanity pressed up & down the street with people of every age & demographic packed into crowded spaces.

The group decided on gelato & we found an out  of the way shop with great A/C. Sat & talked for about 30 minutes, then made our way back to our hotel.

PRAYER REQUEST – I felt a twinge of pain in the bottom of my left foot about 1 inch below the joint on the 4th toe (you know, the little piggy who “had none.”) Not quite the ball of my foot. It hurts. Suddenly painful to walk or touch, bottom or top of the foot. I didn’t actually DO anything that seemed to cause it. I was walking on the uneven cobblestones, & then I noticed the pain.

As I type this in the morning on Friday, it hasn’t gotten worse… its just not any better. No swelling to speak of – its weird.

And we press on.

Breakfast in an hour or so, then 10-1 p.m. & 3-6 p.m. are our DLT sessions today, talking Family, Marriage, Husbands/Wives. We will see how it goes.

Central Asia – The Blur of Days #7-9 – DLT

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Monday around noon we loaded up the family van & headed to the Be Fine Hotel on the other side of the city… a decent 10 mile trek through midday traffic in a bustling city of 4 million. How long could it take?

2 hours. At least 2 hours. Stop & go traffic. Vehicles playing their own versions of a game resembling Frogger, Tetris, & tag. More close calls than I care to revisit. No accidents seen. Angels on overtime.

Settled into our hotel room with a brief respite before the opening sessions of DLT kicked off. This particular conference is Module 2 of the DLT material, “Marriage & Family” & the topics we covered over the last 3 days include – Discipleship & Leadership Training within the context of:

  • Family – what is it & what are God’s purposes for the family unit? How does God work with family to teach people about Himself & His character & life?
  • Marriage – who gets to define what is the purpose of marriage? What does Scripture have to say about marriage? How do you navigate through cultural & social norms for marriage when they are in conflict with Scripture? (For example, many cultures in Asia embrace the male dominated, female subservient role within marriage, where the husband is the absolute authority & ruler in the relationship, & the wife’s role is to serve the husband (& often the extended family of both sides – hers & her husbands), have children (esp. boys), often being treated more as a servant &/or possession than a partner. In Christ, marriage can be seen elevated to a loving partnership where both parties submit to one another out of reverence for Christ; where the husband takes on the servant leadership role of headship of the wife, laying down his life for her like Christ laid down His life for the church; where the wife willingly submits to her own husband (think 2 cars merging into 1 lane to avoid a crash) – instead of insisting on forcing her way ahead of her husband or into a domineering role over him, she comes alongside & walks with him.
  • the significant roles of the fathers & mothers in establishing & maintaining the identity & direction of the children; the role of spiritual fathers & mothers in providing care, leadership, encouragement, & mentorship in the pursuit of relationship with Christ, esp. for people who haven’t had the support/care of natural parents, or whose parents didn’t know Christ/didn’t teach them about life with Him.
  • the role of the single (unmarried) persons; the ultimate goal for all people for all life isn’t marriage – & singles aren’t to be pitied & treated as pariahs until the day when they could somehow (gasp!) enter into normal life & be married. There is a huge value on the individual in Christ.
  • Balancing family, life, work etc – living in rhythm & rest; embracing the Sabbath as a normative part of life for the Christian disciple;
  • As I’m doing this off the top of my head, I’m forgetting a couple of sections…

As I’m typing this, it is now Wednesday at 6 a.m. We’ll be doing our last sessions of this Central Asian DLT in about 4 hours – over the last 3 days, our schedule has included at least two 3-hour sessions to present the material through a translator, initiate & moderate discussions around the 5 or 6 tables where the participants are scattered 4-6 deep; provide opportunities for meaningful feedback from the participants.

The drain on the brain is real – trying to teach & “facilitate” while attempting to think in simple, easily translatable concepts, avoiding Americanisms & idioms that we rely on for our daily communication without even knowing it. Think:

  • Watching paint dry.
  • Actions speak louder than words.
  • Hang in there.
  • The last straw.

All of these were used this week. Native English (or at least Northern NV Americans) would easily pick up what is being said with each of these phrases… but for the Central Asian for whom English (not American, but English – there is a HUGE difference) is a 3rd or 4th language, it is tough & requires stopping, giving an explanation, re-translations, etc. Add to the mix the nuanced & emotionally charged topics of marriage & family which are often fraught with disappointment, frustrations, & unmet expectations, & you’ve got quite the brain drain.

Add to that 3 meals a day – social & conversational events that require patience, a sense of humor, & more than a few attempts to even get a cursory understanding of the simplest of interactions & you see why & how a person gets fried.

We’re 12 hours ahead of home, which makes for easy math, but not great sleep. We’ve been able to head to bed around 10 each night, often passing out quickly only to reawaken in the middle of the night (I’ve seen the clock turn from 2 to 3 a.m. every night so far) & struggle to get back to sleep before the morning responsibilities kicked in.

After our last session & receiving communion together today, we’ll be packing our bags & (eventually) heading to the airport where we’ll catch a flight to our next destination in the Caucasus where the Russian-language DLT starts tomorrow (Thursday for us – at 2 p.m.) It will wrap up Saturday evening with communion & celebration.

We’re looking forward to reconnecting with our dear friends who are the overseers for the Eurasian Bible School – people we got to know last year who are meeting us there for the DLT. From what we’ve been told, there are participants coming from several surrounding countries – all who have committed to the 18-month DLT process as they explore formalizing their personal & their churches relationships with Foursquare & either joining or, more often, beginning the process of forming the Foursquare Church in their country of origin. It’s a long & relational process – & I have to say – people are people.

Thank you for your prayers & support – they are helping us through some challenging times & we are seeing God doing some really cool things in healing marriages, providing hope & thoughts of a different & preferable future, in addition to growing as disciples of Christ. After all, what good is our faith if it doesn’t have a transformational effect on us in every area of life, especially in our interpersonal interactions with loved ones & family – both family of origin & chosen.

Central Asia – Day #6 – Church & stuff

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We didn’t have an assignment Sunday morning, so we hung out @ Y&G’s home while they took care of life business, including church meetings, gardening, & prep for afternoon (2 p.m.) church services. We’ve both been waking up around 4 a.m. local time (on the good night’s sleep) & then getting drowsy around 9 or so (9 p.m. at home) which makes sense, but is also inconvenient when we’re getting ready to start the day. More than once we’ve cat-napped & pushed through, hoping that our clocks & the urgency of pressing assignment of the DLT/Sunday service/people meetings would provide the boost (adrenaline? energy? kick?) to thrive & be fully physically & mentally present. So far, so good, but we’re heading into the intense portion of the trip – both mentally & relationally.

Spaghetti for lunch then we headed over to the church in the 110 F heat – the roads around the church are riddled with pot-holes & at best are severely pock-mocked with hole-ey asphalt, to the point that we had to turn the van around multiple times to avoid an impassable chasm. Excitement & lots of laughs.

Church was coolish, especially in the sanctuary; the extreme heat has made the occasional mid-80’s feel (almost) pleasant. Had a chance to say hello to a few people we met on our visit here last year, & then jumped into the vibrant worship, led by a team of several youngers on guitar, bass, keys, cello, drums, & a native-to-this-country mandolin-looking instrument, along with several gifted & energetic singers/worship leaders. We used the google-machine to translate some of the worship lyrics & other than that, just enjoyed our time of worship surrounded by a great church.

As I mentioned in the blog I did last night, I spoke from Ecclesiastes on ENJOYING God’s provisions & embracing His version of the Meaning of Life… had a lot of feedback from people who are wrestling with some of life’s biggest questions: finding purpose; money & stuff; relationships, marriage, & families; attempting to establish oneself independently but still honor parents & family of origin… the same kind of things we wrestle with. Same Same.

The message part of the service seemed to fall in the middle vs the end of gathering, & there were lots of other people giving testimonies, sharing info about recent mission trips, & even celebrating July birthdays. From beginning to end, service was about 3 hours long. Hung out a bit afterwards for chocolates & hot tea (always hot tea) & dodged the One Guy who wanted just a little bit too much time, energy, & personal information. We were invited out to dinner with our hosts & the pastor of the local church. Really challenging to figure out on the fly exactly WHAT is happening & WHEN & also WHAT is expected of us with each interaction. Our first DLT is a work in process & we’re getting more & more information about what will be happening today (starting in about 4-5 hours) at the same hotel/hostel we stayed at last year. It’s located in the hills above the city & should be (key words – should be) a bit cooler than it is down here in the valley… where, by the way, it’s supposed to be way down to a balmy 87F.

Prayers appreciated as we head into the 7 days of DLT; will do my best to continue posting. If I remember correctly, the place we’re staying for the next 3 days doesn’t have the best wifi & it was a challenge to get even a blog to post last year. But we’ll see. No borrowing trouble from the future…

 

CA: Days #13-#15

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Thanks in advance for your patience… the last couple of days have been low-key & quiet, with a lot of hanging out around Julia’s house & also in the surrounding countryside.  We’ve been starting the morning with coffee (& raisin-bran muffins for me!) & quiet reading time in the coolness of the day. Sunday-Tuesday were HOT.. in the 90F hot, getting down to maybe 80F in the evenings. Most places in Germany don’t have a/c so the only respite from the heat comes in the form of an occasional fan, & even then they are not everywhere. Makes me very thanikful for our Reno/Sparks weather & the coolness of the day that we get (most) every evening/morning.

With the 9 hour time difference, its actually been more difficult here than in CA to keep up on what is happening at home, though we have been able to listen to/watch church at Hillside & get the occasional Marco Polo calls from loved ones. The slowed down pace of the last few days have really driven home the point that our time in CA was a LOT. TheBean & I calculated that our last day in CA – travel day to Germany – we were up for 34 hours w/o more than a short nap; the body & system take a bit to recover from that. When I was younger I would have tried to “push through” the fatigue & mileage adding up on the proverbial odometer, but at this point in life I’ve learned that if I don’t pay attention to the signs of a need for rest & acknowledge that I’m out of rhythm, I may end up with a body that makes me stop. So far, so good… with daily naps we’re doing ok, though I am currently battling a head-cold & some epic sneezes. I’m still feeling a 7-10, but prayers for health & wholeness are appreciated.

Tuesday Julia took us to the Mummelsee, a little alpine tourist-y village type area with a rustic (Bean says “quaint”)  hotel & lots of old-style gifts shops selling the things this area is known for:  Black Forest ham; cuckoo clocks; every kind of schnapps made from every kind of fruit; Black Forest cake; & lots of trinkets. The whole mountain area reminded me a bit of a super small version of “Heavenly Village.”

We walked all the way around the Mummelsee (think Virginia Lake & you get the understanding of it- a brown colored, gnarly smelling body of water not so big – with a whole bunch of people from all over the European Union (this is a tourist destination, don’t you know?) swimming in the lake. Julia was having NONE of that – thinks it is gross.

The path around the lake snaked up to a paved road that wound its way up the mountain to the summit; a path about a mile long with a climb of > 500 feet. It was cooler here than in town, but still flipping hot – & we climbed up all the way to the restaurant where we would have lunch: the Grinde Hűtte. I had a burger & theBean had a version of raviolis; Julia had some vegan sweet potato business. I won.

Eventually we made our way down the mountain to the car & drove the 30 minutes or so to her flat, where we spent the rest of the evening relaxing; the girls watched a Hallmark movie (they are everywhere) & we loosely planned out our next couple of days & visits with Julia’s family.

Wednesday was cooler – dropped to 85F & there is hope for even more of a drop the next few days before we leave on Sunday. Wrapped up a luxuriously slow day with a nap then dinner at the Haus of die Familie Kern: Julia’s parents. Since we met them in 2007, we’ve come to treasure our times around their table, talking about life & spiritual things & normal things & disappointments & joys… all while sharing good food & lots of laughter. Julia’s parents, Klaus & Pia have a great sense of humor & are so hospitable. Like our time with Pastor Roland & his family, we stayed until the clock reminded us we would all turn to pumpkins if we didn’t sleep soon.

Today, Thursday – theBean made another round of bran muffins: blueberry, raisin, & banana this time, & I am a fan. I still don’t know what the deal was… why I was craving these so much, but at least for this trip, I am committed to doing my part to remove them from the planet… one muffin at a time.

The girls are getting ready & in a bit we will head out to one of the close & local vineyards/wineries in the area for some great views, good local wines, & (probably) over-priced charcuterie boards (isn’t that what wineries do?)

I’ve spent a lot of time  reading & praying & wondering… what will come from this trip? What are our ‘next steps?’ Esp since there are so many possibilities & invitations etc… Makes me dive deep into Jesus to hear what His God-ideas are for us & HOW & WHERE He would like to pour out our lives in the portion we live outside of our local Reno/Sparks/Hillside context. There are so many possibilities & good ideas… Praying for some God-ideas & insights.

Thank you for your continued support & prayers – enjoying our time (& rest!) immensely, but also missing home.

CA: Days #11 & #12

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Sunday morning we woke up early-ish & I took the time to drink some coffee & review my notes. Speaking through an interpreter requires (for me) a different kind of approach than ‘normal.’ Meaning – i went through my notes & wrote down ‘jumping off’ words… the kind of words that I could use to trigger memory to point me in specific direction for making sure to hit the main ideas of the message. Think about it – if 30 minutes total are allotted for the Speech, that means you’ve got about 15 or so minutes to communicate, plus an additional 15 minutes for the interpreter to speak, clarify, etc… That ( for me)  means taking a swing at a smaller, more compact chunk of Scripture, & trying to keep my ideas & inspiration focused & on point, having thought through introduction & closing so that I don’t waste the entire time saying “hello” & then “goodbye.”

Something that helps with this is speaking from a passage that I’ve spoken from before &/or that is especially familiar/alive to me at the moment. This trip this meant Colossians 2:6,7. Today I ended up adopting a ‘tree’ analogy that I carried throughout the whole message, hopefully giving the picture of something lasting with deep, established roots not affected negatively or destructively by the storms & winds, & other crazy weather & circumstances… a strong, healthy tree with roots that spread out deep & wide in the good soil that is Christ. I think it went well… in spite of the 4 or 5 interruptions of the guy with the cell phone that kept going off… not with a ring, but with random phrases of German. It sounded like someone randomly spouting questions or thoughts & was disconcerting at first & “I want to punch you in the neck” frustrating by the last time it happened. Fortunately (for him? for me? for everyone?) he took his phone & left the room; not sure if he came back; I tried to focus on the other half of the sanctuary (the room is divided like a “V” with a support beam in the middle of the room providing a man-made separation of the building into 2 similarly sized ‘wings;’

After church we stuck around for coffee & I may have helped myself to a chunk of homemade banana bread – a first-time experience for me in Germany. Had an opportunity to reconnect with Jana, a young lady we met last November. She remembered that I’d talked about my affinity for peanut butter & chocolate chips; she told me back then that she like to make her own peanut butter & that when i came back, she’d made me some.

And today she gave me my very own jar of homemade peanut butter with some chocolate swirled inside. Later, she sent us a message saying, “One thing that is important to me is keeping my promises. I told you I’d make you peanut butter, & so I did.” She was super proud of it – both the PB & the promise keeping.

I’d have to agree Jana. Keeping your promises is HUGE. Greatly appreciate the love & care shown to us by The Arc Church; thankful for them receiving us again.

Made our way to Julia’s for a light lunch – eggs on a dense brown bread, & then dragged ourselves to bed for a nap… slept for an hour or so & woke up (mostly) refreshed in time to pull ourselves together to head over to Pastor Roland & Manuela’s home for dinner; he was grilling out.

It was still super hot so we sat on their terrace & drank cool water (spritzed with mint & elderberry syrup) & talked with our friends & their 2 teenage daughters – 15 & 13. It was great to catch up & work through the awkwardness of communication using our translation apps, & our interpreter Julia. The whole family spoke at least a little English, so we were able to converse a bit; thankful for them making the effort, & also for the conversations about life, family, church, daughters, & seasons of life.

Roland grilled pork steaks, chick kabobs, & a variety of sausages; he can really cook & also EAT. Homeboy finished any food left on our plates & kept going back for more. He’s tall (6’1″) & about 180, but he eats like a champion. We were impressed.

By the time we looked at the clock, it was already 10 p.m. so we gathered up our stuff & said our goodbyes for the night; not sure if we’ll be seeing them again on this trip, as we decided to hold off making any decisions on the week until after a good night’s sleep.

Woke up this morning around 9 & made our way into the kitchen for coffee. TheBean & Julia decided today was the day to make Raisin Bran muffins… something I’ve been craving for several weeks, & haven’t been able to find in any of my usual hang outs at home. Not sure WHY I was craving raisin bran muffins, only that I wanted ’em. It seemed like forever (it was 30 minutes max) until the muffins came out of the oven. I took a bite of one – plain & in all of its glory – & was immediately rewarded with a taste explosion. YES. This was what I’ve been craving & wanting. 2nd muffin got the butter treatment; it’s only self-control & wisdom that is standing between me & the rest of the muffins disappearing.

Not sure what else is on our agenda today – rest; food; talks with Julia; etc. But now seems like a good time for a nap. Happy Monday to me.

CA: Days #9 & #10

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Planes – Trains – & Automobiles… DISCLAIMER: I have lost track of days/time/hours etc. I had to confirm (2x) that it is, actually, Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. as I write this.

AUTOMOBILES: It seems more like 4 or 5 days since we said tearful goodbyes to our hosts & our CA team members sometime around 12:30 a.m. early Friday to make the 45 or so minute trek in our trusty & oh special Toyota Siena van to head to the airport. Each trip in the van with our local drivers was an experience that brought you closer to Jesus… usually in frantic prayer for protection as the drivers whipped in & out of traffic like wanna-be Formula One drivers, going from 0 to whatever the top acceleration speed is of an early 2000’s Siena that has been driven hard for > a decade & a half. Imagine driving down Mt. Rose Hwy in heavy traffic… with Mario Andretti as your driver… a Mario Andretti who believes all his loved ones will die unless he passes EVERY, SINGLE, CAR in front of him… in the next 45 minutes.

PLANES… Made it to the airport with about 3 hours before our flight, meaning we needed to wait to check in, as Lufthansa only opens check in about 2 hours (max) before flight time in this part of CA. Grabbed a flat-white from a storefront & shared a few moments of conversation with the team-members that traveled with us to the airport this morning. Shared time/space/experience gives a great recipe for building relationships; our time together over the last 9 or so days has really bound us together.

Eventually the time came for check-in; got through with no issues & navigated the security line without incident. TheBean & I decided to walk the terminal & discovered it was super-small… kinda had a John Wayne/OC airport feel, so it only took about 15 to circle our whole concourse. Made it to our gate & sat & talked with Teresa, an Aussie now based in SF at a 4square church there, the lone team member traveling on the same flight as us. We talked & I crushed a coldish Coke Zero.

The time for boarding came… & passed. Everyone headed out on this flight gathered around the gate opening in a way that would have made most gate attendants apoplectic; ours seemed to think this was normal & they went about their business checking their paperwork & who knows what else until all of the sudden, out of nowhere, surrounded by increasingly agitated people waiting for the flight, she started scanning boarding documents. No rhyme or reason; just first-come, first-served.  TheBean & I made it to our seats & found that we were in a 2 seat row of our own in Economy – no middle seat for us.

Flight was about 30 minutes late taking off, but we made good time to the first stop, then had a record speed reload with passengers headed to our destination for the day: Frankfurt. It was about 7 1/2 uneventful hours in the air – a daytime-ish flight, not really conducive for sleeping, so I watched a couple of movies, read my books, & ate selections of whatever foods that were brought to us… including a sample of the very worst sandwich in the history of sandwiches… a fact that has been confirmed by theBean, a normally positive woman who, I discovered after 36 years together, is capable of incredible negativity when it comes to disappointment associated with food, unmet expectations, & esp. those sandwiches.

NOTE: we’ve been sitting so much (flights, meetings, services,) over the last 9 days that, after this flight, my tailbone & seat feel like they are severely bruised. Coming to a standing position & then sitting back down has been excruciating. It got better through the day (walking helped) but still is a pain in the rear.

BUSES… Landed in Frankfurt around 11;45 a.m. local time (3 hours earlier than where we were in CA,) & grabbed our luggage & eventually made our way towards where we thought the buses might be located. NOTE: Because of construction, our normal & easy routine of ‘get on a train at the airport & head towards Baden-Baden’ was instead a “find the replacement bus station, which is different from the regular bus station, get on the correct replacement bus which will take you an hour down the road to the Mannheim Main Train station at which point you’ll then get on a train & continue to your destination.’

And we couldn’t find it.

I was hangry & had not slept in > 24 hours, so my hangry was at DEFCON 2; I was alert enough to recognize it, but not alert nor coherent enough to fully contain it. An impromptu stop at McDonald’s helped (yay Double Cheese Double meat Royale,) but we were still stymied on how to get to the “Replacement Bus” station. Doesn’t help that the FRAPORT is as big as the entire city of Fernley.

In our impaired states, we finally navigated to a DB travel center & found a very direct & very pointy German who gave us directions to the Replacement Bus center. Instructions that, point of order, didn’t fully make sense at the time, but after getting a clarifying couple of pieces of input from a very helpful airport worker, we were able to understand & apply. Navigated all the way down to where our Replacement Bus stop was, & discovered it was directly outside a Starbucks. Since we had a good 90 minutes to kill, we grabbed some iced drinks & sat in comfy chairs in blessed cool silence.

TheBean & I got on our bus – it was not a ‘normal’ bus, but more like a deluxe charter bus, with A/C & a WC in the back. TheBean slept for the hour it took to get to Mannheim; I read & tried to stay awake… feeling like if I slept I’d not be able to wake up fully.

TRAINS… 

The Replacement Bus stop was about 1/4 mile from the Main Station, so we dragged our bags through the streets of Mannheim along with the other passengers. Found our track & had another Coke Zero while trying to determine where we needed to stand on the long concrete spit that made up the train station & loading area. (Gotta get on the right wagon…)

A little helper gave us the direction we needed & we made it onto our correct wagon & found our seats. (Close to them at least. They were taken, but the ones next to them weren’t. A different Louie might have asked for MY seat, the one I was assigned by the Man. This Louie, hangry tired Burnt Toasty Louie just thought about it while taking identical & available seats right across from the ones we’d been assigned.

It was a quick trip & < half hour until we had to hustle off our train at Track 2 & drag-run our bags to Track 12, all in the space of 5 minutes. And we made it.

But…

There was no space for me to sit, nor to put the bags. So I stood off to the side of the exit on the train, along with a few close strangers, & sweated profusely while waiting til the 75 minutes & several stops were done & we would arrive in Achern to see our Julia.

AUTOMOBILES #2… 

We made it to Achern & I shuffled off the train, literally dripping w/sweat, trying not to look miserable – because I wasn’t. Just sweaty. At this point, I was almost past  feeling anything. Just wanted to get to Julia’s.

She & her mama, Pia, were at the station & helped us wheel our bags through the small-town station in Achern. We loaded our bags into their cars & drove the short 10 or so minutes to Julia’s flat. She lives on the 3rd floor, so we dragged our stuff upstairs & got settled &  showered.

Julia, Pia, & TheBean made tacos & then we sat around the table & ate & laughed & enjoyed catching up. We talk on a pretty regular basis with Julia via Marco Polo, we our catching up curve isn’t too great. Tacos were on point.

Cleaned up from dinner & hung out, trying desperately to stay up as late as possible before going to sleep so as to get on the local time… we made it to 8:20 pm & dragged ourselves into bed & promptly crashed.

Woke up around 8 a.m. & had coffee & read. Ended up going back to bed around 10 a.m. & sleeping for another couple of hours. Woke up around 12:30 p.m. & theBean & Julia made brunch – brown bread, eggs, cheese, salami, etc, & ate to our hearts content. TheBean made our grocery list & brushed up on my teaching notes for Church tomorrow at Die Arche Ottersweier; – aka “The Arc of Ottersweier.”

We went with Julia to the store; spent about 45 minutes shopping (I love shopping in German grocery stores) & came back to her flat & put away the groceries.

And then I sat down to blog. So there we are.

Thank you for your prayers. Thankful for food. Good sleep. Time with chosen family. Gracious wife. That hangry doesn’t last forever. And fans that blow a steady stream of air over you.

CA: Day #8

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Last full day of DLT began with breakfast & discussion-heavy presentations. I love the discussion elements because we got to hear from people with a varied background what it might look like to them to put their faith into practice; it allows you to get beyond the acquisition of information into the practical application of a Christ-following life.

For example – as a part of the marriage & relationships module of DLT, we spent a chunk of time processing through polygamy… something that is a fairly common (& accepted) practice in many parts of Central Asia – & especially among Muslims. In a local church context, Christ-followers need to have an understanding & consistent Biblical ethic on navigating polygamy when it involves people in it coming to Christ. It’s not like a newly-saved individual with their wives can be instructed, “just keep wife #1 & divorce the rest.” To do so could be catastrophic for those women cast off in the name of fidelity to the Christian faith, as a divorced woman in many of these cultures would have next to no rights, no viable means of support or living, & most likely no opportunities for remarriage. So what might be suggested is something like “2nd generation monogamy;” where the next generations of new Christians would be taught Scriptural principles around marriage (1 husband/1 wife) while the 1st generation family learns to live in a new reality following Jesus with remnants & reminders of ‘the old ways.’ Definitely a lot to think about.. & lots of fascinating discussions.

Our team was told we would have a late night as we were volunteered by our hosts to minister to our DLT attendees in prophetic prayer starting at 9 p.m. So theBean & I took advantage of our afternoon break (1:30-3 p.m.) to rest, read, & recharge. And by that I mean we crashed hard. HARD. I don’t know what it was that woke me up, but when I looked at my watch, it was 3:05 & we were late to the session. I didn’t have a clue WHO I was, let alone WHERE I was, & it took about 20 minutes for my brain to adequately reset to the point that I could gainfully participate in the happenings in our session.

Haven’t been sleeping great… waking up between 5-6 a.m.& not able to go back to sleep which is ok unless you are going to bed late… which we are. Naps have been helpful but today really hit me with a hammer.

Navigated the last afternoon session & had an opportunity to talk with/pray with a team of people from the northern part of the country: G, O, V, & S. After 20 years of pastoring in the same city/area, they are in the process of trying to decide what their next phase of life & ministry will be, as they lean towards starting a new church a few miles down the road. People are people… so similar to the plans, hopes & dreams you might hear about at home, with added intrigue & the challenges that come specifically targeted at each of us.

After dinner, (7-9 p.m.)  we decided to rest some more in preparation for our late night… I lightly napped & read (I’m on my 3rd paperback) & eventually got up & got ready about 8:45 p.m. Felt a little like burnt toast, but we took the time to pray for energy & to thank God in advance for giving us what we’d need over the next couple of hours as we prayed for our new friends from a variety of CA countries.

There was a brief message/encouragement, & then our team was divided into 4 groups of 2 or 3 & sent to the 4 corners of the room. The DLT attendees were instructed to get together with the people from their city/church/region &/or country & identify different things that they wanted to receive prayer for: things going well; points of need; areas of struggle; etc. Some instrumental worship music was put on & people began to make their way to the corners of the room. It wasn’t like they were standing in lines; they were encouraged to talk & pray with each other in the middle of the room, & then to make their way to a corner for prayer when the opportunity presented itself.

Got to partner with theBean & Will – pastor from Atascadero – as wave after wave of people came for prayer. Some readily identified specific requests, like “We need a place to meet that is authorized by the government,” or “We need workers to help us in our mission,” or “We need to know what we’re supposed to do next.” Others left it intentionally vague & asked us just to pray “as the Holy Spirit leads.”

Really cool how in every situation, specific things came to mind to pray for; sometimes related to the request; other times out of left field. The one that stood out to me the most was a group of 5 from the northeast of the country. They are all 30-something & are all 1st generation Christians. They don’t have elders in the faith in their area to look up to, to be discipled by, to learn from. They have the Bible & each other (as well as the confederation of other pastors spread waaay out in this vast land.) They prayed for spiritual parents: fathers & mothers in the faith to come alongside to help them grow in knowledge, experience, & perspective. They want so desperately to do well in making disciples & to not mar people with their unnecessary mistakes caused by inexperience &/or lack of good Bible teaching/practice.

As I listened to them talk, I was overwhelmed with emotion – they see themselves as inadequate & know all the things they DON’T have & WISH they did. They feel alone & desperate for help – for divine intervention in the form of people, elders, to stand alongside them & encourage them in the Way of Jesus. And I had a deep sense (& prayed about) God’s great love & joy that He has for these people; for their pure hearts, simple obedience, & active fatih… a faith that doesn’t wait until they know ALL there is to know on a topic before they start living it out. I felt like I could see in the spirit realm & when I looked at them, I saw warriors (not in a natural conflict/war kind of way,) but warriors who are battle tested in spiritual things. I saw God shaping them & making them to be the very thing they were praying for in there desperation… spiritual fathers & mothers. And though they may be 1st generation Christians, the first ones in their area of CA, they have what they need because they continue to see the One who will supply all their needs according to His provision.

So sweet to hear their prayers & their thanks at being able to be a part of the DLT: to learn from others & to grow in things of God that they would be able to do the same for others in their own place.

I was deeply moved & affected by this group, & I will continue to be praying for them long after we get home.

Finally wrapped up our prayer times around 11:30 – thankful for translation team – & made our way back to our room. We were pretty wired still (pretty normal for nights like this,) so we sat up & (finally) got the WiFi to work well enough to watch a show on Amazon & nurse a CA Coke Zero. Eventually nodded off around 1:30 or so (according to the FitBit) & (unfortunately) woke up at 5:30 again.

We’ll be leaving the hotel & headed to the airport around 2 a.m. tonight (8/9 – & technically Friday); then we have a flight & a bus/train ride to get to our Julia’s home in Germany. It might be a minute before I get to catch up on Day #9 & #10 – but – thank you for your continued prayers. Please join me in praying for these precious people of CA… & give thanks for the God who hears & responds… the same God who HEARS you & RESPONDS to you in your needs as well.