Around The World in 7 Weeks

2009-06-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

It has obviously been awhile since I've posted. A lot has happened in the meantime that I may start blogging about in the near future. But anyone who's been on my prayer email list will already have received those updates. It's too late now to start, but I at least thought I should post some links to some sites pertaining to my friend, Rachel. You will find them to the right of these posts under 'favourite links.'

In summary, Rachel is a longtime friend who learned in Jan/09 that her breast cancer has reared its ugly head again, only this time it is terminal liver & bone cancer. However, her response to this situation in her life has been very admirable. She has chosen to use her life and pending death to point people towards the One who has saved her ... Who she will meet when her body gives out. She will be in the presence of her Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ!

November 25, 2007 - Dinner at the Unger's

2007-11-27T21:45:00.001-08:00

I had the privilege of spending Thanksgiving day with Cathy, Paul & family back in October, but I had forgotten to bring my camera. So I took lots of pictures when I was there again recently ... this time, there was a new member of their family to take many, many pictures of! :)

Mom (Cathy) getting Rachael ready for her nap. She's 10 days old here, so her schedule is eat, sleep, check out the surroundings, eat, sleep ... you get the picture.
The dinner table here needs to be large. Even if Rachael wasn't busy sleeping, there would still be room for her beside Aaron's high chair.
Dad (Paul) admiring their new miracle from God as she's in the 'checking out the surroundings' stage of her schedule.
Rachael's turn to eat while Aaron makes mom laugh.
Don't make Isaac laugh now! ...
Hannah kept running away from having her picture taken, so this is the best one I got.
Aaron & Rachael.
Nathan & Aaron.
Another Kodak moment (or Canon moment in this case).

November 11 - Final service for Murrayville church

2007-11-21T19:54:00.001-08:00

Jesse about to get baptized ...
Danelle after she was baptized ...
Bailey & Tessa singing a special song.
One of Danelle's daughters. This is Isabella.
Dessert may be harmful to your health for more than one reason ... it appears to bring out the aggression in some people. Getting ready to dig in!
Lest we forget ... it is Remembrance Day. And today is also the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

October 31 - Halloween event hosted by our church.

2007-10-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

We were met at the school by a hippie ...
then 'a sight for sore eyes' ...
oh, and here's Harley getting in on the action too.
there was face painting ...

fishing ...
preparing the hanging apples ...

now that's the easy way of getting ahold of these apples! ;)
Bobbing for apples ...
I think the detective here is questioning the pastor ...
From gladiators ...
to cowboys ...
To a charming Superman ...
and an elf ...
a princess ...
and isn't she from Little House On the Prairie?
Fun was had by one and all!

October 6, 2007 - Carmen & Eric's Wedding

2007-10-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the beautiful couple!

Getting ready to throw the bouquet ...
throwing the bouquet ... (great toss, Carmen!)
Leanne caught the bouquet.
The guys awaiting the garter belt.
I think his height helped him catch it! :)

September 12 - Carmen's bridal shower

2007-09-20T23:44:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Carmen's shower. There were lots of people there from our church.

September 1 - Hiking the Diez Vistas Trail

2007-09-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

Some pictures during the hike - this is an 'easy climb' area.

"Dennis, say cheese!"
Some of the climbs were a lot steeper than the 1st picture to get us to this elevation! It is beautiful from up here!

We couldn't figure out what had done this, but it was so comical that I just had to get a picture. It wasn't until I saw the photo on the computer, that I realized it looked like a face! :)
Variety of scenery.

Variety of wildlife too. Does anybody know what kind of snake this is? It reminds me of a garter snake, but the colours are different.
Evidence of a lightning storm.

August 26 - Hiking with friends from church

2007-08-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

Disong, Elizabeth & I hiking the Houston Trail in Fort Langley.

Horses obviously like hiking too ...
... and so do Huskies!

August 26 - Sprucing up the school before the kids return

2007-08-30T23:06:00.000-07:00

Planting some potted flowers.
Sweeping the basketball court.

August 15 - The Murrayville Boots Together ... FINALLY! ;)

2007-08-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

So here they are, together at last! I found my boot's buddy, but it was right back where I started - in Langley. Since Elaine's boot had mysteriously stayed behind, I waited until I returned to get these pictures of them together.Elaine's dad was gracious enough to pose with the boots and I ... it's amazing what he did for his daughter's crazy friend! Thanks Bruce!

August 12 - Outdoor Service

2007-08-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from some fun times with Murrayville Community Church.Praising the Lord - Glory to His Name!

Lunch is ready!
Dig In!!!

July 23 - Nest by the front door

2007-08-08T23:08:00.001-07:00

I saw this nest by the front door of the main house where I live (I'm in the suite). I had some fun for a few hours taking pictures of these birds and their momma. The nest is located at the top of the pillar holding up the roof over the front entrance by the door. You can guess what is at the bottom of the pillar ... lots of bird poop!

If anyone knows what kind of birds they are, please post a comment and let me know ... I have no clue!

50 Wedding Anniversary in Vernon - July 20 to 22

2007-08-08T22:20:00.001-07:00

Scenery on my way to Vernon for Ed & Anita's anniversary celebration. I lived in their suite while I was going to school there.

A view of Kalamalka Lake from their home (they moved closer to the lake since I lived with them).

Relatives enjoying the open house overlooking the lake from the veranda.
Taking the chocolate fountain apart ... I helped 'clean' it up a bit after I took this picture - mmmmmmmmm.
They are a very musical family. Anita is in the blue dress.
Here is Ed singing.
July 21 - at the official celebration.
They had pictures from their wedding and 25th anniversary, which was a great idea!

The head table.
Here they are serving the cake!
July 22 - Anita with a young relative - he is either a grand nephew or great grand nephew, I can't recall which.
Some more amazing views of Kal Lake from their backyard.

My abode while in Vernon

2007-08-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

While I was in Vernon for Ed & Anita's anniversary, I stayed with my friends Shaun & Peter. I went to school with Shaun. Thank you for opening your home to me for the weekend!

Here is Shaun with their tenant's son.
And here are their kids: Shirelle (youngest)
... Peter (oldest)
... and Jared (middle). It was great to spend time with them ... last time I saw them, Jared was less than a year old. We'll have to get together a bit more often than we have so far! ;)

30 June - Korean neighbours leaving.

2007-08-08T22:08:00.001-07:00

I've had the privilege of being neighbours with 4 Korean girls & their supervisor for the past year. They arrived last summer to learn English by immersion for 1 year in a BC elementary school. Here, they are taking a break from packing the whole house, as they will not be back here for the next school year (the boy is the supervisors son). They went to Disneyland 1st and then back home to Korea.

June 15 ... still!

2007-06-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

OK, so we left the Tokyo airport at 21:30 (over 1.5 hours later than scheduled because of some potential hydraulic system problems) on June 15, and here we are arriving in Seattle at about 14:00 ... on June 15! Wow, it sure didn't feel like I had just gained 7 and a half hours!

Here is proof that I am in Seattle!
When I left Japan, the last person I saw that I knew was Yuri and the 1st people I saw that I knew when I arrived in Surrey was Conrad & Debbie - the homestay 'parents' of Yuri when she was here last year! So there are some more pictures I wish I had taken ... oh well, I think I had enough to choose from in the over 1700 pictures plus videos that I had taken on this trip! What an experience!

Thank you to all of you who have joined me on this trip ... yes, it was finished on June 15th, but even though the dates I posted were close to the time the events actually happened, the truth be told ... I am finally finishing them on 4 Aug ... 7 weeks after I arrived home from this 7 week trip! I don't know if that means anything, other than the fact that now I will start posting the events that have happened since my return in 'real time.'

And I encourage you to post some comments to this blog. Just don't ball me out for taking so long to complete it! ;)

June 15 - homeward bound ...

2007-06-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

This is Yuri's apartment. Here is her living room, dining room, office and bedroom (oh, and the laundry 'room' is out on the patio - the washing machine is there and that's also where she hangs her clothes to dry).

Thank you for having me, Yuri! It was fun, but it was definitely too short of a visit! I don't know if you'll make it back to Canada before I come for another visit in Japan, but I trust that we will see each other in the near future again.
Ready to go ... again!
Getting ready to board the Shinkanzen - high speed train. This gets me to Tokyo, but I need to take another train to get me to the 'Tokyo' airport.
It sure doesn't seem like we're going over 250 km/hour!
The landscape in Japan is absolutely stunning!
I was on a train like the one on the left.

June 14 - Osaka Castle

2007-06-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't try this ... I just wanted a picture.
On our way to Osaka Castle, we stopped at this food pavilion to find something for lunch. This salad is not something I wanted to try, but it certainly was worth taking a picture of!
Decisions, decisions - yes, Yuri is missing school again, but she asked a friend of hers to let the school know she wouldn't be there. They called her later on because her friend must have forgotten to tell them, so she let them know she was taking a friend around Osaka today.
Osaka Castle ...
The entrance to the Second Citadel. It guards the main gate into Osaka Castle.
This is the "well curbing of Ginmeisui Well."
It seems like it is drinkable water ... however, I had my water bottle with me, so I didn't try it from this well.
Views from the top of the castle tower ...

That boot ends up in many intriguing places! He he he.

This was such a funny picture. He was walking by very fast, but he was nice enough to wait for me to take a few pictures of him & his raincoat-wielding dog! So cute!
We got back to the train station where we met some people from Yuri's church by about 8pm. That's how we got a ride to the prayer meeting/Bible study, where the Murrayville boot made another appearance (after the meeting was finished, that is - this boot has manners, I must say)!

Junko, Kyoko were 2 of the lovely people I met tonight.
Pastor Andrew (left) and Pierre (who we got a ride with).
Yuri, Andrew, Pierre & Niko.
Niko took this picture for me.

June 13

2007-06-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today I slept in while Yuri went to school (that way, I didn't cause her to skip 3.5 days in a row ... she didn't go to school when she met me at the airport and would have skipped today if I wanted to go somewhere with her). The night before I left Taiwan was not very productive when it came to sleep. I got to bed after midnight and was hoping I would be able to wake up at 4:30 to catch the 5:20 bus to the airport. Needless to say, I did not sleep much! So I slept in until after 11 this morning and then did some stuff on the computer. It was today that I read Jeremiah 10 and thought back to Elaine's & my time in ChiaYi ...

When Yuri came home, we walked down to the local 'mall' to have supper (Yuri doesn't cook at home very much ... they feed her well at the school & I think she eats out for supper or friends of hers come over & make supper at her place). On the way, we passed this rice paddy.
We shopped for a bit after supper (I found some souvenirs and we got some snacks for tonight). On the way home, we met this very friendly tiny frog, so we took turns taking pictures of it ...
Obviously, Yuri took this one ;) ha ha

June 12 - Final stop: Japan

2007-06-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is the 4th airline I'm travelling with ... it was on this plane that I sat with a lady who had just visited Taiwan for the 1st time since she moved to Canada 10 years ago. She told me about a university in Taichung that may be an option for Elaine to study at full-time ... then it will only take 3 months to become fluent in Chinese.

Chiko was the first to see me at the airport. Yuri was also there (it was the first time they met. They had both been staying at Conrad & Debbie's place in BC for their homestay).

June 11 - In Taipei

2007-06-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

I said goodbye to Elaine & Janice and took the high speed train from Kaoshiung to Taipei (this line opened for service in January). I met Kyle there, who is a friend of Elaine's - she met him the 1st time she was in Taiwan. He showed me around Taipei and helped me find my way to the hostel.

Here he is outside the Terracotta Soldiers display at a museum.

It was already dark by the time we got to Taipei 101 ... the tallest building in the world. There are some much better pictures of it on Elaine's blog. Go check it out.
The Murrayville boot is still traipsing along with me ...

Sunday June 10

2007-06-13T00:29:00.000-07:00

Breakfast before church

An adorable girl in her mom's arms ... I just had to get a picture!
Getting ready for church ...
A Taiwanese church.
Fellowship over lunch after the service with the visiting pastor, one of the paritioners and Lucy Eastwood (at the end of the table. She is David's wife and she translated a lot of the bulletin for us so we could follow along in the service, which was in Chinese & Taiwanese).
You may notice that Elaine has already migrated away from us to get to know a Taiwanese family ... for those of you who know her, recognize this as something that is typical for her to do. She is definitely in the right area of the world! :)
After church, we visited this man's home (he's holding his grandson), which also housed a licensed Nike factory (as well as other brands, such as Reebok).
He employs 20 women to sew the clothes.

Back at the park ... here's that bridge in the daylight.
English church service in the evening.

June 9 - weekend in ChiaYi

2007-06-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

Off we go on a bus to ChiaYi (and we didn't pay extra for this class bus ticket! Wow)!

The 4 people in the foreground, Elaine & I went from their church to ChiaYi this weekend.

This was a visioning trip for Elaine's church to learn more about the spiritual needs of the Taiwanese working class. When we arrived, we were taken to a place for lunch, dropped off our stuff at the church office where we would be staying for the weekend, then to the church to hear about how the working class people live & worship. Then we made it practical and visited the large Matzu temple just outside of ChiaYi. The OMF missionary who who was hosting us has lived here for about 10 years. He is very knowledgeable about the history and the people (and he speaks fluent Chinese, even though he's originally from England).
Here is one of the visiting gods being unloaded from a truck. Then there was a whole ceremony bringing the god down the long street toward the Matzu temple. This is how a 'smaller god' would approach the main 'bigger god' of the temple. There was lots of noise & pomp & circumstance.
"For the customs of the peoples are delusion; because it is wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, nor can they do any good." Jeremiah 10:3-5
Getting the firecrackers ready to 'announce' the arrival of the visiting god.
Perhaps he's sharing his experience as a bearer of the god with a friend on his cell phone?!?

They temple money that the people buy ...
... to burn to the gods.
The experience was very intriguing, but sad to see these people asking gods made of wood or stone for answers to life questions and burning incense & money as offerings to them.

Discussing our experience and praying for the Taiwanese working class ...
Enjoying dinner (hotpot & BBQ'ed lamb) at the night market with David Eastwood, the OMF missionary.
Squid-on-a-stick (left) and other delicacies, also on a stick ...
The park across the road from the church office. We had a time of sharing & singing under a gazebo here.

June 8 - The old British Consulate, National Sun Yat-Sen University and at work with Elaine.

2007-06-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

Much hazier than the first time I took a picture of this building (this past Sunday on our way to ChiChin Island). This is from the grounds of the British Consulate.

Outside the British Consulate.
Self-explanatory ...
This is inside the British Consulate where they had this jail maze. ... you can see how hot it is on Dynasty's shirt!
This makes Elaine feel really tall!
And it makes me feel even taller!

Overlooking the university entrance.

Dynasty told us this wall was used a lot by couples at the university. They would sit like this so nobody could really see what they were doing. Well, we got busted here! Ya, I know we've only just met ... he he he.
Dynasty showed us around some more, bought us lunch and told us about a Christian group he has been hanging out with. He is looking into Christianity and seems very excited about it! I hope he'll become a brother in Christ soon! :)

Off to Elaine's work we went after our visit with Dynasty. Following are pictures from her class. They were reading 'Green Eggs & Ham' which was so cool - I love that story! Since they had a visitor in the class, some of the boys got very loud while reading (actually, I think they get loud like that even when there are no guests in class! Ha ha).

This girl is so cute!
Now they get to watch a video.
'Listen to your teacher read to you!'
This girl was quite literally trying to climb up me! I don't know why kids think I'm a tree ... it doesn't seem to matter which country I'm in (this has happened in Canada as well).
Here they are mostly listening to the story.

Thanks for letting me sit in on your class, Elaine! It was a lot of fun!

June 7 - Costco & Ikea

2007-06-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

We had been to Costco already, but I didn't take any pictures there ... that's where I got my new suitcase since my other one was busted. Actually, it sounds like Janice will be able to use my old one! She may even get the zipper fixed somehow. I'm glad it can still serve a purpose.

Here we are at Ikea ... eating Swedish food in Taiwan! I just couldn't get over the fact that these 2 chains were also in Taiwan.

If my arm were just a bit longer ... we would all have been in this picture a bit better!

Elaine had another late night at work (Tuesdays & Thursdays she works until 9:15), so I spent more time on the computer and called Dynasty to see when we could meet. Then I biked to the Christian bookstore and back to the market I'd been at 2 days ago. I didn't end up getting much. Elaine & I called Dynasty back to confirm that we'd come to meet him at the university tomorrow ...

June 6

2007-06-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

Today Elaine & I were both zonked so we slept in. We hung out, had lunch and then Elaine dropped me off at a mall while she went to work. Eventually I made my way to another shopping plaza, then checked out a hospital across from it and eventually met Elaine and we went to this coffee shop to meet with ladies interested in the Bible study that will be at Elaine's place.

Here I'm explaining about the Murrayville boot and how it's going around the world with me.
By the way, do you see that heart necklace I'm wearing? I got that for my birthday, along with the T-shirt and a whole bunch of other stuff! Elaine had this wonderful birthday bag of goodies for me when I arrived the end of May.

After this, Elaine & I went by the cultural centre. We were looking for the blind massage therapists that offer chair massages. Unfortunately, they were not there. Darn, I had been looking forward to that since Elaine told me about them. Oh well, instead, we joined an exercise/dance class (well, I did ... Elaine took pictures, but it was too dark to see much of anything. Actually, I convinced Elaine to try it as well while I took some pictures ... again, it was too dark to see much). We had a lot of fun!

June 5

2007-06-07T00:05:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Elaine & Janice's dentist's office. This was such a great aquarium in the waiting room, so I spent time getting to know my camera a bit more. I took lots more pictures than this, but this was one of the more colourful ones.

Janice, dentist, Elaine:
Our waitress at a Japanese restaurant where we had lunch after the dentist visit.

Elaine went to work after this and I hung out with Janice for a bit as well as catching up on emails. I met a cello student of Janice's, then I got a ride to town and did a bit of shopping. While I was waiting for the bus on the way home, I met a high school student named Doris. She knew a lot more English than I knew Chinese, but I tried out a few of the phrases I had learned (well, I read them. I still can't remember how to say them without looking at my notes) "Ching wen ni renshi Yesu ma? - Do you know Jesus?" and "Yesu ai ni. Jesus loves you." She didn't know Jesus, but she was very interested in a tract in Chinese that I offered her!

I got home late and when I asked Elaine if she was worried, she said no, she knew I'd be OK. She actually laughed when I asked her and Janice let out a tense-sounding sigh ... it was Janice that had been worried about me, not Elaine! Ha! We all just had to laugh at that, even though Janice's laugh was a bit strained from being concerned that I would find my way home OK.

June 4 - The Science Museum

2007-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

So Elaine dropped me off at the Science Museum on Monday and then I would make my way to the bus station to meet a friend of hers who was going to take me to a 'clinic' where I would find out if coming to Taiwan for a short term stint was a possibility (to do rehab).

There was only one problem ... all the museums in Kaoshiung are closed on Mondays. So I went down to where all of these people were congregated outside the building. It was all the museum staff taking part in a presentation by the fire department. So here is a lady finding out what it's like to hold the active hose. The firefighter in the foreground is holding her son's backpack ... (ya, I don't think that's part of the fire crews gear! ha ha).

I didn't stay here too long since they were just finishing. Some people suggested I go to the library across the road if I wanted to do some reading (I had brought my Bible to have some time with God and had said I was looking for a library). Only problem is, I could not find the library! So I started to wander in the general direction of the bus station - where I was to meet Tom 4 hours later.

I stopped in at a store that had some familiar signs - 'Yonex' is the one that stands out, so I thought I'd go check it out. It was a store/club that sold tennis gear and there was also a place inside that people could play when they couldn't play outside. The owner couldn't speak much English at all, and I couldn't speak a whole lot of Chinese, so he called someone for me. This is how I met Dynasty. The store owner was his tennis coach at the university and Dynasty just happened to be in the area. So he would drop by and take me to the university where I could spend time at the library.

Then the coach poured me a glass of water & turned the A/C on in another area of the store ... it looked like a bar. Hmmm. I thought this was as good a place as any for me to read my Bible, so I asked if it was OK for me to stay here and read. By the time Dynasty came, I had decided it would be better if I stayed here ... I knew the university was a bit far away and I wasn't sure if I'd have time to get to know Dynasty a bit and read at the library and then get back to the bus station in time to meet Tom (oh ya, and find a place to have lunch), so I decided to stay at the store, but I got Dynasty's contact information. In retrospect, I regret not having gone with him this day.

Sunday June 3 - ChiChin Island

2007-06-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

We went on a day trip today to ChiChin Island in the southwest part of the city. This lighthouse is on the island. (This picture was taken from the ferry on the way over).

Ferry terminal on the island.
"Skytower"
Beside the lighthouse looking towards the other side of the island from where we arrived.
Turning 180 degrees, and we have the National Sun Yat-Sen University campus nestled in /on Monkey Mountain. The former British Consulate is to the right of the parking lot/road in the foreground.
A beach on campus ... not bad!
Scooter ferry like the one we came on.
Ferry terminal as seen from the lighthouse hill.
The beach on the other side of the island.
Elaine mentioned in her blog that the water isn't very clean to swim in here, but people still do it.
At the market ... those red frilly things in the air are attached to a fan-like mechanism. They spin around to keep the flies away from the fish.
On our way back on the ferry. It amazed me how nobody got run over ... everybody is waiting in a packed line and it seems like they all start going at once. Very talented. I just hung on, very tightly!
Afternoon snack! Mmmmmm.
After church (church starts at 6 pm - and tonight, it didn't finish until 9pm) Elaine's roommate, Janice, gave her a much needed massage after a long day of driving me around on the scooter ...
... she wins the prize for best massager! ;)

Actually, she received this at a recital she was at for her students tonight. Janice is a Cello & Piano instructor.

Sat. June 2

2007-06-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

Set to go for another day of riding around Kaoshiung on a scooter! (OK, so the helmet leaves a lot of vulnerable areas, and the rest of the body would be prone to some pretty nasty road rash ... but don't worry, when it rains, she wears a full face helmet and a poncho - plus, one's body slides better on wet pavement).

That mask is a necessity when driving around the city (or walking, for that matter) because of the sheer volume of scooters. The exhaust can be overwhelming when waiting for the light to turn green!

Today, we went to find the bus station to find out if I would be able to catch a very early bus to Taipei the morning I leave. Well, it took us most of the afternoon to actually find the right station ... just to realize that it would be easier for me to go to Taipei the day before and take a bus to the airport from the hostel.

It wasn't a waste of time, though ... we got to hang out together and checked out some stores - and we waved at the parking attendant who gave us directions ... each time we went by him again ;) (OK, Elaine didn't wave, I did - while she was trying to hide herself as we went by! LOL).
We stopped by this beautiful park and just hung out before going to the prayer meeting. (She looks deep in thought, but she assured me that she wasn't ;)!
We had dinner with Joyce, Vincent & Lance tonight. J & V were Elaine's students back at ESLI, but are back in Taiwan. They live in Taichung, but were in Kaoshiung for the weekend. That's twice I've met them now - once in Langley & now in Taiwan - both times it was for dinner! I like getting together with them ... it always seems to involve food! :)

These night photos are blurry - sorry. I'm still getting used to my new camera. And maybe I can blame it on my stomach still being upset here. Nachos tonight were probably not the best idea. It took about a week & a half for it to finally come around. (Just remember, it looks like I'm posting this on June 2 - which means I still had another 3-4 days where my stomach didn't feel well - but really, it's July 15 now).
Lance is a friend of J & V's and he lives in Kaoshiung. He goes to a Mormon church (to learn more English). We invited him to Elaine's church, so hopefully he will come sometime (he may initially come so he can learn English, but the Holy Spirit can touch his life so he learns more than just English).
I thought this was such a cool advertisement ... although I don't know that the promise of turning into a fish would encourage me to drink this water. lol ;)

Friday June 1 - Chinese class & Chengcing Lake

2007-06-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

So here is Elaine at her last Mandarin class for this semester. I'm sure that my wandering around the small room taking pictures was a bit distracting, but both her & her tutour seemed to manage quite well! I think I learned a bit too ... I caught on pretty quickly to the body parts (ear, nose, eyes, face, etc.), but I couldn't repeat them now, and I don't even know if I would recognize them even if I heard them! Elaine, you are probably doing better than you think you are at learning Chinese! Keep it up (when you start classes again, that is. For now, just go for the practical experience. Don't let Janice speak English to you for a while ... that will probably help) !;)
While Elaine went to work this afternoon, I wandered through the park at Chengcing Lake. It was hard for me to figure out what landmark this was, since there was no map I could bring with me. I did get a little map later on, but that didn't help ... it was all in Chinese. However, I do know that this is a bridge. I don't know if it's the bridge I was trying to find (there was some English on a direction sign that pointed me in this general direction).
This isn't the best picture, but one of these fish was putting on a show for me. It was totally vertical in the water and it seemed to be bouncing along the aquarium in this manner. So, just imagine this little show with me ... it lasted more than a few minutes, too!
Here's an entrance to the Lake with Kaoshiung in the background.
I spent my quiet time on a bench near here ... by the time I was finished, so were these ladies that are planting this garden!
The 9 - Cornered Bridge.
Quite the contrast ... where nature and city meet.

May 31 - AWOL, the boot has gone AWOL ...

2007-06-02T00:54:00.001-07:00

Remember when I mentioned in some of my previous posts that I was looking forward to coming to Taiwan where the Murrayville boot that I have with me would get the opportunity to have a photo taken with its partner? Well, I was disappointed to learn that Elaine's boot never made it to Taiwan! She thought she had packed it, but it fell behind a desk while she was packing ... unfortunately, it didn't fall into her suitcase!
Thankfully her dad found it, so I'll have to get a picture of it before it gets sent to Taiwan with David, who will be visiting Elaine the end of August.

Let me go back to my preparations for leaving for this trip ... When I had asked Elaine if she wanted me to bring anything for her, she listed a few things like chewable vitamins and some things she couldn't get in Taiwan. She also mentioned that she would love to have her winter blanket, but she knew it was too big and she totally didn't expect me to bring it. When I picked it up from her dad, just in case I thought I'd be able to bring it, I saw that her 'blanket' was a Queen-sized duvet/comforter! I did not think I'd be able to fit it. I had mentioned to her that I could buy a twin-sized one when I was in Denmark and would be able to squish it down to a really small size that I'd be able to bring. She thought that would be fine, but she still didn't even think that would be feasible for me to bring. She was not expecting anything like that to come with me.

Her reaction was priceless when I opened my little black suitcase to reveal that I had actually been able to bring her own comforter! There was a long silence and a look of shock! I'm not sure if she was more shocked at the fact that I had found room for it and brought it, or at how small it was ... she said, 'I've never seen it that small before in my life!' I had put the cover on it, folded it in half (lengthwise) twice and rolled it up tightly. Oh, did I mention that it was down-filled? That is why I was able to compress it so small and hold it together with a strap. It was priceless ... unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of either the comforter or Elaine's reaction. Oh well, I'll just have to rely on my memory this time. :)

Next stop, Taiwan

2007-06-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

May 30 - This is as far as my poor suitcase made it! And it even got a free ride all the way to Africa (it was packed inside the big suitcase that I left there). Actually, the zipper broke last night in Cambodia. Good thing I carry duct tape with me! That's what got me to Taiwan - even with all the modes of transportation I took today (by the time I arrived at Elaine's home, this is how I got there: taxi to Phnom Penh airport, plane to Bangkok, plane to Taipei, bus to domestic airport, plane to Kaoshiung, taxi to Elaine's).

Actually, in the Taipei airport tonight, I got chased by the Beagle Brigade ... By the time I arrived to pick up my luggage (after trying to call Elaine on a pay phone and then exchanging $), the suitcases were located in 2 different areas - one was by the luggage belt still and the other had been moved to another location (I think that was the area where unclaimed luggage was moved to - I didn't think I was that slow).

Anyhow, I picked up my backpack suitcase and headed towards getting the one pictured here. That's when I heard the lady & dog running after me, she was asking me to hold on for a minute. Supposedly, Barbie had smelled something in my backpack. She asked (not Barbie, but the lady - he he he) if I had specific foods or plant products in my bag. I didn't think I did - I suggested it may be the Stroopwafels (sealed) from Holland or the caramel licorice from Denmark, but she said that wouldn't be it. She seemed very apologetic and said I didn't have to go through my bag for her. But I was curious what the dog smelled! I guess that will be a mystery.

As I left, she handed me a magnet in the shape of a paw with 'Barbie' the beagle on it. I still have to check out the website to learn more about the Beagle Brigade at the International airport in Taipei. That gave me something to smile about as I went to find the bus that would take me to the next airport ... one more plane ride! :)
Waiting for Elaine to pick me up at the airport in Kaoshiung. I had been able to make contact with her by the time this picture was taken, so was just waiting for her with these airport police officers. The officer who took this picture was the head of airport security here (maybe even of all of Taiwan, but I can't quite recall). By this time, I was pretty much toast - a taxi, 3 planes and a bus so far. When I finally met with Elaine, we took a taxi home. You can check out Elaine's blog for her version of how this night went. :)

May 30 - my last day in Cambodia

2007-05-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

OK, I just had to show you a picture of the bathroom/shower that I used while in Cambodia. It makes for a clean toilet, getting a shower every day! ;)

The temperature control for the shower (and anywhere else) was the time of day. If I got up late, I would get a warm shower ... too warm for my liking! However, if I got up early enough, I got to enjoy a lovely cool shower! It was never too cold for me, but Christina mentioned that during the colder season, it would be hard to warm up after a frigid shower.

And this is how to flush the toilet!
My own bedroom for the 6 days I was here ...
I even got to try out a real Khmer bed too.
Rachel, Christina & Sopheary at the airport saying farewell to me. Thank you for helping me get a small taste of what it's like in Phnom Penh! Next time, I'll definitely have to go out of the city, but because I didn't end up leaving the capital, I was able to stop taking my Malaria meds early. So now I have 9 days worth of meds for the next time I go to a country that has Malaria!
Goodbye for now!

Dentist, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), PT (Physiotherapy) House

2007-05-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

May 29 - Christina & I went with Sopheary this morning to the dentist at the Christian Medical Centre. She had lots of work to be done since she hadn't learned any dental hygiene or had dental work done for all her life (she's in her early 20's). The centre provides the sessions for a minimal fee, to help those who can't afford it ... and Sopheary definitely fits into that category (they would charge lots more for foreigners, because they can afford it ... it's a good system). This was her 2nd visit.

After that, we toured around town and visited the 'park' where there's a Buddhist temple. There are lots of people here, many stands with people selling stuff, this elephant and a bunch of monkeys.

Common sight with multiple people/families on motos.
These pictures were taken from the tuk-tuk after Christina & I visited the CSC and we were on our way to find the PT House. It was hard to find, but we finally located it. I had the opportunity to work on one of the residents for a very brief time. The burns were so disfiguring that I didn't even ask if they would allow me to take pictures.

Our tuk-tuk driver (& the Murrayville boot) for the past 3 days.
Self-photo with Rachel & Christina. The glow on our skin is due to the Cambodian heat (very humid)! And Rachel can gauge the level of humidity based on how curly Christina's hair is that day:) lol

Khmer lesson, Genicide Museum & the waterfront

2007-05-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

May 28 - Language lesson with Sopheary. It was the church that she attends that we were at yesterday. That may be how Christina found it?!?
I didn't take any pictures at the Genocide Museum, but the tour was very stirring. The tour guide who told us about it in English was actually 10 years old when the horrors started. She lost most of her family during Pol Pot's reign. I will try to post more about it later.

After that, we went for a walk on the waterfront. Here are some pictures:

Back in the tuk-tuk.

Yay, our driver has even started wearing a helmet! Christina says that he never used to have one, but one day he did. He doesn't wear it all the time ... perhaps just when going into the city more?!?
This is the driver that they usually call when they need a tuk-tuk. We had him as our driver all 3 days we used a one. We basically hired him all day and he would wait for us. It cost less than $10 US/day! Amazing.

Khmer church service

2007-05-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

May 27 - We took a tuk-tuk to church. I wasn't keen on getting on the moto again after our wipe out yesterday on the way to the palace. Totally not Christina's fault ... it's hard to dodge bicycles that catapult themselves right into your path! At least it happened in front of a repair shop, so they fixed the basket & re-attached it, did other minor repairs and we were on our way to the palace again within 5 minutes! I had some Air France wet wipes with me, so we cleaned our scrapes when we got to the there. Improvising a first aid kit! ;)

There was an uncommon sight ... the helmet of the moto driver (perhaps it's a foreigner).Lunch after church. They purchase the food from the same vendor every Sunday. Another great meal.

from Texas (actually, he's from Michigan, but I could only understand him when he wasn't preaching. The sermon was in Khmer).

This is the beautiful skirt I borrowed from Christina to go to church in. Pants are not typically worn by women at church (although I wore pants any other time I was out in public).

Love Power Café & The Royal Palace

2007-05-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

May 25 - Lunch at the Love Power Café with Chakrya (1 of Christina's Khmer tutors), Andrea, Rachel (C's housemate), a lady from Holland who also works at International Cooperation Cambodia with C & R (I forget her name) and Christina. (Clockwise from bottom left).

This is where I had my very 1st Bubble Milk Tea. I think I had the mango one (perhaps that wasn't a real bubble milk tea, but it tasted VERY GOOD)! They served them in these huge and wonderful Christmas mugs. (With the temperature being a very humid 35 degrees C, it just didn't seem to feel very Christmas-y, but at least the drinks were nice and cold)!
At the Royal Palace on May 26. Hmmm, I think it looks like it's going to rain ...
Uh ... yup, torrential rain!

It brought out the beautiful green! And that river in the foreground ... that's really a road!

I love the landscaping designs!
The background is a Buddhist Temple. There were a number of monks there, some of whom were just boys - so sad to see them getting caught up in it so young.

Christina posing like the dancers do. The hat is part of the costume they perform in.

Various instruments ...

Statue of a king on horseback (I can't recall if it's the present king or a previous one).
On the way home, we had a wonderful dinner at a Khmer restaurant that is one of Christina's favourites. I didn't get a picture of it though.

Holland to Thailand to Cambodia. The longest travelling day so far!

2007-05-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

May 23 - The plane that I will spend the next 10 and a half hours flying on. The time is 20:16. Good thing there were stairs on this flight ... I used them at one time during the flight to keep the circulation in my legs going. :)
May 24 - At the airport in Thailand (just after 08:00 Holland time, which makes it 13:00 Thailand time).

Old faithful is following along. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes ..."

The king is highly respected in Thailand. 'King Power' was a common slogan posted throughout the airport, and I suspect, throughout the whole country.

Displays like this were common in the airport.

I digress from flying with the 'around the world partners.' To get to Cambodia, I needed to find my own ride, so to speak. I enjoyed Bangkok Air ... I was allowed in their flight lounge, so I was able to check my emails, get some food (they had some very interesting fruit) and just rest before I set out for the next leg of the journey.

May 22 - Back in Holland

2007-05-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

Back to Amsterdam. I was soooooooooooo tired at this point!
But my friend, Elizabeth, convinced me that if I didn't go to the Corrie Ten Boom Museum today, I would not get the opportunity to. So I slept a bit in the bus on the way. Here I am peeking out through the entrance to 'The Hiding Place.'

This hole in the wall was done when it was turned into a museum for the benefit of those who come to see it. The hiding place is just a small space behind the wall in this, Corrie's bedroom.

A close up of the plaque behind me (above).
Items used when the people hiding were required to be in here for a lengthy period of time. They had some crackers in the tin, cups with water and a potty.

Pictures of things the family and those fleeing the Nazi's would do when they didn't need to be in the hiding place.
Plaque just outside the entrance to the house.
Store front sign. The store is still run by a watchmaker, which was the Ten Boom's profession.

May 21

2007-05-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

On our way to the Compassion office. When the man driving this mule & wagon saw that I had a camera, he motioned for me to pay him for taking his picture. For being the 3rd poorest country in the world, the people sure know the importance of taking every opportunity there is to earn money!
The guard at the entrance.
There are 3 sections at the Compassion Burkina Faso office: Sponsorship, Translation and Finances (I have to double check that).
And here are all the staff. Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names. But here they are:

This is Desiré in the middle. He was with me for all 8 hours that I visited with Christiane & her family. And the driving he did to pick us up & drop us off added at least another hour to his efforts! Thank you Desiré! You asked when I'd be back too ... I will say this much, God knows, but I am hopeful that it will be next year!

Mango trees at Compassion's office!
I was given a nice ripe one to take home with me (back to Pam's place). It was different than the mangoes I'd had so far, but unfortunately, I forgot to eat it before we left for the airport. Pam, I hope you enjoyed it! :) Let me know how it tasted.
At Pam's place sitting with one of the instruments that someone at this house plays (she wasn't there while I was, so I didn't get to meet her).
I just got back from picking up my outfit from the tailor. I sat in on the rest of the language lesson and then Maria showed me how to tie the piece of material onto my head. I had been without a hat up until then! Oops, I thought I would have found one earlier.
I had the opportunity to give a French Bible to the tailor and he was sooooooo grateful! I have been keeping in contact with him through Pam, because she will be using him from now on (he is very good at what he does!). She tells me that he asks about me when he sees her, and he has asked her for 2 more Bibles to give to friends of his! That is so awesome! Praise God!

This is Combary yentema (Combary is his last name, but that is what people call him). He is one of the guards that stays outside Pam & Kate's house overnight. He was very keen on getting some pictures with me before I left - perhaps to show his wife & child that this is the lady he told them about who came from Canada for only a short 5 day visit to Burkina Faso!?!
The resident Gecko at Pam & Kate's house.
I just had to get a picture of a palm tree before I left ... this is at the airport.

I met Steve at the SIL guesthouse. He is a missionary here, but he is on his way back to England to get married. His fiancé is in Cambodia until the end of May, so I got to be his personal delivery service ... he sent a little something with me to give Charlotte when I get there.
God is amazing! What a privilege to be useful in this way for this couple. The timing of the whole thing just boggles my mind! I could write about it, but then this would get too long, so I think I'll just let you ponder the love & timing of God in the lives of this couple! Wow!

Sunday May 20

2007-05-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Desiré's church, The International Church of Ouagadougou. He picked Benjamin and the girls up and met us there. I didn't get to hear the sermon, which was in English with translation into French, because I went to Sunday school with the girls. That was in English too, but so the girls could understand, the leaders also translated the instructions into French and Moore.
The lesson was on the fruit of the Spirit. They asked me to draw their baskets and here they are drawing the fruit in the baskets.
The twins look like Tomboys - I love it! That fits my personality to a tee! We would probably get along so well if I got to know them better. (In front of the pulpit with The Boot).

At lunch, Desiré & I taking pictures of each other's cameras! He he he. It was funny that our cameras are identical - the only difference is, his (Compassion's) is silver and mine is black.

Hand washing before lunch.
Various meals:

When I ordered chicken, I didn't expect them to bring the WHOLE chicken! So, as you can see, it was not here that I lost weight! LOL.
After lunch. What a great time to be able to spend an additional 5 hours with them today! This is where we parted.
A consistent question to me was, 'when are you coming back?' (It came up a number of times while I was in Burkina Faso, not just from Christiane and her family).
Kate is Pam's roommate and she was preparing to leave at 6 the next morning for a week out in the field. She is a missionary from England with an organization that works with Muslim kids.

May 18 & 19

2007-05-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

May 18 - Pam and her tutor, Maria. Maria is a nurse & I had the opportunity of speaking with her after the 1st hour of their tutoring session. She stayed for another 2.5 hours sharing her passion about health care in Burkina Faso and encouraging me to come and train the nurses, if I do return here to do rehab.
I discovered later, that no language learning actually took place in the 1st hour - Maria talked about the nurse's conference she had been to 2 days previous (therefore, the tutoring session that day had to be cancelled). So the sessions are usually hit & miss, sometimes they spend the whole time working on the language and other times other things prevent Maria from coming at all, or what happened on this day.
(temperature reached at least 45 degrees C today. I used the air conditioner for the 1st time tonight, my 3rd night here).
Entrance to the SIL centre.
May 19 - I took various pictures as we drove to & from the 'Artist's Village' today. Here's a taste of what Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, looks like.

One of the gas stations on the main road.
This was a great 'Kodak moment.' He's having a nap and found a great way to stay out of the 45+ degree heat today! (I used the AC again tonight, but that was it for the rest of my stay).
This looks like a church service, but it's Saturday, so I'm not sure ... ? (Maybe a 7th Day Adventist service?!?)
One of many mango stands.

Burkina Faso & Compassion Canada!

2007-05-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

May 17 - Ascension Day, and also a very special day because I got to visit Christiane, the girl I sponsor with Compassion Canada! What an amazing day!

This 1st picture is one that Desiré - the Compassion staff member/translator/chauffeur/wealth of information (yes, a man of many talents! I learned so much from him about Compassion Burkina Faso) - took of me before I met her.

Here's a picture in the office at the project with Christiane and the teachers/staff that work there. What a blessing to have this suitcase full of medical supplies & gifts for them. There were over 300 toothbrushes, lots of bandages, examination gloves, sterile surgical gloves, gauze pads, fever remedies and a few Canadian & Danish flags. Oh, and I left the suitcase there too. A big thank you to everyone who helped me fill this suitcase! This certainly cannot fit into their little first aid kit, which was understocked! Not any more! :)
The great thing is that there is a nurse who will be starting to work here in mid-June! The timing was great for these supplies to arrive!
Some of the girls enjoying lunch at the project.
At home with Christiane and her family. She was very shy, but I was thankful to see her smile so much! Grandma and other relatives look pretty happy in the background too! :)

Family photograph. Left to right - aunts (1 with her baby), Christelle (twin sister), Faridatu (she is called an "older sibling." She is their cousin, but lives with them. I'm not sure what happened to her family - her dad and Christiane's dad are brothers), grandma, me behind grandma (hmmmm, what gave away the fact that I'm not a blood relative?!?! lol), Christiane, Benjamin (her dad).
It's a happy day ... except it seems hard to get a smile from the 'older sibling.' Maybe because I didn't realize at first that she was part of the family. I was only aware of 1 sister, so I thought she was one of the girls from the project who had tagged along.
Here we are in their house. This is the bedroom where they all sleep. It's a big bed (which I didn't get a picture of - probably Queen size), but I'm not sure how all of them would fit on it. I guess it depends on how many of the family members that I met actually live in this house.

Here is their kitchen.
2 boys in the classroom back at the school when Desiré and I stopped by again as we were heading back to the SIL centre. Those are blinds, not bars, by the way ;)
While Desiré talked to someone at the project/school, I took some more pictures of the surroundings. Here's the sign for the church that is in partnership with Compassion Burkina Faso. You can see the length of the building here. The arrow is pointing in the direction that the next picture was taken ...
So that sign was to the left of this picture. This is the entrance to the school/project and I suspect the church. Then there are 2 more walls to enclose the area where the kids play and eat. That seems to be the norm for all the houses too. Walls surround the houses. Usually there are gates that are kept locked too, but at Christiane's house, there was none. I'm not sure if they are to protect property or people or both, so I hope that Christiane and her family remain safe even though they don't have a gate.
Back at the SIL centre. Here are the guesthouses that missionaries stay at if they're back for a short period of time (or people like me who happen to be stopping by and happen to have made some connections with the right person). I stayed in the one at the back of the building to the left.

Here's my room (there's another bed too, but I didn't end up having a roommate). See the mosquito net over the bed? I only used it once, but it was too hot, and there weren't very many mosquitoes anyhow. Just above here is the fan!
Here is that beloved fan! Trust me, it was on ... even though it doesn't look like it's moving here!
And with the room came my own little Gecko - this must be the mini, indoor version. They are a welcomed guest in any room because they eat mosquitoes;)
Here is one of the bigger, outdoor models of the Gecko. They are always busy either running away from people, catching things (mosquitoes) or doing push-ups. That's what it looks like they're doing a lot of the time, whether on the ground or on a wall.

Here comes a group of kids that are shouting, 'Nasara!' which means 'white person.' Kids usually wanted to come up to Pam & I to shake our hands.

They are sooooooooo sweet!
And here comes their friend, as fast as he can.

The older ones are not as keen as the kids, but they still wanted to shake our hands.

May 15 - doing lots the day before going to Africa!

2007-05-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Jette & I went for a walk with Bernadette, their new dog. She got to run freely for most of the time ... except for this photo. Once the other dog was far enough away, Jette let her go (Bernadette had already been playing with that dog for awhile, but it was time for us to part company).
I forget which horse that Jette rides, but they're both beautiful!
Finding the right spot to place the Murrayville boot. Yes, in a nest too! ;)
This is the royal ship that we happened to see after dinner this evening. Who knows what members of the royal family were on it?!?
A row of 20 windmills near the Copenhagen Marina.

May 14 - visit with relatives, Michael, Kit & family, Jimmi & Christina

2007-05-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

In the courtyard where Michael (my cousin) works. This is a statue of N. F. S. Grundtvig - hymn writer and theologian. I didn't get the information about him that I had hoped (the library that had it was closed when we left after lunch). Thus I still need to confirm that I have the correct name for him.After a meeting to continue organizing a large community event, we went to pick up his youngest daughter, Silke, from daycare. I even got a bunch more bandaids donated for Burkina Faso by the lady in charge of the daycare (her name is also Lene).
I'm really enjoying the zoom on this camera! What a great shot of Silke coming up the stairs to their apartment.Left to right - Christina (Jimmi's fiance for a few more weeks), Jimmi (cousin, Michael's brother), Kit, Kira & Michael.
Silke & Theo. So, in birth order, oldest to youngest, Michael & Kit's kids are Kira, Theo & Silke.

May 13

2007-05-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

At church with my cousin, Morten on 13 May, 07 (oh ya, and the Murrayville boot too). This is the church that him and Maj-Britt will get married in sometime after they have their baby. I look forward to an invitation:) Hint, hint.
The boot is definitely in Denmark - both in church and in front of a Danish mailbox. Some of you are likely wondering, 'what's with the boot?' Well, my church, Murrayville Community Church, sends boots like this with people who go on missions trips. It's a reminder that the church is praying for them.
The church's motto, Romans 1:16 (written out) and 'Isaiah 40:31' are written on this shoe. The countries the shoes have been in get written on the sole of each shoe. The other shoe that makes up the pair with this one is with Elaine in Taiwan ... where I'll be visiting 4 stops from now. And I am looking forward to taking a picture of the 2 of them together when I arrive there.
Well, at this point in the trip, that's what I think will happen, but when I reach Taiwan, I find out that something has happened to my shoe's sole mate. Keep checking my posts to find out what happened.

A visit to Giesselfelt Gods. I was told that 'Gods' means castle - makes sense with the moat. However, I looked it up and it can also mean estate. Either way, it's a big home with lots of property.I find it intriguing to see how some things can grow in challenging circumstances. Even though the trunk bowed, this tree is reaching for the sun.
This is on the same property too. Beautiful!
And fun to be under the mini-waterfall!
With Maj-Britt back at their place after an eventful day. She's due on 25 August, which is Morten's mom's birthday (hey, I was born on my grandma's birthday, so it would be fun to have that happen again in our generation).

May 12

2007-05-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

Visiting grandpa & grandma Pedersen's burial plots, my aunt (Poul's wife until she passed away) and grandpa & grandma Tonnisen. All the plots are kept very well groomed, as you can see.

Then on to my visit with Peter & Inge-Lise, who had Peter's granddaughters (Nikolina & Alberta) over for a visit. Their parents, Thomas & Jeanett, arrived for dinner later, but I went back to my aunt & uncle's so we could go to Morten & Maj-Britt's for dinner. Morten is my cousin who I used to play with for most of the time when we were in Denmark visiting as I was growing up. We had many hours of fun! This trip seemed like I was just whizzing through, with barely any time to spend with each of my relatives. Hey wait a minute ... I WAS just whizzing through, it didn't just 'seem' like it! It would have been great to spend more time in each place I visited, but at least this way, I was forced to be more efficient with my use of time.

Inge-Lise's clinic.
At Morten & Maj-Britt's:

More Family times on May 11

2007-05-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

Everyone gets to join in for lunch.Look, leftover cake from last night! It's a beautiful thing!!!
Uncle Poul joins us for evening coffee/cake time.

May 10

2007-05-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are having lunch at the cottage. Then we went for a walk by the ocean ... check out how windy it was - the whitecaps give an idea of how much it was blowing!
Finn is my mom's cousin & Kirsten is his wife. So what does that make them to me? Perhaps my uncle & aunt once removed???

This is the bridge to get to the island where Finn & Kirsten's cottage is. You would go in the opposite direction of the way this car is going to get to their cottage.

One of the houses in the town on the mainland side of the bridge.
Finn & Kirsten drove me to my aunt & uncle's place for supper (they joined us for dinner too). Here is Peter enjoying some tasty dessert as Edith looks on.

My aunt Edith and uncle Jens Aage.

Just a reminder - these posts weren't actually done in May ... it is June 30 and I am just trying to show the pics as being posted closer to the time the events actually happened.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! - May 8 ... Remember for Next Year! ;)

2007-05-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

Birthday breakfast with Grethe.

Birthday lunch with Kirsten & Finn ...
Birthday dinner ... OK, seriously though, this delightful layer cake topped off the day. We had it for evening 'coffee time.' For those of you who know me, you know that I don't drink coffee, but I always partake in the items that go with the coffee! ;) Too bad I was so full ... I could only eat 1 piece!

At the Kettlebell Course.

2007-05-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Len doing some last minute training for the course ;) This is in the palace garden a short distance from the Round Tower. (May 2)May 4 - Don't try this at home ... the kettlebell strapped to his waist weighs 44 kg! I can't even do a decent chin-up without any added weight!
May 6 - Olaf, Len & I shared a hotel room for this course. Olaf is from Sweden, Len & I are colleagues, but our backgrounds are Croatian & Danish, respectively.
Dave, one of the kettlebell instructors. Even with an injury, he can still lift a lot of weight! (See how my arm is hanging away from my body? That's because of the soreness from the 3 days of intense kettlebell training)!

To Denmark we go ...

2007-05-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

Touring Copenhagen on 2 May ... the well known icon, The Little Mermaid, in the harbour on a canal cruise.
Len in 'Rundetaarn (The Round Tower).' It spirals all the way up so horses could take wagons up ... supposedly, there were even wagon races up the tower. I found a bit more info about it on the web: It is the world's 2nd State observatory that was established in 1642. (The 1st was in Holland in 1633).

Catching up with blog posts ...

2007-05-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

April 29 at Keukenhof. This is the Murrayville boot's first country in its journey around the world. In transit, it is anticipating meeting up with and getting a photo shoot together with its other half ... which is with Elaine in Taiwan.

April 30 - We had lunch here during a bikeride. (By the way, I figured out how to change the 'date posted,' so it looks like I posted this in May! Aren't computers great?!? At least now, when you click on 'May,' you'll actually get to see the parts of this journey that occurred in May).

Finally some pictures!

2007-05-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Murrayville boot is going around the world!
1st stop, The Netherlands to visit Elizabeth & Gérard. Here we are visiting the Keukenhof gardens. Amazing displays of tulips and other flowers!

Holland & Denmark

2007-05-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep tonight, so I thought I'd update my blog a bit. I'll keep it short though, 'cause I should at least go get some rest even if sleep eludes me. First of all, I'm excited to say that I have confirmed my return date to be June 15. So Andrew C. if you're reading this, perhaps you can send me an email about a ride (I didn't end up getting yours in my address book before I left).

The most common thought I've had leading up to this trip is, 'I can't believe this is going to happen!' I'm still in a bit of a 'wow' mode as I have spent some wonderful time with friends in Holland - enjoyed a tour through a huge tulip garden, had an amazing time at church with them and had a beautiful bike ride along the canals and through an older town.

Then they sent me off to Denmark, where I am now. I met my colleague here and we've spent some time at my 2nd cousin's place, wandered through Copenhagen (København - proper Danish spelling) and have visited some other relatives on our way to the course we are taking this weekend.

I am actually starting to get tired now, so I'll head back to bed. Until next time, shalom!

Income Tax

2007-04-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

I've just emailed the final version of my tax info to the accountant, so now I can focus on the more important things ... continuing to get ready for this amazing trip! (I just hope that all the info was transferred so they can prepare my income tax return ... I was there this afternoon for a good hour with what I thought was a back up disc of it. It wasn't on the disc, so I had to come home to access all the info. Oh computers! What a learning curve)!

Now I need to get back to training for the course in Denmark (a short hiatus occurred while I focussed on the taxes). Then find a digital camera so I can download some pictures on my travels. And I'm still needing to get some letters out to various doctors/medical supply stores to request donations to take to Burkina Faso. I should really get some travel insurance too! These are things I've been looking into, but now it's crunch time and I hope & pray that it will all come together in time. Thanks be to God, I trust that it will - as He wants it to come together.

Oh ya, I need to call the Massage Therapist I've been in contact with who has done some work in Cambodia. Cool, the contacts are already happening even before I get there!

Peace be with you.
Lene (:~]

27 More Sleeps!

2007-03-31T23:05:00.002-07:00

I will set off on this amazing journey in less than a month now. In reality, the journey started a long time ago, when the desire to go on a short-term mission trip began to build in my heart and mind. I still haven't found an organization that I can go with (not that they don't exist, just that I haven't made the connection with one yet), so I've watched as God has prepared this visioning trip to learn more about His heart for people.

God has been preparing this route for awhile now via various events: my country of birth, work opportunities, through the people I've met over the past few years and through the transition from sponsoring a young lady in Kenya (who graduated a few years ago) to sponsoring a girl in Burkina Faso.

Being from Denmark and learning that my colleague was going to take a course there led me to join him for the course as well. And a trip to Denmark without visiting my good friends in Holland would just seem unthinkable! Then I will head to Africa to visit Christiane and meet the lady I've been put in contact with through a mutual friend that I met at a Bible study a year ago. Another friend, who I met at the same Bible study, will be taking me in at my next stop - Cambodia. Then on to Taiwan to spend some time with a good friend that I met nearly 2 years ago at church. The passion that many of these people have for reaching out to those who are lost in other parts of this world have been fuel to a spark that God had placed in my heart. I'm excited to learn what this flame will become as I walk with Him during this journey.

My hope is that God will impress on me which place I should go back to on a regular short-term basis to help with rehabilitation. I would love to work with survivors of burns, concussions, wounds, and other traumatic injuries. I trust that God will lead me to meet those people that I need to talk to in order for any of these dreams to be realized. For now, I will continue to prepare for this trip (just 1 more needle needed before I leave ... I've already had 7) and try to get as many medical/dental supplies together to bring to Burkina Faso for the project there. I am also trusting that a Massage Therapist or 2 would be able to do some locum work for me while I'm gone (to treat those I'll be leaving for nearly 2 months and also help with business expenses). And there may be some people who need a place to stay while visiting BC ... a friend of mine has already expressed a need. Isn't God amazing at how He provides? (uhuh, that is a redundant question! The answer is a resounding YES!!!).

For now, I will try to get 27 really good sleeps. So I sign off wishing you all a good night and the hope that God will touch your heart in a special way!

Shalom (may the peace of God be with you).
Lene (:~]

Our 2 Sept, 06 Day Hike ...

2007-03-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

On top of The Stawamus Chief with Chris (a pilot we met on the trail) and Elaine. Both of them are scared of heights ... hmmmm?!?!

On top of Elk Mountain - 18 Aug, 06

2007-03-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

Hanging out with friends (Elaine & Angela - Elaine's sore feet & boots in the background) and this dog that we met on the way up.