Off the Road Again

After 7 weeks of touring the globe (at least part of it) I am back home....here in the DR.  The journey passed through Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, London, down to North Africa, London, NYC, and back the DR.  Stay tuned for more photos from the road(s).

C-O-F-F-E-E

I have been drinking coffee (faithfully) for 4 years and 1 month (exactly). It all started on August 13, 2004 on a flight from Germany. This "sure, why not" acceptance of the free inflight brew began my "relationship" with the bean beverage. In this 4+ years relationship I have tried many a brew and have developed a refined palette (I submit) and am not too keen on gas station or in-flight varieties...even the green mermaid is often subpar (My favorite: Caffe Artigiano or when in the DR a blend of Santo Domingo+Travesia coffee). Beyond mere recreational sipping I have also worked in the industry as a barrista (barristo?) and in wholesale (Caffe Umbria). Now, living in the Dominican Republic I have watched beans through the harvest, drying, roasting, grinding, and sipping stages.

So, I say all this to set the stage for the big event to mark my 4 year-and-one -month anniversary as a faithful coffee drinker: Coffee Fest! Yes, I get to go to Coffee Fest Seattle for a full day of sipping & sampling (and the subsequent coffee-head and coffee-stomach). Stories and photos to come but for the now I share the following song from grade 4 music class (hmmm...not sure how to convey the melody) and hope that any non-coffee drinkers might fight the myths and perceptions and warm-up to coffee (it can even go with solitude).

C-O-F-F-E-E
Coffee is not for me
It's a drink that people wake up with
That it makes them nervous is no myth
Slave to a coffee cup, they can't give coffee up

(repeat...or even sing it as a round if you like!)

Cheers.

Solitude

I like to be around people (nice people).  I like to meet friends for coffee.  Games night with friends.  Hiking (save blisters) with friends. Summer backyard BBQs with friends.  Road trips with friends.  Dinner outings with friends.  Travel trips with friends.  Movie nights with friends. (Family: love you and gladly insert "family" with "friends") . 

So, I enjoy socializing.  Give me a Myers-Briggs and I'll give you a Capital E.  Give me a temperament test and I'll show you Sparky Sanguine.  I can't remember what animal or color I am but let's go with a rather sociable dog and a rather sociable color (ironically, my wardrobe favors black...not goth-black from head to toe...really mostly black t-shirts and blue jeans....so I suppose I am a social black-&-blue).  

To be certain, I am not claiming to be super unique [in fact I believe that my E is increasingly more lowercase and I the 'ol spark isn't so Sparky).  I am sure the introductory list of "likes" is one that many people could say, "Yup, I enjoy those things too."  And there are others which tip the extrovert scales much quicker that I.  And people whose "batteries" require constant social time to be charged. 

Nonetheless, I traditionally lean toward people-time rather than solo-time.  In the past 5 years,  I have noticed/recognized, within me, an increased need for and desire for solo time.  Not only is it something I can appreciate and have become more comfortable with...it is something I have come to see is both healthy and desired.  It is a space that head (thinking) + heart (feeling) + hand (doing) find rest and renewal.

I recognize that life has seasons.  Busy times.  Schedules.  Demands.  It is not always easy or possible to carve out these really great times of solitude or retreat.  Maybe your thinking 5 minutes of silence & reprieve from the norm would qualify as solitude.  I get that it could look different for each person.  I am pushing for long walks in the woods or week-long personal retreats.  Just want to push the word/idea solitude out there and hope it can be present in a meaningful...life-giving way.

Right now I am staying with some friends and they just received the latest issue of Christianity Today.  This Sept. '08 issue features an interview with Richard Foster (of Spiritual Disciplines "fame"...plus a great cover featuring Mako Fujimura...see previous blog on Mako, July 8th).  Speaking of a life formed in the Spirit, Foster addresses a number of questions including the following which resonated with me and I wanted to share it here.

CT: "Evangelicals, among others, have been reading your book for 30 years.  What is the discipline that you think we need to be exploring more at this point?"

RF: "Solitude.  It is the most foundational of the disciplines of abstinence, the via negativa.  The evangelical passion for engagement with the world is good.  But as Thomas a Kempis says, the only person who's safe to travel is the person who's free to stay at home.  And Pascal said that we would solve the world's problems if we just learned to sit in our room alone.  Solitude is essential for the right engagement.

I so appreciate in Bonhoeffer's Life Together the chapter, "The Day Alone," and the next chapter, "The Day Together."  You can't be with people in a right way without being alone.  And of course, you can't be alone unless you've learned to be with people.  Solitude teaches us to live in the presence of God so that we can be with people is a way that helps them and does not manipulate them. 

Another thing we learn in solitude is to love the ways of God; we learn the cosmic patience of God.  There's the passage in Isaiah in which God says, "Your ways are not my ways," and goes on to describe how God's ways are like rain that comes down and waters the earth.  Rain comes down and just disappears, and then up comes life.  It's that type of patience.

In solitude, I learn to unhook myself from the compulsion to climb and push and shove.  When I was pastoring that little church, I'd go off from some solitude and worry about what was happening to people and how they're doing and whether they would get along without me.  And of course, the great fear is that they'll get along quite well without you!  But you learn that's okay.  And that God's in charge of that.  You learn that he's got the whole world in his hands."

I'm not sure what your "today"  or your "this week"  or your "this season of life" looks like.  Where you are "at" I hope that solitude can take a form in and around you that will be life-giving. 

Labor(filled) Day

I like to walk.  I like to run.  I like to hike.  In the Dominican I feel like in a given week I can log quite a few miles...some recreational and some by necessity...in sandals no less (ok, so not when I run).  I like to get out and hit the pavement..or the trail.  

So, it is a bit disheartening that a couple days back in Canada and I have run my shoed-and-socked feet ragged.  

Let me set the stage.  So Mike, Matthew and Darin set out on Labor Day to summit Golden Ears (Maple Ridge, BC).  Their guide book said it was an 11 hour round trip hike (24 kilometres, 1500m elevation gain) of quite mixed terrain.  The day was  overcast but the promise of sun breaking though was assured by all.  So the hikers stuffed their bodies full of carbs, stopped at  a gas station for some emergency rations (prepacked tuna salad and beef jerky..turns out they pair well).  

Mike, Matthew, and Darin got to the base (sounds too professional...really: parking lot) did our stretches and set off at an eager pace.  The hike started out great: Beautiful scenery, fresh air, crossing streams, guy time, and even some snow en route to make it very Canada-in-summer-unique.  About 6 kilometres into the trip Darin didn't quite clear a water blockade and now had 20 kilometres of hiking to enjoy with soaking feet--recipe for blisters he now knows.  With increased elevation came sweat turned cold and the promise of clearer skies being literally clouded over.  By the time we reached the summit we were "lost" (not "panic" lost just "not sure where we are" lost).  Matthew has cell signal so he called a friend who had successfully summited Golden Ears numerous times for directional advice.  His advice: you shouldn't be up there in those conditions.  Come down.

While this was somewhat disheartening given the hikers' proximity to the summit (ok, I realize I said the hikers were lost but they really were close!) it did come as good news as their bodies were needing warmth, food, and rest more than (so it felt for them at that time) more ascending.  Not too mention Darin was describing his feet as being jabbed with shards of glass.  Poor guy.

Ok, as an aside, Darin who wasn't sure about bringing his camera along did end up bringing it but at half way the batteries died so he carried a heavy useless camera adding insult to injury.

So, after a bit of a break, beef jerky, PB & Honey sandwiches, granola bars, and dark chocolate, the trekkers set off in the right direction for the base (with great thanks to the random hiker that they met who asked them if they were lost and guided them back to the shelter just below the summit).

Metres seemed like miles but 5 hours after leaving the "almost-summit" the weary hikers made it back to the car.  Shoes & socks were quickly removed and the car was subsequently filled with a corresponding odor.  Starbucks provided some needed warmth and nourishment and then bodies made it home and flopped.  T'was indeed a Labor(filled) Day.

A Lasting Difference

Ok, the following is not blog-esque mellow drama.  This is just fact.  Here we go:  Hot. Sweaty. Tired. Sore. Confused. Overwhelmed. Impatient. Thirsty. Thirsty. Thirsty.  Did I mention SWEATY? Linguistically challenged. The whole gamut.  If it seems bothersome and uncomfortable it was probably felt, thought, or experienced.

Ok, so a bit of drama.  I confess.  Cause the truth is--or the greater truth-- is that in the midst of these ranging emotions and experiences the team has truly felt deeply encouraged and blessed.  This is the sentiment that rest within the team after this week's clinics.  The team has seen hundreds of strained eyes & bodies receive much needed glasses, supportive medicine and prevention education.  They watched people come through the clinics knowing they will be able to breath with greater ease.  Knowing they will be able read without squinting.  Knowing they will be able to see more clearly the food they are preparing or motors they are fixing. Knowing they will be able to to see with greater ease the clothes they are mending or the bricks they are laying.  It has been incredibly rewarding to see hundreds of people receive this much needed care.

Thank you to those who have supported this team.  Your partnership has made an incredible difference in the lives of so, so, so many.  A lasting difference that is seeing and breathing everyday.

Do You See What EYE See?

The gift of sight is an incredible one. By sight we can see as far as the stars in the sky or the near words of Scripture held close in hand. We see and appreciate a beautiful meal, a familiar face, a dangerous situation, a sunset, an intriguing painting, get caught up in the pages of a good read, or an ever-present “to do” list. The gift of sight is truly amazing—if you have it. For many this gift is a something never had or a distant memory of years gone by.

This week we are blessed to be working with a long-time partnering church from Canada, Varsity Bible Church (Calgary, Canada). With hundreds of glasses in tow, the team of 13 is working here in the barrio hosting eye clinics in partnership with a church on Street 3 (Iglesia de Cristo Misionera). As you can see pictured, hundreds of people are able to be tested and fitted with an appropriate pair of prescription glasses. A walk around the barrio after the first clinic and you could see all the people who were proudly and thankfully sporting there new lenses. What a great gift!

Additionally, three members of the team specializing in asthma research, treatment, and rehabilitation, in partnership with two local nurses, are providing testing and treatment to those who have asthma or respiratory problems. This unique testing and treatment is an incredible gift for so many who for sufficient breath for basic daily activities.

Meanwhile, over at the T.E.A.R.S. School teacher workshops are underway with our teaching staff and three visiting teachers from the Canadian team. The workshops provide all teachers local and visiting to share both questions and ideas on teaching, class room management and character development with students. Best practices are shared and the teachers have the opportunity to learn from one another about the challenges and great rewards of education.

We are so grateful for the partnerships taking place not only with Canadian and US teams but alongside our neighbors from other churches here in Maria Auxiliadora and around La Vega. It is truly a blessing to see these partnerships and friendships form and to see so many people benefit in practical ways while walls of dvision are challenged and lose their grip. We invite your continued prayers that people would not only receive the gift of vision, breathing, and new learning but that in all of this they would encounter—in a personal way—the One who is the giver of all these gifts. To learn about and know the One—Jesus Christ—who truly gives us Life-giving sight and breath in Him.

More pictures HERE.

Just Plain Dominican