Day 2

High School Mission Trip

The Methodist Habitat, Bahamas

7/14/08

Day two started out a little slow. We probably could have slept in a little longer. Andre had said that we would get a slow start, but I still thought we would get moving fairly quickly. Some off our adjustment coming here is and adjustment to the lifestyle and the pace of life. We come from a world that we can get anything anytime at any point. We are Andros and learning that most of the Bahamas is not at all like Nassau, a large tourist area. Most of the island we are in, which is inhabited by about 6000 people is in a condition that we would call poverty. All the homes need work and not minor needs, like additional paint or an additional panel on the fence. But major needs like repairing leaking roves, sealing doors and windows, securing walls that appear to ready to fall are the norm. Anything less would be considered luxury. Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s are all just seconds away from our homes. For those here on Andros an item like a box of wood screws takes a day to secure. Most items are scarce, must be shipped in from Nassau, and are usually already sold by the time they arrive. I was told that the people here are about 2 years behind in getting repairs done. So, while we are ready to just get to work and get it done, all the supplies to do the work have been secured yet. We don’t have all that we need and it is difficult to get it. Yet, the people appear to be happy, sincere, and genuine. The community is friendly and always greeting us as we walk by or meet new people. Some of us worked on a roof waiting an hour to get started, others repaired a leaking roof, and some worked in the Methodist church across the street. We also cleared the dead brush behind the church so that the church again has a view of the beach. Speaking of which was beautiful. We all ended the day swimming in the ocean. Some snorkeled and found sea urchins and starfish. Our dinner on day two was fried fish, rice and peas (or maybe beans) and corn. The food was delicious. The fish, which some were hesitant to eat, was fried whole. It had been gutted but was fried whole. Head, tail, eyes and all. All as one, fried and served. And it was good! Homemade hot sauce and all. We closed the night out again together in devotion, sharing about the day, singing some songs, and sharing our thought about Luke 17: 1-10. Challenging stuff. It was a challenging day, but highly rewarding.

The Beginning

High School Mission Trip

The Methodist Habitat, Bahamas

7/13/08

Day one began by the 19 of us meeting at the church to depart for the trip. We met at 8:30 to leave at 9pm. Koven came in just a little late thinking we were supposed to have met earlier. We left the church at about 9:30am. A little over an hour into the trip somebody requests for a bathroom stop. We needed to stop quick. Only this time it was a little different. The tables had turned. This time it was me, Bryant, requesting the stop. I felt bad, too. Usually I am the one who is asked to stop, and I tend to respond, “just a little while longer.” Just about 11:30am we stop for gas before getting to the airport. We have just West Palm. I wanted to make sure Traci and Cathy had enough to make it back. Well, as we pull into the gas station, we pop a tire. Knowing this could really set us back, we start making calls to churches, people we know, tire shops (not open yet), and then the airport. A shuttle was arranged and sent on their way to pick us up. In the meantime, we have got in touch with Tire Kingdom who can change the tire within the half hour. I try to call and cancel the shuttle service. They said they would arrive in 45 minutes, at this point I am realizing it is half an hour and as I look up they are pulling in. The bus has just left with all of our luggage and Jake. All the youth and adults are eating in the McDonald’s or Miami Subs next door. So, it’s just me, two shuttles, two drivers, hanging out. The youth all see the shuttle and I called Tonya and out came everyone. And off we go. Airport bound and one step closer now to our final arrival Andros, in the Bahamas. The luggage on the church bus arrives to the airport about half an hour after we do. We have checked in with our passports and received our flight tickets, which are just laminated numbers. We have all been weighed, gotten our luggage weighed and are now simply waiting to go. As we prepare to board the plane, I begin taking pictures. I know the plane will be small, but not sure how small. Well, it was about four foot in diameter, which is plenty to sit comfortably, but not enough for any of us to stand. You’ll see the pictures. We board the plane, select our seats, and wait. This small, claustaphobic size plane sits in line to take off for an hour, longer than the actual flight would take. While in the air the flight experiences some turbulence. Cue the girls. “Aghhhhhh!” Finally, our flight begins to land. We were able to look out the front to see the landing strip. Actually, look out the windshield. This was actually pretty cool. We land at an airport that likely sees one flight a day. They said that rarely is there more. We sat in customs, filled out paperwork and began looking for the gentleman; we would come to know as Andre. Nowhere to be found. So, I ask for a local phone to call his cell. As the lady in the customs office sees the area code she exclaims, “You’re on the wrong island.” Huh!? We actually did land where the itinerary stated. We were in the right place and the wrong place at all the same time. We were on the south end of Andros, which we should have been on the north end. This is what a slight miscommunication can lead to. Being islands, we needed a boat to make the distance. The customs agent begins making calls. She says, “I found a boat to take you there, it will cost $800. Do you want it?” Not having a spare $800 on me I said that we needed to speak to Andre first. He said he would take care of it, but we would still need to pay $75 for the three cabs to get us to the dock. I had that and on our way we went. This would take nearly two hours to arrive. However, a blessing in disguise. We did not have any boat rides planned and at this point the sun was beginning to set. A sunset cruise in the Bahamas? What could be better? We finally arrive at Fresh Port. Andre is on his way to pick us up and to take care of our boat fare. He brings two buses and we load up to go. Interesting thing is that they drive on the left side of the road, but almost all the cars are American built and have the steering wheel on the left side, too. It makes it really hard to tell where the oncoming traffic for those that are new to this. Finally, arrive to Camp Makepeace just before 10pm. What should have only been a four hour trip, now had taken us 13 hours. Yet, we arrive warmly welcomed by smiling faces who are excited to see us, have prepared our dinner, spaghetti (delicious, too) and it is still warm. As we looked back over the day’s events and the surprises along the way, everyone had fun. Every felt a peace about them. While some got frustrated, it never showed. They knew that in the hearts, they were here because they wanted to serve. What took place was different than we expected, but everywhere we were blessed.

Mountain bike Sweetness

Sweet video of a session in Utah. These guys built a mini park complete with various jumps and stunts. Family Day at the Park from piton productions on Vimeo.

read more | digg story

summer is almost here

as i have been working on our programs for this summer, i find myself wondering at times if there is too much going on. sometimes we pack our schedules so full of stuff, that we are just busy. we lose sight and we lose perspective on who we are and what we are about. i have to keep that as a caution ahead of me. if i am not well, what i am doing won't be done well. we have our regular stuff going on: small groups, jr high and high school nights. during the summer we also add a movie night, mission day, and beach day to the regular routine. we also have two camps and a high school mission trip, all a week long. we kick it off with a huge school's out party and end it with outpouring and a trip to busch gardens.

with all that is going on and my commitment to what i do, i am reminded of even stronger commitments to myself, my wife, and to God. these must come first. i intentionally take fridays off to spend time in those areas. i truly believe that if i maintain and develop even stronger relationships is those areas what i do in ministry will have an even larger impact than what i can imagine, not that i am great or good, but because God is great and good. if am just busy, i won't rest, i won't be focused, and i will move slow and lack patience, rendering me quite useless to say the least. yet, if i am fresh, energized, and growing, much more will be accomplished because of it. obvious i know, but much easier said than done.

halo tournament and gaming

many people have different thoughts about hosting a halo tournament at a church. many of our youth play video games (there are 350 to start with), and it is a good way to connect with them. in fact at our tournament today, we have had quite a few register a team who have rarely come to any other program events. what a great thing it is, when we are willing to meet others where they are at to connect. we should be in the world, but not of it.

i personally have been playing games since i was about 5 years old. i remember my father coming home with an atari 2600 with one of the greatest games at the time, asteroids. i was hooked. we played asteroids,  missile command, and breakout for hours. since then i have owned the nes, super nintendo, nintendo 64, playstation, dreamcast,  gamecube, and for a few years now the xbox 360. yes, i prepaid for my 360 and picked it up on launch day. the 360  offers so much from game downloads, to movies, streaming from the pc, and windows live. it is on more often than just the tv in our house. i also play game on my pc. not as much since the 360. but loved battlefield vietnam and battlefield 2, command and conquer series, especially generals, and of course all the games from valve. this is something i have grown up with and enjoy doing. i would rather play than watch tv. it is interactive and entertaining. i am currently playing quite a bit of cod4 with a bunch of seminary students (friends of my brother in law)  from north carolina right now.

now, i do think as with anything, that we should be aware and careful about what we put into our heads, games, movies, books, music, etc. i don't think that nay of these forms of media cause bad to happen. people cause bad things to happen. however, parents should know what their children are playing and decide what is allowable. there are games that young children and even early teens should not play, but there are also great alternatives.

back to the tournament. today's setup is four man teams. all games will be played on original maps (pre-selected or random) and normal setup. the games will the best out of 3 and winner moves on. loser will move into the losers bracket. each 1st place team member will win a 3 month subscription to xbox live.

remembering

this memorial day we should be remembering the soldiers who have died in war. we should also celebrate those who are fighting now, our friends and family.

i looked up my uncles name, george johnson, on the online vietnam memorial. he died while fighting in quang tri with the marines.

the best messages are from star wars

some good gardening tips

earth hour

sign up and reduce your carbon footprint and make an impact on the world.

retelling the story

Star Wars is back! New movie August 15.

Lucas offered a glimpse into the latest creation in his sci-fi universe at the theater-owners convention ShoWest on Thursday, showing a sequence from "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," due in theaters August 15.

read more | digg story

this video is symbolic of my fathers strength and struggle with brain cancer.
james 1:2-8

read more about ann's story.

SNL digital short: the mirror

this is really funny.

indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull

Watch the Trailer on Yahoo! Movies

24 chapters in 24 days

i will be joining each person who took on the challenge this week; to read 24 chapters of luke in 24 days. starting monday 11th, you should have read chapter one and today chapter two, completing the entire book one chapter at a time on march 5th. if you do it, dinner is yours!

when are your favorite shows coming back on?

film school rejects posted a list of tv shows and when they will return yesterday. quite a few will be filming new episodes to be aired in april, while quite a few others will not return until next fall, and others not at all. there are also a few that are still up in the air.

read here for more info on what the details are of the new contract the writer's are expected to are on.

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Now playing: Jack Johnson - Angel
via FoxyTunes

dad, february 6th, 2008

This past Monday my father returned to see his surgeon and oncologist. As he has been he is recovering well from the surgery. They removed half of the staples from his head and plan to remove the remaining next week. The surgeon said that the wound is healing nicely. Dad continues to feel dizzy, however. Some of that is caused by the surgery he endured and some is caused from the seizure medication he is taking. I am not sure what it is, but that is one of the side-effects. He was having an additional MRI this week to plan for the radiation and the oncologist has set up a schedule for treatment. He will begin his radiation treatments on Wednesday February 13^th. Chemo is schedule to start at the same time with oral treatment. I will be trying to get back down once that begins. His particular type of cancer is Glioma Astrocytoma. Those are a couple of big words for brain cancer.

His email tonight said “all I can do is lay around from one chair to another and watch the boring TV.” He sounds good when I talk to him, but I know he is feeling worse than he shares. I respond much in the same way. But you can hear it in his voice. It stirs the range of emotions in me too. I find myself very angry at times. This is not easy for any of us.

Here's an article that was written about him recently in the Naples’s Daily News. Dad’s been writing articles about once a month for the paper’s faith section sharing childhood memories and his deeper sense of connection to God. This time the article was written for him. It will give you some insight into the man I call Dad.

what they play

one of the ongoing questions i get in youth ministry is what do i think about "X" video game? is it safe? is it appropriate? i am glad to see that a web site has been developed to help parents figure out what the ESRB ratings mean, what certain warnings have been given to the game, and what the actual reference is. it appears as though this will be a great tool for parents to use when buying new games.

the site is whattheyplay.com. it distinguishes itself by having writers who have played through the game to explain exactly why a rating has been given. for instance cooking mama 2, for the DS, has an alcohol warning because she refers to cooking with it.

this is a great reference for parents who are looking to purchase a new video game but are unsure what is appropriate.

the hawaii chair

just came across this little gem. i know some people are probably struggling with the new year's resolution to maintain a regular workout schedule. this has got to be the prodcut to turn all of that around. introducing the hawaii chair.

oldschool

i got the itch to sit down and watch some old school skateboarding videos. so, i sat down and watched the bones brigade video show, future primitive, and animal chin. as i watched the old videos and i look at today's skateboarding, rodney mullen was doing things in the 80's people still aren't doing today. he invented tricks, perfected tricks, and can do things the average skater can't do. you can read about him n wikipedia, too.

here's a couple videos i found. from his attire, this is in the 80's for sure.


this is a best of compilation.


here's a few more on youtube.

you can find some more on what appears to be an unofficial mullen site.

thanks for boarding this train down memory lane.