Author Archive

Well, we were able to catch an earlier flight, and so left Iquitos on Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday morning. Good thing, since we heard that the roads in Iquitos were closed as of midnight last night in an attempt to prevent violence from occurring in the area, and we would have had a very difficult time getting to or into the airport this morning. As our airplane descended into Lima, we could see the orange street lights stretching out in front of us like a huge carpet. Lima is a city of about 10 million people packed between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. Stepping out into the evening air from the airplane was a terrific feeling – the coolness of the ocean breezes refreshed us after the heat of the jungle, though Roldan was cold and put on a jacket! Our taxi driver had to stop to ask for directions a few times to get us to our destination, but we finally arrived at the home of our host for the next 24 hours, Rev. Daniel Cueva. He is the pastor of the Bible Presbyterian Church here, in the Callao province, La Perla district of the city. He and his family live in apartments above church.  

In the providence of God, the Cuevas had another visitor last night as well, a police officer who is a friend of Daniel’s. This man is spiritually tender and searching for peace with God. It happened that he was here from an outlying area, staying with the Cueva’s, as he took part in the police efforts to control the strike situation! Roldan spoke at length with him about faith, the Word, the gospel, and he took it all in very thoughtfully. No accidents with God – if we had come to Lima this morning as originally planned, we would have missed this man.

We also talked with him about the strike, and we now understand that the leftists plan to target only certain areas with their activities, and that the general flow of life here will be uninterrupted (unlike in Iquitos, which is much smaller, of course). It was as if the Lord sent us this man to assure us that we need not fear what men can do, and that the Lord’s work will not be hindered by the rage of men however misdirected. We’re even going to take a bus over to Roldan’s house here later today, so that I can meet his wife and other family members, and see a bit more of the city.

I’ll also be talking at length with Daniel today about his ministry here, and together explore how the Lord will lead in any future work or relationship together. In the little time that I have known him, he strikes me as a fervent and warm-hearted man. He and his young family are a delight. If nothing else, my own life and ministry are blessed for their entrance into my circle of friends and co-laborers. I trust that I shall be the same to them.

It’s official – I have a cold. Not a great way to start off a Team Timothy ministry, but I trust the Lord’s timing to accomplish his purposes. I’d sure appreciate your prayers that it wouldn’t last long, or keep me down. So far it hasn’t wiped me out too badly – just the typical head and chest kind of cold. I really will be working hard not to lose my voice! I’ve got a lot of singing and preaching to do over the next two weeks!

I wasn’t much company at Roldan’s house – slept most of the time, and ate! Still, his wife and daughter and grandkids are terrific, and very understanding. A very pleasant, light and open house. They rent the upper story out to another family, and so the place is like a very homey and welcoming Grand Central Station. It was a long, long bus ride to the other side of the city to get there, and we took a taxi back to save time. The only evidence we saw of the strike, by the way, was one parade over on Roldan’s side of town, very peaceful and orderly, and not very long. Praise the Lord for his protection and ordering of all things.

Hoped to have a chance to get online at the airport tonight, but it didn’t happen. Just not enough time. We’re all squared away for our flight tonight, though, and all is ticking right along.

Well, the service last night at El Semblador was a blessed one. All of the other churches in the city (six in all) came to together on my last night of formal ministry with them, even from Picuro Yacu village. These are very dear people, and I’ve formed some wonderful friendships here.

The internet was not functioning this morning at the house, so I’m still stuck offline. It gave me a chance this morning to rest and write, and to rehearse for the concerts on the radio stations today. One of the pastors here, Juan Luis Guerra, is a young man with an excellent baritone singing voice, and I roped him into coming over and preparing some songs to sing together on the radio. I didn’t have to work too hard to convince him! We ended up putting together about five duets, and a trio, too, with another brother, and we had a great time. The broadcast at noon was a blessing to do, and we’re doing another one tonight on another station from 9-10 pm. That’s after a home “thanksgiving” service that we’ll do about 7 pm in one of the homes of a member from the El Semblador church.

Big rainstorm today, drenched everything and left that wonderful after rain smell around and cooled everything off considerably. The humidity still gets to me, though, and I end up after every activity drenched with sweat. I’d love to say that I’m losing some pounds down here, but they are feeding me so well that I really doubt I’ve lost anything. Fried bananas (platas fritas), lots of chicken prepared different ways, rice and beans and yucca, great bread, fruit, and usually polished off with coffee. Nope, not starving here at all.

Will sign off for the present. Tomorrow is the strike I mentioned earlier, and we’re going to try to stay out of the way. May even try to catch an earlier flight if we can. We could end up stuck in Lima at the airport – I understand it’s not a good time to be out on the streets. Pray for the Lord’s protection and overriding of the purposes of men in getting us united with our team in Bolivia on time. Thanks!

The next morning (today, Saturday), Charles gave us a ride to the river to catch a boat on his motorcycle. Pretty wild over the dirt roads through the jungle on a 125cc street bike. He had to make two trips, of course. Saved us about an hour and a half walk, and we were grateful. We caught another boat and headed back to Iquitos.

The day was pretty busy today – the concert this morning went well, but I was sweating all over the harp, it was so humid and warm. People really like the autoharp here, and the Lord helped me not to butcher the Spanish too badly. We had a great time of worship together, even though we had to compete with the traffic just outside in the noise department. We enjoyed the hospitality of one of the Herman Mera family from Roldan’s church, True Peace Church, and once again I found a hammock and crashed for awhile. I’m really getting into this siesta thing. The 3 pm meeting with many of the local leadership was a time when they just wanted me to share my heart on missions churches and growing the work. They are doing such a wonderful job that I don’t know why they really wanted me to say anything, and I was humbled by the honor of it. These folks are passionate about reaching this area for Christ, that’s for sure.

Roldan took over the controls of the moto again, and has been driving me all over. It’s pretty entertaining  to see me with the autoharp on my back, a satchel in my hands, perched up on the back of this little motorcycle towering over Roldan in front. There are more motos here, and moto taxis, than cars – a very noisy swarm everywhere you go. It’s fun to be part of the noise.

The evening  service at the Jordan church closing the day went very well, the building filled and voices raised in song with full hearts behind them. It was great to be awash in the sound of praise, and to join in with them. I’ve been playing and singing my ‘harp every service, and am now running out of songs that I know in Spanish! But people are requesting some repeats, so that’s good. The one that they particularly like is Vision Pastoral, which is about the shepherd that searches for the one lost sheep. It’s a great song, and I’m going to have to come up with an English version. After the service was over, we headed out for dinner (about 9:30 – remember that night owl thing?) to, of all things, a Chinese restaurant here in town. Sure didn’t expect that, but they tell me that there are restaurants like it all over town. It’s wild ordering Chinese in Spanish. Good stuff, though.

Today, the Lord’s Day, has been pretty busy, starting out at Roldan’s church for Sunday school, and then going to El Semblador church for worship and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This time, I sang an Aymara song in Spanish to do something different, and it went pretty well. I’ll have to do more of them that way, since I already have the translations in my Aymara hymnal. It was a blessing to partake of communion with the brethren here. Resting up this afternoon, and then another service tonight at El Semblador.

I just found out that my hosts have installed high speed internet here in the house as of yesterday! So I hope to spend some time online Monday morning. It will be good to get this blog uploaded and get everyone caught up.

Well, when Roldan told me there were hills on the way to Picuro Yaco, he wasn’t kidding. I had no idea this region was so hilly. Lots of up and downs, with deep ravines that disappear into the darkness of the jungle. Then, you top out on a ridge and hit a clear cut where the land has been cleared for farming or logging. Still lots of jungle out there, though. We were joined in our trip on Saturday by two other pastors, and the four of us had a great time trekking through hills to Picuro Yaco. The village sits on top of a hill, and is famous for its fariña, reputed to be the best in the area. This fariña is made of  yucca, which is soaked, pressed, screened, and roasted. It looks like grits or cream of wheat, maybe a little coarser. It is good, filling, and neutral enough in taste that it gets thrown in everything to add texture and body to the food. Good stuff. We arrived in time to take a nice rest in the morning, enjoying the hospitality of the pastor and his family. They offered us fresh coconut milk, freshly roasted farina, and some good conversation as we sat around and cooled off under the shade of a tree. I then passed out in a nearby hammock for awhile, just sinking into the sounds of a farming community with almost no motorized anything. It was absolutely relaxing.

After rest and a light lunch, Roldan and I went visiting. With no phones in the village, the only way to let people know there’s a meeting is go visit them. We stopped by several homes, were fed wonderful fruits native to the area like bananas, some grape-like (in appearance) fruit that had insides like the leche fruit we had in Thailand – really good and sticky to eat, fresh sugar cane, and some great new fruits that Roldan had bought earlier in the day, too. Walking around in the heat of the day up and down the ridges pretty much wore us out, and we got back in time for prepping some for the service that evening. We gathered at the front of the church, sat on the porch and visited and sang, and drew a crowd of children and others. That helped to spread the word about the service, too.

We had a great service that was attended by 50 or 60 people. This is the only church in town except for the Catholic church down the road. It’s been there about 26 years, and has a wonderful testimony for Christ here. I was welcomed like I belonged there, and I made some lasting friendships there. They were already talking about the next time I came, so I hope the Lord lets me go again. We also met an American ex-patriot who married a Peruvian lady and has lived there for about 30 years now. They have an incredible farm on the outskirts of the village. Charles invited us to stay there overnight. It’s a rustic but first-rate two-story place they built themselves. The best part — No mosquitoes! And a terrific time of getting to know Charles, who made it clear that he’d like to have us come again anytime. Roldan will plan on staying with him again the next time he goes, for sure. Oh, I should say that the night sky was amazing, with no city lights to deal with. The Milky Way was close enough to touch almost, and we’re far enough south to see the Southern Cross, which I can never see from New York, of course. It was breathtaking.

The flight out of Miami was delayed. Surprised, anyone? But this was delayed even more than usual, due to unusually heavy rain that shut down the airport for a couple of hours. That meant that I didn’t arrive in Lima until after midnight. Great little airport, by the way, with a lot of upscale shops and western food outlets everywhere. I was surprised that all the shops were open, and that people were eating full meals and generally acting like we do around, say, 7 pm in the States. I had read recently that Peruvians are night owls, and it’s really true. My flight for Iquitos boarded on time and landed on time, about 6:30 in the morning. That meant my whole trip took just shy of 24 hours, without a lot of sleep. That’s just about as much time as it takes to get to Delhi! Oh well. Met some nice people on the way, including a group from a church in Pennsylvania who were going to Iquitos as well to help build a church in a remote village.

Iquitos is a city of about half a million, much bigger than I realized. I spent the first day either stretched out on my bed or on a motorcycle. All in all, just about the perfect day! My host, Roldan, has a cool little 125cc moto (he calls it “Blue Thunder”!) that he let me drive him around on. Traffic wasn’t too bad, with only a few moments when it reminded me of Phnom Penh. We got caught in a sprinkle, which actually felt good in the heat of the day. The weather is running about 34 C for a high (upper 80s), with fairly substantial humidity. The city itself is booming with population, but I didn’t see much in the way of construction in the city core. Didn’t see a lot of tall buildings, either, but may have just missed them as we criss-crossed our way back and forth to visit all the churches of the Evangelical Union Church of Peru, my hosts for my time here.

I’ve been put up in a very nice home owned by a member of one of the churches who is working out of town for awhile. Other church members are seeing to my care and maintenance, and in general I feel pretty spoiled. The Peruvians are a typically happy group, and all have been exceedingly friendly, even the ones I’ve run into (figuratively, not literally) on the street.

My hosts have prepared a nice full itinerary for me while I’m here. Tomorrow we get in a boat to go to a village about 20 minutes downriver. We get out and then take a one hour hike through the jungle, climbing a couple of hills on the way, to get to the village of Picuro Yacu, where I’m to preach in the evening. We’ll spend the night there, and then return on Saturday to do a concert at another church here in Iquitos, meet with some of the leadership for some fellowship, and then preach at yet another church that evening. Sunday I’ll be at two churches, Monday do two radio concert broadcasts, preach a communion meditation, and attend a fellowship at a home to finish off the day.

We’ve just learned that there is be a regional strike by the leftist camp here in the country on the 8^th, and a national strike on the 9^th, the day we’re supposed to head to La Paz. We’ll move to a place closer to the airport, and be out of the city on the 8^th to keep out of the way. That day we’ll take the 26’ dugout canoe and spend the day on the river, which should be awesome. All in all, the brethren here are marvelous hosts. My dear friend Roldan met me at the airport this morning, and then after arriving at the house a group of pastors came by to welcome me, including Rev. Juan Hoyos, who presides over the Evangelical Union Church of Peru (and hence, is Roldan’s boss). Marvelous men.

I don’t have internet access here at the house, and doubt that that I’ll be able to get to a café to send this out before I arrive in Bolivia. Maybe Monday. At least, this will give me a chance to get some good pictures together.

Well, it’s only about 8:30, but feels like midnight to my body. Signing out for now. Thanks for your prayers.

Well, this was an interesting Sunday. We started out by going to what is probably the largest foreign church on mainland China for their early service. They fill up an enormous theater in a hotel complex, and the stage was filled with the electronics and instruments for the worship band. Their services are bilingual, and are only for foreign passport holders (they checked ours at the door). It was a very contemporary service, without much form or formality, but with lots of pop style music to get everyone in the mood to worship. The preacher of the morning was a guest from Oklahoma, and his message was all about how Jesus doesn’t love crowds, he just loves everyone. The logic of that one escaped me, and about the time he said that Jesus loves everyone (Romans 9, etc., notwithstanding) for the fourth time I had enough and stepped out. It was pretty bad. Lots of glitz, but not much substance.

From there, we went to the regular services of another church that ministers to the expatriot community. The contrast between the two services was stark. A very small congregation, their service was very orderly and quiet, with more substantial praise and a basic sermon based on the Word (which I understand is pretty typical). We celebrated communion together with them, and enjoyed the fellowship.

Both of these churches, as well as the other expat churches in the city, are targeting their work at those who are already Christians pretty much. The big one has a lot of small groups set up around the city for fellowship and targeted content according to what people want. They also have a counseling center and a lot of other ancillary ministries. None of the expat churches are really there trying to vigorously evangelize the expat community, of which there are about a million in Beijing alone, 300,000 of them English speakers. So, that is a real need. A big part of the expat experience in China could be summed up as “eat, drink, and be merry,” if the advertisements and articles in the expat magazines are any indication.

In the afternoon, a group gathered at our friend’s place for a few hours and I was able to talk about the history of music in the church, complete with lots of sound bites! We had a great time together, and the hope is that we will be able to do this again in the future, on this and other subjects. So I hope that will happen. We wrapped up the day with a number of us enjoying a wonderful meal together and fellowship until I had to go and finish packing!

This morning as I was leaving China an enormous earthquake struck the country in Sichuan province, about a 1000 miles south of the capital. The tremors were felt there, and as far south as Vietnam. At the epicenter, over 12000 are dead, 18000 are missing, and the count will certainly rise. Between that and the astronomical death toll in Myanmar from the cyclone that hit there, Asia has been dealt major blows to their economies, their futures, their pride, their people. I’m thankful for the privilege that I’ve had the past month to travel through the region, and my heart aches for these many millions who need to know the Christ of the Scriptures more than anything else. Thanks again for your prayers. I’m writing this last post from Detroit, waiting for my connection home. It ‘s good to be home – and yet as I watch the hundreds of people streaming past me here on their way to wherever, it occurs to me that most of them are in as great a need for Christ as anyone there might be in Asia. The fields are white, ready to harvest – where are the laborers for the King?

The meeting with the gentleman from here the other night was really something. Here’s a successful guy who comes to Christ later in life, who once he does so finds his business suddenly frittering away to nothing, a baby on the way (their first – actually born two days after our meeting! It’s a girl!), and a country with a lot of believers who don’t really know much about the Bible or how to really operate properly. He struggled against the idea of becoming a pastor for a long time, but the Father just took care of his business by relieving him of it – now, he is committed to service, and wants to go abroad to study. So, we had a long evening of fellowship on that subject and others, to good result. I’m praying that in a few years he’ll be able to see the desire of his heart fulfilled when he returns and starts a new fellowship in his home town.

We met for coffee with a sister whom I’ve heard about for a quite awhile the next day. She’s been helping our friend here with an important translation project up until a couple of weeks ago, when a situation at work got way out of hand, and people have left, been arrested, and are generally living in fear for their livelihoods, while she has been the one who has been tasked with trying to hold it all together. It finally came to a head this week, and it was a pleasure to come alongside with biblical counsel and comfort, and see the Father just wipe the care away from her countenance. We were all able to continue our fellowship that evening as we walked (about 3 km) to this really terrific hot pot restaurant for dinner. The food was great, and the noodle man put on quite a performance taking a lump of dough and acrobatically turning it into a ten foot long noodle to cook in our pot. Neat stuff. The ladies finished off the evening with a time of study, and I returned to the hotel to contemplate in insides of my eyelids.

Yesterday (Saturday) we went downtown again (frankly, all of Beijing seems like downtown, but this was the CBD – the central business district) to wrap up a couple of minor shopping stops and see more of the realm of the expatriate, or expat, residents of this city. This group of over 1 million people have very little in the way of any sort of ministry aimed at them. About 300,000 are English speakers. It’s a burden of our friends here that a fellowship should be started specifically aimed at this group. There are a few other gatherings here, one or two of them fairly large, but are theologically lacking in much substance, being more in the line of the church growth mentality that has turned so many western churches into consumer driven smorgasboards of human preference and entertainment rather than real houses of worship. Today, we’re going to visit one of the biggest ones, and then go to a smaller denominational fellowship where folks like our friends here tend to gather. Then, I’ll be giving a seminar on music through the history of the church this afternoon, and we’ll wrap up the day with a time of fellowship around a meal, a fitting way to end my time here before heading home on Monday. I’ll let you know how the day goes with one more installment to conclude the trip’s blog.

Thanks again for your prayers all this past month. I’ll get some more pictures up once I can get somewhere that doesn’t block access to my site. There’s a lot to show you! Blessings!

My feet hurt. OK, I know, it’s kind of whining, but the fact is, my feet hurt. It’s become perfectly clear that I’ve gotten soft in my old age. Just way too much sitting in front of a computer! It’s been great walking over to the apartment every morning, and then walking to the subway, then walking through the immense cultural icons of Beijing, then walking to lunch, then walking to the hotel, then walking to the apartment, then walking back to the hotel for the night. I haven’t done this much walking in years, and my feet think I have morphed into some cruel shadow of my former self. OK, the shadow part is a bit melodramatic, since the way I have been eating, my shadow hasn’t grown any less. That aside, I’m going to have to make this walking thing a more regular part of my routine at home. I like the pace. I like the ability to see what’s around me. I like sounds of birds. I like the sense that the world is whirling around me while I have “found” the secret to moving steadily and surely through it. I like catching glimpses of life as it unfolds in others, and becoming wiser for the lessons learned from experiences and voices outside of myself. I like being able to talk to God about these things as I amble along. And, I like the thought that if I keep this up, my shadow might actually grow less! It’s been good for my feet to remember what they were created for – so they can just quit the whining.

After an all night flight to Beijing, I was pretty blitzed, and headed directly to my hotel – a brand new Super 8 about a ten-minute walk from my friend’s apartment. The place is so new that you can still smell the paint – great place, and very reasonable. I think I must be the first foreigner they’ve had (they just got their license to accommodate foreigners), and they have gone all out to make me feel comfortable. No complaints here!

Anyway, I was delighted to find out that I can get online here again, right in my room. Can’t blog, however (the site is blocked), so I’m going to try to circumvent the system if I can. Anyway, I’ll have to put the pictures up later for Cambodia, but I think I can at least get text up. We’ll see. Yesterday I could get on Google to get my mail, but today I can’t (even though I can get my gmail on my Blackberry!) – it can be like that here.

The first day I was here, Tuesday, I wasn’t worth a whole lot, having not slept much at all on the plane. Rested most of the day, and then had dinner over at my friend’s apartment. She and her roommate have been working here about 8 years, and they are doing a great job for the Father. I’m here to supervise and evaluate, and hopefully be an encouragement as well. So, at dinner a couple joined us to talk about establishing fellowships here. They’ve been here almost as long as my friend has. They are really a great young couple – turns out that I know the wife’s parents quite well, and we all graduated from the same university. It was a nice time of fellowship on a lot of different levels. Got a lot of good ideas for future work here.

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On Wednesday, our friend played tour guide and we spent the morning going through the Forbidden City, which is huge. Incredible how so much of a country’s wealth can be spent on so few. It was an overcast day, so the sun wasn’t too bad. Even for a weekday, it was pretty crowded with lots of large groups all wearing colored baseball caps identifying them to each other. Lots of vendors were trying to sell us stuff, and offer to be guides. After awhile, that got annoying, and when one of them asked me if I wanted an English guide, I answered in Spanish, which made them confused, and then they pretty much left us alone! We finished about lunch time and headed off for a nice little place close to the hotel. Got a nice sampling of veggies, chicken and beef dishes, and bread, and then headed back for a rest. I was wiped again, and slept the afternoon away. In the evening I headed back over to the apartment, and my friend and her roommate treated me to some Vietnamese pho, a nice soup kind of like laksa. It was good. We then went over the seminar that I’m going to do on Sunday with some friends in the faith on music in church history. We had a lot of fun going over the material. My friend’s roommate plays the violin, and we had a nice time of playing hymns together, me on the piano, and all of us singing. With the windows open, I hope it was a blessing to those walking in the courtyard down below! It was pretty late when I headed back to the hotel. The weather is beautiful, not too hot or cool, and the evening walk is really nice.

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Today, we had a similar schedule, only this time went to the Temple of Heaven, which is by far my favorite spot in China so far, including the places I visited the last time I came a few years ago. The gardens around it are gorgeous, a refreshing relief from the concrete of the city, the smell of the grass, flowers, and trees a wonderful aroma. Walking into the park surrounding the temple you are met with sound – thousands of people gathering in groups of various sizes, coming and going at will as they sing, play instruments, play games together, and just generally are at ease. It was delightful. Choirs singing folk and national songs, dance groups of older folks who have organized themselves for exercise and fun performing for whoever will slow down and watch, people of all ages playing a hackysack-like game with a feathered cock or using paddles to swat a beribboned ball back and forth with great skill. Some even invited us to play with them. For the sake of international relations, we deferred – they would have thought Westerners to be even more inept than usual had I tried!

Once through that area of the park, we were able to enter the temple complex itself. It is amazing, much different than any other temple complex that I have seen on this or any trip. Unlike most other sites in China, where red is the predominant color, blue reigns supreme here. And, though the new explanatory signs take pains to avoid pointing out that this site (the oldest temple complex in China) was the site of monotheistic worship, which they now insist is a recent Western import, they couldn’t get away from it altogether, and the similarities of the worship here with Mosaic religion is unmistakable, including the colors, the sacrificial system, the layout, the rituals, the altars. After the dispersion, Jews came here in large numbers, and this system of worship seems to be a perversion of the true religion of the God of Israel. The god worshipped here was called the “God of Heaven,” and the emperor more or less served as the high priest once a year. Fascinating.

Anyway, after another delicious lunch of sweet and sour pork, stir-fried broccoli, and spring rolls, we did a little shopping at the Pearl Market before heading back to rest for the afternoon. Tonight we’re having dinner at the apartment again, this time with a gentleman from here who is interested in training for leading a fellowship here among his own people. I am greatly looking forward to that time of fellowship. Now, though, I’m going to try to get this posted, and then stretch out for a little bit. This trip is starting to wear on me, and I go in spurts of energy. Thanks for your prayers, and I’ll look forward to keeping you posted as the last few days unfold what they have in store.

Well, I thought I was going to be able to post all my blogs for the past several days today (Saturday). As it was, I had computer issues that kept me from connecting at the hotel where we went to hop on the network. If Mark hadn’t been here, I would never have gotten on. But by the time he figured out what the problem was (Microsoft, as usual), the network was so crowded with users that the speed was so slow that I couldn’t do anything much. Fortunately, I had used a café hot spot earlier in the day to IM my wife for awhile, which was a tremendous blessing. There, too, after a couple of hours got so slow that we couldn’t work anymore, which is why we headed to the hotel. All in all, a pretty frustrating morning technologically speaking! So, not sure when this will get posted. I did one posted, the final one from Singapore, which tells you how far behind I had fallen. There just hasn’t been connectivity here. Hope it’s better in China.

Getting around Phnom Penh on a motorcycle gives one a fresh perspective on the providence of God. Now, that’s not to alarm you, because you never really get going that fast, it’s just that the confusion of the traffic and the way it moves (or doesn’t) is a wonderful picture of the wisdom of man at work, and as I wind my way through it, openings appearing at just the right time, a car or truck setting a pick for me just when I need it to get across a road, and just generally not getting lost are all vivid evidences to me of the reality of God’s providence even in the small things of life.

As you can see from the picture, I am fitted out with the latest in moto fashion and safety gear. With the visor down, I look like a character out of the tragic sci-fi classic “The Fly,” only instead of being merged with a human, the fly flew into an experiment with a Cyclops. Oh well, I’m satisfied knowing that I am providing cheap entertainment for the local populace.

After a nice lunch out, Mark and I were preparing to head out for some grocery shopping when the skies opened up again. This time, we were right next to a little indoor mall, and we waited it out in there. Much better than walking or riding through it. Took a couple of hours, though, for it to calm down enough to ride again, long enough to flood some of the streets, but nothing that was a problem. People just take it in stride. The rain, however, meant that our planned excursion to the demon’s mouth temple that has just been completed didn’t happen, so we headed back to Mark’s place to rest up a bit before dinner. The skies stayed a bit cloudy the remainder of the day, which was great, because the temps stayed down to only the upper 80s or low 90s. With a bit of a breeze, it was quite bearable for this time of year. We rode out for dinner and our grocery shopping later, and enjoyed another really nice meal (duck flambé and Mekong lobster) on the banks of the river at the Titanic restaurant again. Great place.

It’s been a blessing to treat Mark to some places that he hasn’t been able to go to, and wouldn’t usually go to because he tends to bring new meaning to the word “frugal.” It’s also been a blessing to really take all these opportunities to really get caught up on his life and work here, and live it with him to some degree. It’s not an easy life, but Mark wants me to be sure to let everyone know that he isn’t suffering, either. He’s really learned his way around, and how to get things done. It’s clear that he is at home here, and very content with the sovereign choice of God for his life.

It’s Sunday morning as I write. The services at Glory Bible Presbyterian Church aren’t held until the afternoon, so we are enjoying a quiet morning of devotions and fellowship. Glory BPC is pastored by Rev. Stephen Choi, an IBPFM missionary from Korea. Mark helps out there doing some teaching and preaching from time to time. Their services are held on the covered roof-top of a building. When it rains it can be deafening up there, Mark tells me. The way the rains have been coming in every day so far, and the way the skies look today, we may be in for it again. Hope we don’t get caught out in the rain on the bikes in our church clothes, but we’ll get what we get. I get to just sit and soak up the Word today, which will be a blessing. I’ll write more when we get back this afternoon.

We made it back well before the rains came, though we could see the clouds on the horizon. They’re right over us now, and I expect a deluge at any time. Glad to be back under cover. The service on the rooftop was pleasant, since the approaching storm generated some breeze. By pleasant I mean that the sweat felt cool when the breeze blew! Anyway, Pastor Choi preaches in Korean, which gets translated into Khmer, which was in turn translated into English for us by a young man from the congregation. We sang a couple of songs that I knew, which was nice, though of course it sounded strange when I sang them in English while everyone else was singing in Khmer. The congregation is nearly all young people, under the age of 20 or 25 I would say, many coming because they also take English classes at the church during the week. All were very friendly, and I had the opportunity to bring greetings to them, which I did.

The ride home was uneventful, and Mark is preparing dinner for us tonight – traditional Cambodian fare. He is a very good cook, and it will be nice to just chill out (relatively speaking) here for the evening. I head for China tomorrow afternoon, and will just have time in the morning to get to the hotel and try getting online again. Hope it works this time!