Moving!

This blog has moved.

Find the new home at www.restoringroots.com!

Unsatisfied

My soul drips with longing
Longings which I, even I, do not know, do not understand
The inner sound of those desires resonates off the chamber of my heart
It is not the echo of emptiness
Rather it is the reverberation of a heart set on the hope of greater things then these
It is not I who can satisfy me
It is the completion of all things, the capstone, the reconciler, the Christ

Rushing the Trees

There is an old idiom that recites 'don't lose the forest for the trees'. Often has that come to mind. The idea is of course that the thing we focus on, to the point of ridiculous, is often a detail in the broad strokes of life. We lose the larger perspective of life as we focus on the singularity of our chosen tree.

Sometime ago I lost myself in the forest, looking at all the pretty trees and noting their intricate details. Rushing from tree to tree and admiring what it might be like to try and climb them all. It's good to get close and personal with the trees, yet I failed to stand back and allow the simple beauty of the forest to overwhelm. Take that step back and breath it in. We can but view the beauty; our ability provides no chance to change the trees nor modify the forest, only that we can choose the perspective we take and the beauty may we appreciate.

A Worthy Venture

I've got a friend, well really a conglomeration of friends, who are collaborating in a form of online media with a positive bent on life. It's definitely worth checking out and learning a bit - and feedback would be appreciated.

http://ocsplora.com/

Pictures in the Sand

I'm not sure whether to continue the writing endeavor I once started on this blog. The beginnings of this once frequent stage were rooted in a journey that once seemed so clear. So much has taken place since I started this page, finding a place where I could let the world know what was going on and share my written heart when spoken words were not enough.

Recently, an epiphany from outside sources hit - the simple truth that we're all living a story that we wish to tell, a story that we wish will be a good story. Sometimes our choices cause our stories to change direction and take on a route that was never anticipated, a route that surely may ruin the story. Yet, it's often those twists that become the apex of the story. We look to challenges with disgust when they are really the things that change us the most. Those hard times, that's where a person grows. That heartbreak, that's the point at which a man or a woman grows to see that they become better because of it. I don't pretend that I will understand all that life holds, but I know that I want my story to be a good one, and I'm hoping that I will have the courage to continue to make the decisions which provide for a better narrative.

The question then becomes, in my mind, is shall we all live for our own stories, or will we acknowledge that the brief narrative we write with our own life is but a word in the overarching story of this small world. We write our stories in the sand, knowing that in short years the tide will rise to claim our fragile artistry and all that will be left is the memory of our sand drawings imprinted in the minds of fellow sand painters.

I think I will continue to write, and perhaps, just perhaps, my story will point to that who is greater than I and the Author of all our stories.

The Waiting Room

Sitting, I stare at the wall, thinking, wishing, hoping
It's the quiet stare of a man uncertain of the words that may come
Waiting for the door to open, the assistant to call a name
I am not alone in my sitting, others are here, waiting all the same
Anxious in the waiting, curious in the news of what is to be

The faces in the room with me betray signs of weakness
Pain, fear, suffering, slight glimmers of joy through the misty tears
We wait as a communal mass with few words but joined all the same
Understood is the unspoken

The door opens and a name rings out, a voice shrill and tart
Eyes watch the young man as slowly he stands, shuffling towards the voice
Another joins those who have already passed through the door
Where the door goes we who wait cannot see - healing we hope, we hope

Shifting in the chairs, uncomfortable in the stagnant air
Our minds turn to passing the time while we push down the worry
Reading of those on the outside who appear healed, doing great things - living
What hope is there for us who wait - can we too be as they are?

Simply, strangely, the time continues as we sit, we wait
Fear claws at our thoughts as the door swings through it motions
Will we be next? What lies beyond? Will we find the living?
It is the waiting that kills, the fears that paralyze, the dead that breathe

Of the greatest irony is this, as we wait, we believe healing is coming
Yet find that the swinging door leads only to that which we fear most
Living begins as the waiting ends - we need healing yet the door leads not there
Free is the feeling that betrays the fear and healing arrives on the wake of freedom
We are not chosen, we choose to be the living or the dead

Alabama

Well, it's been about a week and a half since arriving in Northern Alabama and I have to say that I quite enjoy life on a farm. There is definitely something to be said for working with your hands to produce a crop that will go on to feed many.

It is actually quite a wonder to experience such vast tracts of farm land and consider the sights and sounds of an African village where living from day to day off the meager bounty of the backyard forest. I think that we fail to comprehend how significant our standard of living in the Western world is. Not only that, but I didn't quite understand what farming meant here in the States - I'm beginning to understand a little better each day.

It is fascinating to be transplanted into a world much different from that which was familiar. The accent, the warmness of people, the strange foods, the hot-climate culture, the tornadoes, the humidity arriving on the front of a storm - this all without leaving the country.

Life has a way of not turning down a road that I thought may have been the road to take. This is a good season in life, not simply for the poor pun made there, but the spring planting of corn and cotton is beginning to germinate some desires within.

A few more pictures, in addition to those below, can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/northernwood/AlabamaTennesee?authkey=Gv1sRgCMyypq26gNbWDg&feat=directlink



Planting corn


My responsibility to keep the seed plentiful


Jeremy on the fence and awaiting the cows


Jeremy playing spiderman on the wall with Jamie keeping an eye out


Hanging out and enjoying the view (actually, my forearms were exhausted)


Trying to look like I know what I am doing

The Resurrection

The blog lives and so shall I.

The journey continues on from Alaska to parts unknown. Well, that's not true, I do know where I'm headed next and its called northern Alabama. Home to a specific cotton farm for which I will become a working hand - two months out in the warmer temperatures enjoying work that is actually measurable at the end of a day.

Four months back in Alaska seems just a blip on the radar of life. It oft did not feel as a blip, nor can memory recall those individual moments that make up the whole of it. Certainly there is more to say and my ramblings nearly want to leap out on the page at the moment, yet late hours of packing and an inability to think beyond the day behind and the day ahead leaves little to say.

For now, the transition is coming and is anticipated. The days ahead may allow further thoughts to role from this head and perhaps pictures of a southern landscape.


These here were recent outings with Geoff to Flattop:

Suspension of Blogging

It will, perhaps go without saying that this blog has not been recently attended to with any form of 'blog-worthy' posting, and, the foreseeable future holds little promise for blogging - at least for the next two months.

THUS, consider this blog suspended until March 2009.

Thanks for your interest should anyone actually read this most recent post...

Recap of YWAM NZ

As a matter of summary and one-place-reference I've gone to the simple trouble of capturing the links to the blog postings from the past two years at YWAM and have inserted them below. As one last note (that may be quite obvious) I've gone ahead and divided this into 'Base Staff' and 'DTS Staff'.

Perhaps, in the near future, I can continue an escape into the prose of this current life. In the near future, perhaps...

the BASE STAFF era
New Zealand: The Beginning. Again.
Arrival
Comet McNaught & Community Living
The Bigger Picture
Time Management & MySpace

Value
Value + 1
The Last Great Race
Freedom Day, 23 March 2007
Hanmer Springs

The Sister
The Land of Auz
Good Tune-age
A Recent Update
Current Prayer Requests

A Quiet Place
New Post @ Skyline
Base Tour Online
Mt. Oxford, Attempt #2
What I Do.

Winter Calm... Uh, NO.
Silence
Noise
The Return
High Country

the DTS STAFF era
The Early Season: Prayer Requests
A New Season: Diversification
A Recent Journal Entry
Another Journal Entry, 9 May 2008
One Defunct Blog

Back on the Horse
Prayer Requests
A Sudden Departure
AFRICA!
Uganda!

Moving On
Internet in Africa: TIA
Catching Up
Once Upon A Time

Sharing, Again

To say that this post, among others is a bit overdue, may be erroneous. It becomes difficult to know who continues to seek out this corner of cyberspace for updates on the whims of this life.

I shared a message at the church here in ER just a couple Sundays ago, check it out if you like at the following:
http://www.skylinefamily.com/sermonarchives/dec212008.mp3

You may have noted an updated look - it's time for a change I say. There is some question as to how long the life of this blog may persist. In today's Facebook world there seems to be a decreased interest in anything blog related. Perhaps this blog will roll on - who can say?

Once Upon a Time

Once in a land far, far away I began a new vein of life voluntarily working with a Jesus ministry. Recently in a land far, far away from whence I begun, the end of this vein has been reached.

I hope that the personal and spiritual wealth extracted from the vein is held onto for years to come. The gain is priceless and the cost worth it.

I've constantly been reflecting on the past months and, well, two years really. Especially so as I just completed some sort of email update for all of those people I love to blanket email from time to time (hey, if you want this email then let me know by clicking here).

Since the end of the third week of September I've continued traveling having said goodbye to the students and fellow staff of the past 6-months journey. It's been a time of reflection, solitude, uncertain futures, and hopefully a time of rejuvination.

The time at this computer is drawing near to a close, as our my eyes and attention span for this time.

I hope to be more regular on this blog as I now have caught up with all of the email, communication, and such that needed to be done first - at least I hope that is true.

Visit Stockholm, it's a great city!
AND visit FINLAND!

check out some pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/northernwood
Facebook? Matt Would

Catching Up

It's true that this blog thing doesn't always work out so nicely. Africa doesn't really help either! But, here sit I in Jerusalem, hoping to play a bit of catch up in the coming weeks. Needless to say there is more catching up to be done than there is time at the moment - we still have another week before graduation!

So, we are now nearly done. Tanzania flew by. Our time as a team debriefing in Switzerland was amazing, busy, and too short. Now we're here in the Holy Land in the midst of the days speeding by.

I regret that there is little else to share at the moment - perhaps a few pictures below - more to follow and perhaps some reflections or stories as well.

Do check out my friend's blog from Plead the Cause (www.pleadthecause.com - the ministry we worked with in Uganda) as Brent has given us a shout on his ministry and personal blogs - thanks for that Brent!
http://pleadthecause.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=52

http://thefieldexperience.blogspot.com/2008/08/fruitfulness.html

Finally, continue checking in on our team blog - there may be a few more posts yet prior to the end...
www.truthbeautyjustice.wordpress.com

Captions for below:
a) Pastor Zablon's youngest son whose name I can't remember...
b) The church building crew - all that height in six days, or less.
c) A view on safari and wildebeast stretching in the distance - Ngorongoro Crater
d) Above Davos, Switzerland

Internet in Africa : TIA

Well, this is a short and sweet post. Pretty much all I can say is that internet access here is painfully slow and inconsistant - welcome to Africa - it's also quite pricy at over $2 per hour as we are smack in the middle of the Safari Mile (my word for this small village that caters to many passing Land Crusiers or Land Rovers filled with safari clientele).

We're here in this small town along the road to these national parks to help build a church for a pastor and his growing congregation who are of the Masaai tribe. A few of the women are also doing some children's ministry, and Jess and I have had a chance to catch up with Will, our school leader, who has come to be with us for a short while.

Kenya was great and more stories may follow from that time, as well as some pictures. But such will have to wait for another day and a better method of this interrnet thing (TIA -> This Is Africa)!

Do check out the following:
www.truthbeautyjustice.wordpress.com

Moving On

We've come to the end of our time here in Uganda - today we head out on a 14-hour bus journey to Kenya. It's been an intense few weeks - a VERY good few weeks though.

We've spent much time in smaller villages around the shores of Lake Victoria as well as villages on islands and places in between. We've shared at primary schools, secondary schools, preached and performed at Sunday services, taught and shared at church conferences, been a part of youth groups, participated in a number of short open-air crusades, gone door-to-door, and simply spent time with many children and a number of adults.

We've learned parts of their language, adjusted to the nuances of the culture, stumbled over our own perceptions, been challenged by living conditions, spent at least a whole day sick and wishing the fish smell in the air would go away, and pretty much just allowing our bubble of comfort to burst in the context of a starkly different world.

All have been stretched, all have grown, all have lived to see another day.

That in about two and a half weeks of Uganda. Check out some pics from our time below or by visiting this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/northernwood/Uganda

Certainly there is much more to say and many details I could add, but, I need to leave on a bus in a couple hours. It's enough to say that this has been the journey of a lifetime, for now, there is still a month to go here in Africa!

Check out our team blog for a few more details (providing we get the posts up before we leave)... www.truthbeautyjustice.wordpress.com

*****************
The road traveled has given way to a path undiscovered
I look through tearless eyes on a broken country surrounding this path
It is of little help to look ahead into the deceptive though of what the next turn may hold
The path behind intrigues equally, yet I stumble often looking over my shoulder
There is little choice but to continue looking at where I walk, step by step, turn by turn
And where I walk, I walk not alone, but abreast with seven others
Sometimes pushing one another
Occasionally pulling one another
Often encouraging one another
Needing to simply love one another on one more step
We walk, eternal beings amongst many other eternal beings, challenging mindsets, sharing stories, interrupting our own paradigms, shifting expectations, clarifying our beliefs
This path has brought much - nothing to think the least of, only the most
The path ahead brings as much but I must learn to walk tall living my heart in the path I walk

*****************


Our method of transport the first few days on the islands of Lake Victoria


With some of the amazing kids at Osanidde (oh-sunny-day; it means 'you are worthy') orphanage


Jonathan & Diane in the midst of a skit at a Primary School


Brent and Uncle Michael preaching at a impromptu open-air event


Flat tires on not so nice roads - yes!


Brent, Virginia, and (King) Josiah - wonderful people living in Uganda and serving through Plead the Cause www.pleadthecause.com


Group photo just prior to our departure for our few day holiday in Kampala

Uganda!

Well, here we are... 4 days into Uganda! It's been great so far, but quite full!

I don't have time now to write much more than than - we are leaving tomorrow morning for 9 days or so on the islands of Lake Victoria!

For a bit more of our story please check out the following...
www.truthbeautyjustice.wordpress.com

AFRICA!

We made it... 10 days ago or so.

As a team we've already had a number of roller coasters to ride. Sickness. Communication. Jet lag. Cultural adjustments. Blah. But, at the end of the day we can honestly look back and say it's been a good day.

There is much going through my mind at the moment - things to share, emails to write, bed to seek out, and finding a cup of tea in the midst of it all. Yes, I fancy a cup of tea often, quite often.

The team has settled in well - better than I expected anyway. I probably had the most difficult time of adjustment with learning how to lead in the midst of this new experience. Thankfully, my co-leader Jess, can now count this current trip as her third leading such an adventure - experienced to say the least.

We've been doing what we can at a community project and 'orphanage' (not really, the kids are placed with 'adoptive' parents in on-site apartments). Many of our days have looked like manual labour and/or working in the day care centre with kids from the surrounding 'informal settlements' (or shanty towns).

The vision of this place is amazing - it's really about the WHOLE Gospel message - providing life for all. The community of mainly Africans is dedicated in their mission of not just seeing through the lives of 48 (or so) children but also providing opportunities for those local people who come into the sphere of influence. Quite an amazing place I say.

I've had the opportunity to learn how to hand-mix more than one cubic metre of concrete and brick mortar. Jonathan and I have been sharing the last couple of work days in constructing a brick wall with Innocent and Victor. The girls have been sharing their time between other site work (like weeding or creating tire retaining walls), spending time in the day care, or visiting the informal settlements nearby. There is always opportunity when we are not 'working' to just hang out with the kids here. It's currently a school holiday (or break) and so the kids are outside much of the day. We've also all shared in a bit of a youth program last Friday evening, going so far as to make the first performance of a skit and chatting with the kids about it.

Weekends have provided a chance to get out into the city of Johannesburg and visit a few malls as well as a friend's home for some African braii (a barbecue). We've visited a church in the city as well as the church her at this community project. Next weekend we hope to adventure into the lands north of the city and witness some of the beauty of the land.

In the midst of this all we've made at least three trips to the clinic for two health problems which are now on the mend. We've also been learning the finer art of communicating as a team and as co-leaders. Certainly there is also the day to day art of figuring out where people are at and walking with them through the struggles of the day.

Here's some pics to throw your way! (not the greatest - more to follow in coming posts I do hope!)


Jonathan & Innocent at work on the brick retaining wall - Innocent wouldn't pose for me...


A view of the wall in progress - to the right are steps we are working on as well



Some of the girls and site crew at work on the tire retaining wall - beautification in progress!



Rochelle, Dortje, and Cheryl enjoying some coffee at Mugg & Bean this past weekend


The lounge of our apartment - just Cheryl and Jonathan hanging out with Piet

A Sudden Departure

And so ends the story...

Well, not so fast. My team and I leave the country soon. Something like 11 hours from now, but who's counting?

It's not clear what this blog will look like over the coming months. We'll be travelling through four different nations in Africa over the next two months.

The next season of our journey is what we call Outreach. Simply a time of travelling to different nations with different cultures and different people that we might serve and bless them in whatever way they may need. It's about sharing life with them, loving them, knowing them. I could spiritualize the language I use to describe what we do if that would make more sense to you - honestly though people aren't really going to care much about knowing who God is if our actions don't demonstrate who we know God is. Hopefully that makes sense.

We're you aware that according to the U.N. projections the median age of Sub-Saharan Africa is 18 years old (http://esa.un.org/unpp/p2k0data.asp) - that means that half the population is below 18 years old (the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa is ~ 769 million). Do you wonder why this is?

Our coming journey isn't one of comfort. It's meant to stretch and push against the grain of our Western upbringing. We will experience much in the way of the local way of living through simply living alongside people of the ministries where we will serve. Sometimes it's quite clear that we in the Western societies deem our culture and way of life as the 'right' way. Certainly there are a great many positives of our Western ways - however, it's quite a paradigm altering shift to go out into other cultures and nations and experience their way of living first hand. We depart here on a budget of $19 USD per person per day (which includes accomodation, food, ground transportation, entry visa's, etc.). I say that only to put a bit of perspective on the journey ahead as I desire to communicate just the reality of what we do.

We're you aware that according to the U.N. projections the median age of Sub-Saharan Africa is 18 years old (http://esa.un.org/unpp/p2k0data.asp) - that means that half the population is below 18 years old (the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa is ~ 769 million). Do you wonder why this is?

Check out our team website at...
www.truthbeautyjustice.wordpress.com

Prayer Requests!

For Those Who Pray! - Prayer Requests for the Africa Journey!
* God's Hand in the Midst of Our Steps : hey, if He isn't involved then we're just out for a bit of a feel-good journey - we NEED Him to be a part of this
* People of Africa : for those whom we interact that we may have a positive and lasting impact, and really just everyone in Africa - throwing money at Africa isn't the answer
* Travel Safety : we complete many different legs of travel, hours on planes, many hours on buses, many trips within taxi's and local transport
* Team Love : we can't operate well outwardly if we are having problems internally - it's called 'out'-reach not 'in'-reach
* Health : with all the travel, different bacteria, different food, and simply long days of hard work our immune system will be stretched

Back on the Horse

Some would say that returning to a place of challenge is something akin to 'getting back on the horse'. This is my attempt in the written update form - becoming once again 'current' with this online journal.

And, so, to that end I'll submit the following journal entry from 7 June - I've given up trying to record or reflect in realtime on my days. Writing only becomes a release if I'm able to express something more than simply what the facts are.

*******
We sit, watching, waiting, looking
The warm blanket of the dawn has brought a drizzle of rain on the tail of the morn
The story behind the glass speaks of a day ordered by the clouds
The pages turn as the hours fade
Trees dance, shaking the water from their leaves
A constant fall of the heavens replenishes the earth, thirsty from the weeks past
We sit allowing the peace and warmth to wipe clean our souls
Rest fades into rest as the weeks sluff into the valley of the days ahead
The soul knows the depths of the rest
The body knows the depths of the warmth
And the spirit seeks the depths of Peace

******

On a very much related note, this weekend allowed the school staff of this current training school to escape to a seaside town for a bit of R&R. Well needed and too short. The day of departure we awoke to find snow - a less than common thing for this part and elevation of NZ!!!

Only 2.5 weeks remain until we depart New Zealand for the endz of the earth.


Sunset over Akaroa Bay


A few minutes later...


Sharing a meal


SNOW!


Not quite like home, though...


Southern Alps and the Canterbury Plains - covered!