four weeks

Some of you may wonder what we’ve been doing for the past month, given our silence on our blog. Well, in mid-March we headed to Mexico and San Diego to spend time with our friends in Ensenada and with my family. It was, generally a great time except that my mum gave me the stomach flu. That was bad enough on its own, but my grandparents and aunt and uncle were noticeably smiley and somewhat unsympathetic for the first 24 hours. I later found out that they were under the very false impression that I may be pregnant (I mean, if you are 29, married, and having stomach problems, what other explanation could there be?) Once they realised that the killer stomach cramps, fever, chills, and associated issues were not, in fact a child, but a viral or bacterial infection given me by my mother, the sympathy level increased noticeably.
We returned to Vancouver two weeks ago with four weeks remaining in the term. In those four weeks, we had the following tasks to complete (this represents only a fraction of the work for the term).

Andrew
3000 word (10 page) history paper
2x 1000 word exegesis papers
2500 word exegesis paper
3x 500 word history tasks
Plus numerous small tasks for business ethics

Jessica
3000 word literary theory paper
3000 word thesis proposal
2x 1000 word exegesis papers
2500 word exegesis paper

As well as lead a church retreat and cook on said retreat for 26 people. And work 3 jobs (Jessica) and 2 jobs (Andrew). And we had 13 people for Easter dinner.
As I write this, I have completed, in two weeks, 7,000 (23 pages) of my 10,500 words to round-up the term. Andrew, likewise has finished 5,500 of his 9,000 words, so the end is in sight. The problem is, at this point we are running out of things to say, especially academic things to say, which is why I’m writing a blog rather than writing an exegesis assignment. Fortunately, the end is in sight and we will soon be on a plane back to Sydney, where at least we’ll get to . . . work full-time.

Taste of the World

Last night, we enjoyed Regent College's annual 'Taste of the World'. An event that celebrates Regent's rich international diversity by offering the Regent community a chance to taste the culinary delights of each country represented, see people dressed in their national attire and be entertained in a manner that represents the culture of each country.


Roast lamb & vegetables, cheesy-mite scrolls, Pavlova, Anzac Biscuits, LL&B's and fairy bread were on the Australian menu (sadly Regent's insurance policy didn't allow for Aussie Shiraz to be part of the offering). As for Australian attire... Rugby jerseys, Driza-Bone hats, fly-swatting-cork-hats (do they have a real name?), and of course the Aussie flag turned into the national cape all featured.

For Australia's cultural entertainment, the community was quizzed (or rather informed) on the meaning of some Aussie slang and instructed on how to respond to an Aussie if they simply couldn't understand a word they were hearing... "fair-dinkum?"

Due to a technical glitch (it worked in the test-run... arrghh)... the audio/visual offering that Jess and I prepared did not get seen... we gathered together the personal photos of some of Regent's Australian contingent (+ a few surfing pics from AY). The result (on YouTube for you)... a small taste of Australia:

D.I.Y. drywall + the journey to manhood

My time in Mexico (May/June '07) building houses is bearing more fruit. First we installed a toilet, a week ago we fixed a 60x60cm whole in the wall. I have never done a drywall patch-job before, but after helping to install drywall from scratch into several new houses in Mexico, I was confident we could do a patch-job (a look at a D.I.Y. web tutorial and a call to Grandpa Clyde were also reassuring, that I was on the right track). I am amazed at how far a little know-how and experience can take you, not to mention save you $. This job cost us $12, including the cost of buying a new tool. Our hole appeared after we had to get a plumber to install a new faucet set into our bath/shower (on the other side of the wall), a job we could not do by ourselves.

Here's how we did it (click on the pics to see a bigger picture and read the info more clearly):





While I was in Mexico, I indulged in some replenishing reading, and turned my attention to John Eldredge's The Way of the Wild Heart. Eldredge quotes a guy who has followed the modern path and "ceded mastery of his world over to hired hands" by outsourcing every job around his home to tradesmen of every kind. The cost:benefit analysis reveals it doesn't always make sense to D.I.Y., but neither does reaching the point of not being able to do any simple job yourself. What are we going to outsource next... finding a partner? As Eldredge would probably ask, how can we impede our initiation into manhood anymore? Besides, there is something incredibly satisfying in using the tools well, testing yourself with the work and having a great D.I.Y. finished result (plus, I now enjoy going to hardware stores!).

a fork in the (Anglican) road

In December, I wrote two posts on the 'Anglican crisis' that is affecting the church we attend and work at, St John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church:

• schism or realignment? prophecy, Packer and patience
• It’s a small (Anglican) world after all

Tonight, St John's held their annual vestry meeting. All of the usual (and fairly mundane) agenda items featured: financial reports, adoption of previous meeting minutes, ministry snapshots etc... but that wasn't why the church was as full as I have ever seen it. Rather, the members of St John's showed up to vote on a "motion to accept or reject the offer of temporary Alternative Episcopal Oversight" from the Diocese of the Southern Cone, an Anglican diocese based out of Argentina.

The reason to seek such oversight, in a nutshell, is that the Anglican Church of Canada and the Diocese of New Westminster, who oversees St John's, have been "walking apart from the Anglican Communion." The parting comes primarily in regards to different views of the authority of scripture, of which the "tip-of-the-iceberg issue" is the blessing of same-sex unions. Much of he Episcopal church in the United States is in the same boat as much of the Anglican Church of Canada in regard to these issues.

3 of 4 pics by kim y

So tonight, it was up to St John's members to decide. Voting "Yes" would go against the Bishop of New Westminster's sincere wishes for those in his diocese, a vote for schism as he saw it. Or in the word's of J.I. Packer to vote "Yes" was to choose "not schism but realignment" - a move back to the rest of the Anglican communion who has repeatedly stood against the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal church for their trajectory of adopting a liberal approach to understanding the scriptures.

A letter (dated 6 February) by the current Bishop, Michael Ingham, was distributed to members of St John's as they entered the meeting describing the proceedings as "schismatic," threatening "immediate termination of license or removal from office" as well as the possibility of civil proceedings were directed at St John's clergy, wardens and trustees, and noting the diocese's "fiduciary responsibility to preserve and protect the assets of the Church for its future ministry", ie, take St John's financial and property assets out the church's control.

After 5 years of battling with the Bishop, having no episcopal oversight, not being able to hire new ordained staff, and having so much of the church's energy directed towards this crisis, St John's came together (for a 3 hour meeting) and voted on the motion, to either accept or reject the Southern Cone's offer of episcopal oversight and in doing so leave the Anglican Church of Canada, with the following outcome:

• Vote "YES" = 475 (96% accepted the Southern Cone's offer)
  
• Vote "NO" = 11 (2%)
  
• "Abstain" from vote = 9 (2%)

A decisive result, which indicates a strong degree of unity and gives St John's the ability to move forward with the Southern Cone while being largely undivided. Rev. David Short, said the decision "closes the door on uncertainty, and opens the door to other uncertainties" as the possibilities of lengthy legal proceedings now await.


Being an Aussie and only in Vancouver for a limited time, in some ways I feel like an outsider at St John's (even though I work there). From that outside perspective, tonight I witnessed and joined-in to vote with a congregation who chose to define themselves as part of Christ's church, who together are desiring to honor God's word and seek the Lord first ahead of the possible legal, financial and leadership risks that lay ahead. It could be costly discipleship for St John's, but is there any other road to pick up a cross and follow Jesus down?

two (personal) firsts

This winter we have embraced (or accepted) the cold and wet weather, and have gotten out on our bikes a whole lot more. Mostly for convenience in getting places since we don't have a car, but also for exercise and to enjoy the beautiful city in which we live. The beanie under the helmet, wind-proof gloves, a scarf and some new cold-weather active pants (for Andrew) make the 'fresh' conditions bearable and often enjoyable.

I am not sure what inspired us to do so, maybe it was the Long Way Down adventure that we just watched, which took Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on their bikes across fourteen international borders in Africa, but yesterday we did our first trans-national ride from Canada to the United States - first #1!

We stayed the night at Ken & Julie's cabin in Pt. Roberts Washington, got some reading for our classes done, watched two James Bond films from Ken's collection, cooked ourselves a Mexican meal and drank some cheap (but good) beer - a good time! We woke up to freezing weather and accumulating snow. So our #2 first was riding out of Pt. Roberts to Tsawwassen on the Canadian side in about an inch of snow. Sadly, we have no pictures to capture the experience. Imagine cars struggling for traction, and trying to stay very straight and upright as you peddled, otherwise the slip and slide would take over. Small steps of adventure...

"Canada not so safe: website"

Apparently we aren't safe here...

"CANADIANS have been left bewildered by an Australian Government advisory warning travellers to be cautious when visiting their country.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Smart Traveller website warns potential tourists of terrorism, dangerous winter driving, heavy snow, ice and wind chills, as well as tornadoes, earthquakes and forest fires.

Canada is listed in its second-safest category while countries such as Chile, South Korea and Latvia are regarded as safer.

ABC online reported yesterday there had been no response from the Canadian Government but plenty of public reaction, with many residents wondering where Australia was sourcing its information.

There is no warning for Australia on Canada's Foreign Affairs website, except for an advisory to be wary of pickpockets and avoid demonstrations because they could turn violent, ABC online reported."

source: smh

I would be more inclined to go with the Canadian's advice, as someone has tried to pickpocket me here. Other dangers we have experienced/heard of:

• the risk of freezing to death after Jessica's clothes were stolen from the university pool
• being hit by a slap-shot hockey puck
• starving to death due to the low minimum wage and high price of cheese
• (and sadly and realistically) being Tazered to death in Vancouver International Airport
  

Sydney Visit

Our four weeks in Sydney are quickly coming to an end. The trip has been a wonderful chance to bask in the summer sun unfilterd by a pesky ozone layer, enjoy some excellent and controversial cricket, talk long bushwalks through national parks and "shortcuts" through suburban backyards, and a truly delightful sail on Sydney Harbour. Of course, the reason we came in the first place was for Rob's wedding, which seems a very long time ago now with all the eating, drinking, and merrymaking that filled the remaining weeks. And, as a "souvenir" of sorts to inspire envy in our winter-bound friends, I have ignored the Australian skin-cancer ads and engaged remorselessly in tanning, at times without suncream.


While it has been wonderful to be in Sydney, it will also be good to be back with our friends in Vancouver and to recommence our studies; we both have challenging and exciting classes to tackle next term. Even though it is almost impossible to get our minds around the fact that the weather in Vancouver continues to be only about 2 degrees and raining, this jumping between summer and winter worlds means that we get swimming at Manly beach and skiing at Whistler within a week of each other, which is hard to beat!

re-claiming old photos (and memories)

Our international lifestyle doesn't bode well for carting photo albums across the oceans. With some time on our hands in Sydney, we have been re-claiming some old photos (and all the memories that come with them), with my Dad's new scanner. Jess' parents have been doing this too, to fill their Christmas gift, a 'digital photo frame', with pics from yester-year too. Flashback...

[View the full-screen slideshow]

Rob & Bev's Wedding Day

[View the full-screen slideshow]

Rob (my youngest brother) and Bev got married at St Peter's Anglican Church in East Lindfield on 22 December and celebrated with a reception at the International Tourism College at St Patrick's Estate in Manly.
It was great to see Rob & Bev make this committment to one another after being together for the last 4 years. The ceremony was joyous and full of praise for our Lord who gives us the gift of marriage, and the feast at the reception was a true celebration.
Jess and I MC'd the event. While we aren't natural comedians, we got a few laughs and people were very gracious in their comments on our efforts. Plus no one was offended. A great day... it's good to be in Sydney for it!

en-route: the long way (time) down

We have been travelling for 26 hours now. Our bus driver was late, but comical. He told us that the current generation of young men has forced the US congress to consider installing sensors on the toilets of all inter-state buses and planes forcing guys to take a seat so that they "hit the hole" when doing the #1. We had just enough time for a burrito in Seattle airport before boarding Southwest to fly to Oakland and then onto ATA for the 5 hour flight to Honolulu. The dancing girls in grass skirts, who were meant to greet us with hibiscus lei's had gone home by 11:45pm.

After picking-up our bags an hour later, we had 4.5 hrs on our camping mattresses and pillows, in an airport which doesn't sleep. Ukulele music played all night over the loud speakers, lights stayed on, staff moved around us. I'm not sure how much actual sleep I got, but it was good to lie down, relax and close my eyes for a few hours.

Then from rags to riches (or "mud-slums" to "holidays by the sea-side") - Jess and I were the 3rd and 4th people to check-in - exit row seats locked-in, then the first to enter the Qantas Club. A trade-mark long and hot shower was enjoyed, followed by some local fruits (the pineapple and guava juice here rock) and some coffee, of course. No doubt some freebies will make it from the Club to our JetStar flight where the food is not so conveniently priced. Entry to the Qantas Club was worth every penny ;-) ... thank you Qantas!

Our plane has been delayed a little and the palm trees are blowing side ways, so we may be here for a little longer than expected - it's a good place to be stuck! So door to door, we are likely going to crack the 40 hour mark, that's a long way (time) down!