My US experience draws to a close tomorrow as I head back from Denver to LA and then on home to Nelson. About 36 hours of travel beckons - yikes!
I've just finished stuffing the last clothes, books and CDs into my bags. I think I'm underweight. Which is more than can be said for my body which has enjoyed the hospitality here with perhaps a little too much vigour. Last night I caught my first live baseball game at Coors Field in Denver - the local Rockies team lost 3-0 to Arizona but my night seemed to mostly revolve around eating hotdogs, shelling peanuts, drinking beer and talking Bob Dylan with a guy who came with me and Jim, a Pastor called Joe Beech. His son is about to head to Israel to shoot some film in the Gaza Strip - pretty volatile place.
I have had an amazing time connecting with people over here. Last weekend I was up in Michigan, spending time with Jim Sawyer's family in Grand Haven, a gorgeous spot on the shores of Lake Michigan. Lots of time spent talking about the cultural differences between Kiwis and Americans. We even got "The World's Fastest Indian" out on DVD and watched it together.
On the Sunday Jim and I went to Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids - the community led by Rob Bell. It was great to catch a meeting, hear Rob speak (we exchanged brief "hello's") and then have a long lunch with a couple who were part of the founding team that planted the church.
Back in Denver I have had the chance to hook up with a brilliant missional community called Adullum, led by a guy called Hugh Halter. They are trying some fantastic community connecting initiatives that got me pretty excited.
I'm really aware that this blog over the last weeks has been very much a descriptive thing without really much time given to reflection. I have to admit it has been so full on just absorbing everything that trying to work out what it all might mean and how things will change because of this time away, will need some decent time back at home. Suffice to say I have been blown away by the way God has prepared a route for me and MaryAnn. The people we have encountered, and shared stories with, will certainly be part of our future.
But now I am a mere two days away from reconnecting with MaryAnn and the kids. I have really missed them. Brief phonecalls have at least reassured me that they are doing great and having their own adventures back in Nelson. Lots to ponder in the meantime - looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Funky Clubs and Pumpkin Pie
More cool US experiences over the last few days in Denver. Maryann and I checked out the Celestial Seasonings Tea Co. an iconic Boulder, Colorado institution. It was kicked off in the sixties by a couple of hippies trying to make herbal teas out of the local vegetation and has progressed to being the largest supplier of herbal tea in the States with all manor of exotic flavours. We got to sample heaps as well as doing a tour of the factory. It was really fun!
MaryAnn dragged me out later that night to experience some Denver night life. We travelled by light rail into the city centre and went to a Jazz and Blues club that was launching it's "funk night" - we were the only white-folks on the dance floor but we had a brilliant time boogieing to this incredibly hot funk band called Soul School - lots of Earth Wind and Fire; Kool and the Gang; Gap Band style seventies funk but with a bit of current hip-hop groove as well. A totally excellent musical time.
This morning MaryAnn and I went with Jim Sawyer to the High school where he works and where his boys attend. Basically MaryAnn and I took an hour or so with the whole school playing some songs, talking about New Zealand, sharing about our journey with Jesus and then answering questions. It was absolutely brilliant. I got a bunch of kids up to sing Bob Dylan's "You gotta serve somebody" which really went down. They were great sports.
Tomorrow MaryAnn heads back to Nelson so we got in the obligatory shopping-fest which turned out to be heaps of fun. Lots of cool stuff at very cheap prices. Tonight we are getting together with the Sawyer clan for a traditional "Thanks Giving" style food extravaganza - turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, the whole nine yards - can't wait.
When Maryann takes off back to LA, Jim and I head to Michigan where we will catch up with some of his family (he grew up there) and also check out Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, the church led by Rob Bell. So more exciting stuff still to come. MaryAnn will be back in Nelson on Saturday morning and I'll be back Saturday week. Talk to you again soon.
MaryAnn dragged me out later that night to experience some Denver night life. We travelled by light rail into the city centre and went to a Jazz and Blues club that was launching it's "funk night" - we were the only white-folks on the dance floor but we had a brilliant time boogieing to this incredibly hot funk band called Soul School - lots of Earth Wind and Fire; Kool and the Gang; Gap Band style seventies funk but with a bit of current hip-hop groove as well. A totally excellent musical time.
This morning MaryAnn and I went with Jim Sawyer to the High school where he works and where his boys attend. Basically MaryAnn and I took an hour or so with the whole school playing some songs, talking about New Zealand, sharing about our journey with Jesus and then answering questions. It was absolutely brilliant. I got a bunch of kids up to sing Bob Dylan's "You gotta serve somebody" which really went down. They were great sports.
Tomorrow MaryAnn heads back to Nelson so we got in the obligatory shopping-fest which turned out to be heaps of fun. Lots of cool stuff at very cheap prices. Tonight we are getting together with the Sawyer clan for a traditional "Thanks Giving" style food extravaganza - turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, the whole nine yards - can't wait.
When Maryann takes off back to LA, Jim and I head to Michigan where we will catch up with some of his family (he grew up there) and also check out Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, the church led by Rob Bell. So more exciting stuff still to come. MaryAnn will be back in Nelson on Saturday morning and I'll be back Saturday week. Talk to you again soon.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Sun, Snow and Red Rocks
Colorado is amazing! MaryAnn and I have just spent the last few days experiencing the Colorado Rocky mountains and what an incredible part of the world it is. Having put the LA sun behind us and a batch of never to be forgotten encounters with all manner of amazing Jesus following people we landed in Denver on Saturday.
We are staying with Jim and Linda Sawyer and their three boys. After spending 5 months in Nelson with us last year they are totally going out of their way to give us an experience of their home. After a great church meeting on Sunday morning we hit the mountains where MaryAnn and Linda got in a half day skiing while I read Rolling Stone in the Cafe and talked with Jim (my legs just aren't up to the ski boot thing at the moment). We then headed to Buena Vista and spent the night in their log cabin. Snow was falling lightly all around making the whole place look absolutely magical - I've never been in snow like that and just soaked up the whole experience. We saw all manner of wildlife including elk, deer, foxes, blue jays, squirrels and heaps of other stuff. The whole setting was like a fairytale!
Today we made our way back to Denver via Red Rocks - the amazing natural amphi-theater that has played host to all manner of stellar music stars including the memorable 1983 concert by U2 which was captured on the "Under a Blood Red Sky" film.
MaryAnn and I have been having great conversations debriefing our time in LA with Mosaic and the community of people there. We felt so affirmed in our belief that alligning ourselves with the mission of Jesus is the core reason for the church's existence and that everything flows out of following him into the lives of people who don't yet swear their allegience to him. Knowing this deep in our beings will obviously ensure that we continue to assess how we are doing what we are doing and the particular call that God has put on our lives. Exciting times!!
We obviously are struggling a little with being away from the kids but have had several cool phonecalls and know they are doing great without us. We want to thank those of you who have been praying for us and the kids - we couldn't do this without you.
We are staying with Jim and Linda Sawyer and their three boys. After spending 5 months in Nelson with us last year they are totally going out of their way to give us an experience of their home. After a great church meeting on Sunday morning we hit the mountains where MaryAnn and Linda got in a half day skiing while I read Rolling Stone in the Cafe and talked with Jim (my legs just aren't up to the ski boot thing at the moment). We then headed to Buena Vista and spent the night in their log cabin. Snow was falling lightly all around making the whole place look absolutely magical - I've never been in snow like that and just soaked up the whole experience. We saw all manner of wildlife including elk, deer, foxes, blue jays, squirrels and heaps of other stuff. The whole setting was like a fairytale!
Today we made our way back to Denver via Red Rocks - the amazing natural amphi-theater that has played host to all manner of stellar music stars including the memorable 1983 concert by U2 which was captured on the "Under a Blood Red Sky" film.
MaryAnn and I have been having great conversations debriefing our time in LA with Mosaic and the community of people there. We felt so affirmed in our belief that alligning ourselves with the mission of Jesus is the core reason for the church's existence and that everything flows out of following him into the lives of people who don't yet swear their allegience to him. Knowing this deep in our beings will obviously ensure that we continue to assess how we are doing what we are doing and the particular call that God has put on our lives. Exciting times!!
We obviously are struggling a little with being away from the kids but have had several cool phonecalls and know they are doing great without us. We want to thank those of you who have been praying for us and the kids - we couldn't do this without you.
Friday, May 4, 2007
At Mosaic, LA and Loving it
Firstly, sorry to all our friends who've been trying to keep up with mine and MaryAnn's LA adventure. We have only just got all the appropriate cables hooked up to get us online. But, here we are!
Just reflecting on several amazing days with the Mosaic whanau here in Pasadena, LA. So many incredible experiences as we have listened to communicators, hung out with the team here, yarning over mexican food and Starbucks coffee's (incidentally, not a patch on kiwi barrista-ed flat whites, but the corn chips are out of this world!).
The Kiwi contingent who are here (30 of us in total) were all invited to Erwin and Kim McManus place for dinner on Monday night, where we connected with a bunch of the Mosaic staff and talked all sorts of exciting talk about our global linking. Many of the New Zealanders had never met before, so it was cool to do introductions in LA!
The Origins conference was fantastic. The team led us through an exploration of the core values of the gospel in relation to how Mosaic is church. So much to tell and we are only really processing it now. However, Maryann and I felt this deep and fairly emotional connection to what was being shared recognising that it was so much the journey we have been travelling the last few years - very affirming. I've ordered the DVD series so that people can catch up with the content when we get back.
I started off trying to capture stuff on video hoping to be able to communicate the vibe of Mosaic but each time I got behind the camera I realised that it was so little about the look of the thing and so much about the relational stuff - very hard to capture on film. The people here are unbelievably generous, and so encouraging of us. We have had more conversations than I can count with people from all over the world - awesome.
MaryAnn and I are loving being together on this and have been so privileged to be invited in on a number of events and meetings throughout the week that it was just really humbling to be considered part of. People really wanted to hear our story and had us contributing in a range of ways to discussions and dreams about the future.
Tomorrow it's off to Denver, Colorado to meet up with the Sawyer family who were with us in Nelson last year. Can't wait to see them all.
Thank you again to all of you who have been praying and imagining for us. We are having a fantastic time. Someone shared a great picture with us as we talked this week. They said they saw a large bed that had had all the bed clothes removed, but they were hanging from a garbage bag beside the bed. They said that they felt we were in a position where we could still open up the bag and get the old sheets and blankets and pillows out again, and that because there wasn't anything on the bed we were hearing voices saying, "maybe we could just stick those things back on, it's what we know at least?" But, God was saying to us, "How would you like the bed to be made? You have the opportunity to have a wonderful new place to sleep, rest, dream, etc, you just need to ask me." A very provocative image that has guided us this week.
Anyway, hopefully I will get a couple more postings up this next week as we further work through our Mosaic experience. Catch up soon.
Just reflecting on several amazing days with the Mosaic whanau here in Pasadena, LA. So many incredible experiences as we have listened to communicators, hung out with the team here, yarning over mexican food and Starbucks coffee's (incidentally, not a patch on kiwi barrista-ed flat whites, but the corn chips are out of this world!).
The Kiwi contingent who are here (30 of us in total) were all invited to Erwin and Kim McManus place for dinner on Monday night, where we connected with a bunch of the Mosaic staff and talked all sorts of exciting talk about our global linking. Many of the New Zealanders had never met before, so it was cool to do introductions in LA!
The Origins conference was fantastic. The team led us through an exploration of the core values of the gospel in relation to how Mosaic is church. So much to tell and we are only really processing it now. However, Maryann and I felt this deep and fairly emotional connection to what was being shared recognising that it was so much the journey we have been travelling the last few years - very affirming. I've ordered the DVD series so that people can catch up with the content when we get back.
I started off trying to capture stuff on video hoping to be able to communicate the vibe of Mosaic but each time I got behind the camera I realised that it was so little about the look of the thing and so much about the relational stuff - very hard to capture on film. The people here are unbelievably generous, and so encouraging of us. We have had more conversations than I can count with people from all over the world - awesome.
MaryAnn and I are loving being together on this and have been so privileged to be invited in on a number of events and meetings throughout the week that it was just really humbling to be considered part of. People really wanted to hear our story and had us contributing in a range of ways to discussions and dreams about the future.
Tomorrow it's off to Denver, Colorado to meet up with the Sawyer family who were with us in Nelson last year. Can't wait to see them all.
Thank you again to all of you who have been praying and imagining for us. We are having a fantastic time. Someone shared a great picture with us as we talked this week. They said they saw a large bed that had had all the bed clothes removed, but they were hanging from a garbage bag beside the bed. They said that they felt we were in a position where we could still open up the bag and get the old sheets and blankets and pillows out again, and that because there wasn't anything on the bed we were hearing voices saying, "maybe we could just stick those things back on, it's what we know at least?" But, God was saying to us, "How would you like the bed to be made? You have the opportunity to have a wonderful new place to sleep, rest, dream, etc, you just need to ask me." A very provocative image that has guided us this week.
Anyway, hopefully I will get a couple more postings up this next week as we further work through our Mosaic experience. Catch up soon.
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