SNOOP DUKIE-DUKE

2003-07-21T15:50:00.000-04:00

HEY
Well after much thought I've decided to continue with my blog-doggery. We've been back in Canada for a month now and it's time to get off the couch and start moving...slowly. No for real, we've been real busy. But I attended a seminar last week by Coop and Jeb on "Digital Culture in the Church" and I was inspired to keep on keepin on. I'm sure my life in Canada will be every bit as exciting and weirdo as it was in the Dominican. Coop's havin a blogger party tonight...weird. I'm gonna go though. Ok I just wanted to get it going today so those bloggers won't pick on me...next I must crash course myself on star trek and star wars trivia. Nice to see you again.
In the meantime check out Corb Lund...saw the concert in Regina...best discovery of the summer.

2003-06-07T14:51:00.000-04:00

WE'RE DONE, WE'RE DONE , WE'RE DONE!!!!!
In the words of the immortal Ozzy Osbourne..."Mama I'm comin home". Schools done. Grads done. It was a huge project and a huge success. Praise God. Now we are at the beach and here shall we stay until wednesday, then we come home. We dont actually get back until friday but the point is...we're comin home. This has been a wonderful and hard year but we experienced much victory this week and we were able to see some fruit for our labours and some reasons as to why we were sent here. I'll talk more of it when I get home...I dont imagine I will blog much this week as I do not plan on thinking or moving much these next few days only plan is to be flat on my face sleeping on the beach...I cant wait to see you guys back home. Thanks for your prayers and encouraging words. See you soon. Brooke will probably write more than me this week so check her out.

2003-06-03T15:56:00.000-04:00

Hey. The computers at our school have been down for a week so sorry for the lack of blogging. They are still down but I noticed our principals computer was working today...I smell scandal...anywyas I've snuck into his office to give you as much goods as I can. Ironically these last few days have contained many worthy story to share and I've been hankering to tell these tales. Unfortunately you'll get the short version cuz I dont have much time...first was friday the last day of classes before finals...the senior class came to our apartment the night before at 2 in the morning and played their stereos and screamed and danced in our parking lot til we got up...it was hilarious, our neighbors are cool so it was fun...so we hung out with the students in the middle of the night for awhile. Then when we got to school the seniors had spray painted their class logo and thier names HUGELY on the elementary wall. It looked really cool but the elementary principal was pissed...he's new here and I guess this happens every year and the seniors paint over it the next day...anywyas the principal was trying to expel them and withhold their diplomas...it was ridiculous...I fought all day for those kids and we came to a compromise. It was hard day but without question the best day I've had as far as relationship building and hanging with the kids. Oh yeah...that same morning while we were all gawking at the huge "vandalism" we noticed that none of the seniors were at school...where were they we wondered??? All of a sudden the school gates swing open and a fire engine rolls in with it's sirens blasting and the seniors riding it....these kids own the city so they can do whatever they want...best entrance ever...okay I need to get going...but we went to Haiti on the weekend...greatest experience of my life...we saw the citadel...a huge castle/fortress built at the top of Haitis highest mountain...7 miles up. theres a cobble stone path and you can walk/ride horse...one of the seven wonders of the world they say...only six more to go...ahhh I'm not doing this justice and I have to go but I'll tell you more later...it was incredible.

2003-05-27T09:02:00.000-04:00

IF YOUR NAME IS MELISSA WIDGER YOU SHOULD NOT READ TODAYS BLOG
My good friend Russ phoned yesterday. He's living in Hawaii. It was cool to sit in my kitchen in the DR and talk to my friend sitting on his deck in Hawaii...sometimes technology amazes me...do we still consider the telephone modern technology??? Anyways I was just in the middle of telling russ how loud this country is...it's conchos, motos, roosters, dogs and merengue music...and all of a sudden I heard the loudest most awful scream I''ve ever heard... a squeal of horror actually...and the giver of that squeal was a pig...they had a pig in our parking lot...a young pig tied up and they were gonna kill it for this big party in our building tonight. So Brooke runs out and valiantly tries to save the pig...first with reason and rationale with our dominican neighbors and then with zealous vigilante justice...she was trying to set the little pig free and all the neighbors were laughing at her..."He's my friend" she cried, "You can't eat my friend!!!" "I am angry with you"
That pig squeal has to be the worst sound ever...I hung up on Russ...sorry Russ...and grabbed my camera and ran out to capture the moment but as i got there I saw them hurl the pig into the trunk of a car, slam it shut and drive off...
Anyways it was good to hear frome Russ. He's getting married to Tanya in September in Canmore AB and I'm doing that wedding...very fun.
In other news...Maggie the Prohet monkey has picked the Mighty Ducks to beat the Devils. Can't argue with that...congratulations Anaheim.

2003-05-26T14:28:00.000-04:00

FOOD POISONING
Saturday night was the annual Junior Senior Banquet. I was the speaker and I think it went pretty well...but then Sunday...food poisoning...everyone who was at the banquet got sick...lots of students and teachers stayed home today. Brooke didnt eat so she is fine...me on the other hand, I did eat...alot. Usually diarrhea is a socially taboo subject and nobody wants to admit when they got it, but when everybody has it and everybody knows that everybody has it than we are able to open up and share the experience together..teacher to teacher, student to teacher...everybodys talking about having the runs and no one is ashamed cuz everybody has it right now....interesting lesson in there about sins and weaknesses...we never talk about the personal stuff with each other... we find it hard to share our sins with each other...too proud to share our weaknesses with each other...too ashamed to share our uglies with other even though we should...but everybody's got them, I do and you do. If we really knew how sick our neighbors were, we would feel more comfortable sharing our sickness with them and we really "bear each other burdens". Unashamed...You can bet that the person you open yourself up to is just as sick and broken as you are...My name is Kelly graham and I am sick. Sorry if this seems a little weirdo deep but I've had alot of time on the can...

2003-05-20T10:32:00.000-04:00

We had supper last night with Alicia and her husband Ramon. Alicia is our maid, even though I don't like to call her that...she is a friend. She introduces us to her friends as her "boss". They took us to Chimi Jose, a dominican restaurant in some dirty downtown barrio. We were nervous, cuz these are the places you shouldnt eat if you have a North American tummy so we prayed and loaded up on acidophylous and headed out. The food turned out to be really good, although I never did try the sweet pig ears. I don't believe in sweet pig ears. At the end of the meal Alicia insisted on paying for us. It was humbling as the bill came to almost as much as we pay her in a week. Anyways it was a great evening and neither of us got sick. Alicia's husband Ramon is a pastor here in Santiago. They are great people. It's amazing to see how much Spanish we've picked up this year as Ramon and Alicia speak no english but we were able to communicate all night.
Today one of the teachers went home sick so I got called to sub in second period...no problem except it was anatomy class and wouldn't you know it they were talking about the ole reproductive organs...you know the ones...it was right out of a bad dream or bad eighties movie...

2003-05-18T10:36:00.000-04:00

LAst night we were having supper at Lax and these three Haitian kids came to our table...Haitians must be the most beautiful people in the world...they are hated in the DR however. Anyways they were selling some sweets and peanuts...buckets on their heads, walking up and down the beach. Our friend Dave speaks creole so we chatted with them for awhile...their names are Mackenzie, William and Benji, all about 8 or nine years old. Great smiles and laughs. They sell this stuff all day and cant go home until they have 50 pesos or they get beatand cant eat...they are slaves, theres no other way to put it. So we played some games with them at our table and by the end of the evening we had given them probably 100 pesos each...50 pesos for today and fifty for tomorrow...so I thought. We saw them a few minutes later and they had each bought one of those cheesy glow sticks and were havin the time of their life on the beach. Black sky and black kids...all we could see were these glow sticks running around. It was nice to see these kids be kids...they have rough life and it's gonna get rougher as life in the DR conitnues to decline theyll probably get rounded up and sent back to Haiti where there is absoulutely nothing for them. I sure wish we could pack em up and bring them to Saskatoon...it's sad when you know a place where they "could" go and be free and loved. I'd put a picture of them on here but it would only break your heart (plus I dont know how to put pictures on this thing)
We decided last night that we go to Haiti on the last weekend in May. Dave and Michelle have done the trip many times so they'll take us. Very cool.

2003-05-17T14:13:00.000-04:00

At the beach...life is good again for a couple of days...there's this pizza at Lax called the "Diablo"..best pizza ever. Tourist season is over so everything is quiet and cheap and higher quality again. Something big went down yesterday here in the DR...the group that owns the biggest bank in the country, Baninter, was shut down on fraud charges and their entire assets worth 2.2bill were seized and a whole bunch of people lost money and they seized our tv stations and newspapers and the streets are filled with military and police spot checks cuz I guess there's guilty folk makin a run for the border. I don't really know the details yet but...the beach is still deadly.
Check the dr1 for details of the bank crisis.

2003-05-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

Oh man we just finished Junior high chapel...their principal is away and so are almost all the bible teachers at a haitian batay so it's all substitutes...and me..add that to the fact that its friday, last class, almost end of the year and plus 40 AND they just finished a whole week of IOWA testing and its a recipe for mayhem. The kids were so out of control it was hilarious...but I got mad at the kids and made them stay after for ten minutes and I turned off the fans...they were mad and I was vindictive and successful in my vindication.
I remember I had this music teacher when I was in third grade who used to write words on the board when we were getting loud and if she finished the word "recess" or "lunch" and we still werent quiet then we would have to stay in at recess or lunch..for some reason this scared me to death...I had some weirdo anxiety issues when I was a lad...anyways we've come full circle cuz thats the tactic I use to subdue the insanity in my history class...it works...I bet my mom will think thats funny.

2003-05-16T15:27:00.000-04:00

We were invited over to the Diplan's house last night. They are a family from the school that live close to us and we've connected with them a couple of times. They have two daughters in high school and another in fourth grade...anyways they have a beautiful house with great yard and a pool an outdoor covered 'ranchito' with a television...yeah a TV outside. So we played Dominoes, the ladies played bingo...thats what the ladies do while the fellas play dominioes I guess and we watched basketball (Adios Shaq, Se fue los Lakers) and baseball and a little bit of hockey...then we ate pig...whole pig, head and all, right smack on the table...gross to look at, great to eat.
Tonight we're headed to the beach with the stanleys...Dave has been at the timberland factories in Puerto Rico all week and there is a Timberland outlet store there that he gets like 90percent off stuff...so he always brings stuff back, I got a deadly watch from him and a backpack and hopefully tonight he'll have some boots...any Timberland boot you see was made right here in the DR or across the way in Puerto Rico. We havent been to Cabarete in almost a month so we are chompin at the bit to get goin...these fridays cant go by fast enough.

2003-05-14T16:33:00.000-04:00

Last night at Young Life one of our students, Alejandra, was there for the first time so I sat outside and chatted with her...her chauffer just dropped her off in a Land Cruiser. I asked her about her chauffer and she said that everywhere she goes she has an armed chauffer and two armed body guards. One of the body guards rides in the vehicle and the other follows closely on a motorcycle...sure enough there was the motorcycle and the guards. She said that she is a potential kidnap victim because of who her father is. Imagine living like that eh? There have been a few kidnap attempts in the country this year. Last summer the grandfather of two of my students was kidnapped and held for 2 million bucks. Crazy. Then Carlos, one of my eigth graders, pulls up on a 2003 Yamaha Banshee...it's his...no helmet or anything just ripping up the roads...too much money.http://www.yamaha-motor.com/products/unitinfo.asp?lid=1&lc=atv&cid=1&mid=2

The freakin power always goes off in this country, everyday for a few hours or more. Yesterday it was off from 4am til 8pm...sometimes it just goes off for an hour. Nothing makes me madder than when you're watching something on the TV or listening to music and SNAP...it's all gone...or in the morning when you cant iron or have a hot water shower or make coffee...
Apparently the government owes the power company a bunch of money so the company just randomly shuts off neighborhoods power hoping to instigate some action...so far it aint working.
We just finished the Pi-K Run...3.14 kms...the squirrel won, but I guess he always does. Me, I was "Killer Mullet" and my super power was sheer intimidation...confused??? welcome to the party.

2003-05-12T09:10:00.000-04:00

Hey it's been an interesting weekend. Where to start...well I left for the mountains with the tenth graders for a retreat and Brooke stayed home. Her first night alone since we got here. Well she had three incidents with creepy perverted dominican men...there are alot of creepy perverted dominican men but usaully they keep there behaviors to just saying gross things to girls but on friday it was worse...it makes me so mad when I hear the stories cuz it only happens when I'm not around and even if I was there I would probably grab the fella and take out a years worth of angst and frustration on his dominican ass...but the fear would be that he has gun or other domincan creeps would jump in cuz their brother aint doin anything wrong in their opinion...men are allowed to say and do to women anything they want...i can't wait to get out of this country. All the while I was in beautiful Jarabacoa having a great time with the kids. I took them on a hike up the Jimenoa Falls. It was far harder and dangerous than I anticipated, but we did it...thank God and for these kids it was the experience of a lifetime. They worked harder and got dirtier than they'd evr been in their lives...then the water got shut off in our chalet so they could nt shower...dominicans shower 4 times a day. Our teaching times were really good and I took the hike and used it for ametaphor for our spiritual journey...challenging, and everybody wanted to give up when it got tough, but we helped each other, and encouraged each other and did it together...and when we got to the destination it was so beautiful that it made all the struggle worth while...it was cool...perhaps a lesson for Brooke and I regarding this year. Then on Saturday afternoon we went to an orphanage. I've never been to an orphanage before but it was heart breaking and I met alot of kids that I wished I could have taken home. They had beautiful facility though and the kids were very well taken care of so that made me feel better.
I preached yesterday at our church and I think it went alright...then we hung out with the Stanleys and had turkey supper...turkey is good.
When we got home, the peopl across the street were having a neighborhood party...much food, drink and a killer merengue band...all these old men who were the masters of the latin sound...so we ended the weekend partying with some great Domincans and we ate drank and danced and came home feeling allright about the next month in the DR.
This morning they announced that we have hired anew director...Anthony Damathath...or something...he was here last week and he seemed great and the teachers are very excited about him coming on board. I really think he is the fella who can fix this place...praise God.
We also got to speak with my mom and Brooke's mom and Gloria and wish them all Happy Mothers Day...it was nice to talk to them all. We are blessed to have such great ladies in our lives.

2003-05-08T09:32:00.000-04:00

NO CANADA
I'm a little concerned about the Stanley Cup playoffs. Although the possibility of an all-Canadian Finals is real exciting, I'm sure there would be an amazing buzz-buzz from coast to coast, however the reality is that I'm sure no American channel would promote it at all. Once the US teams are gone, so goes the interest of the US. Adios ESPN and ESPN2. We are already seeing a huge decrease in games televised or pirated in to the DR. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope we are able to prove or disprove my theory...in other words "Go Sens and Canucks."
I'm speaking at a tenth grade retreat this weekend and then preaching at our church on Sunday...busy.
UPDATE: May 9th, uhhh never mind

2003-05-06T08:40:00.000-04:00

Hey, we're back safe and sound. It was an incredible experience...incredible resort and incredible kids. It wasn't without incident, but everybody is safe and we all have a million stories. We ate lots and played lots...no kidding if I woke up at 3am and had hankering for a hotdog or BBQ burger...I could have one...or two. The kids really impressed me though. Imagine 24 high school seniors in an all-inclusive (alcohol too) (there's no real drinking age here) resort without their parents. The first night was mayhem...but after that the kids began to police themselves after realizing that although everyhting is permissable, not everything is beneficial. Some say freedom breeds responsibility...kind of a Lord of the Flies idea...I saw it happen. We were very proud of those kids.
You should see the clothes these kids wear...and the watches...I like looking at their watches...you know when you flip thrugh a GQ magaizine and they show these watches that cost thousands of dollars and you ask yourself, "Who wears these things?" the answer is, the senior class at SCS. One girls watch was worth over 3000US bucks!! For the beach nevermind.
But Brooke and I managed to have some great times with these kids and some great conversations about some big stuff. Thanks for praying for us. I imagine it may have been the best ministry we've had down here so far.

2003-05-03T10:55:00.000-04:00

LIVE FROM PUNTA CANA
So far we're having a great time here. This resort is ridiculous nice...it's the one where Chretien stayed when he was in the DR. The bus ride was long and crazy but we made it and since then it's been nonstop lunacy. There's wall climbing and a circus trapeze...yeah a circus trapeze. There's skating rink too...real ice skates but a weirdo plastic rink...it's pretty cool but you can't really turn or stop too well, but thats okay cuz those have never been my strengths. The kids are having the time of their lives and so far we've been incident free...for the most part. I wish you guys could meet these kids. Brooke and I have had lots of opportunities to hang out and have good talks with them.
There's lots of Canadians here and yesterday we played Canada vs. Santiago in water polo. I played for Santiago, a brett-hullian manouvre of sorts.
Well my turn on the trapeze is approachin so I gots to go.

2003-04-30T14:21:00.000-04:00

Hey, sorry it's been awhile since I blogged last...and alot has happened...alot of weirdo stuff...stuff you'll have to read in my book which by the way has a new title..."MY YEAR ON THE BEACH WITH DOLLY PARTON"...it's the perfect title but i can't tell you why on a public blog cuz I don"t know if students or administartion ever tap in to this to get the low down...maybe you can figure it out if not send me an email or give me a call and I'll explain it to you.
The SACS people have been here all week...leaving today. The staff are filled with hope that these guys can help turn this school around. We get their report at 3oclock today...should be interesting.
Tomorrow we leave for Punta Cana with the senior class...thursday til monday. The students have planned the whole thing and it is not a school related trip. They have invited Brooke and I along as friends and are paying our way...real nice. I hope and pray that Brooke and I are able to really minister to these kids during this time just by being with them and living our lives among them as they live theirs. Please pray for us during this time. It's an all inclusive and the stundents will certainly drink and I just dont want anything stupid to happen...i figure if you guys could cover this thing in prayer than maybe there will be some eternal impacts made...I'm serious, I really think that ther will be conversations had and relationships built that my position at school does not accomodate to.
I'm getting good word about the Worship Freehouse opening night. It makes me want to come back to Saskatoon real bad. The next on is June 1st so I guess I'll only miss one more...that is fun to think on. May God keep blessing you guys and keep giving you the vision.
We are home soon. But keep praying for us as these are ridiculous days and SCS and only about to get ridiculouser. We are tired and the consatnt ridiculate is wearing us down...but God is good.

2003-04-25T15:52:00.000-04:00

This has been a crazy week...this place is a gong show. Oh man...you would not believe.
Jr. high chapel went really well. There are two fellas in my eigth grade class who have been learning guitar...me too I've been learning. So these two guys, Angel and Gabriel, and myself played for worship in chapel...along with the regular worship leader. It was great..we were awful but it was a good experience for us all to do together.
My mom said my Grandmas funeral was beautiful and I got some email from some friends who attended and they were deeply moved and encouraged. It must have been quite a celebration.
Fridays done and so am I...

2003-04-22T08:55:00.000-04:00

Tuesday morning and back to the grindstone. It's hard being back and staying motivated. We've managed to get a lot of hockey games pirated in and the power has stayed on so thats been good. My Grandma's funeral is Wednesday afternoon, so sometime today I need to send off some words...I got to speak at my Grandpa's funeral 6 years ago and it was a huge honor.
We finally booked our tickets home, we got pretty good deals but again it's lots of money. We're flying Continental, and the buzz-buzz at school this morning was about American Airlines strike discussion. Almost everyone has AA tickets out of here so they were stressed. People want out of here real bad...I pray these next weeks fly by...it's getting pretty weirdo here. We still have lots to look forward to.
One cool story...I had to give this old Dominican man a ride home at the beach on Saturday...he was old and he lived in this back way barrio at Cabarete...I was driving on this crazy road and there was this huge crowd of folk in the road ahead. As I got closer, I saw that it was a street cock fight...they saw my car, yelled "CARRO" and picked up the roosters and moved to the side of the road and I drove through. As soon as I passed, they threw down the roosters and the battle resumed. It was just like street hockey in Canada...only with roosters.
Also I cut my thumb up pretty bad on a rusty garbage can...it probably needed stitches but we fixed it up. You don't realize how valuable the right thumb is til you are thumbless. Our opposable thumb is what sets us apart from the monkeys you know. And now I am without...am i now half monkey?? I do love the banana and riding in rocket ships...

2003-04-20T14:22:00.000-04:00

EASTER SUNDAY
My Grandma Childerhose passed away this morning at 7:10am. Easter Sunday morning...I guess if you could pick a day to be your first day in Heaven it would be Easter. Grandma loved Easter morning. It's hard to be sad when you picture Grandma finally in Heaven celebrating Easter with her Husband, her friends and family that have gone on before her and the good Lord Jesus. Happy Easter.
Our prayers and thoughts are with our family back home and we badly wish we could be with them.

2003-04-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

hey, if anyone thinks they know why my blog is so sketchy and stretchy lemme know...kellymgraham@yahoo.ca
Well, still nothing new with Gramma. She's still in her coma and the family still waiting...I know they are very tired and I am tired of thinking about it and wondering when. talk with my folks as often as I can and my mom encourages me to enjoy this week as much as I can and not feel guilty, but I sure would like to just show up at home and bring some joy to this ugly week for them...it's not gonna happen. Just keep praying for us all. I guess the church in PA and the neighbors have been really good to my family so I'm thankful for them.
The population of the beach house has grown from 2 to 25 in the last day. Thats fun...enough peace and quiet...there's a vulture circling the lot next door and occasionally we get a whiff of dead body but Dave and I searched it out and found nothing except a ten foot beaver, so we gave up and decided that if we...A TEN FOOT BEAVER!!!
Remember that Widge and Russ?...the ole ten foot beaver gag. And of course Gus Wilson and Big the Frog...it's all comin back to me, and if you don't know what any of this means you should ask...cuz there are funny stories attached to them all. There was a kid in our high school named Kermit Bird and we would make jokes that he had a nemisis named "Big the Frog", and of course Gus Wilson.
The Red Wings are Gone...good work Cujo...good work...if you can't beat em, join em...and suck so the ducks can beat em...i love it.
Go Oilers.
The beach is fillin up with Dominican trash...literally they just litter everywhere...no concept of environmental responsibilty...again, thankful for the private beach house.
Finished off four books and started another today..."The Farming of Bones" Edwidge Danticat...she's a Haitian and she writes about Haitians and their labour in the Dominican Sugar Cane fields...awfully true...it's incredible cuz the sugar cane fields she talks about are the ones we drive through to get back to Santiago from the Beach. Good book though. OK back to the hammock.

2003-04-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

Uh yeah...something sketchy just went down with my blog...it seems I lost all my extra stuff...and it's spread out half way to cuba...i know not why...very frustrated...must get back to hammock...MAYDAY COOP MAYDAY!!! I'd try to fix it my own self but all the directions and stuff are in spanish...

2003-04-13T12:29:00.000-04:00

RUM AND UNDERWEAR WEEK
Thats what the north americans refer to Easter Week in the Dominican as...dominicans flock to the beach, drink and hang in their gotch...gross. there's just busloads of them here. Dominicans have no space issues..like on the beach in an area where you would see 5 americans, you will see 20 dominicans...no exageration...just crammed in...drinkin rum from the bottle. Standing in a huddle in the water and just leaving their bottles and chip bags and orange peels to just float away...brutal. We are thankful for the beach house and the private beach. We've only been here 20 hours and I started and finished a book. Last night we made supper and then the power went out so we lit some candles and I played my guitar and brooke sang..went to bed early and stayed in bed late and then made my way out to the hammock where i kept sleeping. These last few weeks at work have knocked me out. I intend to do nothing for a few days and feel no guilt.
Still no change in my Grandmas condition. There's a place I can phone home from so I check in regularly. Mom sounds real tired.

2003-04-12T14:46:00.000-04:00

Well, we got one of those phone calls the other day...the phone calls that change everything. My Grandma Childerhose suffered a massive stroke and is not expected to make it through the weekend. The family is gathering and waiting for the inevitable. It's weird being down here when that's going on at home. My Grandma is awesome...she's ninety two. My Grandfather passed away 5 years ago, so a great reunion is on its way. It's weird though cuz there is absolutley nothing we can do down here except think about it and continue on with our DR living. Please pray for my family back home as they walk through these days. It's too expensive for us to fly home for the funeral so again,,,weird to be here.
Well there's other stuff going on too.
1. We are on Easter break...ten days of no SCS and the "ridiculate" therein. (I invented the word 'ridiculate' this year and I've used it plenty) So we're at the beach house and we don't plan on leaving for many days,...we have it to ourselves til tuesday then others are coming up.
2. On Wednesday we had the National Honor Society induction ceremony...the NHS is some American honor for students of high character and academic standard...nine of our students were inducted and I was asked to be the key note speaker...it was cool and the good Lord really gave me some great words to say...My theme was simply Be Good. "We live in a culture where being 'good' isnt good enough anymore . We need to be great, amazing, extraordinary...but we get so focussed on being 'great' that we forget how great being 'good' can be."
Anyways it was an honor to be a part of that night for those kids.
3. The teachers played the varsity soccer teams in an exhibition match. We beat the girls 1-0 and tied the boys 5-5. We played for two hours in 37 degrees. I did all right for the most part, but by the end I totally turned into "weiner foot".
4. Two months today and we're home sweet home.

2003-04-08T08:36:00.000-04:00

EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALL WHITE???
This is pretty clever. An intramural basketball teams response to the controversy surrounding sports teams names and mascots and their native origins.

2003-04-08T08:26:00.000-04:00

Yeah, you can't get us out of here fast enough...one thing about living in a goldfish bowl..Brooke tried to plan a nice dinner party for one of our friends who has been havin a rough go...10 low key folk at the Blue moon...but in a "community" like this you can't do that without makin people mad..."how come so and so wasn't invited?" "Why do they get to come?"..."I don;t care if we werent invited, we;re just gonna go" ...like we're thirteen years old...so Brooke comes off lookin like a bad guy...stupid...maybe people are just tired and waiting for easter break...but the fuses are pretty short...I've decided to limit my investments in the folk around here...focus on my good friends and not worry about what the rest think, no longer invest in relationship growth or reparation...we're gone in two months.
We have a car for Semana Santa...easter break..Elizabeth is in Africa and she left us her car...thats cool. So now who knows what we'll do.
The ridiculate continues here at SCS...but we have much to look forward to...easter Break at the beach house...Bavaro with the seniors and a trip to Haiti with the Stanleys sometime in May...as goofy as this year has been, we sure have had some great experiences and met some great people.
Happy Birthday to my friends Mike Zintel, Darryl Holowachuk, Roy Feschuk, my cousin Reid and Happy Anniversary to Matt and Jesika.

2003-04-05T10:31:00.000-05:00

Hey this weekend marks the birthdays of two significant fellas in my life. Jeb Runquist and Jerry Reimer. I have learned much from both of those guys. Thanks for everything fellas...God bless you guys.

2003-04-04T14:35:00.000-05:00

Another Random Ramble
I couldn't help but take note of CNN's motto. They declare themselves to be "The Most Trusted News Source". That's all well and good and probably true...but we need to realize that there is a difference between being "trusted" and being "trustworthy". Would they ever dare to declare themselves "The Most Trustworthy News Source"? There's probably a sermon in there somewhere.

2003-04-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

Spotted in the school parking lot this morning. Time to go ask some questions.

2003-04-04T07:48:00.000-05:00

Coop posted this prayer on the Worship Freehouse site...I liked it.

Lord, I believe in you; increase my faith.
I trust in you; strengthen my trust.
I love you: let me love you more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.
I worship you as my first beginning,
I long for you as my last end,
I praise you as my constant helper,
and call on you as my loving protector.
Guide me by your wisdom,
correct me with your justice,
comfort me with your mercy,
protect me with your power.
I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
my words: to have you for their theme;
my actions: to reflect my love for you;
my sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.
I want to do what you ask of me:
in the way you ask,
for as long as you ask,
because you ask it.
Lord, enlighten my understanding,
strengthen my will,
purify my heart,
and make me holy.
Help me to repent of my past sins
and to rise above my human weakness
and to grow stronger as a Christian.
Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
and see myself as I really am:
a pilgrim in this world,
a Christian called to respect and love
all whose lives I touch,
those in authority over me
or those under my authority,
my friends and my enemies.
Help me to conquer anger by gentleness,
greed by generosity,
apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself
and reach out toward others.
Make me prudent in planning,
courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering,
unassuming in prosperity.
Keep me, Lord, attentive in prayer,
temperate in food and drink,
diligent in my work,
firm in my good intentions.
Let my conscience be clear,
my conduct without fault,
my speech blameless,
my life well-ordered.
Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.
Let me cherish your love for me,
keep your law,
and come at last to your salvation.
Teach me to realize that this world is passing,
that my true future is the happiness of heaven,
that life on earth is short,
and the life to come eternal.
Help me to prepare for death
with a proper fear of judgment,
but a greater trust in your goodness.
Lead me safely through death
to the endless joy of heaven.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

attributed to Pope Clement XI

2003-04-02T08:35:00.000-05:00

I receive this email from my friend Dave Stanley...it should give you a glimpse into how sick this country can be
I thought I would send this out to all of you may not know....so you'd know.
I have talked before about the shoe shine boys, the window washers etc. We often look at them as a nuisance. But I would like to remind us all (me especially) of what it's really about.
Most of the kids are pimped by an adult. Most are orphans. They basically work for food money, a bit of protection, and a place (maybe) to sleep at night. Then it's back to the madness. Regardless of whether or not we want the jerk pimp to get the money, the kids still have to eat. Some of them are not allowed home without a certain amout. That's the picture....now.......
As you teachers drive to work in the morning, or especially on the way back at night, you will notice at the lights where you come out onto the autopista from that side street, (calle Los Jimenez) two young boys out in the middle of the highway. They are brothers. The little cute one with the freckles is 8 years old. The older brother is 12. Nice kids. A man brings them out and dumps them there in the morning to collect money. They sit out there all day, hot sun...rain.
At noon, sometimes, the man will come back and collect what they have and sometimes take them away. He brings them back an hour later, and they are there usually up till 10 or 11 at night. If you think about it, they could use food. I will find out more about them this week.
We see the little eight year old boy every morning on our way to work. We try to give him some food as often as we can...I'd rather give him a home...Did you know that if you wanted to adopt a dominican orphan, the Dominican government would charge you 20,000US dollars. This country is full of orphans...one of many consequences of a sick-sex infested culture.

2003-04-01T13:15:00.000-05:00

This is Spirit Week at our school and today is career day...dress up as what you want to be when you grow up. I just wore shorts , sandals and a T-shirt. I'm tellin people either I'm a undercover cop or a stay at home dad...neither of which I aspire to be but at least I get to wear shorts to work. Most kids just wore regular clothes and not their uniforms...I see now why this school has uniforms...when they wear regular clothes you can tell the super rich from the regular kids and the girls all wear sick tight clothes...we've had to send girls home cuz their clothes are innapropriate, even in junior high...and when you see their "plastic" moms come to get them....it all makes sense. Too much money.
The new vehicle of choice for our school families is the Cadillac Escalade...one family got one and it was all the rage so now their poppin up all over. Starting at $54,000 US.
I'm trying to figure out how to get us home in june...planes, trains, and automobile style...kind of like this...fly from puerto plata to new york city...grey hound from new york to hamilton, Westjet to calgray or saskatoon....crazy but cheap...sort of... $500 US each. Hey that reminds me...any one want to give me $1000 bucks US? Lemme know.

2003-03-29T09:36:00.000-05:00

Hey, I'm at the beach again...sitting in the internet cafe...i snuck a coffee in from the German bakery across the street there's no rim to roll up, but its the greatest cup of coffee in the world...I would have snuck in a pastry but I consumed it on the way over. The highlight of each week is the Saturday morning at the beach house...someone goes in to town and gets coffee and pastries from the German bakery and everyone slowly rolls out of bed and on to the balcony. It's the moment I look forward to all week...no joke. And then you're done and you sit there covered in icing sugar from the oven warm pastry and the waiting game begins for the next saturday. It makes me wonder, Is a shirt really dirty if it's covered in icing sugar? I vote no...hence I continue the wearing of the shirt even now.
Brooke and Michelle went into Sosua to look at a pottery shop and buy canadian bacon for tomorrows after church breakfast soiree. I'm preaching tomorrow...I think I'll talk about Joshua, cuz Brooke and I have been analyzing the year here trying to figure out why in the world we were brought, sent, called or allowed to come here. It has been a hard year and we have seen much trial and asked many questions. I don't know why and maybe we never will, but I do believe that there is a "why" and I'm happy with that. It's not an answer I crave, just the assurance that there is an answer...I submit to that.
I've been asking people down here this question... If you were to write abook about your experience at SCS this year what would you call it? Many answers including "Everyday...Same S--t"...I saw that on a T-shirt and thought it would make a good SCS staff shirt. Brooke's book would be called "Se Callo"..spanish for "it fell". That expression represents the idea in the dominican culture that nothing is ever their fault...if you drop a book, for example, you wouldn't say " I dropped the book" you would say "It fell" no fault of yours...that mentality is culturally engrained here and frustrating.
My book would/will be called "Submission Holds", basically referring to the verse in the Bible referring to submission to authority and that being used as a justification for the ridiculate that spews out of the powers that be and that is killing the school and the wonderful teachers on staff...can't elaborate too much cuz who knows who reads the blog...want to know more?...buy the book "Submission Holds", coming soon.
I drove the mountain road last night to Cabarete...I travelled it many times but never driven it until last night. It is incredibly beautiful and incredibly dangerous at the same time...it is not uncommon to come within inches of vehicles heading the other direction...however there is a certain freedom that comes from having no rules of the road...liberation...don't hit anyone and don't get hit. It was great fun. People, donkeys, kids, trucks, cows, drunks, motorcycles, a windy road with potholes and 100 foot drop to the side...I'm sure Donna enjoyed reading that part. One time we were passed by a motorcycle with three men (helmetless of course) on it, and the men were passing a bottle of rum back and forth between themselves including the driver...

In other news, our cable company has decided to pirate in ESPN, so that means we can watch the rest of March Madness...I haven't seen any games yet.

2003-03-28T07:31:00.000-05:00

Did you hear that Jennifer Capriati asked to have Outkasts "Bombs over Baghdad" played as her warm up music at her last match? That's ridiculous. I'm all for freedom of speech and expression but I am anti-stupid.
Well some of the fellas back home are embarking on a cool new initiative in Saskatoon...the Worship Freehouse. Sounds cool. This is the kind of project I had hoped to be a part of when we returned to "our home and native land". We have been dialoguing about this for awhile and I'm excited it's getting started. They start on April 27th...I believe. Check the website for details and stuff and then check it out on the 27th. God bless guys and save spot for me and my lovely.

2003-03-26T08:43:00.000-05:00

We had Young Life last night...only now it's all in Spanish...Vida Joven, it's called now. Anyways I had to do this rank and pointless skit...wearing skin tight leopard skin pants and some sick Kungfu...brutal. I wasn't at the planning meeting so I got signed up. Brutal. I miss the days of Impact...we had so much talent on that ministry team...Tim, Jeb, the Sarge, RAW, Chester...unbeleivable when I think about it...George and Jesus were there at Young Life...they are two of my favorite students...Jesus...again pronounced Jesus, not "hay-soose" although our principal refuses to call him that...funny.
Both of my bible studies got cancelled tonight...thats good...time for a break.
Speaking of cancelled...the Senior Trip was officially squashed today...I'm glad.. It's been a pain in the arse for a long time. Now the kids are just gonna go on their own to some posh millionaires resort on the east side of the island on May long weekend. Not school affiliated. Thats fine by me. They have offered to pay for me and Brooke to go with them...cool, not as a chaperone but as friends, part of the senior class...kind of weird cuz I'm sure they'll be drinking and who knows what else...i told them we'd go as long as two parents went as well. They said "cool". So the situation will be Kelly the Spiritual Life director and his wife "chillin" at the beach with a bunch of young rich dominicans...what if the kids get drunk? What should my role/response be? Now keep in mind that these kids drink...much. It's part of their culture and family life. Instead of us crackin down on them cuz it's a school trip, we get to just be with them. I think that Brooke and I will be more effective witnesses and examples by entering into their world and not being preachy...we've never been preachy...we'll just show them how we live and they can show us how they live, outside of the parameters of SCS. I really believe there is potential for much good to come out of this...I hope it works out. I love these kids.
Word is out that Brooke and I arent coming back to SCS next year...many kids are every dissappointed and that makes us feel good and bad at the same time. Kind of like Buckley's Cough Syrup...
Most kids understand though.
Cool T-shirt update- "IT"S ALL GOOD BABY!" and "BUN IN THE OVEN" (on a Haitian guy)
4:30...time to go. Gotta get my grades in.

2003-03-26T08:35:00.000-05:00

PRETZELS FOR PEACE...uhhh I guess so.

2003-03-25T07:55:00.000-05:00

Hey, I read my last blog entry and noticed I made a pretty sick generalization towards Dominicans. I apologize for that. Sometimes, however, living here can really tear at your threshhold of tolerance. I hate it when my wife tells me how the cabbies adjust the mirrors so they can stare at her and I hate walking down the road and having all the men, look her up and down and make crude remarks in Spanish...now when I say "all the men" it sounds like I'm making another generalization...but you just can't believe it until you experience it for yourself. And the litter makes me sick...the most beautiful country in the world and it's covered in trash.
Anyways, we went to Alicias (our maid) house on saturday for the afternoon. She is much poorer than I suspected. I felt sick about how little we pay her...we walked through her barrio (neighborhood), the poorest in the city. She was very proud as she took us on a tour. We stopped and played some dominoes with the locals for a little while. Alicia and her family are very poor, but certainly not unhappy...we teach in a school filled with the children of billionaires and I've never seen more unhappiness. There's got to be a lesson in there somewhere.
March Madness is officially underway. Back in Canada there is little to no interest in the tournament and I spend my time trying to generate excitement and get folk to fill out their brackets. Anyways, our school is filled with americans and regional pride comes to life in the tournament so it is indeed madness here. For the record, my final four is Texas, Syracuse, Duke, and Kentucky and my champ is Texas.
Cool t-shirt update- "WE"RE EXCITED ABOUT BLANKETS", and "I LOVE SUNDAY SCHOOL"- the sunday school shirt will go to my friend Berkley Buchko...BUCKO HE NO SUCKO. He's playin hockey in Wolfville right now.

2003-03-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

Man, it's hot here...I keep reading how nice it's getting in Saskatoon, but winter is definitely over in the DR..it's like 36 today. I leak.
The Termin-X guys came to the school last night, kind of unannounced and fumigated...only God knows the kind of chemicals they were spraying...so now we have this place filled little kids and poison...we were warned about using cups and such and to keep kids out of certain rooms...and of course "licking the walls"??? It stinks and everyone is getting a headache. Also the US embassy has announced that americans in foreign countries should not hang out in big groups because anti-war sentiment could turn into anti-american sentiment...sew another flag on the backpack and tie canada balloons on your ears. I don't think there'll be any trouble here, most dominicans wish they were americans and the other dominicans are too busy drinkin, litterin and sitting staring blankly to watch CNN.
I saw Daredevil last night with some students...except in Spanish it's called "El Hombre sin Miedo"...the man without fear. Be careful though not to say "El Hombre sin Mierda", cuz that means "The man without....poo". I've starred in that movie before.

2003-03-19T13:31:00.000-05:00

Well, we're on the brink of war. It is certainly the topic of choice for the kids here. Many of them have homes and family in New York so there is some fear of terrorism on US soil. I am proud of Canada for taking the stand that they did. I am not anti-war (in this case), but I am against acting outside of the UN. That sets a dangerous precedent. Our senior trip is also in jeopardy due to this crisis, many of our parents are ultra-over-protective and may not want their kids in the US, nevermind at Disneyworld.
We are having a school wide prayer for peace vigil after school.
Ok random thoughts time:
I made friends with a Haitian guy named Gabriel last night...he spoke Creole, some French, and some Spanish. I speak English, some French and some Spanish. It was quite a conversation as a single sentence could contain three languages at once...we managed to get our thoughts across...I think, but really I have no idea.

Also, I've always had an affinity for cool t-shirts. The DR is perfect for this "hobby". There's a fella who sells used T-shirts from the US occasionally about two blocks from our house. They are a random collection of T-shirts that could say anything...but they're all clean and in pretty good shape...it's funny to see the Haitians or poor Dominicans wearing these shirts of which they have no idea what they say. You could see a guy wearing a shirt that says "#1 MOM", or "Grandpas special girl" they have no idea what they say...the best was this one dude who was peddlin outside the baseball game with a shirt that said "F@#$ the WORLD"..." I yelled "Hey President Bush phoned, he wants his jersey back!" No I didnt, but I did get my picture taken with him.
Anyways I often stop by to see what the T-shirt seller is sellin and I've bought some pretty cool ones...you'll see them when I come home...but the guy has no idea what they say, cuz he only speaks spanish...so I translate the shirts as best I can and he gives me deals...but it's funny translating these shirts...especially the innapropriates. He sells shirts for 25 pesos so that works out to 2 bucks cdn.
Tonight at 5:30 I have my student leadership Bible Study and then at 7:30 we have Small Group. Wednesdays are big days, but I am feeling 100% better today than last week...thanks God.
Hey I'm gonna need a job come July...any suggestions? Put the word out and drop me a line.

2003-03-18T08:27:00.000-05:00

Hard day yesterday. Dave Irwin and I drove out to Sosua to their International School to do some grief counselling. On Saturday night a couple of their ninth graders were out and chuckin eggs at vehicles...a truck stopped and a guy got out with a gun, grabbed one of the boys and shot him dead...point blank. The teachers and students are in shock obviously, so we went out there to offer some support and help. We met with teachers and kids as a group and then one-on-one...what do you say? So many questions and no answers...but there are no answers...it was completely nonsense...a kid threw an egg and got shot in the head. Please pray for the students and staff of the school. The boy who was killed was named Marc and his best friend who saw the whole deal is named Kiki. It is not a Christian school, in fact it is full of many faiths and backgrounds, but we were able to share some about our own personal faith and the hope that comes only from God. It certainly wasn't the time to get preachy on these kids...even though thats what some of the missionaries said to us..."What an opportunity to hit these kids while they're so vulnerable..." I disagreed.
We will likely head back out there tomorrow for the memorial service and just hang out with the staff and students.
The sadder reality is that the guy who killed Marc could very well see little prison time becuase he comes from the right family and "justice" can be bought in this country. That makes me despise this country and only increases our desire to get out.

2003-03-15T14:31:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm at an internet lounge at cabarete surrounded by sunburnt Germans, and one australian "bloke" on the phone behind me. We are at the Stanleys beach house for the weekend...again..why not eh?...we have access to the most relaxing place on the planet where good coffee and hammocks and roaring ocean waves abound. We've had a stressful week and we really needed to get away. Some day I'll tell all about our meeting on thursday night...I try not too think about it cuz it's just too bizarre...scary actually, but God was strong...IS strong.
The Stanleys found this dog..a mutt but real cute...anywyas he got hit by a car or somehting so he's got a bum leg and it just dangles and he's learning how to be a 3-legged dog...Dave got a piece of leather and some leather lace...Timberland leather and lace. ( dave runs Timberland factories in the DR. We made a little leather support cast for the dog and I spent the morning trying to get this thing on him...he just laid on my lap and i worked his raw leg into his new little timberland boot...we've named him "Wonderdog".

2003-03-14T14:01:00.000-05:00

Hey. Sorry it's been so long between blogs...I was sick this week...you know...anyways this computer is crap and i dont want to type too much but I'll be back next week with much blog-doggery. I'm alright. Alot of it was stress and alot of that stress got alleviated last night...we had our big meeting with the board and the Murphys. It was nuts, but lots of people were praying for us and God worked mightily...thanks for praying.
It got so goofy this week that we almost bought tickets and came home.
Our verse til the end of the year is the one Gloria sent us off with in August.
1 Chronicles 28:20
"Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord, my God, is with you. He will not let you fail or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple is finished."

2003-03-07T15:11:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I don't really feel like blogging today...so maybe it's the best time to blog. Feelin tired and sick and kind of low...there's a bunch of crap going on at work and abroad that kind of sucks the joy...I was not blessed with much emotional range...I never get too high or too low. But right now I'm low...not too low, but low. I'm sure it won't last. It's been along hard week at work...remember how I always say I love these kids...today I dont. I'm sure it's just a temporary de-loving. But we gave the seniors the proposed itinerary for the Senior Trip...to DisneyWorld...and the kids were ripped that we were going to go check out a church on the Sunday. You'd think we asked them to cut off their own feet with butter knives. It was unbelievable. Like talking about boycotting the whole deal cuz Mr. Graham wants to go to church...I think it'd be a good experience to see a cool church in the Orlando area. I wanted to torch them all.
On the upside Chapel (junior high) was awesome today, I think the Lord blessed me with a good end to the week so I could forget the garbage.
Other random thoughts.
I really like Mike Gingerich...he's a good different.
I also miss the smokies at Boryskis on Broadway in Saskatoon.
Our maid, Alicia, is great. I went home kind of sick yesterday and she made me some soup...good soup. By sick I mean not feeling real bad...just puking...real weird cuz I didnt feel sick, I was just puking...so the principal said "go home"...now I dont care how good you feel, if your boss says go home...brother you go. I remeber once in College I puked for no reason...weird. Brooke thinks it's stress, Gloria would too. I don't think it's stress.
I wish I could roll up the rim.
I read a rumor of George Laraque for Chris Gratton. I don't know. I watched the Leafs and Sabres game last night.
I want to watch the Three Amigos...I love that movie...and play floor hockey.
Tomorrow we're going to Santo Domingo with my mom and Agnes...should be cool.
Everybody is gone cuz it's friday and the teachers blow out of here en masse on friday. Me I'm here...blogging... thinking
I feel better now.
People always honk their horns in this city...nonstop...in the words of the immortal Dolly Parton, "It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it." Anyways here's our strategy for dealing with it...everytime we hear a horn honk we pretend that there is a big sign that says "HONK IF YOU LOVE COOKIES", then when we hear the honk we assume that someone is telling us they love cookies and the city becomes a happy place where everybody loves cookies.
Sometimes blogging is therapeutic.

2003-03-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

Operation Prairie Storm
This article made me proud to be a prairie boy. There is so much I could say but it would be in poor taste, but there are million little vignettes running through my head. The US is going after Iraq and we're going after the gophers...if you think about it too much the parrallels are sad. Together we'll clean up this planet and make it better for all...perhaps we should involve the military and this could be our reason for not sending troops into Iraq.."We got our own stuff goin on right now , Mr. President". Operation Prairie Storm...I'm sure these ideas are already circulating in Saskatchewan, so if I'm beating a dead dog...I'm sorry.

In other news:
It's not evryday that one is moved by a church bulletin, but I regularly check in at Lakeview church website to find out the weekly buzz...here's what I saw.

<b>Josh Hindmarsh, son of Ron and Karen Hindmarsh, has been guided by God to a one-year internship in Quito, Ecuador. He will be working with a group called International Teams based out of Chicago, and will be involved in helping to care for street kids through a program started last year, and also working in a camp north of Quito as assistant property manager. Josh could use your prayers as he ministers in Ecuador, and if you are interested in helping him financially you may find information at the church mailboxes

Josh was a punk in ninth grade when I took over the Youth ministry at Lakeview. I loved this kid and invested alot into him...today he's one of my finest friends and favorite people in the world. He and Ryan Jacoson, and Brady Shock did the toast to the groom,(me) at our wedding. But when he was in High School, he struggled alot with stuff and I'd wonder if he'd ever get his life on track and realize who he was to God and what God could do with a fella like Josh. Now I read in the bulletin that he's heading for ministry overseas...I knew that already but it was cool to see it in print. I love hanging out with Josh and Ryan and Brady...there are so many stories and any time we get together we laugh too much. Now they are young men who are serving the Lord and set to do amazing things for the Kingdom. It makes Brooke and I very proud...sometimes it's okay to be proud. Like if you're proud of Josh and his call to missions or proud of a hometown gopher slaughter.

2003-03-04T08:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in my history class, current events, I reported that Mr. Rogers passed away. I didn't think the students would really know who he was, but they were surprisingly shocked when I told them. I was caught off guard by their apparent shock until I remembered that the guy who I replaced as school pastor was a Mr. Rogers. Now the students think he's dead...he's not. But that's funny.
We asked Alicia, our maid, to make a dominican supper for us last night...by us I mean me and Brooke, Mom and Agnes. Oh man it was good. Rice and beans and chicken. Every tells us that Alicia is a great cook and that we should have her cook for us more often. Good idea.
Speaking of good ideas Coop talks of this alt.worship thing in Saskatoon. I think it's great and I hope to be a part of that when I get back to Saskatoon. When we were home at Christmas time I got a real sense of a hungering for something new... like there was a body of believers, a church, a community that were simply needing a gathering place, and a little facilitation.
Also, I've been added to the staff of Oilerpundits, I have yet to contribute anything expect passion and prayers...but it's comin.
By the way I told the youngsters the truth about Mr. Rogers.

2003-03-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hey welcome back. We had great time at the beach. There is nothing like it in the world...real relaxing and therapeutic. Mom and Agnes had fun, they played in the ocean like school kids...and we had a great hotel. We spent alot of time with the Stanleys at their beach house and ate at some fine restaurants. In case you're wondering I have a good tan right now.
One observation though...Did you know you can buy Viagra at the Esso station in Cabarete? There's a cheap-o computer-printed sign in the window "Viagra- 250 pesos". That's 25 bucks for one pill. It's funny at first, until you remember the creepy old european man with the teenage Dominican prostitute and it's not funny anymore...it's sick and horrible. Who are these guys? It really is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. You see it and you wish there was something you could do...but what?

2003-03-01T12:45:00.000-05:00

Mom's boogie boarding...she's talking about "catching waves"...real trippy. The beach is awesome today...in the words of the immortal Mr.T "I got no time for the jibber-jabber".

2003-02-26T14:29:00.000-05:00

Mom's here...all is well and I've got Thursday and Friday off so we're headed to the beach for the weekend. Anyways dont expect any profundity and ridiculate from the ol pastor for a few days. Maybe I'll get to an internet cafe at the beach and throw down a update.

2003-02-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

We took the 11 graders to the mountains, Jarabacoa, this weekend for a spiritual retreat. It was cool and we saw Jimenoa Falls...real nice but they had all these swinging bridges and boardwalks leading up, kind of like Johnson Canyon in Banff...when I say kind of like, I mean not at all like...I would have felt better on these structures but remember, I just toured the Engineering Department at the countries best University so it was pretty sketchy...like they build a bridge or boardwalk and then it falls down and then they build another on right next to it but don't clean up the remains from the failed one.
We had the retreat at one of our students mountain ranch...real nice...horses, golf course and an orchard, we had the hired man,Marlo, pick us some fruit...oranges, grapefruit and limes...then we asked the hired man to make us a fire after supper so we could cook marshmallows and have Smores cuz these kids had never been introduced...imagine being a billionaire and never had a roasted marshmallow...anyways there was a fire, actually two fires...two really big fires...one was a garbage fire and the other one was burning tires...thanks Marlo. Needless to say I ate my mallows raw that night.

2003-02-24T11:11:00.000-05:00

It's Carnaval in the DR...what's that look like you ask? Imagine you crossed a bull, a devil, Donald Duck and a rainbow, than gave it a cow bladder and let it loose in the streets to smack people with the aforementioned bladder...and the whole city gets together and listens to loud music and drinks...check it out...nuff said.

2003-02-20T15:11:00.000-05:00

I went with the senior class today to PUCMM...the big university in the country, for an EXPO, you know...an info tour about programs and facilities in case any of our students want to go. It was the weirdest day ever. First of all there's 4000 students in an outdoor amphitheatre that seats 1000, they find out we're from SCS and fastrack us to the best seats in the house, cuz our students come from families of influence, then some guy gets up to speak and nobody listens and he starts yellin "Shut up" in Spanish...nobody listens...then our guide comes mid-speech and says, "let's go, you don't need to hear this guy". So we go to the "medicine" exhibit...super outdated equipment...real scary and then these displays...real lungs and kidneys and eyeballs on these cookie sheets on the table...not in jars...just on the table...and the eyeball looked like it just got plucked out...a real human head cut in half...not a skull...a human head, teeth and hair and all...then in these jars were aborted fetuses, what the??? It was so gross...little babies with faces in jars...then the guide goes "Hey you guys want to see some dead bodies?" We go to the morgue and there's these bodies lying on the tables, covered in blankets...until some lady viciously yanks the blankets off...no warning. Dead Haitians on the tables...naked. Awful. "We use dead haitians in our medical school because nobody ever identifies or claims the bodies." What a school...you should see their engineering department...its no wonder nothing works in this country. It was the weirdest college expo ever. Those were the highlights...lots of other ridiculate in the day though. At least I didnt have to do chapel.

2003-02-19T14:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah, there's this store here in our mall called "Sport and Spy". It's an upper class store where you can buy guns and vigilante crime fighting stuff like micro cameras, bullet proof vests, self defense stuff, finger print stuff, and guns... and laser scopes. High end guns too, like pistols...glocks. We were in there the other day and there were these young rich guys, in their twenties, testing out laser scopes for their guns...What the...? For what? Brooke and I were buying her some pepperspray... a long story...but now my wife is armed with pepper spray...I couldn't help but think of the Simpsons episode where Homer gets a gun and starts using it for everything...turining out the lights and changing the channel...just picture Brooke firin this stuff off at anyone thats looks at her funny and than laughing the sinister way only Brooker can laugh as she walks away and then shootin some on my Kraft dinner to spicin it up a bit...I make jokes but really I hate living in a city where my wife has to arm herself with pepperspray.

2003-02-18T13:16:00.000-05:00

I was gettin pick-pocketed yesterday in a concho... a concho is public transportation, little compact cars, like '84 corollas and Datsun beaters...four in the back seat, two in the passenger seat and a driver...super cramped, but it's only five pesos and they take you all around the city. Anyways I got in an empty one and then it filled up and so there was this guy next to me and my wallet was in my side pocket...this guy kept shifting around and I was thinking "Get comfortable already". Then I look down and he moves his hand to his face real quick...I notice my side pocket is opened, buttons undone and my wallet is poking out...that dude was trying to steal it...what do you do?...crammed in this stinky little car pressed up against a guy who just tried to rob you... I take my wallet and hold on to it with my other hand and just stare at this guy...i couldhave elbowed him hard in the nose...but then you're still stuck in the car with this guy and there are 6 other spanish speakers and how would I tell them why I just elbowed this guy in the nose...hard. The my stop came and I got out...wallet in hand. I told the students today what happened and they said I should just yell "la drone!!, la drone!!" that means robber and everybody would have beat the crap out of this guy...probably killed him...for real..Is that what I wanted?...thats the justice system here in DR.
What I should have done was take my wallet in my other hand and open it and show him that there was tons of cash in it, and then tease him for being such a slow pickpocket..worst pick pocketer ever, I'd say...should have been a little quicker eh? Then do a sarcastic "rookie" chant, play "got your nose" with him and then run out of the concho, and taunt him with my cash-packed wallet in one hand and his nose in the other.

Also:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WIDGE...WIDGE IS THE COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD...IT'S FUN TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

2003-02-17T14:06:00.000-05:00

Great Weekend...Santo Domingo is a crazy city...we toured the colonial zone, very European, saw the first church in the new world, Columbus' house, ate at some french restaurant, real fancy, outdoor...our hotel was the highlight though...it was 400 years old, completely restored. Saw the ugliest dog in the world.
Our friends Todd and Corina are heading back to Saskatoon tomorrow. Todd got real sick and spent the weekend at the hospital in Santiago. Our other friend Paul left for a new job in Africa today, so we had a farewell supper for him last night, at Il Pasticcio...my best restaurant in the city.
My mom comes next Tuesday...much fun.

2003-02-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
After much thought and consideration, Brooke and I have decided to return home to Saskatoon next year. There are many factors involved and we are both very excited about our decision...I'm sure our parents will be excited too when they read this. Happy Valentines Day. Brooke will return to the job that she loves so much and I will pursue some opportunities that I put on hold during our Dominican stint. We won't make this too public at the school until next week. I will comment more in the weeks to come.
Other stuff, update style:
We had the senior class over for supper on Tuesday night, 23 of the 26 came..it was pot-luck so we had lots of dominican cuisine and one of the students brought their dominoes table. It was weird to see the cars parked outside our place...Bmws, Benz, Lexus, Land Rovers...I'm sure our neighbors were confused. It was great...these seniors are unbelievable. I feel that God brought us here specifically for this group of kids, so it's cool that we'll be leaving together. Brooke and I just want to show these kids a Christian home and a husband and wife who love each other and forsake all others and have Christ at the centre of everything...infideltiy is hugely destructive yet widely acceptable in the DR. Anyways, we didn't have a worship time or a devotional, but I think we really preached...Like Francis of Asissi, "Preach the Gospel at all times, and only when necessary use words."
Tonight we're off to Santo Domingo, a Valentines present to us both...we have a cool hotel booked and we'll spend the day touring around the colonial zone...it's supposed to be amazing.
Also, as I read the blog from the other day regarding Lakeview...I really spouted off eh? I don't retract anything I said even though a cooler head may have said things differently...but that's how I felt at the time.
Nobody says it like my good friend Jeb.
"Sometimes I'd like to think the madder I get the stronger I get, like the Incredible Hulk. I remember that line from the comics I read of his as a kid, and everytime I see that trailer for the new movie I get jacked, especially where Doc Banner says "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry". Sometimes I wish rage and anger made you feel stronger, but they don't. It's the exact opposite. Which is why the last 2 days have been so hard for me. I've been angry, really angry. I've had to see someone close here at Lakeview leave due to restructuring, and it hurts to see them leave. Part of me wants to lash out so very badly, but I can't. The way he's handled this, is so very beyond anything I might do. And watching the way he's coping right now with this situation absolutely amazes me. Part of me would look for the pillars and do some serious Samson action, but he hasn't. And in that, I can see Christ in him, and then I feel better. I'm still not ok, but I don't feel like seething. Mike, your character and your grace will be sorely missed around here. Not only that, but blank stares will abound when I say "bling, bling" and "fo' shizzle my nizzle". Yeah church life sucks right now."

2003-02-12T07:59:00.000-05:00

UNBELIEVABLE
I just found out that someone else got "let go" from Lakeview. He's a good friend of mine and he's done an amazing job. I am angry and this must be stopped...I love that church but they cannot keep doing this to people. People at Lakeview...you need to step up and take charge...the church dies when the people stop asking questions...the tough questions, and demanding answers. 7 staff gone, some by choice, in under two years, no new hires...many questions.
When I was sent packin from Lakeview, still no good explanation, I was regarded, by some, as some kind of a martyr, a hero, a gracious bloke who "took one for the team" and didn't whine or stir it up...But I don't think I did the right thing by leaving so graciously- the truth needs to be heard if change is ever gonna happen...
The support staff works hard and receives little in terms of salary and encouragement...they sacrifice much...yet they walk around on pins and needles worrying if they'll be the next "restructuring" casualty. They are promised much, but see little. They are discouraged.

2003-02-11T11:44:00.000-05:00

A Sermon for President Bush by Brian Maclaren
I found this link from Coop's website. It's really powerful...read it...and pass it on...but not in an annoying internet "forward" way.

2003-02-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

We need to decide this week whether or not we're comin back next year...so many factors. Please pray for us. Thanks.

2003-02-10T09:02:00.000-05:00

Good weekend...we went to the beach and stayed with the Stanleys at their beach house. It's beautiful. Todd and Corina have decided to rent an apartment for a month at the beach. A super nice place for like 400 bucks/month...let me get this straight...I could get a average hotel room at the beach for 100bucks a night or get a nice apartment, fully furnished for 400/month...crazy.
the Aguilas won the Carribean World series on Saturday...they beat Puerto Rico 7-4...huge party in the streets...gun shots and fireworks and cars dragging fridges and washing machines...my buddy with the cookie sheet never showed up, but some dude lit a firework and threw it from his car at our apartment building....BOOM. I just sat on my balcony and watched it all unfold, soaking in the cultural experience. My wife however slept through the whole thing...I don't get it.
I preached at our church again yesterday morning. Preached on "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect"...I shared the idea of being "perfectly placed in a perfect process" and used the metaphor of the potter and the clay. One of the missionaries said that he was going to Haiti and wondered if he could "take some of my ideas" for his Haitian ministry...I said "No ". No just jokin, I said "of course"...I think that's cool that some of the ideas I shared will travel over to Haiti and get shared over there...real cool.
Our Varsity boys basketball team won the CAISSA tournamant on the weekend...there were teams from Mexico, Haiti and the DR...they won and Andy was tournament MVP...also we have a kid, Ramses, he's in eigth grade, but he made the varsity squad AND made the all-star team at the CAISSA tournament...eighth grade.

2003-02-07T14:24:00.000-05:00

We just finished playin hockey with my Bible class. Dennis hammered me in the shin...hard. I have a huge bruise. Jose performed the perfect "jersey" on Jose...no kidding both named Jose...the Jose who got "jerseyed" is nicknamed "chubby" even though he's not chubby...even the teachers and his report card call him Chubby...anyways he got jerseyed. It's funny to see how the "Mighty Ducks" movie has influenced the non-hockey world's perception of hockey. They all wanted to do "The Flying V" and raise the puck by tipping it on it's side and golf-whackin it. Brooke and I are going to have the whole senior class over for supper on Tuesday night...26 of em..should be mad tight. That's ghetto talk...mad tight...James, one of my students,from New York, is notorious for sliding ghetto-talk into his assignments. Here's an excerpt from his current events assignment on the new concepts for the World Trade Site.
I BETCHU CAN'T BLOW DEEZE UP
"I think they just beggin terrorists to attempt to demolish these puppies cuz why da heck would you make deeze again if they thought they were indestructible in the first place. Well, they were obviously wrong cuz it’s just a big pit now called “ground zero.” Americanz b thinking they all big n bad until they test their stability, we gonna c the day in da news when history will repeat itself, may b dat way those Americans will learn. I aint wishin fo dat day, I just think that’s a possibility fo da future."
Anyways the kids are coming over, everybody is supposed to bring something. Brooke and I are gonna try to make perogies and poutine...Canadian cuisine. I wish you guys could meet these kids...they b mad cool.

2003-02-07T11:45:00.000-05:00

I should get money from blogger because I started showing other people how to set it up...not that it's tough...and now they're all over the school. But then I guess I'd have to give the money to Coop for showin me and he'd probably have to give it whoever showed him and eventually it would end up right back in Blogger's hands.
Outsmarted me again eh Blogger?. Teachers have them and some classes have them. My seniors have them, we have one for our Matrix assignment. Mr. Koops fifth grade class has one. The Tenth grade history class has one. I'm convinced that one day this internet thing is gonna change the world. God Bless that Al Gore for comin up with such a thing. Even my beautiful wife set one up...that should make for great reading. Nobody writes like old Brooker.
Today is 100th day of school so all the elementary kids got to dress like 100 year old people...super funny.

2003-02-06T07:43:00.000-05:00

Today I start teaching a 8th grade American history class. I will have it every day til the end of the school. A Canadian teaching American history to Dominicans. It should be fun cuz I'll just make stuff up as we go. And then we'll watch the 2002 Olympic Hockey Final.....many times over.
Busy day, chapel and much, much more.

2003-02-04T07:48:00.000-05:00

Hey thanks to everyone who said the nice things in the comments part. We had a good weekend. Todd and Corina are here from Saskatoon so we spent the weekend showing them around...we went to the beach but it was cloudy and gross. I preached on Sunday at our church and Todd sang...I think it was a cool experience for both of us. Yesterday was an inservice day for the teachers...we sat in meetings from 8 am to 4:30pm..and not the fun kind of meetings where people get prizes and balloon animals, but the boring kind of meeting where you pray for an appendix attack or a nosebleed just to get you out of there...you know.
Today is supposed to be a general strike day in the DR. Nobofy is supposed to work..we are though...not many kids here though. I had 13 of my 26 in homeroom.
The Aguilas are 2-0 in the Carribean World Series.
My office phone wasn't working this morning cuz a rat chewed the cord.
Now you are up to date.

2003-01-31T07:55:00.000-05:00

Today is January 31st, 2003. It was one year ago today that I got "let go" from Lakeview Church. I don't ever say much about that day...but maybe it's time I did. It was awful. I was angry and confused and broken hearted and I felt betrayed. I loved the church and the job and the UpperRoom and the people I got to work with and minister to. Some people don't know this but Brooke and I were going to go that night and meet with our realtor and make an offer to buy a house...exciting. Instead I had to tell my wife that I lost my job.
There were so many emotions that day, anger, fear, worry, sadness, confusion...but at the same time there was a sense of excitement about what God would do and the adventure/journey this would lead us on. I did not want to believe that this was the will of God...God kept us so strong in those days...peace that passes human understanding. We just were unable to break, because I believe that God held us closer and higher than ever before. One of my favorite memories of that weekend was when Brooke and I decided how it would be best to tell our friends...I mean our non-church going friends. We did not want to send them an ugly message about our church or our faith, we wanted them to know that we believed the promises that I had been preaching for so long. So we hosted a big Super Bowl party and we made supper and provided everything. We wanted them to see our faith in action and that although we did not know what tomorrow would hold, we knew who held tomorrow, and we would be alright. I loved that Super Bowl party...I love those friends.
In the devotional book I was reading, Streams in the Desert, the text for the day was 1 Kings 12:24, "This thing is from me."
And in it were these timely words.
" This thing is from me...Have you longed to do some great work for Me and instead have been laid aside? This thing is from Me. I could not get your attention in your usy days and I want to teach you some of my deepest lessons. They also serve, those who stand and wait. Some of My greatest workers are those shut out from active service..." I truly believe that I was never a more effective witness and minister than in those days.
Also I read Psalm 118- the whole thing spoke to me...but verse 17 "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done."
I did not die...in fact I would say I am more alive than ever...and yesterday at High School chapel and this morning to my staff, I proclaimed what the Lord had done....verse 17 was like fulfilled prophecy in my life.
Now here I am, here we are, living in the Dominican Republic, beautiful country, unbelievable experiences, great students and ministry opportunities and amazing new friends. I still struggle when I think about what went down that day and how it went down, but the people of Lakeview were wonderful in those sad and confusing days and I thank them. Also, thanks to our parents for everything they did for us, especially my mom who was a rock of support and encouragement. We miss LFMC and Saskatoon and our friends and family very much, but we are so thankful for the journey that God is taking us on...wherever He wants to take us, we will go.
God is Good.

2003-01-30T08:45:00.000-05:00

In my bible class we're watching The MATRIX as a modern day allegory filled with spiritual parralels and theological insight. When I first presented it to my students they looked at me like I was nuts but if you guide their watching somewhat they catch it...it's been fun to watch the students watch the movie and see them catch something or piece something together...I'm looking forward to getting their assignments. We even have our own blog, with links and essays and the Matrix script on there...it's fun to do something that the students really get into.

2003-01-30T08:34:00.000-05:00

Big and busy day today. Chapels this afternoon and my only music guy phoned yesterday and said he got anew job and he would no longer be available to lead worship on Thursdays. One worship leader minus one worship leader equals zero worship leaders. Brutal. Anyways we'll be fine, just gotta get creative. Also I'm preaching this weekend at our church so I got that going too. Add to that an unbelievably ridiculous meeting yesterday...man if this wasn't a public blog I could rant about the ridiculate of yesterday...but I shant. Instead of new years resolutions, I do what my grandfather used to do...choose a Bible verse and make it your focus of pursuit and study for the year...SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE...thats mine for 2003. It's one of the hardest things to do and I don't always do it...I don't mean I lie..I mean I don't always say the things that need to get said. In an environment like this it really means putting your arse on the line and to be bold in the truth. Too often we withold the truth, because we worry that someone will get hurt or offended, or you'll be labellled as a trouble maker, but in reality we aren't doing them any favors. The Truth will set you free.

2003-01-29T15:26:00.000-05:00

MAYDAY!!! MAYDAY!!!!
IF ANY CAN GET AHOLD OF TODD AND CORINA PETERS TELL THEM TO PHONE OR SEND AN EMAIL...THEY'RE COMIN TOMORROW AND THATS COOL BUT WE LOST THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS- THEY CAN PHONE 809-724-3530...ANYTIME...WE MIGHT NOT BE HOME...KEEP TRYING...WE'LL MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO HAVE THEM HOOK UP WITH US. THANKS

2003-01-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

Yeah, just a couple of tarantulas in my office this morning...one big one and one small one...the small one was dead and I suspect the big one was responsible. I'm concerned I might be next so, I'm gonna get while the gettins good.

2003-01-28T07:34:00.000-05:00

AGUILAS WIN, AGUILAS WIN!!!
The Aguilas won the Dominican World Series last night...swept the Escogido 4-0. The game went into extra innings and didnt end until 1:00am. Then the party went to the streets. Like the eighth street riots of the early 90's only more dangerous and no cops...anywhere. I'm sure people died. Guns and fire works going off, horns blowing, garbage cans tied behind trucks filled with drunk Dominicans...but the best was this one dude who ran down our street, alone, with a rope around his waist dragging a cookie sheet. Awesome. Needless to say, we have alot of tired students and teachers...it should be a holiday. Now the Aguilas go to Puerto Rico monday to represent Dominican Republic in the Carribean World Series.

In bigger news, our director has announced that he and his wife will not be returning next year...nuff said.

2003-01-27T07:51:00.000-05:00

AGUILAS UP 3 GAMES TO NONE
Before the Super Bowl, we watched the Aguilas beat the Escogido 8-6 to take 3-0 lead in their best of seven Dominican World Series Finals. They can win it all tonight in the Capitol, or tomorrow night here at home. If (when) they win...apparently this city will go nuts. When Tony Battiste and Migeul Tejada hit back to back home runs in the fourth, you could hear cheering through the whole city. Then we heard an explosion...not sure what it was though.
Here's some pictures of our city, Santiago.

2003-01-27T07:42:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend. On Friday night we took some tenth graders up ino the mountains for a spiritual retreat. It was amazing. Jarabacoa is beautiful. We took eight kids, who are trying to live the Life in a world that doesn't want them to. They were real open and I think the good Lord really gave me some great words for them. We stayed the night in the lodge and my friend Smeltz and I slept on the balcony outside- it was cool and raining but we had a tin roof and warm sleeping bags...best sleep I've had in this sleep-forsaken country. (except fot the roosters who took shelter under the balcony at 4am) One kid brought his paint ball gun and we played 500 with it...turn the power down so it shoots about 150 feet 'straight' up, shoot the ball in the air, look for it, try to catch it- highly recommended for blending fun and moderate danger.
Saturday, our friend Kate turned thirty so we had a costume party. Brooke and I borrowed some school uniforms and went as SCS students...it was cool. Our friend Brian always jokes about wanting to dress like a Bible character, so he came as his favorite...Abahu, second son of Aaron. Super funny.
SuperBowl party yesterday- lots of good pople and good food. Some one donated some money for the teachers to do something fun with, so we spent it on food and 'hired' Jeff and Michelle Koop to cook, and cook they did. It was some good eating.
We've really been enjoying ourselves down here...so many great people and cool stuff.

2003-01-24T08:35:00.000-05:00

AGUILAS TAKE GAME ONE
The dominican world series started last night, and the Aguilas won, 7-4. You can kind of read about it online in computer translated story in the Listin Diario. When a computer translates Spanish to English it's never quite accurate , but it's a fun read.
Go Aguilas!!!

2003-01-23T09:49:00.000-05:00

I AM DOMINICAN!!!
Most of you remember this I'm sure:

Hey.
I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader
...and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber,
or own a dogsled...
and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada,
although I'm certain they're really, really nice.
I have a Prime Minister, not a President.
I speak English and French, NOT American.
and I pronounce it 'ABOUT', NOT 'A BOOT'.
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.
I believe in peace keeping, NOT policing.
Diversity, not assimilation,
And that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat,
A chesterfield is a couch,
And it is pronounced 'zed' not 'zee', 'zed'!!!
Canada is the second largest landmass!
The first nation of hockey!
And the best part of North America!
My name is Joe!!
AND I AM CANADIAN!!!!!!!!

It was a famous beer commercial that brought to Canadians a sense of patriotism that I have not seen outside of war or Olympic Hockey. I'm trying to understand the Dominican culture, so I'm gonna introduce this to my 12th graders today and have them put together their own " I AM DOMINICAN" rant. I'll put the best ones on the blog.

2003-01-23T08:05:00.000-05:00

Today I'm starting a new book- "The Ingenuity Gap" by Homer Thomas Dixon. Another Christmas present from the beautiful Gloria Reimer. Apparently this book even caused Coop's big brain to hurt, so I may not make it through...but, in the DR, one needs to be proactive in their quest for 'brain-gain' cuz there is little down here that can stimulate new thoughts and ideas.
Hey congratulations to Bobby and Diana Mark on the arrival of their new daughter, Karis, on January 17th. I think thats cool, and they will be great parents....Uncle Sheldon, I wish I had an uncle Sheldon.
Also, I just heard that Todd and Korina are coming to stay with us for awhile...thats great. We've been waiting for friends to come and see us so we can show them all the amazing stuff this country has to offer. They get here on Jan 30th...just in time for the big party.

2003-01-22T07:39:00.000-05:00

I understand it's wicked cold in Saskatoon right now...we had yesterday off and it rained so we didn't go to the beach...we do however have a covered balcony off our apartment so I laid in the hammock as the tropical rain fell and drank coffee. I also finished my book "The Gospel According to the Simpsons". I highly recommend this book. The premise is simply that, when the Simpsons first emerged, the church attacked it as being dangerous, immoral and an affront to family values. In reality , the Simpsons is one of the best windows we have into understanding our culture and how our culture views the church and christianity. The writers have a way of blending scarcasm, truth and almost reverence when dealing with spiritual matters. If you are a fan of the Simpsons, for sure read this book. I you aren't a fan, maybe this book will change your mind.
I just heard that the Simpsons will be airing new episodes until at least 2005.

2003-01-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

The Blue moon experience was one of the best we've had in this country so far. They set you on the floor, pillows and cushions and a banana leaf is your plate...yeah that's right a banana leaf. They bring appetizers, a variety of chutneys and stuff and you eat til your stuffed and then you can lay down and have a snooze in between courses. The main course was Tandoori chicken and some curried stuff. It was all Indian cuisine, and although it's not my favorite kind of food, it was delicious and I ate myself silly and then fell asleep..right there at the "table"...we all did.

Our cable company showed the first of the NFL playoff games(in spanish), but the Titans vs. Raiders game wasn't shown so I had to resign myself to watching the Golden Globe awards. I was shocked at how skinny actresses are today...straight out skeletons...disgusting and scary as hell. We often attack controversial TV shows, like the Sopranos, or artists like Eminem, but the message being sent out to young girls all over the world last night was far more destructive than any TV show, movie or album has ever been.

2003-01-20T11:57:00.000-05:00

We're taking the tenth graders to Jarabacoa for a 'spiritual retreat'. As we were planning meals and clean up -one of the veteran teachers made the comment that most of these students have never cooked a meal or washed a dish in their lives.
Hey thanks alot to Jordon Cooper for setting up a comments feature on my blog.

2003-01-17T07:35:00.000-05:00

THE EAGLES AND THE CHOSEN ONES
We went to the Baseball game last night with the Koops. Our home team, Aguilas(Eagles) vs. Escogido (Chosen Ones). Amazing experience...these fans are nuts. Sold out. Horns, whistles, drums...so loud, you have no idea. When Luis Polonia hit a two run home run in the third...everybody jumped onto their seat and this music played and the celebration went for five minutes at least. Absolutely nuts. I wish I could take some of my friends from home there. It's playoffs and we're heading to the finals of the Domincan World Series. Miguel Tejada went three for four. Mendy Lopez homered in the sixth. We won 5-0.
The baseball is definitely one of the coolest things about this country.
There are some major leaugers coming on Wednesday to do our chapels...I hope it's cool.

2003-01-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

GREAT MOMENTS IN DUTCH HISTORY #1
Dr. Evil comments on Goldmembers accent

Dr. Evil: Sorry, I don't speak Freaky Deaky dutch...

Goldmember: Dr. Evil, we still have the ultimate insurance policy. May I present to you, the very sexual, the very toite, Autin Power's fassia.
Dr. Evil: His what?
Number 2: His fassia Dr. Evil.
Dr. Evil: His ferder?
Goldmember: His fassia! You know, the fassia
Dr. Evil: You know Goldmember, I don't speak freaky-deaky dutch. Okay perv boy?
Goldmember: Fassia, his dad, dad is fassia
Dr. Evil: Oh his dad, oh his FATHER.

2003-01-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

TIPTOE THROUGH THE TULIPS
There's a lot of Dutch people on staff here...from Michigan...Christian Reform. So often times a dutch joke gets thrown about- the dutchies stick together. Sometimes the dutchies try to make jokes but they rarely if ever make any sense...having said that, I've always had soft spot in my heart for the Dutch....turns out, after some timely investigating by my wife, who shall remain nameless...I got a little Dutch in me. (Could this explain my passion for the salty goodness of the Old Dutch potato chip?) Thankfully due to Austin Powers- Goldmember being dutch has never been cooler. The tables have turned for my dutch brethren here at SCS as I now play for their team. As Brooke said to one of my Dutch sisters, Sara "This is good news for you, but bad news for me and my children". The dutch girls are bombarding me with dutch cuisine, some good - some bad. I cannot however support or share their passion for the board game. Maybe wooden shoes will help my bad back. (Finally a practical use for wood)

2003-01-15T13:33:00.000-05:00

This is a crazy week. First of all it's finals week, so the schedule is all mixed up. We are also losing some teachers. Two of our teachers are very sick and have decided to go home for good. (Not Shauna, who I mentioned was sick before...she's getting better apparently.) Both were teachers in the Junior High so, add that to Brooke's resignation, and the Junior High is desparate. Anyways, we have a teacher and substitute teacher shortage, so Brooke and I are subbing all over today. Brooke will get some money for this. I dont know if I will, but I should cuz I'm falling behind in my work. Thankfully there is no chapel this week, due to finals.
Okay, time for a rant. The Domincan culture can be summed up like this...drinking, celebrating, dancing, going to the clubs and partying. These things are as much a part of their culture as small town hockey rinks and Tim Hortons are to ours. As teachers here
at SCS, we all have to sign a contract that says we won't drink any alcohol, smoke, dance or go to clubs. Every student knows we sign this. It sends an immediate and obvious message that that is what Christianity is all about. In a sense then, as we
continue to 'present' the gospel to these kids, it appears that we are not just asking them to accept Christ but also to reject their culture. That bothers me. It seems that there has never been any study or strategizing done to develop a way of reaching these
specific kids and culture for Christ, without changing the truth. These missionaries have just brought down the traditonal
american ideals and strategies and have tried to make them work, and when they don't work they try harder. "we gotta hit em hard" pople tell me. The songs we sing are American, the videos are american, the bibles are english. These kids have been 'hit' with weak 'pillow-fist' presentations of the same message over and over for years and they are so callous to it. We had a group from a US christian college come down and do our chapel. It was pitiful, no preparation, no creativity, no cultural awareness or adaptation...unfortunately the same shpeel that these kids, and myself, are so tired of hearing. I only have 5 months left to show my senior class what walking with God means to me. Dominicans are ultra-relational so any strategy needs to take advantage of that. I intend to saddle up beside them and walk with them and build an integrity relationship with them, get involved in their lives and simply get them to trust me. The question we need to answer for these kids is not "Why should I accept Jesus?" or "How can I be sure I'm going to Heaven?" but instead the question is "Why should I trust you?". How can we get the powers that be to see that we are not going about it the right way? What is the right way? Answering that question is a self-added part of my job description. You can email some thoughts.

2003-01-14T08:27:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm subbing for the 2nd grade computer class. They're supposed to be looking up cookie recipes online, but they keep going to games. I walked in and they're all playin this game where you punch out Osama binLaden. And the volume is just juiced. Not sure that's on the curricullum. It's weird to see how computer savvy, these 7 year old kids are.
.
I think the little Korean girl next to me just hammered out a fart.

2003-01-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend at the beach...not a cloud in the sky. We got some of our tans back. We ran into Dave Stanley and he offered us his beach house. Saturday night, our friend Paul was supposed to serve at the Blue Moon..they were having a group in and they needed some help so we were gonna help out. The Blue Moon is a private mountain resort...click here to see it...super cool. So anyways, it turns out the group cancelled and so we got to just hang out and eat and play... a combination of Indian, Dominican and German food, and the people that run it are awesome. We booked it for this friday, so we're roundin up some homies.
Meanwhile our friend Shauna ended up in the hospital with Pneumonia...she'd been trying to get a hold of Brooke all weekend. Brooke stayed with her last night at the hospital. Word has it she'll be fine...Shauna that is...we all know Brooker is FINE.
One thing about the beach is the shoe shine boys...all over the place, 7-10 years old, cute kids. We frequent the beach enought that we are getting to know some of them...instead of giving them money we buy them food...watching them eat is funny and sad at the same time...they just devour it...and pour jam on everything. I gave a kid a bag of skittles from canada, he'd never seen one before so he was hesitant as he tried one and then his face lit up and took the whole bag...it was hilarious, if I had videotaped it, I could have sold it to skittles for a commercial...Dave was telling me about the boys. They get pimped out to shine and cant come back until they have 50 pesos. 7 days a week. If they dont get 50, they get beat. If they get 50 they get to eat and sleep. It's awful. These kids are great. If you ever see one of them out at 11 or 11:30, just give em some money so they can go sleep. Anyways, we're building a bit of a relationship with some of them so, hopefully we can help some. How can you do ministry for such as these Eh?

2003-01-10T14:06:00.000-05:00

MAYDAY MAYDAY!!! SEND PUCKS.
"Anything for a Puck" was a huge hit- kids were going crazy for them, now everybody wants one...I only brought twenty so I'm gonna need more soon. If you want you can fire some pucks...and Old Dutch Ketchup chips... to me down here...
Kelly Graham
SCS-DR
MFI PO BOX 24770
West Palm Beach FL, 33416

2003-01-10T08:38:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting talk with one of my students, Nicole, this morning. She told me that her Aunt passed away christmas eve night so they spent all Christmas day at her funeral. After someone dies here, the funeral is immediately. Like if someone were to suddenly die this morning, the funeral would be at two or so and they would be buried by suppertime. The whole world stops. That seemed weird to me. She asked how we do it in Canada. I said "Well if someone were to die this morning the funeral would likely be Tuesday, or so, cuz we don't typically do funerals on weekends and certainly not on Christmas day." That seemed weird to her.
Every culture believes that their ways are the 'norm' and that everybody else is goofy. That is a good example.

2003-01-10T08:28:00.000-05:00

Hey, we're back in the beautiful DR. We had an amazing couple of weeks back in Canada...we saw lots of family and friends. Everyome was very good to us and we were reminded how blessed we are to have so many great people in our lives. Not sure if we're glad to be back. It's good to see the students and the folks we work with, but part of what got us through the crap of Novemeber/December was the anticipation of "home for the Holidays"...now we're back and some of the crap is back and the Holiday anticipation is gone...we have a long haul til the next break. I heard it's -35 in Saskatoon and we're off to the beach tonight so I shouldn't complain. Complaining is a waste of time.
I brought a hockey stick and twenty pucks...I wish I had done it the other way around, 20 sticks and 1 puck then people could play with me. At least I guess this will ensure the continuance of my status as one of the top hockey players in the Dominican. As long as I'm the only player with a stick I should hopefully continue my dominance of the "Dominican Elite Leaugue" At ZOOO at lakeview we used to do a game called "Anything for a Buck", but the kids here don't need a buck so today we'll play "Anything for a Puck", cuz every kid need a puck.
The Aguilas won last night against Escongido-"The chosen ones". MVP Miguel Tejada hit a homer in the ninth to win...the stadium was packed.
Lastly I just want to say thank you to my parents and Brooke's parents for giving so generously to us in so many ways over the holiday season. We love you lots and we will see you very soon.

2003-01-03T00:17:00.000-05:00

You know yesterday I sat down and typed a blog for an hour and a half. I poured my heart out...feelings man...thoughts about the year that was and the year to come...shared a little wisdom, some handy tips about livin large and even a funny joke about 'Dutchie McPlayPlay' and when I went to publish it, it disappeared. Your loss, usually I am all "thinkin" and no "feeling" so a heartpourin "waa-waa" moment like that may not happen again for a while.
I havent blogged much lately cuz I'm really finding it hard to type with a knife and fork in my hand.

2002-12-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

BIG BLIZZARD TODAY!!! It's beautiful...been snowing all day. We wanted one big snowfall before we go back to the Dominican and this is the biggest one we've had in years. Blizzard is my favorite weather condition as long as I don't have to drive anywhere. I was supposed to work the DMX concert tonight but it was cancelled cuz DMX and his 'posse' got snowed in some where. Thats too bad cuz I was probably gonna meet him and get a photo with him which would have been cool cuz the students in my class think DMX is cool...and so maybe I would be cool.
CORRECTION: DMX was not snowed in...no it turns out ol' DMX has some dirt on his criminal record and the good folks at the Canadian customs didn't want to let him in to 'our home and native'- so DMX pitched a fit and he was arrested and sent back to the USA.

2002-12-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

Neither of us want to go back to the DR...but we will.

2002-12-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

One Christmas tradition we have, my brother and Brooke and I, is to drive down to Macarthur Drive and see the old house where we grew up. I lived at 418 Macarthur from when I was baby up until I was in University. When we got there all that we saw was a hole in the ground...418 Macarthur burned to the ground a couple of months ago. Talk about surreal, standing in the yard where you played for hours as a kid and the house, the only house you knew as a kid is gone.
The other Christmas tradition is watching the World Junior Hockey tournament...best tournament in the world. Canada looks good this year. Last night they destroyed Sweden, either they have an awesome powerplay or Sweden has a crappy penalty kill. Usually the tournamnent is overseas and the games are early in the morning, bu this year it's in Halifax so the games are in the evenings...I like it better in the mornings.

2002-12-27T11:58:00.000-05:00

Well it's been a great few days since I last blogged. The first few days back in Canada seem like a blur. We got back on Sunday and had a wedding to got to Sunday night. Brady and Carmen, two kids that grew up in our Youth ministry. Anyways s there were so many of our good friends there. It's like there's all these people who for five months you think about all the time and you miss them so much and how badly you'd like to see even one of them for even ten minutes and then all of a sudden BOOM there all there in one room...overwhelming and surreal. Brooke started bawling when she hugged Jerry and Gloria...me, I honestly hardly remember anything from that wedding...so tired. We went to the Christmas eve service at Lakeview...it was nice to be back and we saw some more of our friends...however I get a sense that things are still not well at LFMC, a strange feel. Thats a whole other blog though. Marilyn Jacobson sang "O Holy Night" and it was amazing. It's not Christmas until Marilyn sings that song...best singer in the world.
Christmas morning with Brookes family and then off to PA to be with my family...it is so good to be home. For presents I got lots of Canadiana stuff..Rider gear, Oilers stuff, and hockey stuff. We really didnt need anything though, just being with our families was all we needed. It is so good to see my beautiful wife so happy again...it's been a stressful year for us both.

2002-12-22T11:53:00.000-05:00

HOME SWEET HOME
We got back to Saskatoon, Canada last night at about midnight thirty. Along and tiring trip. Started from SCS at 10:30 friday morning, drove to Puerto Plata along a mountain road sitting in the back of Dave Stanleys jeep...beautiful. Had lunch on the beach...biggest waves I've seen yet and then off to the airport. The stanleys upgraded our Puerto Plata to Miami tickets to first class so we rode in style and ate a lot...then spent a hell night in Miami airport...flew all day milk route style to Saskatoon. My mom and big brother Curt were there and Brooke's family was there too. It was an awesome reunion..."Home for the Holidays" really is something special...we missed everyone so much. It snowed in Saskatoon for our arrival. When we got to Nakraykos house I stood outside in the quiet winter...fresh fallen snow, glow of christmas lights and stillness...I'll never forget the moment.

2002-12-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

Last night was the Christmas concert here at SCS. It was without a doubt the most amazing Christmas show I've ever seen. Because music and dancing and singing are such a huge part of this culture the kids were so loud and in to it..incredible. My buddy Javi (fifth grade) was wise man, with a solo and a dance. It wa so great to see these kids singing about and being excited about the truth of Christmas. Again the parents and vehicles we saw last night...sooo wealthy. Christmas is crazy here at SCS. Teachers get bombarded with gifts and good gifts too, cuz our school families own so many factories and companies..teachers are getting clothes and cigars and watches. I got some stuff but it's usually the elementary teachers that get it the most. My class was doing a secret santa thing and the minimun... MINIMUM was 50$ US...

All that aside the big news of the day is that my beautiful wife and I have decided that she would resign her position here at SCS. Her job has been ridiculous and unhealthy from the start. It has been killing her and we didnt come down here for that. There are many opportunities to tutor the little kids in English and it pays really well and it won't be hard to surpass the joke of a salary that poor Brooker's been getting...so financially we should be okay but more importantly I pray that this will restore my wife and enhance her Carribean experience. Please pray for us though in these next couple of days as the transition and the reception of the news could get a little goofy. (Brooke had been working with the directors daughter.) I have been asked to preach regularly at the church here so that also helps to pay the bills and lets me do something I love to do.
We leave for home TOMORROW...I can't believe it...put the coffee on.

2002-12-17T07:55:00.000-05:00

My friend Widge is a big Bartolo Colon fan and so I really wanted to get him an autograph for Christmas, since Bartolo and I inhabit the same city. He plays winterball in Santiago for the Aguilas...anyways a student in my class named Andres has season tickets and meets players all the time...Andres is a pitcher himself who will likely one day play in the majors...so I asked him to see what he could do about getting Widge the big autograph. This morning Andres handed me a game ball from last night and on it was Bartolos signature...unfortunately the ball was tarnished with other autographs such as Tony Battiste, Raul Mondesi and American League MVP Miguel Tejada...I hope Widge doesn't mind...Merry Christmas Widge...see you next week.
PS: Widge, if you ever choose to sell the ball, you must give me half of the selling price.

2002-12-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

My friend Jeff (from Canada)and I are gonna write a worship song for the whole staff to learn and sing...we always start our Mondays singing Praise and Worship songs as a staff...so we're gonna write one...only the tune will be the "Hockey Night in Canada" theme song, and we won't tell anybody...it will be private pleasure for the Canadians on staff.

2002-12-16T09:03:00.000-05:00

Alright the beach was pretty fun this weekend...not much sun so it's been a few weeks since we've accelerated our tans so we may not be as "coppertoned" as we wanted to be. but what was cool was that we were hanging out on a surf beach and and there were some north americans there and we started talking to them and it turned out they were from Saskatoon and then one guys wife showed up and it was a girl I used to know in college...that was cool. He was a doctor and they were moving to Vernon BC and when I told himabout what we were doing he said "You're livin the dream." It was a good reminder of how cool it is that we are down here and the opportunity and experience of it all. I was thankful for that cuz we were starting to lose sight of it and focus on the negatives and not the positives...this school really does suck in a lot of ways, but there are some great people and we are in the what is probably the most beautiful country in the world and it's hot all the time and there are beaches and mountains and donkeys in the street. We ran out of gas last night, thankfully in a good part of town. We waited for someone to come by to help but nobody came except for a horse, just out for a stroll. We tried to send him for help but I don't think he understood English or broken Spanish,cuz he walked on and we never saw him again. Stupid Spanish speaking horse...somebody is probably eating him today...turn around is fair play pal. If I see him walkin up to one of the slaughter houses I won't stop to help him...instead I will just yell "DEAD HORSE WALKIN".

2002-12-13T14:43:00.000-05:00

Honestly I have nothing of interest to say today...we are headed to the beach. Home in one week. But I've been sick though so there hasnt been much happening, go read Jordon Coopers Blog, he's always got something interesting to say. Or check out HockeyPundits, that's good too. Better yet get off the computer and go do something Christmassy...like me...I'm going to the beach.

2002-12-12T10:24:00.000-05:00

Brooke is sitting with me right now and she has a message for you all. " Who comes home in nine more sleeps- it's me...that's who"
We are both still sick, and really really tired. I have chapels to do this afternoon and tomorrow and then I'm preaching at the English speaking church on Sunday...so no time to rest. But Brooke made me some homemade soup last night and it made me feel better...she takes good care of me, even when she's sick. One more week of school and the temptation is there to just coast and do our minimum and kill the time...hopefully we can resist that and really make the most of this season with the students. The students are out of control right now, from kindergarten to seniors...pre-holiday mayhem.
Our phone is still out of commision. The bill has been paid but the're taking their time hooking it back up..."Manana" means tomorrow in spanish and that the favorite word here. "When's our phone gonna be hooked back up?" "Manana".

2002-12-11T07:41:00.000-05:00

I just read in the Star Pheonix online that Saskatchewan lost 24, 940 people this past year. Before you get all wound up you need to know that it's not as bleak as it sounds. Really they just lost 24, 938 cuz Brooke and I will be coming home soon. I've emailed the Star Pheonix to make the change.

2002-12-10T09:19:00.000-05:00

Satan named NHL player of the week
Canadian Press
12/9/2002
NEW YORK (CP) - Winger Miroslav Satan of the Buffalo Sabres, who led all scorers with three goals and four assists in three games, is the NHL's player of the week.

I got kind of a sick kick out of this headline on TSN.ca.

2002-12-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

You know how we're comin home next weekend, well we leave santiago on Friday and take the milk route home and don't get to saskatoon until late saturday night..the downer is that we have to spend the night in Miami. We didnt want to spend the bucks for a motel, cuz $ is tight, and we have to be at the airport by 5am saturday so we were gonna just spend the night in Miami airport. If you've ever been to the Miami airport you know it's dirty and full of dirties, so we werent looking forward to it. Anyways, the other night I was talking to my friend Dave. He lives here, he's an exec for Timberland, and he's from Toronto...well turns out we're on the same flight from DR to Miami and when I told him of our layover, he said, "Well I'll just get get you into the "Admiral Room"." That's the area for first class passengers, it's got TV's and free beverages and munchies and private sleeper rooms. Can you believe it? God has really taken care of us, right from the start of this whole DR thing.

Brooke and I are both sick. Probably could have justified staying home, but we have the Young Life Christmas party tonight and neither of us wanted to miss it so we came into work...I guess we're not really that sick. (That's what my Mom would say.)