On Thursday the 14th of April, I had the opportunity to feel both very close and very far from home. It was bittersweet.
I miss home. I really do. I miss my family, my friends, and my Church. Growing up and going away is part of life and the reality that I am likely never to call Hillsdale and Concord "home" again is hard to stomach sometimes. I am happy where God is calling me, but that doesn't mean I don't look back with nostalgia and affection. I don't think it should ever be that I don't.
In any event, I suggested to my youth pastor, Dave Turner, that I skype chat with my youth group back at home for one of their Wednesday night services. I never had a chance to really say goodbye to them before I left due to a snow storm which cancelled all services. So I thought it would be a good idea to just pop on, have them ask some questions, and say hello.
(For those of you who don't know Skype, get your head out of the sand! Haha. I am joking. It is a free program that has an instant messaging capacity (like AOL or MSN messengers), a webcam chat capacity, and the ability to call land or mobile phone lines. For this "call" we were both using our webcams to send video of ourselves to each other while we talked into microphones.)
Dave and I worked it out and I woke up early on Thursday morning to talk in their Wednesday night service. The conversation was good! I talked about koala, kangaroos, my hatred of vegemite, what God is doing with me and through me in Australia, and challenged them to continue walking strong. It was good to talk with and see those guys again. I really do miss them.
So it was bitter sweet for me. I walked away remembering aspects of my ministry which I have effectively walked away from. I also waled away, however, looking forward to the ministry I will continue to have.
In Christ,
Chris
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Australia-isms
For a couple of days in the week of the April 10th, all I did was work at the church.
Thus, taking a break from my narrative, I wanted to tell you all a bit about some South Australian idiosyncrasies. Though I mocked them at first for some of these goofy sayings, I am starting to turn into a proper Aussie with ever passing day. So here are some of the unique phrases I have noticed:
"Heaps": South Australians use the word heaps (as in "a lot," or "much," or "many") in a lot of contexts. For the most part, they use it to emphasize a quality in something. For example: "Australia is heaps good." "Driving in rush hour is heaps difficult." "That test was heaps easy." They say it so much in this area that they have t-shirts and such with a picture of South Australia and the words "Heaps Good" written under it. Go figure. It's a heaps weird thing to be saying all the time.
"Reckon": Australians use "reckon" a lot of the time in conversation to replace the word "think". For example, we Americans from the midwest might say something like: "I think that is a good idea, do you?" "Yes, I think it is." Australians on the other hand would likely say something more along the lines of "I reckon that's a great idea, how about you?" "Yeah, I reckon so." I find myself saying "reckon" all the time now too. I wonder where this difference comes from. We often think of Americans in the deep south using "reckon" a lot in their southern drawl. I wonder if it has connections to a higher form of British English or a lower one? In any event, I reckon it doesn't matter.
"No worries": Oftentimes, when you thank someone for something in Australia, the response is "no worries." That's it. I guess it is a shortened form of "Yeah, don't worry about it." But you hear "no worries" all the time around here. At first this made me laugh a lot because it always seems ladies are saying it in the highest pitch and in the most sing-song manner possible. Moreover, the idea of there being "no worries" is absurd, as Arj Barker pointed out in one of his comedy routines. There is always some worries! So the response is a bit disingenuous (I am being sarcastic now, of course). But, like everything else, the phrase has begun to stick with me. I wonder how long it will take for that to change back when I return to America.
"How you going?": This is the colloquial way of asking somebody how they are doing. I hear it all the time. The first time it really threw me off. I didn't know how to respond...."um....I'm going?" This response only got me confused stares though. So now I have just learned to respond as I would to the equally absurd American phrase "What's up?"
Isn't culture funny? I love looking at it and learning from it.
And for the record: Vegemite is still gross. I don't know how they eat that stuff. It reminds me of solidified soy sauce with extra salt dumped in. This is perhaps the only part of Australian cuisine I do not like.
I hope this was informative for my American readers and humorous for my Australian ones. :-)
In Christ,
Chris
Thus, taking a break from my narrative, I wanted to tell you all a bit about some South Australian idiosyncrasies. Though I mocked them at first for some of these goofy sayings, I am starting to turn into a proper Aussie with ever passing day. So here are some of the unique phrases I have noticed:
"Heaps": South Australians use the word heaps (as in "a lot," or "much," or "many") in a lot of contexts. For the most part, they use it to emphasize a quality in something. For example: "Australia is heaps good." "Driving in rush hour is heaps difficult." "That test was heaps easy." They say it so much in this area that they have t-shirts and such with a picture of South Australia and the words "Heaps Good" written under it. Go figure. It's a heaps weird thing to be saying all the time.
"Reckon": Australians use "reckon" a lot of the time in conversation to replace the word "think". For example, we Americans from the midwest might say something like: "I think that is a good idea, do you?" "Yes, I think it is." Australians on the other hand would likely say something more along the lines of "I reckon that's a great idea, how about you?" "Yeah, I reckon so." I find myself saying "reckon" all the time now too. I wonder where this difference comes from. We often think of Americans in the deep south using "reckon" a lot in their southern drawl. I wonder if it has connections to a higher form of British English or a lower one? In any event, I reckon it doesn't matter.
"No worries": Oftentimes, when you thank someone for something in Australia, the response is "no worries." That's it. I guess it is a shortened form of "Yeah, don't worry about it." But you hear "no worries" all the time around here. At first this made me laugh a lot because it always seems ladies are saying it in the highest pitch and in the most sing-song manner possible. Moreover, the idea of there being "no worries" is absurd, as Arj Barker pointed out in one of his comedy routines. There is always some worries! So the response is a bit disingenuous (I am being sarcastic now, of course). But, like everything else, the phrase has begun to stick with me. I wonder how long it will take for that to change back when I return to America.
"How you going?": This is the colloquial way of asking somebody how they are doing. I hear it all the time. The first time it really threw me off. I didn't know how to respond...."um....I'm going?" This response only got me confused stares though. So now I have just learned to respond as I would to the equally absurd American phrase "What's up?"
Isn't culture funny? I love looking at it and learning from it.
And for the record: Vegemite is still gross. I don't know how they eat that stuff. It reminds me of solidified soy sauce with extra salt dumped in. This is perhaps the only part of Australian cuisine I do not like.
I hope this was informative for my American readers and humorous for my Australian ones. :-)
In Christ,
Chris
4/11--A tasty birthday
The 11th of April we had a birthday dinner for Sarah Jones, Jon's sister.
Jon's parents, who are some the nicest people in the world, invited me along for the meal and I had a great time hanging out with them most of the evening. I can't thank them enough for their hospitality.
The meal included pumpkin soup. I have never had pumpkin soup before. Is this an Australian thing? In any event, it was really tasty. It may be one of my favorite soups ever.
Here's to pumpkin soup! And Happy Birthday, Sarah.
In Christ,
Chris
Jon's parents, who are some the nicest people in the world, invited me along for the meal and I had a great time hanging out with them most of the evening. I can't thank them enough for their hospitality.
The meal included pumpkin soup. I have never had pumpkin soup before. Is this an Australian thing? In any event, it was really tasty. It may be one of my favorite soups ever.
Here's to pumpkin soup! And Happy Birthday, Sarah.
In Christ,
Chris
4/10--A Sensational Sunday
April 10th was very busy Sunday for me.
First off, I had to be at Church early (8:10 AM!!!) to rehearse for the choir. The choir, which I mentioned I had joined a few blog posts ago, was going to sing for the first time since my joining. We were scheduled to sing in both morning services, 9:00 and 10:30. Awkwardly enough, we were going to sing "This Little Light of Mine." It is a pretty fun arrangement of the song, however, and we were to do it accompanying a bunch of little kids who were going to be dancing to the music (our church hosts "ministry of dance" classes for little girls and they perform every so often). The singing went quite well in both services. As it was my debut as one of the singers, I received a lot of compliments about my willingness to do anything in the Church and desire to be a "Jack of All Trades." I don't see it that way. I just see it as trying to serve and pour Christ's love into this church in whatever ways I can :-). The singing went well, however, and I look forward to several other performances.
During the 10:30 service we have children's church. I had been helping with children's church for a couple of weeks prior to this, as I mentioned. This particular Sunday, however, the children's pastor wanted me to basically run a bit of the show. Unlike most weeks where we bring the kids in, talk for a bit as a large group and then split off into smaller, age-specific groups, this was a "Sensational Sunday." Sensational Sundays happen once every other month or so and usually involve the kids running their own sort of church service. They all stay in one room. There is worship, a speaker, offering--the whole works! The goal is to grow the kids as a smaller community of believers within the bigger whole. For what it is worth, I like the idea. In any event, I was the "speaker" for the day.
This actually went really well. The focus of the day was on summer camp. So I spoke a bit about why I do summer camps and what role I think they play in kids' lives. I shared with the kids some of my favorite stories from summer camp, told jokes, played a bit of games, showed some pictures and...eventually...found a crack with which to share the gospel. I got to the point where I was telling them about some of my favorite campers and how so many of the campers turned to God despite hard circumstances. I shared that these kids had become inspirations to me and they taught me, an adult, a lot about God. I told them that they too could understand the truth which those kids learned and they they could be filled with child-like joy that us old people could learn a lot from. It was really good and the stories I was sharing hit the spot (I think). The children's pastor was very pleased.
Afterward, I felt really good about how the little service went. I know I am good at playing games with kids and getting them to smile and laugh. But I don't often speak to them for any length of time. This was a first. I think I did well and it was very affirming for me to see some real growth come out of that time for them and for me.
In Christ,
Chris
First off, I had to be at Church early (8:10 AM!!!) to rehearse for the choir. The choir, which I mentioned I had joined a few blog posts ago, was going to sing for the first time since my joining. We were scheduled to sing in both morning services, 9:00 and 10:30. Awkwardly enough, we were going to sing "This Little Light of Mine." It is a pretty fun arrangement of the song, however, and we were to do it accompanying a bunch of little kids who were going to be dancing to the music (our church hosts "ministry of dance" classes for little girls and they perform every so often). The singing went quite well in both services. As it was my debut as one of the singers, I received a lot of compliments about my willingness to do anything in the Church and desire to be a "Jack of All Trades." I don't see it that way. I just see it as trying to serve and pour Christ's love into this church in whatever ways I can :-). The singing went well, however, and I look forward to several other performances.
During the 10:30 service we have children's church. I had been helping with children's church for a couple of weeks prior to this, as I mentioned. This particular Sunday, however, the children's pastor wanted me to basically run a bit of the show. Unlike most weeks where we bring the kids in, talk for a bit as a large group and then split off into smaller, age-specific groups, this was a "Sensational Sunday." Sensational Sundays happen once every other month or so and usually involve the kids running their own sort of church service. They all stay in one room. There is worship, a speaker, offering--the whole works! The goal is to grow the kids as a smaller community of believers within the bigger whole. For what it is worth, I like the idea. In any event, I was the "speaker" for the day.
This actually went really well. The focus of the day was on summer camp. So I spoke a bit about why I do summer camps and what role I think they play in kids' lives. I shared with the kids some of my favorite stories from summer camp, told jokes, played a bit of games, showed some pictures and...eventually...found a crack with which to share the gospel. I got to the point where I was telling them about some of my favorite campers and how so many of the campers turned to God despite hard circumstances. I shared that these kids had become inspirations to me and they taught me, an adult, a lot about God. I told them that they too could understand the truth which those kids learned and they they could be filled with child-like joy that us old people could learn a lot from. It was really good and the stories I was sharing hit the spot (I think). The children's pastor was very pleased.
Afterward, I felt really good about how the little service went. I know I am good at playing games with kids and getting them to smile and laugh. But I don't often speak to them for any length of time. This was a first. I think I did well and it was very affirming for me to see some real growth come out of that time for them and for me.
In Christ,
Chris
4/9--Sons of Korah
On the 9th of April, I had an amazing opportunity to see one of my favorite bands in concert, the Sons of Korah. I had hoped to see them while I was in Australia, as they are an A
ustralian Band. I am very happy my dream was realized.
For those of you unaware, the Sons of Korah is a Christian group whose whole mission is to set the Biblical Psalms back to music and capture them for the beautifully powerful songs they were originally intended to be. Indeed, the group's name, The Sons of Korah, is in reference to the authors who wrote so many of the Psalms. So they set the Psalms to music and try their absolute best to stay true to the tone and mood of each Psalm. Together, they are some of the best musicians I have ever seen. Indeed, this is what makes them so spectacular. In a world where all
your lyrics are written for you, your musicianship has to shine.
I was able to score a couple of free tickets through the Church (YES!) and I invited a couple of friends here to go along with me. The concert was phenomenal. It was better than I had hoped, actually. Not only did they play the Psalms beautifully, but they presented a very powerful gospel messages using the book of Psalms alone. Australia is an area where I don't often hear the gospel outside of Hope Valley. I can honestly say that this group presented the most powerful gospel message I have heard in my time here. I was very pleased. Truly, the band is anointed by God and understands the power of his Word to change lives and mold hearts.
If you are unfamiliar with the Sons of Korah, I encourage you to go look into their music. I can promise it will change the way you read the book of Psalms. I love to surround myself with this group's music. So check them out, buy their stuff, and support a ministry which i can assure you is quite powerful. Here is a link to their website: http://www.sonsofkorah.com/
In Christ,
Chris
ustralian Band. I am very happy my dream was realized.For those of you unaware, the Sons of Korah is a Christian group whose whole mission is to set the Biblical Psalms back to music and capture them for the beautifully powerful songs they were originally intended to be. Indeed, the group's name, The Sons of Korah, is in reference to the authors who wrote so many of the Psalms. So they set the Psalms to music and try their absolute best to stay true to the tone and mood of each Psalm. Together, they are some of the best musicians I have ever seen. Indeed, this is what makes them so spectacular. In a world where all
your lyrics are written for you, your musicianship has to shine.I was able to score a couple of free tickets through the Church (YES!) and I invited a couple of friends here to go along with me. The concert was phenomenal. It was better than I had hoped, actually. Not only did they play the Psalms beautifully, but they presented a very powerful gospel messages using the book of Psalms alone. Australia is an area where I don't often hear the gospel outside of Hope Valley. I can honestly say that this group presented the most powerful gospel message I have heard in my time here. I was very pleased. Truly, the band is anointed by God and understands the power of his Word to change lives and mold hearts.
If you are unfamiliar with the Sons of Korah, I encourage you to go look into their music. I can promise it will change the way you read the book of Psalms. I love to surround myself with this group's music. So check them out, buy their stuff, and support a ministry which i can assure you is quite powerful. Here is a link to their website: http://www.sonsofkorah.com/
In Christ,
Chris
4/8--Minute to Win It
Friday Night, after a long day of work, I had the opportunity to help with two more events in the Church.
First and foremost, the 12/3 group had a dinner planned at Jon Joyce's parents' house. The 12/3 group is a special part of the church which ministers to the needs of seniors in High School and those in their first few years of University. It is a transitions group which seeks to minister into the very specific needs of that age group. In any event, I have been doing a lot of work with these kids and love them all a great deal. As I said, they had a dinner planned. Unfortunately, I could only make the first part of this dinner, as I had to go help another event at the church.
The church's youth group were having the first event of their new youth season that evening. It was a night of games and fun, centered around "Minute to Win It" type activities. This was a good chance for me to meet a whole bunch of the youth in the church and I ended help having to help a lot with the event. The problem was, we ran out of "Minute to Win" it games quite quickly. Luckily, a few of us who had worked in youth ministry before had some other games up our sleeves to entertain them. All in all, the night went well. I really love working with youth, as most of you know. Getting to work with these kids, therefore, was a real blessing. I look forward to doing a lot with them in the future :-).
In Christ,
Chris
First and foremost, the 12/3 group had a dinner planned at Jon Joyce's parents' house. The 12/3 group is a special part of the church which ministers to the needs of seniors in High School and those in their first few years of University. It is a transitions group which seeks to minister into the very specific needs of that age group. In any event, I have been doing a lot of work with these kids and love them all a great deal. As I said, they had a dinner planned. Unfortunately, I could only make the first part of this dinner, as I had to go help another event at the church.
The church's youth group were having the first event of their new youth season that evening. It was a night of games and fun, centered around "Minute to Win It" type activities. This was a good chance for me to meet a whole bunch of the youth in the church and I ended help having to help a lot with the event. The problem was, we ran out of "Minute to Win" it games quite quickly. Luckily, a few of us who had worked in youth ministry before had some other games up our sleeves to entertain them. All in all, the night went well. I really love working with youth, as most of you know. Getting to work with these kids, therefore, was a real blessing. I look forward to doing a lot with them in the future :-).
In Christ,
Chris
4/7--Downtown or Bust
On April 7th, I took a trip downtown. For the first part of the day I met up with a good friend and just walked around the city, doing a bit of exploring. Around lunch, however, I was on my own. I first made my way to the University of Adelaide's library. I had been told that they had a really interesting display of old Bibles to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the KJV translation. Though it was a bit hard to find the library, I was not disappointed. They had a bunch of really old translations and editions spanning from some of the earliest medieval manuscripts to modern aboriginal translations. The exhibit was well set up and had a bunch of quality information to go along with each work. I am such a nerd and spent way too long here. :-)
After checking out the old Bibles and somewhat want for something to do, I happened to walk by the State Masonic Lodge of South Australia and noticed a sign for free tours that afternoon. I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that!
For starters, the outside of the Masonic Lodge is just awe inspiring. It is this massive stone structure with huge Greek pillars and a lot of ornamentation. The inside is just as gorgeous with large chandeliers, grandiose staircases, and decorations everywhere. After waiting some time for the tour to start, we made our way up to the top floor and into the secret masonic chambers. Haha!
I was actually very impressed with how much they allowed us to see of the masonic lodge. I ended up standing in some places and seeing some things I figured were absolutely secret, but not in this case at least. Our guide took us through the whole building and explained a lot about the history of the order in Adelaide and what the symbols represented. Luckily, this did not turn into merely a "come and join the masons" spiel. On the contrary, I actually found it very informative.
Now, I know that the Masons are super secretive and I am sure he did not share wit
h us even half of what it means to be a Mason, but I found what was told us confusing and troublesome. One tenet of being a mason, for example, requires that you acknowledge one supreme being (according to the tour guide). You must believe in some grand architect and designer of the universe--be it Allah, God, Jesus, whatever. But then he began telling us that the Masons are open to men of all faith--including Hindus and Buddhists. As far as I know though, most Hindus and Buddhists do not acknowledge one God. There is a whole pantheon of Hindi deities for example. So it seems as if they contradict themselves. Am I right?
In any event, the stuff he did describe and its "meaning" always made me shutter. I am glad for the Masons. I am sure they do some good things, but I can find enough "community" in the church to suit me. I don't need some secret body of friends to believe I am part of something beyond myself. I praise God that He is a God of openness and honesty.
After the tour, two of the older guys who went along with me laughingly asked if I was convinced and would become a Mason. I quickly explained my concerns with secret societies in general. They were startled by my accent and asked what I was doing in little Adelaide. After explaining a bit more, they invited me to coffee. Isn't that random? Here I am, minding my own business, and the next thing I know I am beating treated to coffee by two friendly, old men who just wanted to talk.
It was good fun, actually. One was very pro-American while the other was a bit more cynical. It was fun to bounce back and forth between them and explain my views on America's global policy.
Soon after meeting them, I ran into the State library to do a bit of research. Inside I got sidetracked by a hallway I had not been down before. It led to the most gorgeous library I have ever seen. This old wing of the library looks straight out of a fairy tale. It rises three stories up and is covered in mahogany shelves. There is even an old ladder that you push along the shelves to climb up to the top shelves. It was beautiful.
Eventually, I caught a bus home. Just another adventure for me in the booming city of Adelaide.
In Christ,
Chris
After checking out the old Bibles and somewhat want for something to do, I happened to walk by the State Masonic Lodge of South Australia and noticed a sign for free tours that afternoon. I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that!
For starters, the outside of the Masonic Lodge is just awe inspiring. It is this massive stone structure with huge Greek pillars and a lot of ornamentation. The inside is just as gorgeous with large chandeliers, grandiose staircases, and decorations everywhere. After waiting some time for the tour to start, we made our way up to the top floor and into the secret masonic chambers. Haha!
I was actually very impressed with how much they allowed us to see of the masonic lodge. I ended up standing in some places and seeing some things I figured were absolutely secret, but not in this case at least. Our guide took us through the whole building and explained a lot about the history of the order in Adelaide and what the symbols represented. Luckily, this did not turn into merely a "come and join the masons" spiel. On the contrary, I actually found it very informative.
Now, I know that the Masons are super secretive and I am sure he did not share wit
h us even half of what it means to be a Mason, but I found what was told us confusing and troublesome. One tenet of being a mason, for example, requires that you acknowledge one supreme being (according to the tour guide). You must believe in some grand architect and designer of the universe--be it Allah, God, Jesus, whatever. But then he began telling us that the Masons are open to men of all faith--including Hindus and Buddhists. As far as I know though, most Hindus and Buddhists do not acknowledge one God. There is a whole pantheon of Hindi deities for example. So it seems as if they contradict themselves. Am I right?In any event, the stuff he did describe and its "meaning" always made me shutter. I am glad for the Masons. I am sure they do some good things, but I can find enough "community" in the church to suit me. I don't need some secret body of friends to believe I am part of something beyond myself. I praise God that He is a God of openness and honesty.
After the tour, two of the older guys who went along with me laughingly asked if I was convinced and would become a Mason. I quickly explained my concerns with secret societies in general. They were startled by my accent and asked what I was doing in little Adelaide. After explaining a bit more, they invited me to coffee. Isn't that random? Here I am, minding my own business, and the next thing I know I am beating treated to coffee by two friendly, old men who just wanted to talk.
It was good fun, actually. One was very pro-American while the other was a bit more cynical. It was fun to bounce back and forth between them and explain my views on America's global policy.
Soon after meeting them, I ran into the State library to do a bit of research. Inside I got sidetracked by a hallway I had not been down before. It led to the most gorgeous library I have ever seen. This old wing of the library looks straight out of a fairy tale. It rises three stories up and is covered in mahogany shelves. There is even an old ladder that you push along the shelves to climb up to the top shelves. It was beautiful.
Eventually, I caught a bus home. Just another adventure for me in the booming city of Adelaide.
In Christ,
Chris
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