Checking in!

Hey there, how are ya?  Enjoying the summer weather?  I hope so.

It's been a bit since I posted on the blog, so I thought I'd send out a brief update on some things - it may well be that no one really cares, but that's ok, it gives me a chance to take stock of what I'm up to and to re-orient as we head into a new week.

Movies Seen:
The Avengers - absolute fun! 

The whole movie and plot are really anchored around a couple of the Avenger characters (in particular, Iron Man) but as a team-flick where everybody has something to contribute to saving the world, it's a great movie.  In recently taking the Strengths Finder online test (more about that in a moment) I discovered again that I am very much about seeing a team of people work well together and what a beautiful thing that is.  So this movie rocked!

I have a ticket to see Prometheus with some comrades tomorrow nite - should be a scream (literally!)

Books Read:
Still working on a couple of reads, almost finished Serving With Eyes Wide Open by David A. Livermore, and finding it a compelling critique and re-evaluation of short term missions. 

Livermore raises a lot of important issues, and attempts in the last section of the book to develop the basis for understanding "Cultural Intelligence" and how this may be vital to insuring that short term missions in the future don't get off the rails.   As we get ready for Quito, I'm glad to be reading up on these issues and hope to apply it all to our time there.

Also reading Fahrenheit 451 right now, in honour of the late Ray Bradbury. 

I haven't read much of him, but so far 451 is really grabbing me, with it's eery prophetic view of the future (written in 1953) and the lyrical and poetic prose that surprises and captivates me!

Other Stuff I've Been Doing:
I bought the Strengths Finder book which comes with a key code to take their online survey to assess my top 5 'soft skill' areas of strength.  Last week I invested a fair bit of time dissecting my survey results and thinking and praying through what this info has to say about how I should focus myself moving ahead.  My top 5 strengths are:
1. Empathy - yes, I am an empath, and know what you are feeling, in fact, I see dead people . . . .
2. Harmony - I'm that guy that says "can't we all just get along?"
3. Connectedness - as an empath I am also a Jedi Master and see the vast interconnectedness of all things . . . . .
4. Intellection - If I am interested, I have a gift for going deep cover to research something of interest to me and become an expert, now if I could only harness that gift better . . . .
5. Input - I am a fount of all things trivial and have the capacity to write clearly and well

So all that is still percolating in my head, but helps me to think concretely about how to structure my time and energy to greater effectiveness.

People and Places:
- had a great lunch with a colleague from Edmonton, Brad Guldemond, to compare notes and share stories.  It was great to catch up with Brad again!
- family and friend get togethers aplenty!  Golf with my Dad, get-togethers with our friends Phil and Katherine and their girls, the Lilleys, the Sennemas, Ken, Joe, Dave, cousins Jake and Kyla and Aunt Janet, Denise and Mom Cassel - quite busy!  But so good to be able to catch up again with so many people and not feel a time pressure on it. 
- we've been attending Lincoln Road for church quite regularly, although today (Sunday the 10th) I went to Forward Church in Cambridge to see how they do things.  The service was very long, (1 hr and 40 minutes long!  I'm so not used to that!)  but it was well run, and Steve Adams is a warm and engaging preacher.  It was good to be there!
- Out for walks, also shopping with Carina for stuff for Quito, and just hanging out together too.

QUITO !!!
So we have now exceeded our original goal of $4,790 to a new total of $5,005 !!!  What an unbelievably generous group of friends and family we are blessed to know!  God has continued to open every door and provide abundantly for this mission, and we are getting excited as we see our July 1 departure date draw near.  Life over the next several weeks will begin to be more and more about getting ready to go. Check out our webpage here:

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1415914&langPref=en-CA

So, on into a new week, with some more reading, music, planning and preparation, a visit to the chiropractor, and getting ready to lead worship next week at Ray of Hope C.R. on Monday, plus a special event I can't tell you about yet because it's a surprise for our girls - stay tuned and don't ask them about it until after Tuesday !!!!