04.13.07
Posted in culture, home service
at 8:36 pm
I just ran the numbers and I have spent about 7% of my life in Italy, and 93% in America. If you look at the statistics the vast majority of “me” should behave like an American would behave. But I have been amazed at how strongly that 7% influences me.
Walking into Taco Bell the other day and noticed a small sign in the window advertising Fourth Meal. They were inviting all of us to come into Taco Bell for the meal after dinner and before breakfast.
My mind flitted back to times back in Joplin when Josh, Matty and I would head to T-Bell for a midnight snack. A Chalupa, a crunchy taco or two, and a huge drink always seemed to hit the spot. Despite my expanding waistline, I couldn’t avoid the temptation of Fourth Meal.
But when I saw the sign, the 7% of me that is Italian was appalled! Who on earth needs to eat four meals?! As I look at my daily activity level, there’s no way I can justify the need to eat an entire extra meal. And if someone did eat a fourth meal, why waste it on inexpensive food like a bean burrito? In my mind I began to make wild, Italian hand gestures about the absurdity of Fourth Meal.
However, 7% is a clear minority. The 93% of me that is American is thinking about sneaking to Taco Bell right now for a quick Chalupa. If only Josh and Matty were here…
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Posted in home service, kids
at 8:15 pm
Heidi’s dad surprised us one day by telling us that he wanted to get the kids four-wheelers. He has quite a few acres of land, complete with trails that go through the woods, which are perfect for four-wheeling. So when the vehicles (and helmets) arrived, we drove the kids out to the farm to try them out.
The four wheelers have a speed control on them, so we decide how fast they get to go. Trey’s hardly can make it up a hill, and we are just fine with that!
Lance, however, is a little more confident in his off-roading abilities. So we have been gradually increasing the speed of his four-wheeler. He’s mostly careful, but you can see in the smile on his face as he makes a tight corner that the testosterone in him is fighting for control of his normally reserved personality. One day, he sharply turned as he was about to go down a hill. His four wheeler flipped, and Lance went flying.
Those of you who know us know that I am much more calm and collected in emergencies. Heidi flails about and panics. But for some reason our roles switched and I went running out there and Heidi stayed put. Lance got right back up, shook his head, and said “Woah.” For the first time I think he realized that there is a little bit of danger involved here. In those few seconds while I brushed him off and made sure he was OK, I could see in his face a maturity that I haven’t seen in him before. He looked me in the eyes and said, “I’ll be more careful next time.” And I was proud of him when he hopped back on and tried again.
Heidi and I are learning not to worry too much. They’re having such a good time being with Grandpa as they explore the trails in the woods. And maybe Lance is learning lessons that he’ll remember when I hand him the keys to the car for the first time.
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Posted in home service, kids
at 8:04 pm
Chloe is the lone early riser in a family of people that aren’t big fans of morning time. One morning she bounced into my bed and whispered in my ear:
“Daddy, I know that you and Mommy are the tooth fairy and that you sneak into my bedroom after I lose my tooth and take it and put money under it. Mom told me.”
In my half-asleep state, I wasn’t really sure what to say. Was she trying to trick the information out of me? Did her mom really tell her that? Was I too loud the night before when I did the tooth-dollar swap? I paused for a second and said, “Are you sure?”
She bounced out of the room, just as happy, and said, “Yep!”
I only later found out that earlier in the morning she had asked her mom for the truth, and Heidi (no doubt under duress) spilled the beans. Lance also figured out the real story. So we swore them both to secrecy since their little brother is still waiting to lose his first tooth.
My teammate recently faced a close call with the tooth fairy as well. Read about it here.
Watch out Santa … your days are numbered…
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Posted in family, home service
at 8:01 pm
My father-in-law thinks that I haven’t been posting enough to the blog. He’s right, but blogging on our slow dial-up connection is a frustrating experience. I told him I have a list of things that I want to blog about, and these next few posts are dedicated to him! 
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03.23.07
Posted in family, home service, kids
at 6:22 pm
One challenge about living in Italy is that it seems like there are relatively few opportunities for the kids to get out of the city and into nature. At least, few opportunities for people like us without a car!
I jumped at the chance when my friend, Erik, offered to drive us out to Silver Falls State Park to the Trail of Ten Falls. We packed the kids into the van, made a bunch of sandwiches, and started on the trail, not really knowing how long it was. About five miles later, we finished! And the kids didn’t complain once. We just kept walking and enjoying all the different waterfalls that we saw (you can see pictures here). Even our youngest kept up with the all of us! I have some pretty tough kids.
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03.19.07
Posted in christian resources, family, home service, kids
at 8:38 am
One of the fun things about going to so many different churches when we’re home on furlough is that we get to see how other churches do church.
We were in Willamina, Oregon last week for their Wednesday night service. The kids went back to the kids time. When it was all finished, they asked us to play a CD that they got from the kids time leader. Apparently all new visitors get a CD of all the songs they sing during kids time. We popped the CD in and the kids started singing with all their hearts. Then, Lance excitedly exclaimed, “It’s like portable praise!”
Living in Italy, there really aren’t many kids’ resources like that, so he was so excited to be able to sing on the road.
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02.24.07
Posted in culture, home service, postmodernism
at 4:39 pm
My mom treated us to dinner last night at a place call Pizza Express. It’s one of those $3.99 pizza buffet places. It was Friday night, and it was packed. We had to wait a bit for someone to get up and leave before we could sit down. We saw a group of four get up (we were a group of 8), and a young man offered to hold the table for us while we went to find someone to clear it off.
I immediately noticed the young man’s t-shirt. In big bold letters, the shirt said, “If you ain’t Sunni, you ain’t Shiite.” I was puzzled by his slightly off-color shirt, but didn’t feel I should bring anything up. But the person at the table next to me did ask him what his shirt meant. I eavesdropped, and was very surprised by the young man’s answer.
He explained that it only meant whatever the person reading it wanted it to mean. Unsatisfied, the man who asked about the shirt pressed the young man to explain what he thought it meant. Obviously the wearer of the shirt bought it and chose to wear it for a reason. But the young man refused to interpret the shirt for us, and explained again that it can mean whatever we wanted it to mean.
I really feel like that’s a cop out. I don’t think you can wear a shirt that talks about two Muslim groups and not have an opinion on what it means. But his answer was very “postmodern.” Many young people (in Italy and elsewhere) don’t feel there are any absolutes, and so for him to “interpret” the shirt would be “judging” it.
But isn’t that really just a form of cowardice? By not refusing to interpret a t-shirt (or an ancient Book), aren’t people really saying that they’re just not brave enough to stick up for their own opinion?
All those deep thoughts, from one little t-shirt!
Feel free to comment now, Josh. (He’s my teammate, and I know this is the kind of post he’s going to jump all over).
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02.17.07
Posted in friends, home service
at 2:38 pm
I just had an awesome lunch with a good friend of mine. He left for Iraq before we left for Italy, and got back after we were already there. I think it’s been almost three years since we’ve seen each other, and it was good to be able to talk face to face.
As he shared with me about his experiences in Iraq, I sensed his frustration with the media in the US. He told me about how his batallion had built 60 schools. He talked about the functioning electric grid and sewer system in Baghdad. None of these facts ever make it to NBC.
The war in Iraq is obviously a tricky subject. But I can’t help but wonder if more people would be in support of America’s efforts if some of the good news made it on the air. Today as the Senate debates “supporting our troops, but not supporting Bush’s plan” (an idea which makes no sense to my friend), I sometimes wonder if we’re getting the whole picture.
I’ve lived in Europe for 2 years, and Europe is (at least now) pretty firmly against the war. To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure where I stand. But I do know that I am proud of my friend who served in Iraq. I’m thankful for the times he looked at death and kept moving. And I’m reminded at how much I need to pray for him and his family as they try and navigate life after Iraq.
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02.13.07
Posted in church, home service, travel
at 12:01 pm
Going into our first home assignment, I have to admit that I was nervous. There are lots of people to see and churches to report to. Having never done any of that, it was all a bit nebulous and unknown to me. It seemed odd to me that churches would want to cancel their normal services to hear me speak. I really am about the most normal person.
But my opinion changed slightly on Sunday when I spoke to Iron Gates Christian Church in Joplin, Missouri. I was the youth minister of this church for 6 years before moving to Italy. Now they support our work in Ancona. It’s a small church, but the welcome that we received far outweighed their numbers. There was a large basket of medicines and other things that we can’t get in Italy right by the front door. There were lots of hugs and handshakes. One dear couple handed me a check for $1,000 before I had even said hello to them. Another woman was so excited to share a tithe of her recent bonus check. After church, they threw a wonderful potluck dinner. They also had bought birthday presents for the kids for the birthdays that they had missed while we were in Ancona.
They just took care of us. They loved on us, and thanked us for working so far from home. They told us (some in words, others by listening so intently) that they were behind us.
I still get a little uncomfortable by all the attention. But it’s nice to know that the people that love and know you the best are behind you and want to take care of you.
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01.29.07
Posted in culture, home service
at 9:04 am
We’re back in the US. Having been gone for almost two years, I can’t help but notice how accustomed I have become to life in Italy. Immediately upon landing in Chicago, the differences started to become clear. Everything is bigger here. The beverages, the meals, the streets, the cars, the stores, the parking lots, the churches, the houses, and I have to say it, the people. It’s been quite the experience getting used to everything again.
I think the time when I felt the “smallest” in the bigness of America was yesterday when we got to Heidi’s home church. It was just HUGE. I’m used to church happening in my living room. I think the auditorium seats 500 at Heidi’s church. It was really a very strange feeling.
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