Immaculee Ilibagiza

The other night Becca and I had an enjoyable evening with our friends, the Glazes and their friend Michelle from Biola. We went to Willamette University for the evening to hear the amazing story of Immaculee Ilibagiza. Wow, I had a little forewarning about who she was but I was not prepared for her gracious and powerful retelling of the atrocities that took place in Rwanda in 1994. For those who are unaware, almost 1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days. That was 10% of the total country's population at the time. She hid for 91 days in her pastor's 3' x 4' bathroom along with six other women.

Her story is primarily one of forgiveness and reconciliation. I was expecting that but what I wasn't expecting was the degree to which she believed Christ was the only one who could make that forgiveness and ensuing peace, possible. It felt ironic being on such an intentionally liberal campus in the least-churched state in America hearing this woman talk about the hope, peace and forgiveness made possible only through Jesus. Needless to say, it was incredibly inspiring and genuine. I think I'll pick up her book and get a more detailed version of the story, below is an excerpt from the book's website in regards to its popularity. Left to Tell has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide, been made into a documentary, and through her Left to Tell Charitable Fund has raised over $150,000 for the orphans of Rwanda. Ms. Ilibagiza has been invited to speak to a range of audiences including dignitaries of the world, multinational corporations, churches, and local school children. The importance of her story has been recognized and honored with numerous humanitarian awards, including an honorary doctoral degree from the prestigious University of Notre Dame; the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace 2007; a finalist as one of Beliefnet.com’s “Most Inspiring People of the Year 2006;” and a Christopher Award, “affirming the highest values of human spirit.”Left to Tell has been chosen as Outreach Magazine’s selection for “Best Outreach Testimony/Biography Resource of 2007, and for the 2007-2008 One Book program at Villanova University making it a mandatory read for 6,000 students.

The Never-Ending Adventures of Bird Mann pt 4

This is a great installment, hilarious and eye-opening, read on!

I don't want to romanticize it, but Africa really is an amazing place. Here are some highlights and lowlights:

3/24

Tired of everyone staring at me! Not only am I a big white guy (way over 99% of the people I've seen are African), but I'm looking for birds! I think I'm the most interesting thing that people have seen in a long time, so they stare at me all day . . . I'm actually relieved to get in the true bush because it's hard not to be self-conscious! In a small way, I think it's a bit of a taste for how celebrities feel, and why they go to special places for vacation, hate the paparazzi, and go out with bodyguards in disguise! Happy Belated Easter - I was up in the mountains at the time (Taita Hills) in a Christian area (more Muslim on the coast) and it was WONDERFUL on Easter morning to hear people praising the Lord all over the mountain side - there were few times I was out of earshot of a church - their music is so alive and fun as well!

It is very very hot! I pretty much sweat all day long, which is not too cool to be honest (no pun intended!) I am a bit surprised by how humid it is here along the Indian Ocean - there are some breezes (the water's beautiful though I haven't been in that mode really wihtout my B!) but even the breezes are heavy and hot . . . I've been sleeping fine in my trusty Rav-4, I basically read after dinner with the air on to cool down and then when I wake up sweating in the night just turn the air on for a whie, then I wake up again cause it's really cold! But it works =)

3/26

Aftr I arrived I drove down to the coast to Mombasa and up to Malindi . . . that's my starting point for this whole trek . . . I birded a big special forest called Arabuko-Sokoke and then hedaded inland, first through Tsavo West National Park and then Amboseli National Park. I saw some really neat animals there and got caught in a massive rain storm yesterday - I was just downslope from Kilimanjaro as well, and the road was actually washed out in one spot so had to go a LONG way around! But it was okay because I've been blessed to find neat birdies all the way . . . Kenya is more touristy than India, more expensive. My RAV4 is doing great, one flat, and the front shock got knocked out twice, leak in the power steering fluid but it rides like a dream compared to the little cars I normally get, though it uses gas and gas is really expensive, like $5 a gallon - yikes! It's normally high and then with the post=election problems the transport was disrupted driving prices higher . . . I walked across the border into Tanzania last night and the little boys around me asked if I knew David Becham in America! The people are wonderful and I ate in a muslim hotel that night - good beef for the first maybe the whole trip - I've had mild diarrhea off and on probably the last week but it's been manageable. No malaria, still taking medicine, finally got a shower after three weeks for $2 night before last - it was something else! Very muddy little town in the sticks, though htey had running water - no light in the shower and people kept walking by to pee against the wall - I was trying to was hmy clothes as well - qite an experiencE! I've now made it back from the coast to Nairobi (hence email) and I'm headed north to Mount Kenya right now . . .then to the desert north of there, then Rift Valley x2 days, then swap my jeep for a fresh one, Masaai Mara, Kakamega (greatest forest in Kenya) and finally into Uganda. So I'm working west!

Tons and tons of wonderful birds!! Really neat people called Masaai last couple days - try and look them up - very cool . . . and some really special animals . . . last night I watched about 100 elephants, each troup led by a wise female, and 200 cape buffalo (incl calves!), wildebeast, zebra and giraffes with hippopotamus/grants gazelle/impala/spotted hyena/mongoose/jackel all grazing, chilling in a marsh below majestic Mount Kilimanjaro - it was unbelievable . . . all by myself iwth the Lord - also saw Gray Crowned Crane - so cool! And Kori Bustard! and Ostrich - wow ! Flamingos, on and on . . . Lots of smaller birds that are a real challenge to identify but my book is good.

3/31

Finished my time in the desert and mountains, down in the Great Rift Valley and yesterday saw my first CRASH of rhinos - incredible - a couple we wallowing in the mud to cool off and my jeep got about 20 feet away - I came across a big herd of elephants in the mountains a couple days ago and it was actually kind of scary - you could hear them crashing in the forest and then every once in a while one would appear and rumble across the road. . . God did such a good job with them. Lake Nakuru has about 1million lesser flamingos (and lesser amounts of greater flamingos) and that was a treat yesterday. If you saw the movie "Constant Gardener" parts of it are set in the lake and you can see Baboon Lookout. Still no predators (lion, cheetah, or leopard) though I haven't been looking . . . I keep telling Kitty I'm saving the real "normal/tourist" things for later with my family =)

I've learned about keeping a Rav-4 well-tuned - in case you ever need it mama -aren't you driving one these days too? Good food is hard to come by - in the develping world restaurants are often associated with hotels (because people eat at home unless traveling) and in most of the areas I find myself at dark there are no, um, hotels. So I just eat some crackers (again) - I'm so excited for regular food again! My multivitamins and some anti-malaria meds were stolen from my checked bag from india - only problem like this - but I found some a couple days back in a fancy grocery store near nairobi - so that way i don't ahave to owrry about being malnourished. i got some milk there, drank a litre- much to the giggles of the boys who saw me - and by the next day the rest was soured - kind of interesting! I try and drink bottled juice when I can find it to get some "greens" that's the toughest part about being in the bush.

PTL the day before I arrived Kofi Annan's brokered peace agreement resulted in an amendment to the constitution from the British one that puts tons of power in th presidents hands to split it with a prime minister. I have not feared any violence here and though some goods are in a bit of short supply it's good overall - people are anxious for the state dept to lift the travel advisory b/c tourism is a big part of the econ and it's moving slow. I've enjoyed many beautiful spots completely alone and go many days without seeing a white person.

Obama is REALLY popular here and I got a big discount on my jeep rental when I said that I'd think about voting for him =) apparently his parents wre from Kisumu in the western part near Lake victoria.

I hit a speed bump going about 100kph and launched my jeep several feet in the air - it was actually kind of crazy - just like a stunt movie! I landed okay but one of my shocks needed some work - og figure! They usually warn you but this was in the middle of nowhere on a highway - not too good - one guy said "in America you could sue for something like that!" they LOVE America - and appreciate the support by Bush and visit from Condi after the disputed election . Feel like England has betrayed them a bit. There have actually been lots of "jeep commercial" moments that any guy would love - you're driving on the left side of the road, off roading, fording streams, climbing rocks, etc. Very fun! As they say, drive it like a rental =)

I just swapped my jeep for a freshly tuned one today - the guy was really nice about it and said he didn't want to hear I had broken down in the Ugandan rain forest and have to come get me. So I'm going to the Masaai Mara tonight, then Kakamega rain forest then into Uganda for two weeks to the Rwanda border. I'm basically driving halfway across the continent, from the Indian Ocena in the east through the savannah to the rainforest and mountains that form the "spine" of sub-saharan africa centered on Rwanda/Burundi. In fact, I wanted to go over the crest, down into the enormous Congo rainforest basin - very few roads, but one decent one that goes to the place in Zaire where Mama's leading a team this summer! very cool.

Please pray against loneliness (not too bad), illness, spiritual attack, car theft or trouble. So far so good. Learning a ton.

Much love to you all!

Jase =)

The story of my life...

My iGoogle quote of the day What can I say? I think all my thoughts are unique and genius, don't we all??

The Never-Ending Adventures of Bird Mann pt 3

Part 3 of my brother's bird-watching adventure in India-- Hola familia, Hope you're doing well! Just a shorter update today before I fly out to Nairobi tomorrow night. It was my last day high in the mountains and got off to a . . . er . . . bumpy start! I actually swore out loud - yikes not good Jase! I met a local guy yesterday who knew some good birding in the area and we planned to meet at 6:30 this morning at the stop of Snow View, above the old British hill resort of Naini Tal. The problem was that my little (stick shift) car does not do well on steep inclines and it's easy to get lost in the little alleys. I decided to sleep near the summit in my car . . . all went fine until I tried to drive out this morning - in a sleepy stupor I failed to correctly assess the road and ended up backing up into a drainage gutter about one foot wide and two feet deep. Fortunately, this was on the "land" side of the road, not the "air" side, but still, it was 6:15 and I was stuck. To make things worse, about two feet before I went down I realized what was happening and hit the brakes. Even with my emergency brake on, I slide the last two fee t and then clunked down into the hole (bad) and then rammed my back right corner into the stone wall (worse). What a bummer! It's tricky driving stick on the opposite side anyway, but I knew there would be no towtrucks or even pickups around. Most people walk or use a horse. Hmm . . . and my friend was waiting at the top. After freaking out for about two minutes, a sweet grandma who witnessed the whole thing found a couple strapping guys and knocked on my window. I was beginning to give it to the Lord when they went to work. They put stones behind certain tires and stones under the one in the ditch. The found a big crowbar and literally lifted the back end up while I hit the gas . . . kind of scary on a cliffside but they were used to the mountains. Praise the Lord - I made it out and there wasn't even really a scratch on the back corner! Not sure how that happened. So now it's about 6:35 and I head up the hill again, get stuck once again (much smaller this time) and run the rest of the way. My guide helps me push so I can get it into gear without rolling down backwards - yikes! All in all God has been so faithful and I'm headed down the mountain tonight to leave tomorrow. But . . . the main reason I'm writing this is to share about the *incredible* mountains I saw from the top . . . I was basically in the high foothills but you can view the highest mountain in India to the north . . . it's called Nanda Devi and stands over 25,600 feet high. Watching the sun rise and reflect off the gleaming white slopes was breathtaking. God did such a good job with that mountain . . . I had never really understood the whole spiritual draw to the Himalayas until this morning - wow. The sky was such clear blue and you just had to praise the Lord. Bottomline, I now think I want to go to the Himalayas, preferably with some family. Though climbing one of those peaks may be a bit intense for most, you can trek during the summer. I propose that we do this at some point in the next twenty years, my treat, with the difficulty level geared for group.

Oh, one more thing. My birding goal for this trip was 300 over 12 days . . . by comparison a professional tour lasting three weeks found 332. I passed 300 yesterday, and 332 today! I'm now at 340 - praise the Lord! He has really taken great care of me, esp when you consider that the cost of the tour is $7500, while my cost is <$1000. And they didn't even get to sleep in their car! ha

The Never-Ending Adventures of Bird Mann pt 2

Part 2 of my brother's bird-watching adventure in India-- I drove back into Agra yesterday - this is a major city on the Gangetic plain and famous for that beautiful love poem of marble, the Taj Majal (have you seen that new line of luxury hotels called the Taj? I wonder what that means . . . hmm). It was incredibly beautiful - the white marble changes color with the shades of sunlight - I heard it described as contemplating the different moods of a woman -wow - I don't think I'm going to make any comment on that but thought it was interesting! I have found Hindu culture to be very earthy and sensual in a way - I had heard that Arabs think we Westerners have not imagination when it comes to sensuality, or maybe it's that our movies leave nothing to the imagination. The beautiful saris completely cover women here but I think I can see what they mean. Not to worry Kitty! But there is definitely a different take on gender roles here (much more like we used to be like in the West. It's amazing how they keep their clothes clean in the midst of the dust and dirt. Women draw water at the well or pump twice a day and it was really cool to see them drawing up the buckets from the well in the early morning as I looked for another kind of thrush! Ha! It reminded me of what Abraham's servant must have found when he first met Rebekah. The women walk down the road with even their heads covered - apparently they can still see somehow! And then they balance one or even two water jugs on their head with no hands - unbelievable. The have a little ring that they put on their head to make it more flat, but still pretty neat. I guess this is the closest I have been to the Middle East and the Holy Land, so it's interesting to think of biblical references and the Hebrew worldview in context (versus a more "rational" Greek view I'm used to in the academy). Lots of camels around - they are so big and still scare me a little bit - usually there's a little boy or an old man wrapped in a cloak (looks like Jesus to me) on a wooden cart behind. I'm in the western state of Rajasthan that heads into the Great Indian Desert on the border with Pakistan - ancient stone forts in the desert and caravan tracks. Oh, the most amazing thing today - I found some little shepherd boys and this one little goat kept running away from his buddies - the youngest little shepherd kept chasing him down and bringing him back to the flock but the little guy kept going astray. Finally, this five year old boy came over and picked up the little lamb and physically carried him back to the flock - wow - it was really powerful as I think how faithfully Jesus shepherds us, how often we wander off the path. So God spoke to me there through a biblical image that just came to life in a new way. I can't imagine what it'd be like to actually be in the Holy Land - maybe we could go someday together!

Oh, but I got off track - so most of India is Hindu, though there are lots of different religious traditions. Buddhism started here but is mostly defunct (interesting yeah?), I learned that the guys in Turbans who ride the rickshaws are mostly Sikh, and in Agra there are 40% muslim. So the Taj Majal was built by a Muslim king to his wife who died while delivering their 14th child about 500 years ago. Most Muslims in the subcontinent of South Asia were partioned into Pakistan or Banglidesh around the time of independence in 1947, but India's most famous monument is Muslim from when the Muslims ruled the Hindus (now that I think of it, militant islam is old than I thought, and Gandhi-like Hindus are not known for being mighty warriors!). i also found my first little man riding on the top of an elephant head - wow - i almost fell over it was so cool!! it was a sweet asian elephant with the little ears and his tusks were pretty good and very active nose!

After spending time in the city I needed to get back in the countryside where I belong! It took me about 3 hours to get out of the city - I had the most incredible traffic jam of my life - there were about six lanes of traffic going north south and six going east west into this one intersection - only problem was that each road was only two lanes wide. So this is absolutely mayhem to begin with, and then a big city bus breaks down right in the middle of the intersectino about two minutes before I arrive. (it took me askign about 10 people how to get out of town and i almost thought i'd never make it!) so it was incredible - total chaos - cars, rickshaws, big trucks, camel carts, horse carriages, scooters, motorbikes, regular bikes, all going in every direction on every road . . . and the big city bus in the middle of the whole market, with kids and stray dogs and pink saris and guys welding on the ground and hawking everything under the sun - i would have taken a picture but there was no way to capture the heat and the smells and the different languages and . . . wow - praise the Lord I made it out and without getting my car busted! i have a whole new understandin of rush hour traffic!

I had about a seven hour drive to the west to a special tiger reserve! it's called ranthambore in case you need to procrastinate from something and want to look it up =) so i arrived around ten this morning and met a guy who knew a guy who could get me a ride on an open-top safari bus into the park (no private vehicles allowed). I asked if there was room in any jeeps (six passengers instead of 20 for a more natural experience) and he said yes, then no, so I ate some more curry and got excited!! In the end he squeezed me in a jeep on a last minute cancellation and it was perfect!! I was with a nice naturalist who spoke pretty good English, the drvier and five other passengers. Two Indian guys about to graduate from high school and go to university in engineering (from good families I think - had a regal air about them but friendly) and a lovely austrian family living in australia now. they also spke english and it was my first real english conversation in several days- yipee! they had a darling little five year old blondier and she drew lucky number three in the lottery for which route we took in the park. Apparently three is the best for tigers and birds because it includes the most lake areas which attract crocodiles, tons of spotted and sambar deer and (by extension I guess) - the tigers wahoo! They don't always see tigers but the Lord had already blessed this trip and we were not 100 yars past the gate at the first lake (lots of great water birds) when we spotted a tiger sitting under a tree about 100 yars away - he was just magnificent. We were elated and felt so lucky, when a huge female came padding past our jeep like 20 yards away, spraying for her territory every so often. We tried to be calm but our guide was freaking out because he said we were so lucky! It was so close as to almost scary - you could look right in her eyes, esp through the binocs. The austrian guy got some great shots and said he'd email them to me so I can pass them along. We didn't see any other tigers for the next 2-3 hours but saw lots of neat langur monkeys and other animals - including two incredible male peacocks displaying!! I've seen quite a few peacocks here ni India but these guys had their huge trains up trying to attract a mate - you know I had to keep pinching myself - wow - God sure had fun with them!

So I'm going to sleep in a field tonight and then go on one more safari at sunrise tomorrow before heading through Delhi enroute to several days up in the Himalayas. It has already been more than expected and I've had great time with the Lord. Wonderful learning about the Muslim and Hindu people and God is really growing my heart for them.

Thanks for your prayers, again no need to reply just trying to stay connected across the miles. God is taking great care of me (had my first flat tire of the trip today but close to town and lots of helpful "friends" around!) though I miss you much.

Love JasE =)

Honey, we're (almost) home!!

Holy schnikeys...the process we've been in of selling our house 'as is' to a friend at church and buying a home we walked through more than a year ago just might be coming to an end. Actually, that's nothing surprising. This whole process has been crazy and almost ended in the bad sense at many points along the way. But...a major hurdle was passed yesterday, read about it on Becca's blog, and we're into the home stretch. We might just move in this Friday, ahhhh!! Welp, here goes nothing and here's the new belle, isn't she gorgeous?

Some of my favorite...

pictures from my wife and I's trip to China last summer. Enjoy.

Missionary Heroes

Where have they gone? In reading an inspiring post entitled, "Has Anybody Seen Our Missionary Heroes?" Dr. David Sills laments about the lack of modern-day missionary heroes. He kind of has a point. He writes:

Has anybody seen our missionary heroes? Has anyone heard a dynamic, riveting missions sermon lately? Who can name ten contemporary, outstanding missionary role models under fifty? Where have they gone? Why are they so scarce? Some of my missionary heroes from the past include

Gladys Aylward Hudson Taylor

CT Studd Lottie Moon Amy Carmichael Jim Elliot A.B. Simpson I dream of being one of these dudes someday... Maybe it's just my ego, I've gotta keep that in check, ya know?! You might think that also means we've gotta serve overseas. Well, maybe/maybe not. Maybe we will go or maybe you don't have to serve overseas to be a mobilizer hero the enemy hates. What about you, who are your favorites?

Michael Clayton

As you know, I LOVE movies. Wow, I really do. And, in an effort to taste what the critics tell me is good, I especially like to watch all the "Best Picture" nominated films every year. It doesn't always happen, but we try. So far I have only seen Atonement, I'll try and write on that later cause I absolutely loved it. But, tonight, was Michael Clayton. I'd say I'd give it an 8 out of 10. I have no idea what that means but I really liked it, but not like Atonement liked it. Clooney was money, he definitely delivered a powerful performance. The plot unfolds slowly but you know it's going somewhere. It was the kind of movie that made not-that-scary things scary. It has dramatic music and powerful imagery. It has a surprising moral theme that I can't say is a given. I could also see someone 'not getting it' because I had to pay attention pretty closely to try and follow along. I still felt like I wasn't always sure what was going on. This movie has a slight resemblance to a good John Grisham book, I think that might be why I really liked it. Either way, well, well done. It was a gripping keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat story.

The Never-Ending Adventures of Bird Mann pt 1

I asked, and was granted, permission to post the emails my family gets from my older brother as he goes gallivanting around the world in search of...birds. Jason (29) is on the left, Jeremy (22) on the right

Yup, in fact, the Fresno Bee, way back in the day did a cover article in the LIFE section on my older bro, entitled, Bird Mann. He was like a 7th grader at the time...welp, after an undergrad at Harvard and a MD/PhD this dude is what I'd like to call, grown up! Am I bragging, you ask? Of course, what else are brothers supposed to do? Anyways, if I get around to it I'll post updates from his recent trips to Oceania and South America. These adventures are hilarious and freaky all at the same time. After awhile we just hope he comes back alive. Where's he headed to this time? India and Africa. He'll be doing rotation (his last one, he graduates in May) at a Rwandan Mission Hospital but he'll look for South Asian and African birds for a little more than a month before that. In fact, he has the unofficial world record for being the person to see the most species of birds in 30 days. That number you wonder? 872. That's 28 more than the Dutch team in 1992, emphasis on team. Woo hoo! Here's episode one: So the flight was on-time, yippee (though i had a seat in front of a, well, energetic two year old who thought it was great fun to pound the back of my seat and pull my hair - fortunatley it was only a fifteen hour flight, right! ha), and i was reminded that i was back in Asia when everyone jumped up and got their bag the second we hit the ground - seriousyl, people were trying to run up the aisles while we were still headed to the terminal (i couldn't figure otu how to spell taxi - ing) - there were elbows and you just had this feeilng "we're not in kansas anymore". The smells were different, lots of Sikh turbans and beautiful saris - this whole sensory overload was just beginning though. PTL I found my bag and made it through customs easily. Then the fun part though - there were MASSES of people outside and everythign was kind of dusty and dingy. I found an ATM and found my car rental reservation sheet. It occured to me that there was no car rental areas at the airport - different - and i should have known it would be an adventure when i showed both the head taxi guy and the head security guy and they had no idea where the road was with the dollar rent-a-car office. hmm . . . any bright ideas? So i scoured the sheet and found a delhi phone number (thank you orbitz) and then found a phone and a guy helped me dial the 11-digit number - the person who answered gave me another phone number, which worked as well. They could not find my reservation, when I realized I had accidentally booked it for the next day . . . hmm . . . great, but at least they'll have extra cars (hopefully!) so the guy asked me to call back in 15 minutes while he tried to find a car. I squatted on the dirty curb until the phone guy told me to move along . . . called back and no one answered on the first five times. Then we couldn't hear - eventually, the phone guy gave the car rental guy his cell phone number, called back, and then explained where we were. Indira Gandhi International Airport - a huge mess and I was not sure the guy could find me, even if they did have a car. After a half hour I found a car drivign by with the company logo and jumped in - it was the guy! He was really nice and spoke some English (by the way, this is my first expedition to a country where I don't know the language - you should check out Hindi script sometime - it's amazing beautiful and I can't even sound out any words). So we drove out in the country, off on a dirt road, into a little office that's a kind of mobile taxi station (complete with dispatcher). I'm pretty sure I won't ever find it again, which will make returning the car tough . . . but I met some great guys who also spoke some English. Unfortunately they did not have a card swiper, so they wanted me to pay $435 in cash (rupees) hmm . . . my insurance is on my card, so they called a friend and we drove back into a downtown hotel (half hour) that had a credit swipey thing. The guy kindly helped me find the right road to Agra (very few road signs, and even the few are usually written in Hindi - hmm), so about 11:30 (three hours after landing) I was off! I drove on the left side and after asking lots of directions found the small road to the small town with an awesome nature preserve for this morning. I slept from 4:30-6. Big fog this morning and I was not prepared for what I found. I drove into the town, which was potholed and filled with pink and green and blue saris, lots of camels pulling carts, chickens and holy cows, tons of people, no signs, tons of dust and garbage everywhere . . . asked directions several times and by God's grace finally found the national park. I was pretty worn out from not knowing where I was or what was happening, and (a first for me) I accepted the offer of a nice 30-year old "naturalist" to be my guide around the park. What a great blessing - he spoke English well and we ended up finding over 100 kinds of bird just today! So exciting - my first south Asian birds. It was also fascinating to talk about his family, growing up there, attitudes toward the environment, changes in Indian society he has seen, etc. He's a Hindi guy so I'm praying for the Lord to speak in his heart. We had such a great time that we're going to spend time together tomorrow as well - at $1.50/hour it's hard to beat! Now I know why IBM outsources to India =) We walked probably 15 miles in the heat but saw lots of big antelope, deer, storks, hornbills, monkeys, etc. So I'm pretty worn out but I'm going to get my first curry - yippee!! I know Kitty's wishing she could have in on that ;) Just wanted to send my love and thank you for your prayers. A recurring thought as I have walked about and seen the people is that God loves each person here - it's really mind-boggling and mysteriously transforms it from an overwhelming, huge crowd of nameless faces to precious creatures loved by our King. I get choked up with it actually and pray that God would teach me all that He wants to while I'm in the land of 1billion Indians! Bless you today! Jase

Jaden Christopher Bacheldor

My best friend from college is multiplyin'! Jaden Christopher entered the world recently and I can't imagine the excitement surrounding this little dude. Just wanted to give you a glimpse at this new hunk of love...here he is! Don't worry, he wasn't born with a blur, I'm just trying to keep the internet a safe place, ya know, ya feel me? Sheesh, nudity on the internet, what's next? Not from me!

What's your theological worldview?

What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan		89%
Emergent/Postmodern		82%
Fundamentalist		71%
Reformed Evangelical		57%
Neo orthodox		54%
Modern Liberal		46%
Charismatic/Pentecostal		43%
Roman Catholic		29%
Classical Liberal		21%

Sleepless...

I cannot get this song out of my head, but, so far I really don't mind.

The competive side of me...

98 words

Speed test