Public Computers Run Videogames Great
Posted on 3 September 2010 | No responses
I do my computer usage in the Dutch library. It’s the bibliotheeka.
Is that Spanish for library? Nope. Dutch? Yes.
There’s a group of five teenage boys playing videogames in the computers next to mine.
When I realized what they were doing I thought, “These guys are such nerds using the library to play videogames.”
But then I remembered that I once spent 24 hours straight fighting the horde in Alterac Valley. That I once devoted a summer to becoming force sensitive. That I’ve spent numerous days in a tiny room with others trying to beat a level, or kill a boss, or get a cool sword. And that I once was part of a team that had scheduled practices and matches each week.
And that it wasn’t a soccer or football team, but a team of Allied soldiers killing nazis in a virtual world.
And when I had remembered all this, I logged onto my level 100 rune-armored Paladin and pwned them all.
Such nerds…
Lira Babies Home
Posted on 2 September 2010 | 3 responses
Before I left to go to Uganda I asked people who had been there before if they had any advice to someone traveling there, and the one piece that kept coming to me time and time again was that I should be flexible.
Be flexible.
If you’re told that you will spend the day at a school teaching kids about hygiene don’t be surprised if you find yourself at a hospital praying over patients. The culture of Uganda doesn’t emphasize strictness of time, and their transportation is more unreliable than that friend who always promises to be there, but never shows. Just about everything is uncertain in Uganda until you’ve arrived.
But there was one exception to this rule. One scheduled activity that remained constant, and it happened once a week every Friday morning.
Lira Babies Home.
Every Friday the team and I would pile into our 16 passenger van and drive through the town of Lira and out the other side so that we could spend time at the babies home. It was an orphanage ran by a nun called Sister Francis, that oversaw the caretaking of many, many babies. These little human beings had been orphaned for a number of reasons, but had found their way to the Lira Babies Home because they all shared the same characteristic.
No one wanted them.
Some of the babies had been found in the bush, fighting against the elements, abandoned to die. All had no one to take care of them. Each had come into this world, with no one to give them love. But even in a situation as hopeless as they seemed to be in, they were (Praise God!) discovered, and brought to the babies home where they could be cared for and loved on.
I wish more than anything that I could type here, and say that the babies home was a splendid enviornment for these babies to grow up in, but unfortunately it wasn’t in top shape. With around 3-5 women working, and 10+ babies to care for, these women had their hands full. Usually when we showed up (sometimes as late as 11:30AM) the babies wouldn’t have been bathed yet. They’d be in their cribs laying out flat, sopping in urine and reeking of baby poo. The women hadn’t neglected the babies, its just that when you have to cook formula, do laundry, pump water, get supplies from town, cool that one baby with the fever, mop floors, and make sure you remember to eat something yourself, you have to prioritize the errands, and sometimes that would mean placing baby bathing time after another morning errand. These women worked hard, and I was surprised that they didn’t have a nervous breakdown. Day in and day out they worked.
Life’s hard. That phrase was hammered into me over and over again while in Uganda. I saw it at the babies home, and I saw it all over Uganda. People are living life, and often barely getting by. Food is necessary, so they work for food. Water is necessary, so they work for water. So many things that I and others take for granted, these people cherish. When they pray to God thanking Him for the food He has provided, they mean it with every fiber of their being. It’s not just a habit they do before each meal. It’s a sincere time of thankfulness.
I learned many things from this experience, but these were two of the most important.
First, thank God for what He has given to you. When you have a car, a great family, and a stack of video games four feet high, it can be hard to see something as basic as water as a blessing.
But it is.
It’s a huge blessing. Thank God for all that has been given to you.
Second, God has given you much so that you can give to others. Invest in others. Lira’s Babies Home is not an isolated place. People are in need everywhere. Seek them out.
Seek Justice, encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
ISAIAH 1:17
Don’t Forget the Bad
Posted on 31 August 2010 | No responses
It’s easy to forget the things that are not immediately apart of your life.
I was talking to a guy who visited Haiti recently. He was telling me how big of a mess it was over there. The people in charge were withholding aid, and the citizens were in dire need of help. Almost one year later, and things still aren’t even close to good shape.
I hadn’t thought of Haiti in some time.
There’s other places in the world, that are just like Haiti, facing terribly difficult problems. It’s overwhelming to think about all the bad things in the world.
Obviously, we can’t help every problem. There’s always going to be someone in need.
But we can help alleviate some of the pain.
That’s why it’s important that we make an intentional effort to help. We need to make these tragedies apart of our lives. That way we won’t forget.
And than we can turn a tragedy into a success.
Mario’s Body Odor
Posted on 29 August 2010 | No responses
There’s a dude sleeping in the hostel who looks like Mario. He’s a bit bigger than most, has brown hair, a roundish nose, and if he put on a pair of blue overalls and spit out fireballs, I’d be certain that he was staying here to search for Peach.
Most days he sleeps all day long, and he lets the entire hostel know he’s sleeping with his iconic snore. Half-woodchipper, half-ambulance siren. It’s only a little annoying. This morning I walk to the sink in our room, and start brushing my teeth. In between his snores, I try to brush 4 times, but he doesn’t have perfect snoring rythym, so sometimes I only get 3 brushes in. Anyways, I’m cleaning my teeth, when I hear him gargle to life, and get out of bed. He begins to walk past me, but then hesitates and says…
Mario: Excuse me.
Me with a mouthfull of toothpaste: Yea?
Mario: Spray deodorant? Do you have?
Me: Huh?
Mario: Do you have some deodorant spray?
Me: No, I use the stick kind.
Mario: Could I use?
Me: uhhhh……
(Within me rages the battle between giving my Old Spice deodorant or not. It’s a vicious battle. Generousity Verse Old Spice.)
Mario (Seeing that I’m internally struggling to process his request): no, no. I need to buy.
And off Mario goes, sweaty, smelly and in search of some antiperspirant. Strangest interaction in Amsterdam yet.
Take Up Your Cross
Posted on 27 August 2010 | No responses
Growing up in the church, I’ve heard countless speakers discuss how as believers we need to give everything to God, we need to surrender our lives to Him. It’s an important truth of Christianity, and so it’s discussed frequently. Hearing about it so often, I’ve closed my eyes and folded my hands in a prayer of surrender many times, and I’ve stood in church with my hands held high singing I surrender all in worship to Him. But, even having done so, have I really done the thing in which I have said I will do? Have I really given everything to Him? Are my actions in line with my words?
I just finished reading a book called “The Spiritual Man” written by Watchman Nee (With that name, he may be a christian author AND an oriental superhero) that has one chapter dedicated to explaining what it means to really give everything to God. The scripture he works out of can be found in all four gospels. They are Jesus’ words talking about losing your life to save it. Here’s the verses from Matthew 16:24-25
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
Many of us read this verse, and agree with it, before we really take the time to dwell on the implications of it. By denying ourselves, and taking up our crosses we are making the decision to stop focusing on me, me, me, and start doing the things that God wants for us. It’s an easier concept to grasp than to act upon, as I have seen time after time. I’ll tell God that I’m going to give everything to Him, and that I want what’s best for Him, and than find myself ten minutes later pondering over whether I should buy myself a new computer, because my old one is out of date. Like I said, it’s easy to say, hard to do.
And for many, we decide that this verse applies only to our sinful side, our bad side. But this isn’t true. We’re called to lose our lives, ALL of it. The good and the bad. For believers, we can get wrapped into our own ideas of how WE can serve God. We’ll envision grand ministries that win hundreds of souls to Him, or plan clever ways to help those in need of justice. These are all great things to man, and are in alignment with God, but are they the plans that He has for you? Are you listening to God, and serving Him by acting upon what he tells you? Or are you taking matters into your own hands, and choosing your own way of serving Him?
God wants us to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and follow Him in everything that we do. And when we do that, we’re finding real life. Life in Him.
The Dirty Dutch: The Street Urinal
Posted on 25 August 2010 | 1 response
Ask anyone in the world about the Dutch, and if they’re honest, they’ll tell you that they’re dirty. The Dutch are dirty. It’s a fact of life. Americans know it, Italians know it, the Chinese know it, and heck, even the Dutch know that it’s true (although, they won’t willingly acknowledge it).
In an attempt to expose the Dutch for what they truly are, I am starting a segment on the blog called “The Dirty Dutch,” in which I will chronicle examples of Dutch dirtiness, as I come across them. With this said, here is example number one.
The Street Urinal. This is a common site here in Amsterdam. It’s an open air urinal that drains into the canal. The Dutch were tired of peeing all over their buildings, so they decided that they would build these. How do they work? First, you walk in. Second, you pull out your business. Third, you take a piss in the drain. For convenience, there’s usually a small wall that you can pee on so that you don’t get splashed upon.
Real classy.
err…I mean dirty.
My favorite part about this type of urinal is that you can people watch while you’re relieving yourself. Nothings worse than being in the middle of a great people watch session, and than having to get up and leave so that you can urinate. With the street urinal, no worries! Just get up and make it happen, all the while continuing to see what’s going on the world around you. How nice!
And that is reason number one for the Dirty Dutch.
Informing v. Convincing
Posted on 23 August 2010 | 3 responses
In Uganda, just about everyone is down to listening to the gospel. There’s a spirituality there that just isn’t the same as the western world. People are more accepting, and willing to hear about Christ. They want to understand the gospel at it’s core, and aren’t as distracted by the details of the bible that many others get so caught up in that they forget the gospel (Creation of the world, Revelations, Predestination, etc..). Maybe it’s because of their culture, or perhaps their position in life, but whatever the case, the people want to know about Jesus foremost. While I was there it was refreshing to be able to speak about God, without having to feel like you have to have each word that comes out of your mouth followed by your works cited page. Not to say that I wasn’t speaking from the bible, but sharing the gospel felt more like talking to a fellow friend about what you know rather than as a professor giving a finely detailed lecture to his students.
I wish I could say that people are as open to the gospel, and as willing to accept it as the people of Uganda here in Amsterdam, but from my experience, so far, it isn’t the case.
Where as I would spend most of my time in Uganda explaining the gospel, I’ve found most of my time here debating over good and evil. or talking snakes. Many of the people I’ve talked with are so hardened towards Christianity, that I feel like I would have an easier time getting them to believe in a flying spaghetti monster than Christ.
Over the summer I read one of Corrie Ten Boom’s books. She was a Dutch christ follower who was fortunate enough to survive a Nazi concentration camp. After her release she spent her life traveling the globe talking about Jesus. I can’t remember much of the book, because honestly, it wasn’t that interesting of a read to me, but I do remember one piece where she says that it’s not her duty to convince people of the gospel, that’s God’s job. Her job is to tell people about Him, inform them, and let God do His work.
I like that idea.
Debating rarely goes anywhere. I can’t remember the last time I debated, or watched a debate in which the participants changed their position. It just doesn’t happen. Pride often gets in the way, and only roots people further into whatever stance they believe in.
I don’t have a problem talking about God, and all the ins and outs of Christianity, but I’ve come to realize that it’s more important for me to inform people, rather than convince.
And that’s what I’m going to do. Inform.
International Bible Study
Posted on 20 August 2010 | 1 response
At the hostel I’m working at, it is a requirement of all the cleaners to participate in a daily bible study. Every morning we drag ourselves out of bed, gobble up our breakfast and plop down onto couches to wait for our supervisor to start handing out the bibles. And when the bibles are handed out, the mayhem begins.
You see, in every other bible study I’ve ever been in people are on the same page or at least in the general area. Everyone speaks english. Everyone has an idea of who God and Jesus are. Did I mention that everyone usually speaks English? Not the case here.
The cleaning crew is comprised of 6 guys from different parts of the world, and one leading woman. Each person with their own unique perspective of God and the world. Here’s the roll call:
There’s myself. The loud American who is accentless.
Eric. The Italian who cares for little more than pasta, and sandwhich spread.
Francisco. The Ecudorian who is able to bridge some languange barriers with his broken enlgish and solid spanish.
Adam. The granola from Oregon, who believes in no evil.
Marcos. The silent Italian who has great taste in sweaters.
Albert. The Russian who is literally straight out of COLD WAR RUSSIA. I’ve never seen him laugh, but he smirked once, and that was only when he heard that we were having cold soup and vodka for supper.
And finally there is a leader who rotates every day. Always a woman, each one dearly in love with God, each one poorly prepared for the chaos that happens each morning.
The discussion usually goes down something like this.
- Bible leader girl hands out bibles, and tells us what scripture we will be reading.
- We read the scripture in our different languanges.
- Those with excellent english understand the passage, and discuss.
- Those who don’t speak english try to ask questions.
- No one understands the questions, so everyone gives an answer to what they believe the question is. (I usually make 3-4 references to WW2 in my answer. It’s common ground here in Europe.)
- Adam the atheist tells the group that this passage reminds him of an ancient Chinese religion.
- Girl leader gets mad, and attempts to argue with the Atheist.
- Girl leader and Adam debate about Genesis until both have forgotten exactly what they are debating about.
- The debate fizzles out. Everyone is very confused, including myself.
- The Italians, and Ecudorian give a thumbs up when they are asked if they need prayer for anything.
- We pray.
- The Russian mumbles, and our discussion is concluded!
Like I said, it’s a bizarre bible study. Thank God for the bible, because it’s the only thing that makes any sense in our multi-languange babble time.
Bicycling in Amsterdam
Posted on 19 August 2010 | No responses
Over the past year or so, I’ve transformed into some sort of bicycle nut. I love bicycles. They’re great transportation, you’re able to enjoy your enviornment as you travel, you are able to exercise, and plus it’s just cool to be able to provide your own energy to move.
So when I got here to Amsterdam, I near had a heart attack of joy. There are bicycles everywhere! Everyone rides bicycles! Men, children, women, men in suits, women in dresses, two people on one bike. They are everywhere. In fact, in most cases, it’s easier to travel around central Amsterdam on a bicycle than it is a car. The city has many alleys and narrow streets that must be taken slowly if your traveling in a vehicle, but by bike you can zoom through. Plus, the city has been structured to accomodate bicyclists by having bike lanes all over. It’s a bicyclist’s paradise.
After 5 days of lusting over every bike I saw, I finally went out and got one of my own. The population of Amsterdam is approximately 750,000 and according to the statistics there are around 600,000 bicycles. With so many bicycles laying around, you must keep them locked up or the bike thief will nab it up. I don’t want to judge, but I’m nearly certain that my bicycle came from the bike thief. He looked and smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in at least a month, and he had the appearance of a used car salesmen, except he was selling bicycles, not automobiles (Does that make him more or less shady? I don’t know. You decide). The first bike he offered to sell me would cost me around 70 dollars, and when I sat on it the frame just about snapped. Quickly ushering me off his first offer, he showed me the second which wasn’t the nicest bicycle I’ve seen, but good enough to ride. It’s got a nice silver tinge to it, with rust here and there. The seat wobbles when you sit on it, but is surprisingly cushy, and the tires look like they have gone through a lawnmower, but appearance aside it’s decent enough. We bartered for a couple of minutes, and eventually I rode away with my very own bicycle.
So if you happen to be walking through Amsterdam, and are nearly killed by a goofy looking American who looks like he’s riding tetanus with two wheels, just know that it’s me, and I apologize, my steering isn’t perfect.
The Dutch Wear Wood Shoes
Posted on 18 August 2010 | 8 responses
Me: I’m surprised. I’ve been here for 5 days already, and I haven’t seen any wooden shoes.
Dutch Girl: Uhhh, actually we don’t wear wooden shoes.
Me: What? Everyone knows you all wear wooden shoes. How many pairs do you have in your closet?
Dutch Girl: No, no, no. No wooden shoes. The last time I wore wooden shoes I was a child.
Me: Oh, so you do wear them sometimes. Only when no one is watching?
Dutch Girl: No, never.
Me: What about when you need solid arch support?
Dutch Girl rolls eyes and walks away.
Everyone thinks that I’m here exploring Europe and sharing Jesus, when in reality I’m just offending the Dutch, one person at a time.