13 May 2007 Update
Thu Feb 14, 08 8:51 pm
*Eurovision Song Contest*
This is a big thing here in Europe. Last night was the contest and there was a office party to watch this "event". It was sort of like the song talent shows I saw at our county fair, except done with the pyrotechnics of professionals. Some of the songs were really good, while others were just awful. (Lordi, the group that won last year was beyond bad.) Eurovision is quite cheesy in many ways. It was great fun teasing those who took the show more seriously then they should.
*Football and Faith*
This ministry has gone exceptionally well this month. There is now nearly 10 new children with their parents coming the last two Saturdays. I could sense that I am connecting with the children pretty well. We played some name games that has really drawn the group tighter together. There is a good sense of camaraderie in the group. Some of the parents are beginning to ask about Christian matters and coming along to other events. It is still a slow process. The vicar really thinks of the work as pre-evangelism in many ways.
*International IT Committee Meetings*
These meetings start from tomorrow and go all week long. I have a number of presentations to give that I have been busy preparing. I don't have any presentations this time that are very controversial. In the past this has been the case. Two of my presentations are more training and informative sessions. My main prayer is that decisions will be made. Often the committee gets bogged down in details and decisions do not get made like they should.
*Leeds Trip*
I had a brilliant trip to Leeds. The seminar on Microsoft Licensing was informative if not the most interesting topic. I enjoyed figuring out exactly how OM has licensed their Microsoft software. In many ways licensing is a slipper subject and difficult to understand 100%. But back to the trip. The trip down was nice because of the scenery. It was absolutely stunning. I took the train on one of England's most scenic lines down through the heart of the Pennine Mountains and Yorkshire Dales. I went through many tunnels (one nearly 1.5 miles long) and over many viaducts (one had 24 arches and was 104 feet high). It was breathtaking.
*Walking*
The office walk went really well. We had a glorious weekend for walking. It was nice and clear. I got a slight sunburn. (I had put on sun cream, but not soon enough.) We could see all the way out to the Isle of Man. The island was much larger than I had expected (it is 32x15 miles). I thought it would be a speck on the horizon and it was not.
Because the office walk was on a Friday I had the opportunity to go the next day walking with friends from church. The weather was just as nice.
I have been asked by my church here in Carlisle to organize our participation in a 10 peaks in 10 hour challenge. The purpose of the event is to raise money for street kids in Mexico. More information about the challenge can be found from: http://www.oasis-ten-peak-challenge.co.uk/. We have 5 people on the team and getting excited about the event. If anyone is interested in sponsoring me let me know.
Some friends from my church back in the US have been living about 1.5 hours away up in Scotland for the last year. Their schedule and mine have never allowed us to get together until last weekend. The UK had a national holiday for May Day last week Monday so I travelled up to see them. I took them on a walk by the shores of Loch Lomond. The weather was not brilliant, but we still had a good time talking and walking.
Loch Lomond
*Upcoming Travel*
As I mentioned I have the IITC meetings from Monday. These meetings are in Birmingham, England so I leave early next morning and will spend the whole week down there.
In two weeks I will be travelling to Croatia to help out with IT work on OM newest ship the Logos Hope 1.5 weeks. While there I will be able to see my brother and sister who will be there at the same time.
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