25 October 2008 Update
Sat Oct 25, 08 2:47 pm
Thank you all for prayers during my travels of late. I have only been getting 5-6 hours of sleep each night for the past 2 weeks. I am completely shattered. I was able to take 2 days of holiday and rest in Dublin which has allowed me to be able to think straight again. I did have safety through travel by coach, train, subway, tram, train, taxi, and car. Even my trip back to Dublin was an answer to prayer. I should have missed my train by 30 minutes but there were delays on the line due to a fatality (not a good thing.) I made it to the station just in time to miss the all the coaches that were re-routing everyone around the accident to another train station (not in Dublin). There were 6 of us that missed the main coach so we got a personal taxi to Dublin from Co. Roscommon. This taxi got us to Dublin faster than those that got on the coaches that were re-routing everyone around the accident. So I made my train (well actually taxi) and got there sooner than otherwise.
The IT training last week and the previous week in Brussels for OM new IT administrators went very well. There were 7 students with various levels of knowledge of IT. I know that leaving the training that they are much more capable of doing their ministry. One area of the world that is being drastically changed for the better with regards to IT within OM is Latin America. They are beginning to take computers seriously and their people (that were at the training) are getting excited about the knowledge they can now impart to the countries there that can enable to be more effective with their ministry. It is so rewarding to know my little bit of teaching reaches around the globe.
The wedding I attended in Delft was nice. It was in Dutch and English and lasted 2 hours long. The day after the wedding I hung out with friends of the bride and her family in Delft. I really enjoyed just relaxing in the town centre drinking tea and chatting. We got a personal tour of Delft by the groom's parents and close friends. They explained all the personal aspects of the town that you would want. It was such a delightful tour. We finished that off with more tea and the best apple pie I have ever had.
The church where the wedding was held. It is the New Church built in 1381.
Resting in The Hague
Dublin was nice. I was completely exhausted when I arrived so I did not blitz around town. I took it very easy. I most enjoyed a walking history tour given by a 2nd year doctoral history student at Trinity College. She was very informative and went longer than the two hours she was supposed to stay in. It did not bother me one bit that we went long since my knowledge of Irish history was next to nothing. I feel that I have a better understanding of their history from 800 AD through the present day much better. She was quite articulate and very knowledgeable about her subject (as you would expect.) I took some photos of Dublin, but my batteries went flat halfway through my time there.
I could not take any photos of the Book of Kells. This is Christ Church Cathedral.
So what was I doing back in Ireland? Their normal person that would have provided IT assistance left OM recently and they don't have anyone to help them currently. That is a fairly normal issue that we experience in OM. Well I was asked to perform an analysis of their ministry and recommendation for things that they could do to be more effective in their ministry last month. One of the things they needed was a phone system (PBX.) I travelled back to Ireland to install a Voice over IP PBX system. I got back from Brussels last week Wednesday at 2300 and then unpacked and then repacked to leave for Ireland at 0815 on Thursday morning. I then worked through the weekend to get the system installed. It is a very flexible and cool phone system. I provided training on Monday before I left and they were already getting excited about how they can use it in their ministry. The ministry at OM Ireland is expanding quite rapidly. They are doing a good job of networking with churches across Ireland and there is quite a bit of exciting ministry go one for them.
I do work on my travels.
Devotions
Next week I am in off-site meetings (still in Carlisle) to architect our global IT blueprint for technology. We will be looking at the our current systems and trying to come up with the technology side of how to make them work. The work that I am doing for OM at the international level comes very much to play in these meetings so I expect to be very busy in them. The first week of November I am off to the Logos Hope for two weeks. I am a little unclear what I will be doing there. I am getting push back from the local IT administrator on the ship who does not want me to be there and am caught in the middle between him and my manager who is his manager as well. I know that I can help them on the ship, but want some clarity of the scope of my work when I am there in Denmark.
I am struggling with my health. I have had a cold/sinus infection for nearly 3 weeks and my foot is still slightly sore from spraining my toes. It is really dragging me down. My housemate leaves next week Wednesday for 3 months of furlough and visiting various OM fields in south Asia. This will leave me at home all alone unless someone else moves in with me. I don't know how things are going at church in Carlisle because I have been away so much lately. I have been contacted a few times by them with computer issues that I have been able to resolve remotely. I continue to pray for the Alpha Course.
1. Health will continue to improve. Sinus and ankles
2. Rest. I am quite tired
3. Wisdom in the upcoming meetings
4. Clarity will emerge for what I am doing at the Logos Hope
More photos of me in Ireland or Holland can be found from here.
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