by Greg | Mar 1, 2012 | Blog Posts
Day 9 Soon we will be making our way to the airport in Delhi (our flight leaves at 3 AM) and head back to the United States. This has been a tremendous time with Sam Bandela and participating in just a bit of the CBF work he is overseeing in Nepal. Regrettably we were not able to visit the slum churches in Delhi since they do not even convene until 9 pm and by then we need to be focused on getting our belongings together for our jaunt home. While I have visited developing countries before and lived in one for nearly three months, Nepal is like nothing I have ever experienced before. It is exotic, mysterious, beautiful, grimy, struggling, searching, at times hoping and at times despairing. There are great people doing great work for the sake of God’s kingdom. Two words come to mind: hope and love. Hope is the one thing that keeps a human being from sinking fully into despair. Hope can come through things (like food and shelter) and it can come through people. Hope is the essential message for the Christian. Such hope, however, is not merely a profession, but lived out in the second word I mentioned: love. Love is what compels people to give of their lives into a different culture to redeem the innocents and stand in the face of injustice. I have seen both hope and love at work among Christians from across the globe gathered in the country of Nepal. Milton Martin and I are most blessed that we were able to travel here in the name of...
by Greg | Feb 27, 2012 | Blog Posts
Day 6 Nothing like waking up to a view of the Himalayas! The morning was clear and the view from our room was outstanding. After a nice simple breakfast we hiked through the village of Nargakot and took in the scenery. Even though this is a “tourist” area because of the hotels facing the mountains, the locals live in structures that resemble something like chicken coops. Yet everyone was busy about their day, reasonably happy and content. Butchers were chopping slabs of something atop a plywood counter along the dirt road; several ladies were huddled around a blanket full of onions and garlic, preparing something for a wedding; and idol makers were busy carving masks for sale to Hindu homes. Yes, that last sentence was completely accurate. In fact there were several idol makers working on masks in a village that could not have been more than a couple of hundred in population. We left around noon to head back to Kathmandu. The road seemed more bumpy and rough than I remembered it going up. By the time we were down the mountain I was a green as my winter collards. In fact, even as I write this I am not sure when, if ever, I will eat again! I am sure I will get over this soon enough. I am not sure when I will have internet connection again, so let me share with you what remains of our trek. Tomorrow morning I will be preaching at the Kathmandu International Christian Congregation, which ministers to English speaking residents of Napali. While some Nepalese attend the church, the...
by Greg | Feb 24, 2012 | Blog Posts
Day 3 Hard to believe that it is only until day three that I can post of my first night’s sleep, but such is the way of air travel and time zones. Sam (the CBF missionary), Milton and I share a room here in Kathmandu and while we each have our own cot there is hardly room for anything else except snoring. The house we are in is rented by several Christian workers associated with the Apple of God’s Eye Ministry, which was started by Brazilian believers but now is largely run by local Nepalese. Our house is clean and efficient, and although the cots are reminiscent of what it is like to be camping on the ground, we are snug and dry. Electricity is scarce throughout Kathmandu with daily outages lasting 12-14 hours. I have to make certain both the computer and phone are charging during the night (because the electricity usually comes on around 10 at night) so that I can have them when I need them during the day. The weather is pleasant and cool. As I write this paragraph it is just after seven in the morning and the sun is starting to rise, shining through a thin fog of mist and smog. After a delightful breakfast prepared by one of our hosts, we took a bumpy ride out of our suburban home (there are pot holes here that could have swallowed my old MINI), we arrived for the Pastors Conference that I was invited to address. The church that hosted it is called the “Listen and Believe Church.” It is one of the largest...
by Greg | Feb 21, 2012 | Blog Posts
The first leg of our trek was happily uneventful in the grand scheme of travel. My overhead bin was already occupied with what looked like a tour bus load of luggage. Eventually I found enough space for a shoe box and with so maneuvering, shoving, and cajoling I was able to cram my backpack into it. I did warn the passengers beneath to not hastily open the overhead, less they suffer an avalanche. We left Atlanta around 8:30 PM, more or less on time, and it was about that time that I realized I left my books in the backpack, in the overheard, 10 rows back. [vimeo clip_id=”37282912″] After a delightful meal of what looked like lasagna, Milton and I settled in for the remainder of the 8 hour flight to London. In spite of a toddler that cried all night and the chronic hacking of someone who obviously had swine flu, I managed to get some sleep. I had nothing else to do since the lady in front of me reclined to the point that her scalp was just beneath my gaze, which meant for frustrating reading unless I propped my book on her forehead. Later into the evening an attendant noticed my dilemma and quickly determined that her seat was broken, which was not at all inconvenient to her since this allowed her to fully stretch out. All of this is rather minor in the larger context of our mission. At Heathrow we whiled away a few hours before boarding our flight to Delhi for the second leg of our trek. This flight was about 8 ½...
by Greg | Feb 19, 2012 | Blog Posts
As much as time and WiFi connections will allow, I will be blogging about my opportunity to speak in Nepal and India. Last summer I was invited by Sam Bandella, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Field Personnel to Nepal and India to come and speak to Christian workers in both countries as well as visit several mission sites that our church helps support through the CBF. Our flight leaves Atlanta tonight with the first leg ending in London. There we will connect and fly to New Delhi, India and will change planes one final time to fly into Kathmandu, Nepal. All total we will be traveling 25 hours to begin work in a country that is 10 hours and 45 minutes ahead of eastern time zone (I have no idea what is up with that 45 minute block but when in Kathmandu). Milton Martin will be traveling with me and joining me on each of these mission stops. We covet your prayers throughout this time. Click on the following link to several videos I have posted regarding our “Trek to Nepal” – http://vimeo.com/37066235. Peace be with you and as the say in Nepal, “Namaste”,...
by Greg | Feb 2, 2012 | Blog Posts
Philosophy New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy, by Robert J. Spitzer The Physics of Immortality, Frank J. Tipler Religion/Spirituality Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom Jesus Wept: When Faith and Depression Meet, by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton Shaped by God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches, Milfred Minatrea A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope, by Peter L. Steinke Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, by Richard J. Foster The Naked Now, by Richard Rohr Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, Richard Rohr Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, by William Dalrymple Guide for Grief: Help in Surviving the Stages of Grief and Bereavement After Loss, by Rodger Murchison Fiction The Book of Sorrows, by Walter Wangerin The Red Tent, Anita Diamant Poetry The Back Chamber, by Donald Hall Leadership The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do, by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller Ecology The View From Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World, by Carl Safina Drifting Into Darien, by Janisse Ray Miscellaneous Non-Fiction Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky Harlan Hubbard, by Wendell Berry Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand Travels in Siberia, by Ian Frazier Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan – and the Path to Victory, by Lt. Col. Anthony...
by Greg | Jan 17, 2012 | Blog Posts
Last weekend Amy and I did something that was good for our marriage and good for our souls. We were having an early lunch together right after yoga class and I reminded her that I did not have any commitments that day or the next. Furthermore Aaron would be away at the church’s Jr-Sr. retreat so we had two days to ourselves. After a bit of exchanging comments like, “I don’t know, what do you want to do,” we decided to swing by the house, hastily pack a bag, and head up to the North Georgia mountains and spend the night in a cabin – all without making any kind of reservations. Not only did we find a delightful cabin, but we found a music venue in Dahlonega that had as their special guests a guitar duo we had heard on NPR this past fall (Storyhill, in case you are curious. You listen to their music on www.storyhill.com ). It was not a complicated weekend. The music venue was a small restaurant that seated maybe fifty people all to listen to two guys with two guitars sing into two microphones. The cabin was sparse, rustic, but cozy and warm overlooking a creek in the mountains. We did a bit of shopping, but spent very little money on the pottery, fudge, and beef jerky we brought home. We both agreed it was one of the best weekends we have enjoyed together in a long, long time. It is amazing how often the simple things are also the best things. Yet just as often we tend to enslave ourselves with the...
by Greg | Jan 7, 2012 | Blog Posts
Most every year, following Christmas Day, I try to take a few days and backpack up in the mountains of North Georgia or North Carolina. I admit that it is, weather-wise, somewhat of a gamble. In years past I have found myself trudging through snow and generally frozen to the bone. Other times I find those last days of the year unseasonably warm. This year was a bit normal I suppose. Along with a friend, I trudged through some light snowfall, a little rain, and through a lot of clouds. Still, a bad day in the mountains is a good day overall. On our last night of the hike was were forced to dine inside our tents while rain sputtered outside. The fear of bears looking for food in my sleeping bag was sublimated by my wanting to stay dry and reasonably warm. A rising sun (and no bears) greeted us the next morning and on New Year’s Eve I emerged from the mountains – a bit grimy and, shall we say, smelling a bit woodsy – and joined my wife as we heralded in the new year with dear friends. A New Year…a clean slate…an opportunity to do something new…or start over again. On the one hand it is just another day on the calendar. Some of you may not have had any time off in the last week or so, and so the transitions means little. Yet the days are indeed getting longer, and like a blank canvas they stretch before us waiting our creative marks. We mistakenly assume that Christmas marks the end of the holidays...
by Greg | Dec 22, 2011 | Blog Posts
There are plenty of places where I am completely out of my element: department stores, especially the cosmetic section; a golf course, any golf course; and watching an episode of “Glee” on television. I do not pretend to be adept in any and all environments. Barns, however, I know about. I was practically, much to the chagrin of my beloved wife and other refined folk, raised in a barn. The dairy barn of my childhood was unbearably hot in the summer, with the body heat of twenty cows mixed in with the stifling air perfumed with grain, dust, and goodness knows what else. In the wintertime it could be equally miserable. Often cold and wet, the only source of warmth was a small gas heater that thawed our wet hands in between milkings. On particularly bitter days the end of a cow’s tail could provide an uncomfortable swat if the dangling mud and manure was frozen. Nonetheless the barn was more or less home for a good portion of my childhood and it was in the barn that we shared stories, memories and passed along wisdom. A stable is a more polite word for barn, but it is basically the same thing: housing for livestock. Even the cleanest of stables are nothing more than a barn filled with the sights, sounds and, yes, smells of animals. Quite an amazing beginning for the birth of God, don’t you think? Over the centuries we have domesticated our stables and imagined them as quaint Italian villas along a hillside, forgetting or not really considering that it was just a barn. Perhaps we...
by Greg | Nov 29, 2011 | Blog Posts
How have your “Holidays and Holy Days” gone so far? For me they officially started with the annual Jr.-Sr. Backpacking Trip (which has now been dubbed “Back to the Wild”). It was a great walk in the woods for a few days and the only incidents encountered were a few tents that leaked. Still, everyone in the group maintained a great attitude and I returned with the same number of campers I left with. There was one casualty. On the first day of hiking my hands were starting to swell a bit, which is not unusual given the amount of sodium ingested in a typical meal around the campfire, and so I slid my wedding band off and put it in my pocket. Later that evening at Betty Creek Gap where we were setting up our tents for the night I reached in my pocket to retrieve the ring. You guessed it…gone. There is probably little need to elaborate further. Suffice it to say my wedding ring appears to be lost forever. This was the original ring Amy placed on my finger over 23 years ago and outside of occasional events like this hiking trip, I have never had the need to take it off, even briefly. Amy was understanding, even sympathetic towards me. She knows how sentimental I am. I can replace the ring with another ring that will look like it, but it will not be the same ring. It is just a symbol, I know, but it is an important symbol of a promise that I am to keep until death. For years I could look...
Recent Comments