Home Thoughts From Abroad

I like to stay busy, even at my age. I get to work at 7am for classes that start at 10:30 and work on marking and prep until I go to class. I get home around five and mark supper and clean up the apartment before I settle down to a book maybe by 7 pm. I get up at 5:30 on Saturday to mark essays and don’t quit until six that night, and then after church on Sunday I will mark until 10 o’clock at night. And the odd thing is, I like it!

Understandably with such a schedule some things get pushed back to a later time, which bothers me intensely. I hate mess. I can hear the contents of the cupboards shouting at me (you understand I am being figurative here, don’t you) through the wood panelling. Yesterday was the birthday of the Buddha and we had the day off. I decided to put the cupboards (and myself) out of misery. I will say in my defence that this was not my original intention. I had planned on helping a friend put together a bookcase. But those plans fell through and there I was with a toolbox in hand looking to satisfy some primeval urge to remodel the cave.

I started by taking everything out of the cupboard and measuring the optimum height for the shelves of that cupboard. Then I drilled the holes for the brackets, cleaned the shelves and put them back, treating them with disinfectant to dissuaded the ants. Then I moved on to the next cupboard. By the time I was done, four hours later, I had shelves I could live with. They are all quiet now, and so am I. Two weekends ago – a long three day weekend in honour of May 1 – I sanded down and painted the security grillwork outside the apartment a mocha brown to match the floor tile in the hallway.

I do miss being able to work with my hands. Like riding a bicycle, Malayasians disdain what smacks of anything less than success. Renovating, even fixing your own car, is seen as lower class. I rather like the Jewish teaching, that a man without a trade is not properly educated. Sure, realigning some shelves and painting the grillwork is nothing like renovating an entire three story, one hundred year old house, but it will do to keep my itching hands quiet for a while. I don’t know why I need to do these things, or drive myself so hard, but I have given up wondering why I am wired this way. I just am, that’s all, and there is no point fighting it. I do feel for those who have to put with me, especially my long suffering wife, who would like nothing better than a quiet husband and a relatively quiet life. Sorry Babe, you got a raw deal. But look on the bright side; at least you have storage space even you can reach and some freshly painted grillwork in the hallway.

I had no intention of writing this post. But the reaction from others has impressed upon me the need to clarify a Christian response to the events that took place in Abbottobad, Pakistan over the weekend. I am no theologian, and I do recognize that there is room for a wide range of opinion on this matter. But I am a deeply committed Christian living in a Muslim majority country who daily interacts with young people of all faiths, and I have a perspective on these matters that I do not see in the popular press.

First of all let me say unequivocally that Osama bin Laden is a mass murderer and worthy of death. His life with all its duplicity and carnage should be roundly condemned as abhorrent by all men and women of character, regardless of their faith or political leanings. But lest there be any doubt or charge of bias let me also say that George W. Bush is equally guilty of murder. On little evidence and much prodding by those in his inner cabinet that sought to make financial gain from the misery of others, he unleashed a war on Iraq that was with scant merit or even much chance of gain, and by doing so caused the deaths of thousands of innocent lives. Murder is murder, whether that murder is committed by a Saudi in a turban, or a Texan in a ten gallon hat. When will Mr. Bush be called to account?

Then there are those that see the death of bin Laden as an act of justice. You do injustice to the word by so maligning it to serve your purpose. What was visited upon bin Laden was revenge, and revenge is not justice, no matter who is pleased by the results. Justice would have been capture, not summary execution. To hear the State Department go on the air this morning to “clarify” the report by stating that bin Laden was unarmed only underlines the fault. He should have been apprehended and brought before a court of justice to stand trial for his crimes.

Justice means that he should have had to face the families of the victims of his murderous rage and required to give an account of his actions. He should have been given an opportunity to repent of his murders, and then he should have been given a sentence appropriate to the crimes he committed. If that sentence had been death, then he should have been executed in an appropriate and dispassionate manner.To kill bin Laden as he was gunned down over the weekend may have pleased those in America that were longing for revenge. But they have soiled America’s ideals by demanding it.

Rightly or wrongly, America is seen in much of the world as a Christian nation, and theirs has not been a Christian response. Christ came to bring salvation, not a sword. The only injury done in his name was when Peter cut off ear of the guard who arrested Christ. And what did Jesus do? He stooped down and picked up the severed ear, placed it back on the soldier’s head and healed it. This is the Christ of the Bible, the One who came to heal and forgive, not an unholy jihadist in western armour riding in on a helicopter to wreck vengeance. There are those who glory in such gore, but that is not the faith of our fathers.

Bin Laden is dead and many in the west, including many Christians, rejoice. But bin Laden’s fight will go on as long as the West continues to lead by the sword, instead of by God’s Word. Imagine –fanaticize with me if you will. Suppose bin Laden had been treated to Christian justice. Suppose he had been met with kindness for all his evil, compassion for his crimes and forgiveness for his sins? What if he in prison had been visited by those who truly cared for his eternal soul? What if he had come to see the error of his ways and had given his life to the One True God? What kind of testimony would that have been for Christ?

I will admit that is a little fanciful. But this is not: as long as revenge is called justice in the West, then those in the Middle East will continue to seek for “justice” for their cause. And America has just empowered them to continue to do so. The one who is truly rejoicing in all this is the Devil of desperate evil, not the Christ of the cross.

Quick, how do you tell a true Brit from a colonist? By their reaction to the British royal family. The colonist will tell you it is a bit of a lark and think no more of it. The Brit will either be incensed that you mentioned the subject, or will go all wobbly at the knees at the sight of them. I may have been a Canadian citizen for over 50 years, but when the Brits put on their show, I go all wobbly.

And what a show it was; impeccably timed and orchestrated, full of pomp and circumstance, a rich tapestry of visual and audio delights. Who else on earth could stage a ceremony like it? Is there another building on the planet that has crowned their monarchs in continued succession for a thousand years? Is there a more successful monarchy anywhere; one that has survived murder (Edward V), beheading (Charles 1), insurrection (Oliver Cromwell), and abdication (Edward VIII)? They even seemed to have survived the disastrously inept and unfaithful Charles, Prince of Wales (may he never reign).

Oh, like everyone I am a little tired of their pontificating and offensive opinions on matters quite clearly beyond their scope. But every once in a while the monarchy shows its worth, and yesterday was one of those days. Prince William seems to be thankfully much more like his gracious mother than his effeminate and ineffectual father. And Kate, my word, what a ravishing beauty! The pair of them looked like something from a storybook; hardly real.

I was also mightily impressed by the service itself; a tribute to Christ and the church He bought with His blood. The scripture was prominent, the singing angelic, the tone reverent and pleasantly hopeful. With an audience of two billion, some of whom had never heard the word of Christ without a profanity attached to His name, it was a remarkable testimony. I turned off the telly after two hours feeling stirred and elevated. I wish the young couple all the best. They face a mountain of cynicism and contempt in the days and years ahead. May they weather it with the kind of devotion they seemed to find in each other yesterday.

It has now been a week since I arrived back in Ontario and I am finally starting to feel like I am over jetlag. We have made good use of the time while waiting for the main event. Staying with Jon and Nic and the kids has been delightful, such a joy to just spend time playing with Ben and Abi, walking to the park, reading stories and tucking them in at night.

The first order of the day was to get wheels and our Canadian phone reactivated so I am mobile and available when labour starts. Over the Easter weekend I was able to catch up with some of the WLA people at the Good Friday service, attend a Passion musical and Sunday morning service at Forward in Cambridge and even get in an egg hunt with the kids.
An assessment by a Physiotherapist on my shoulder confirmed my own diagnosis of a rotator cuff tear and a subsequent tendonitis. It doesn’t make the pain any less but it is good to know that at least the steps I have been taking are appropriate and I have a set of exercise designed to increase the range of motion. Hopefully by next week I will be able to add some exercises that will begin to strengthen the muscles.

There is always that question: is home where your husband is or where your kids are? There is no doubt that Malaysia feels like home but we both miss our family terribly and now is the time to do something about that. Headed home in the hopes of arriving there before Nicole goes into labour.

Airport Limo arrived at 6:30 and the Cathay Pacific flight from KL to Hong Kong took off right on schedule for the short, three and a half hour leg of the trip. The only snag was that I needed to find the Air Canada desk in HK to pick up my next boarding pass. The ten minute hike across the airport felt like a nice way to stretch my legs before the fifteen hour flight to Toronto, scheduled to leave in just under two hours.

The nice lady processed my documents without comment and then handed me my boarding pass with a smile. Then she informed me that the flight was delayed almost four hours but not to worry they were able to reschedule the final leg of the trip and I could still catch the last flight to Saskatoon with no problem. As nice as an overnight trip to Saskatoon at the end of this 27 hour trip sounded ( who wouldn’t want to arrive in Saskatoon at 5 a.m) I was not impressed.

After a few phone calls, it was agreed that I was actually travelling to London, however as I was arriving too late for the last flight, I was now scheduled on the 7 a.m. flight on Wednesday morning. Apparently a $9.00 lunch voucher makes up for the added fifteen hours of travel. Fortunately for the internet, I can at least let Jon know about the delay without making a middle of the night phone call. Might as well buy a Chai Latte and relax.

We fully intended that my March trip to Cambodia would be my last time away before I left for Ontario, as there is still much to be done to prepare and we are painfully aware of the value of each day together. However that was not to be.
Every other year there is a conference planned that brings together folks with member care responsibility in Asia for mutual support, strategic planning and skill development. The theme this year is Journey into Healthy, Sustainable Vocation and I was given the opportunity to join Nicole, my TWR co-worker in HR to attend.
It is being held in Port Dickson which is a very lovely beach area just over an hour outside of KL. From the outside the resort appears quite lovely but on the inside, not so much, but the price was right and the facilities adequate. The resort is off the beaten path, very quiet and the beautiful beach is deserted.
The plenary speaker is a very wise and sweet 76 year old Filipino pastor and teacher who brings many years of wisdom to his sessions. Several of the individual workshops were around the topic of Spiritual Formation which is the awareness of spiritual growth, change or forming going on within us at different stages in our lives. Others looked at topics related to maintaining spiritual vitality while working cross-culturally, self care and rest, and encouraging workers on their spiritual journey.
It was time away that I was pretty reluctant to give but I will take home some personal challenges, new ideas to use in supporting our national staff and a list of books that I look forward to reading.
That reminds me, I need to add “order a Kindle” to my list of things to do before I leave for Canada.

Dear Sweet Abi

It seems impossible that three years have passed so quickly and you have grown into such a beautiful, happy and chatty little girl.

We miss you so much but love it when we get to visit with you on Skype over breakfast. That is so much fun.

Hope that you have a very nice birthday and we can’t wait to see your Dora cake. Grandma will come to visit you very soon now.

Love and Kisses
Grandpa and Grandma