Meeting Poverty In Our Backyard

This Wednesday I have the privilege to introduce my first year college students to poverty, the world of addictions, in the context of the inner city of balmy Winnipeg. These eager students (actually some of them are quite afraid) will be volunteering at foodbanks, serving at soup kitchens, hanging out with kids at drop-in centres, and hopefully connecting with the urban poor. Why? To expand their understanding of community and mission, two key values of the institution I'm employed by. And hopefully, bring compassion to those less fortunate and here the stories of people who have faced poverty firsthand by birth, loss of job, mental health, addictions, or by simply making some poor choices in life. I love to see my student's worldviews expanded in this setting. I've had some students who decided to stay and do their part in working with the poor. It is a complicated issue poverty and it obviously isn't simply about giving handouts but clearly we as humankind are called to reach out to those in need. For some reason, we sometimes find it easier to sponsor a child across the ocean than to respond to the need in our backyard. Why is that?

Whatever the case - I am faced with lots of scheduling details, travel logistics, and unfortunately a lingering cold that has threatened my voice numerous times this weekend. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated as I do my part in leading this missions exposure week from the 1st to the 8th. We will be working with organizations such as Siloam Mission, Inner City Youth Alive, Salvation Army, Gospel Mennonite Church, Living Bible Explorers, Union Gospel Mission, YFC Fire Escape, and Winnipeg Harvest. The week goes by quickly but it is tough being away from family.

Time Flies

After entering in my title for this post, a picture of an old stop watch with dead flies flashed in my mind complete with cobwebs and dust. Time does seem to fly by these days and it is hard to believe we will soon be in the lovely month of March and the big melt! I have survived yet another onslaught of marking research papers and exams - whew! I am still puzzled how few college students actually proofread their papers or even use a handy automatic tool like spellcheck? Nine weeks of classes left, graduation, and a ten-day tour out west and the teaching year will be done. Four years flown by and in June Wendy and I will celebrate ten years of marriage! Time flies. Where's my fly swatter....I couldn't resist throwing a little wit in for good measure. The search for truth, for direction, for more questions to explore continues...

Valentine's Gig

A few friends from our music team from church played a Valentine's Gig this Saturday. It was a lot of fun playing some island-type tunes in a well-decorated venue. The singer Isi Masi is originally from Fiji while myself and Josh our drummer and Isi's wife Tessa are clearly Canadian.

We played a couple 20 minute sets: Jack Johnson's Better Together, Los Lonely Boy's Heaven, Hot Hot Hot, John Mayer's version of The Police's Message In A Bottle, and a number of island tunes - including an Elvis song, etc.

We had some excellent audience participation during one of the Fijian numbers and a great evening with friends over desserts, appetizers & frothy cappuccinos! My fingers are a touch sore from playing some of the faster tunes - I guess I'm a little out of shape from my club-playing days.

New Word For The Day

Genuinity - something that has the quality of genuinity is understood to be real--not a fake. I think the word authenticity is overly used in our day and age, so I propose that we make use of this word as it refers to something having integrity, genuiness, & credibility.

Covers

Every now and then a cover of a song by someone new brings new life to a song. I've always been a fan of The Police and I saw Sting live in Toronto a few years ago, so clearly I love the song Message In A Bottle. I have a version of MIAB by John Mayer and I'm thinking of covering his version for a Valentine's gig I have this Saturday with my friend Isi. Ironically, we haven't had a chance to practice at all - as he went home to Fiji with his wife for a holiday. He gets back today and so we hope to practice tomorrow evening. The event has a tropical theme and so we are playing a bunch of island-friendly songs and some Jack Johnson stuff.

Can you think of any covers that have surpassed their originals? I think Johnny Cash's versions of a few songs have done that - obviously NIN's Hurt or Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. I really like Ryan Adam's version of Oasis' Wonderwall but I still like the original as well. Neil Young's version of Imagine from Tribute To Heroes is really inspiring, something about his voice just adds a quality not there originally. I have to say Van Halen's You Really Got Me is still way more inspiring than the original Kink's version but admittedly there is some nostalgia for with VH having seen them live twice. I should note though that it is very rare that a cover surpasses is the original as my brain has pretty much frozen up with finding some more ideas.

It's over !

Well - I admit the Steelers in the end outplayed the Seahawks. There were some close moments where Seattle could have pulled ahead but the penalties, ball drops, and a nasty interception buried Seattle by the time the 2 minute mark hit. I'm happy for the Steelers though and Bettis - it was a fascinating roller-coaster ride for sixth seed team to win Lombardi's Trophy. Cool to see Bart Starr bring the trophy out - Green Bay's finest MVP! The Rolling Stones weren't my idea of a good halftime show - kind of scary seeing those English skeletons rocking it out in tight pants. It's obviously a few months before football starts again next September!

Celebrity Family Pics

Jer found this cool site that matches faces to celebrities. It turns out I don't resemble too closely any celebrities but I apparently share some characteristics with people like Ewan McGregor, Sean Astin, Bono, Johnny Depp, & a few other interesting actors.

I took the liberty of uploading a few other family members with some other matches. The site requires registration but allows you for free to upload a picture and then its software scans your face for similarities with celebrity pictures. I'm skeptical of the results but it results in at least a chuckle!

Rewind ten years..that's right our anniversary this June!

Family of Celebrities - I got a chuckle out of this result!

Adventure Therapy

I taught an interesting class on utilizing teambuilding initiatives today for Recreation Facilitators associated with Therapeutic Recreation Manitoba. It was a large class of around 34 students who for the most part work in personal care homes with seniors. I have never done any extensive teambuilding with this age bracket but I definitely can see its merit. I encouraged my participants to explore and adapt experiential activities to their clients.

We had fun doing some de-inhibitizers & icebreakers and I have to admit my closing activity was a big hit - tower building! It is much more challenging debriefing 4 teams of 8 or 9 at once but it worked out alright. Two teams used tape & balloons and the other two used pvc pipe & fittings to complete there goal of constructing the tallest tower but still maintaining structural integrity. The winning team constructed their tower like an upside down cone and I was amazed at how strong a structure they created. I wish I would've taken some pictures!

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Okay - it is Friday afternoon and I good use a good cup of coffee. I've always been a dark roast kind of guy and not afraid even the stiffest of brews. Ever try Turkish Coffee? It is served in shot glasses and spoon basically can stand up in it due it's thickness? Here's a quiz to find out what kind of coffee are you?