The Music Man

The Music Man is considered one of the classics in the history of musical theatre. It was a beloved musical when it hit the stage of Broadway in 1958 (yes, before I was born), and the film produced in 1962 solidified its position.

So when I heard a few months ago that a friend had landed a major role in her school production of the show, that settled it. I had to travel to Pennsylvania for the weekend and see it. After all, it was the perfect combination - a perfect storm if you will. First, I got to visit the Swank family, some of my favorite people on earth. Second, I was able to support Rachel as she performed the key role of Mrs. Paroo. And finally, I got to watch a show that I've love for most of my life.

So it was a wonderful weekend all around, and I wrote about that in my last blog post. Here is the whole gang at lunch Sunday, before I went to watch the first act for the second time, before leaving to catch my flight. Yes, it was so good I cut it very close just to watch as much as could for a second time.

Scott, me, Sarah, Rachel, Emily, and Lori

So anyway, back to the show. Which is what this post was supposed to be about, right?

For those who don't know, The Music Man is set in 1912 and is about a conniving traveling salesman (Harold Hill) who rolls into an Iowa town and uses the illusion of a crisis (a new pool table!) to manufacture the need for a boys' band to keep kids out of trouble. He uses this illusion to sell musical instruments and band uniforms even though he "don't know one note from another." A part of his plan  is to romance the local piano teacher (Marian Paroo), both to keep her off balance and, well, because he's a man. Since the show is 57 years old, I'm not going to worry about spoilers: At the end, he gets caught but the people he's befriended - especially Marian - stand up for him because of the joy he brought to the town over the summer.

(Again, it was done extremely well and was very enjoyable. I would have been happy I saw it even if I had not known one of the actors. And by the way, playing Marian's mother Mrs. Paroo, Rachel was awesome.)

So is this a story about just getting away with something? That is what had troubled the director of this production, Jill Panyard, for a long time. In her director's notes, she wrote about how she had resisted this play for years:

It has challenges, like every musical, but my problem was with redemption. With every production I saw, I never believed that Harold would actually stay in River City...How does a director direct Harold to portray true redemption? I think I found the spot. As I read the script several times over, I saw the scene where it can happen. With eyes damp with hope, I thought, 'We can do this. And Harold will be redeemed!' I hope you see it too.

Ah! A challenge!

And I watched with that challenge looming before me. If any of my friends in PA happen to point Ms. Panyard toward this post, maybe she will see whether I got it.

As I saw it, the director had Harold carry a card around the entire play - the ace of spades. (Yes, I had a very good seat.) Every now and then during the long con, when he was laying it on thick, he would pull the card out and look at it. It was symbolic of the fact that he was only there to trick people, to take their money and be on his way. No matter how sincere he might appear, that card was always there.

Then as the play nears its conclusion, he meets Marian at the footbridge. He is there, just like always, to use her and then discard her - taking his "reward" before leaving town. But a funny thing happens. For those who don't know, she is carrying a page with evidence that he is a fraud. When they meet, she gives it to him and discloses that she has know for weeks. But she didn't turn him in.

Grace. Total, unadulterated grace. Despite all his shenanigans, his rotten-to-the-core deceitfulness, she forgives him and hands him the page. "With my whole heart," she says.

And then - in this production - he puts it in his pocket and drops the card in the water, never to be seen again. He drops his sinfulness in the water, replacing it with the grace of the page Marian handed him. And for the rest of the show, he pulls the page out like he had the card, reminding himself of who is is now.

And, no doubt, he stays in River City.

Wow! Well done!

It reminds me what grace is for me. God forgives and loves me despite knowing what a fraud I am. And when he gives me that grace, if I will just let go of the old life, he will change me forever.


Yes, it was a marvelous show. And a marvelous time with friends. Rachel posed with her family right after the performance...

...and then I got a picture with the star. I may need to print one of these and get an autograph one day:

And I will never watch this show, on stage or screen, the same way again. Every Harold Hill I see will be walking around with an unseen ace of spades.

As I was. Thank you, Lord, for replacing it with your grace.

Prayer (Petra)

You never know what gem you're going to be reminded of when you put your playlist on shuffle. Today, for the first the first time in maybe years I heard the song below on my iPhone. And then I listened again, and a third time. Each time after the first, I was 1) lifting a prayer of thanks and praise, 2) requesting God's care for the people I love, and 3) asking to be used by him to build his Kingdom.

Here it is, along with the lyrics. Pray with me please:

Prayer:



Lyrics:

First I want to thank You Lord for being who You are
For coming to the rescue of a man who's drifted far
For calling me to be Your son and calling me to serve
Lord the way You've blessed my life is more than I deserve

Keep the ones I love so dearly
Fill their emptiness while I am gone
And fill the loneliness in me, in me

This is my prayer lifted to You
Knowing You care even more than I do
This is my prayer lifted in Your name
Your will be done I humbly pray

Let me be the evidence of what Your grace can do
To a generation struggling to find themselves in You
May they come to know the love of God
May their eyes be made to see

Give me the opportunity to share the truth that sets them free

And may unity in all things
Be the banner of Your church
And let revival's fire begin to burn, begin to burn

This is my prayer lifted to You
Knowing You care even more than I do
This is my prayer lifted in Your name
Your will be done I humbly pray

As we face the last and final hours, turn a wayward country back to You
And keep us from the evil that devours
Keep us on the path and lead us through
Keep us in Your light until Your kingdom comes and our work is done

This is my prayer lifted to You
Knowing You care so much more than I do
This is my prayer in Jesus' name
Your will be done I humbly pray

This is my prayer, this is my prayer

Perfect

We were about to descend into Houston. The flight from Atlanta was going headlong into the western sky, and the view was spectacular. Wispy clouds in all sorts of formations. A bright orange sky with all sorts of shades - a sunset you can only see from 30.000 feet. Street lights beginning to glow in the darkness below.

And as I looked out at it, I was listening to Ellie Holcomb's song My Heart is Steadfast, based on Psalm 108:

For Thy lovingkindness is great above the heavens,
Thy truth, it reaches to the sky.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Thy glory over all the earth....

I got chills as I looked at the glory of God's creation while listening to Psalms set to music. This was a good a glimpse of God's glory as we humans can comprehend...if we'll just stop to notice.

So there was God's glory in nature. In music. And at the same time, in the enjoyment of the life he has blessed me with. For the purpose of this flight was to go to tomorrow's Bama game in College Station, Texas, and I am blessed once again to travel with two marvelous young ladies - my nieces Haley and Macy. They are no longer college students, and it's cool - after starting our road game traditions when they were 12 - to travel with them as young adults. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so I want to soak in every moment of these trips.

God's glory in nature, music, his word, and relationships. What a perfect day.

Good night.

Freedom

I was sitting on the plane, still looking at a long day of travel ahead. We were on our way back from Africa, where we had gone for the purpose of pouring out the love of Jesus to children in a materially poor area of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The flight from Addis Ababa to Washington, DC is a very long one, and it requires a stop for refueling. (My friend Clark discovered that it's necessary because when you take off from a high elevation the tank can't be full because there would be too much weight to take off in thin air. But I digress.) So we were sitting on the runway in Rome at 3 am. And I was wide awake.

I looked through my Kindle menu and decided I didn't want to dig back into the fairly intense book I was reading. So I noticed a book I had downloaded a couple of months ago: The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller.

Turns out it is only a 48-page book and I was able to finish it before getting sleepy again. Only 48 pages, but packing a major punch.

Basically, Keller talks about the human ego and how messed up it is. It gets hurt easily because there is something wrong with it. He points out that a healthy toe doesn't hurt when we walk, only an injured one. The same is true with our ego.

He goes on to explain that there are two basic attitudes toward ego that the world promotes, both related to self-esteem: 1) An inflated ego - thinking much of yourself, or 2) a deflated ego - thinking little of yourself. But both of these are wrong! No wonder we are so messed up.

A correct view of myself, the one taught by Jesus and through the rest of the Bible, is to stop thinking of myself at all. Life is not about me, it's about the glory of God. God is my only judge, so not only should I not care what others think of me, but I should not even care what I think of me.

So your opinion is not important, my opinion is not important - only God's opinion. And he has already let me know his opinion, by sending his Son to rescue me by his death and resurrection! So I can live free, not worrying what others think (or even what I think) of me.
______________

Wow. I have documented several places in this blog that I tend to be a people-pleaser (e.g., here). So I sat on the plane thinking about my life. I looked back over the previous 10 days, traveling with great friends - new and old - and how we had served together. Two things hit me:

• How I saw this principle lived out by so many of them in very difficult situations. My admiration for them grew, but also the realization that they would take no credit for it - it's all Jesus.

• How many times I failed to have a correct view. Allowing myself to get puffed up when something went well, or letting myself get down when something didn't. I have so far to go.

I am so thankful for God's timing. This was the right message at the right time. And one I hope not to forget. It's a short book so I'm thinking I need to read it periodically. Because if I'm going to forget myself, I can't forget this lesson.

Letting go

Sometimes you learn things about yourself in places when you are looking for it. That happened for me today...in the Atlanta Passport Office.

I arose this morning at 3:30 in order to make sure I was on time for my appointment in Atlanta. I walked in the door at about 7:45 and settled in among a fairly large crowd of people who needed to take care of their international travel documentation. I was a little surprised at just how many people there were - there is a lot of travel going on these days.

Why did I go in today? Well, I am traveling to Africa next week on a Visiting Orphans trip, and I am almost out of visa pages. I could actually be turned away from a country if there's no place to place a visa. Not cool. So I took the passport in to add pages.

But the real reason I went in was that I didn't want to let go of my passport. I could have sent it in if I had done so earlier, but a) I waited too long, and b) having waited too long, I didn't want to take a chance on not getting it back.

But guess what? I had to relinquish it anyway. I filled out the form, paid the fee....and left the passport with the agent. You see, it was not going to be ready in time for me today. So I left it.

It should be okay. They said they would overnight it Friday, so (depending on weekend delivery) I should get it either Saturday or Monday. Plenty of time for the trip next Friday. That's what they kept telling me.

But I was still nervous. And then I realized - this was about control. I don't think of myself as someone who needs to control things. I like to think that I trust God and put everything in his hands. Well, Donnie, if that's so, why do you not want to let go of your passport? Huh?

That's what I heard the Lord telling me today. I may think I trust him for everything, but I still hold on to things. No, it's not just my passport. In all sorts of areas.

And so I'm going to try to listen. In this case, I had no choice...and now I'm trusting God that things will go smoothly with the shipment.

Letting go. It isn't easy. But it is necessary. Time to let go.

Drifting

It hit me like a ton of bricks. and I was not proud.

So this morning at church I was singing. It was one of my favorite hymns, and one of the classics of the faith. I was into it. We were created to worship our Creator and bring him glory, and singing songs of praise with other Christ-followers is one of my favorite ways to do that.Then a funny thing happened. We were singing the second verse, which is about how all of God's creation sings out in praise to him just by their very existence.

All thy works with joy surround thee,
Earth and heaven reflect they rays.
Stars and angels sing around thee,
Center of unbroken praise.......

Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flowery meadow, flashing sea.
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in thee.

That's right. As you might have guessed from the font colors, I started to fade. My mind started to drift. And by the end of the verse I wasn't worshiping at all. Heck, I wasn't even paying attention to what I was saying, much less the God I was singing to.

And I know exactly where my mind went. I began thinking about God's creation and how beautiful it was. And then the meadow. My mind wandered to an incredible meadow in Salisbury, England. So beautiful, one of the prettiest places I've ever been. So breathtaking. And how I would love to go back there. And before I knew it, we were halfway through the next verse and I had not been thinking about the Creator of all that beauty at all. Kinda missing the point.

And a passage of Scripture came to mind. A picture of why we so desperately need to be rescued, beginning with our distortion of God's revelation and ending with us not knowing the difference between good and evil. Romans 1:18-32. Read the whole link because context is always important, but it was this verse that shot through my mind like an arrow:

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen. (v. 25)

Worshiped created things rather than the Creator. Ouch. Like a meadow in Salisbury. Like the enjoyment I get from hanging with family and friends. Like the satisfaction of a job well done at work. Like the money I receive for that work, as if God didn't provide it all. Like the fun of watching my favorite sport. Like the way a good story resonates in my soul, whether from a movie, a TV show, or a book.

All good things. All awesome things! Why are they awesome? Because they are provided by an awesome God, designed to point us toward him so we can worship in gratitude and thanksgiving.

But nooooooooo. So often I let myself enjoy all the good things the Father provides for the sake of themselves, without acknowledging the glory of the One who gave them.

Worshiping and serving created things rather than the Creator.
____________________

It's easy to see where I went astray in church this morning. After all, church is supposed to be about God. And it was, until I made it about me and my enjoyment.

But wait - life is about God. Not just church. And the path to all the horrible things in Romans 1 is a slippery slope, one that starts when I worship and serve created things. God, rescue me from that thinking. The next time I'm enjoying a movie, may I think of the creativity of the God who gave us minds to write great stories. The next time I'm hanging with friends, may I think about and thank the One who created us for enjoyment.

And the next time I'm singing a worship song, Lord, help me to worship. "Center of unbroken praise" indeed. Amen.

Loving it

It's got to be my favorite city. I'm talking about a city as a city. Does that make any sense? There are other destinations more majestic due to creation (e.g., Rocky Mountains) or that have it beat because of people there I love (e.g., Ethiopia). And of course, home is home - nothing like it. But for the sheer joy and energy of being in a great city, it's London.

Everything I love about New York - high energy, great theatre, awesome food - London has it. Then you throw in the fact that it's like, more than a thousand years old and has the architecture to prove it...well, you can't beat it.

We have worked hard while we've been here. But that's why we're here, and even that is pretty cool. And, well, when I step out on the streets of London as the sun goes down, energy pulsates through my veins. I was just walking down Shaftsbury last night saying to myself (and those with me, to their chagrin), "I love this city!"

What a place.

Work is done, and there's one more night before catching a flight home. And the sun is setting...

Yep, I love this city. Time to soak it in.

Hi from London

My first international trip was in 1994. It was a doozy, one that can never be topped - I went with my church to the Holy Land. Three days in Galilee, four in Jerusalem. What an amazing thing to have walked where God walked when he took on flesh.

But the reason I thought of it today is the fact that it was so difficult - and expensive - to stay in touch with home. There was a hotel phone with extremely expensive rates and a sequence of numbers to remember that was confusing. I talked to my family twice, and both were brief. It felt like I was a million miles away.

Then came Russia in 1999. This one was truly surreal. We spent 10 of our 12 days with no phone anywhere on the property. And the two days in Moscow where we did have a phone, well, considering the language barrier we almost never got through.  It really felt almost like I was on another planet.
_____

So skip to today. Hi from London, everyone! It's still not close to the same as being at home. I have to be real careful to use wifi when it's free so as not to accidentally pile up a big bill. And there are places I travel (like parts of Africa) where the connection is either unreliable or non-existent. But I'm so thankful that right now - at this moment - I can let my friends and family know how I'm doing. So....hi!

And yes, it's me. I offer two pieces of evidence...I think you'll recognize me:

• We were getting in our car at the airport today and I was the last one to get in. So the one seat remaining was the front passenger seat. But noooo - I had to try and get in the driver's seat.  Dummy...the passenger seat is on the left side of the car in England!

• I ordered lemonade at lunch; it was listed as one of the soda choices. When the server brought the clear liquid out, I let it sit there 'til she came back and pointed out that I wanted lemonade instead of water. Dummy...apparently they refer to a Sprite-type soft drink as lemonade. Drink your soda, Donnie!

It's been a great day, glad I could tell you about it. Maybe you'll hear from me again while I here...because I can.

A Sunday surprise

As I type this at the gate in the Port Columbus airport, I'm still basking in the glow. Not of the game I came here to attend, but of the worship time this morning. It's amazing how God works.

_______________________

This is an open date for the Crimson Tide, and usually when that happens I will attend a Florida State game with my good friend Steve; it's a great reason to get together with my brother who lives over three hours away. But this year, there was no FSU home game. So I planned something crazy. I decided to go see a college football game between two legendary programs in a stadium I've always wanted to see. Nebraska at Ohio State:

It was alot of fun. Wonderful, cool fall football weather. An impressive and extremely loud stadium. Several very cool traditions - every school has them and theirs were fun to watch. Great trip. Done, get some sleep and go home.

But even when traveling, I like to try to find a place to spend some time worshipping with other Christ-followers. So last night I did a little online search, and found something surprising. This morning there was a service at a perfect time relative to my flight plans (10 am) at a Vineyard Church. I checked a couple of links, and it was indeed connected to the church I attended in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago.

The point of sharing this? About midway through the pastor's message, I realized that this was probably God's purpose in getting me to Columbus. (Yes, I believe he uses fun to bring us where he wants us to be.) I made a choice to be here for one thing, and he said, "Uh huh. You just think that's why you're going."

What was so special about this message? Well, it's hard to put into words in a blog (especially if I want it to be short enough for you to keep reading). But here are a couple of key points:

• Romans 12:9 says love must be genuine, and the following verses give examples of what genuine love looks like. I've never thought of the passage that way before.

• First, we should hate what is evil and cling to what is good. If I really love someone, I will violently hate the things that harm them or cause them to harm others. Real love is not (as our society is telling us) unconditionally supporting every choice someone makes. It is having the courage to speak the truth and help them cut off those things that undermine their God-given purpose. (And yes, since I hate confrontation, this one is hard for me.)

• Genuine love is marked by showing honor. Am I courteous to people? Do I show respect, even to those who are against me? Do I show honor to people who serve me in restaurants, airports, and other service industries?

• Finally, and this one was a ton of bricks, genuine love is marked by God's energizing power. When a fire is lit, it doesn't keep burning on its on. Similarly, my fire needs to be fanned every day. Was there a time when my fire for loving God was hotter than it is now? The pastor said that he starts every day with a prayer to this effect: "Jesus, apart from you i can do nothing. I can't think like you, feel like you, love like you..." So true. I need to be connected every day, or the fire will go out.

Yep, it was a great trip - alot of fun. But I don't think it's why I was here. Thank you, Lord, for Sunday surprises.

In the air

You can feel it in the air. As I walked outside our Bedford, Texas hotel, there was something different in the air. It's the start of college football season and I love it. Why?

• It's something I can do with family. Most football games involve going with my family. For home games, my sisters, my dad, and the rest of our family spend the whole day together. It's like a birthday party every week. And road games are a chance to travel with family too. Today, for example, my nieces Haley and Macy are in Arlington for the Bama-Michigan game and we will spend the whole weekend together. That's time I wouldn't miss for the world.

• But not just family..friends too. I see lots of friends at games that I don't see any other time. This weekend is a great example. Out of my team that went to Ethiopia in July, two of them live here in the Dallas area. Along with Macy and another friend who traveled with us, we will have a mini-reunion this weekend - five out of the seven team members! Stuff like this happens all the time when we go to games. And I make a point of going to games with good friends (in fact, I'm a Florida State fan because of my good friend Steve) or getting together to watch games on TV with them.

• It's a reminder of great times with my sister Kim. We went to games together from the time I was eight years old up until her passing in 1996. I never go to a Bama game without thinking about her and my mother.

• I've seen alot of places going to road games. I love seeing new cities and different campus atmospheres on game day. It will be fun to see a game in Cowboys Stadium (aka JerryWorld) today.

• Scoreboard watching. It seems the whole country is connected as the national drama rolls out throughout a day. I love feeling like we're all in the same place. It makes it a small world.

So many reasons. So much fun. Let's kick it off!

Roll tide.

Not this time

I order my steaks medium well. Used to be it was always well done, but at some point I got a little less picky. Either way, I like when they actually cook meat. Raw meat is great for animals, and alot of people like rare steaks. But for me, that's why they invented cooking.

Today I ordered a filet, medium well. For some reason, many chefs at steak restaurants take offense at this. They think you are ruining a perfectly good steak and they resent it. I'm pretty sure that was the case today.

I usually can tell when this occurs. I end up with a piece of meat that is of pretty low quality. Streaks of fat that just should not be in that cut of meat. What happens, I've been told, is this. There's some meat in the kitchen that is not up to standards. Some fool like me orders a steak that is (to him) overcooked. So why waste good meat? Send the gristle out to the guy who doesn't know how to order a steak.

So today, I recognized it. And, in a very tactful nice way, I asked them if this was their usual cut of filet. I didn't say why or accuse them of anything. Just asked. And you know what? The chef came out, looked at the steak, and apologized.

By the way, the replacement filet was awesome! One of the best steaks I've had in a while.

No lessons or parallels here. Unless it's this: It is possible to ask for quality service and be kind at the same time. As they say, honey catches more flies than vinegar.

This restaurant handled the situation great. If I'm ever in San Antonio again, I'll return. "Well done", folks.

Africa slideshow 2012

Here's a slideshow from our trip this year, featuring the music of Ryan Long (check him out). What amazing kids. What an amazing team. What an awesome God.

Addis, until next time...

Impossible? The trip to Addis

The word rang out, piercing my brain like a screeching whistle through a bad headache. “Impossible.”

Around two hours earlier, I had been approaching the Atlanta airport on I-85 when we got a message from Frank, our Visiting Orphans trip coordinator. The first leg of our flight to Ethiopia had been cancelled. Immediately, Frank began doing research and did an awesome job of sharing our options with us. But it didn’t look great – there was only one flight into Washington-Dulles that would get there in time, and there were only a few seats left on it.

The next few hours are a blur. When we arrived at the airport, I ran in to try and get changes made while Macy and Jenny circled the drop off area. Another team member, Grant, arrived. As it appeared we might get on that flight, his parents helped us get luggage out and take my car to a parking space. There was just all sorts of teamwork trying desperately to get to Washington on time, because there’s only one flight a day to Addis Ababa and we so wanted to get to the children of Korah.

It turned out that there the seats on the flight we wanted were gone by the time I got to the counter. The agent said our only option was to shift to a Delta flight that arrived at 9 am, about two hours before our departure to Addis on Ethiopian Airlines. Sounds great except the Delta flight was going to the wrong airport! We would have to land, get off the plane, collect our luggage, find transportation, ride across town, and check in all over again for an international flight. Huh?

And so there was that word. Impossible. When we got to the Delta counter, the agent said it couldn’t be done. She said we needed to look at other options to get us there by another airline and/or another city. Amsterdam. While I was on the phone with Frank (who continued to give us outstanding guidance), Dubai was suggested. (Macy and Jenny loved that idea!) But regardless, she thought we were crazy to try our plan. We. Would. Not. Make. It.

Maybe not. But we talked about it and there was one thing we were sure of. This mission was prayed up beyond our imagination. And so God was up to something. Whether we made the flight or not, something great was about to happen. What did he want to accomplish through this?

______________________________

Impossible is a theme that pops up throughout the Scriptures. It was impossible for the children of Israel to escape the clutches of slavery in Egypt. A virgin can’t possibly bear a child. How can a rich man enter the Kingdom of God? And each time the concept arises, it is answered with a variation of the same phrase: With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

_______________________________

I write this blog post from seat 37D on flight ET501 to Addis Ababa. The scheduled flight. Because with God, all things are possible.

It was an amazing adventure that unfolded, and we marveled at God’s provision, literally laughing every time something happened that never happens:

•        We got boarding passes for row 10 (the very first coach row) allowing us to be the first off the plane.
•        The plane landed 20 minutes early.
•        When we landed, we found out that Grant’s cousin would be waiting to pick us up and rush us to Dulles.
•        Traffic was very sparse… in Washington, DC!

All in all, we got to our gate before boarding had even begun. And we laughed out loud, giddy with what we had just seen. The great thing that God had wanted to do was to teach us that impossible should not be in our vocabulary this week.

Some would say it’s impossible to make a difference on this type of short-term mission. Seven Americans flying to the other side of the world, simply to spend time with children and let them know they are loved – how could that possibly make a significant difference? How can a single week of semi-organized chaos change the lives of children living lives of extreme poverty? But now we know. With man, yeah, impossible. But not with God. And so we go. And be. And love. 

It's finally here...Ethiopia

Well, it's almost time. As soon as I've written this and finished with some last minute packing, I will crawl into my bed for the last time 'til a week from Sunday. Tomorrow night, with a drive to Atlanta, I begin this year's trek to a place that has captured a huge piece of my heart - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It began two years ago on a trip to this place as well as Uganda. I went back last year and confirmed my feeling that it was a place to invest in.

And now we return. I will be traveling with an amazing team of six other people. I can tell from our communications and conference calls that they are going to be a fantastic group. Their enthusiasm bubbles through every time I get an email or see a Facebook post from any of them. I can't wait to get started working with them.

In addition, there's a bonus for me personally. I already knew that a member of my 2010 team would be there. Denae has returned to Korah twice for longer terms since then, and has been there since January. But I found out last night that two more members of my old team, Laura and Jennifer, will be there for part of the time as part of another VO team. So it will be a reunion of sorts - not a party but something better. Serving the Lord together in the same venue that we first did.

I will try to blog as the week progresses. Internet access there can be spotty, so the posts I write may be published after I get back. But I will try to post as we go along.

So as we begin, can I ask you to pray for us? Pray for our team to get their last minute packing done efficiently. Pray for smooth and safe travel as we prepare to all meet up in Washington, DC, and as we go on from there to Addis. Then for a great day of worship and travel recuperation Sunday as we prepare to hit the ground running Monday. But most of all, be praying for the children we will be visiting, that God would prepare their hearts to blessed by his love through us.

Thank you so much. I can't wait to share the amazing things that happen.

Random observations from a day in London

Here at the end of my first full day in London, here are just a few random thoughts:

1) I found another sign today that should have been included in yesterday's post. It was in the stairwell of the office where we were meeting:

     

So...I don't think the sign means what they think it means. Hopefully, there's not a place downstairs where bombs are being assembled.

2) Doing the same presentation seven times in one day can be tiresome, but it wasn't really today. I think it's because I find the people over here so interesting, and it's fun having conversations with them - yes, even business conversations.

3) There are doing something really cool here, as explained by my friend Gemma. They did an Easter egg "hunt", where people who spotted one of 209 (I think) huge eggs around the city could text a picture and be eligible for a prize. I wish we would do something like that at home. Here's a picture of one of the eggs:

4) After dinner tonight we went to see a stage version of The Wizard of Oz, produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Here I am in front of the theatre:

It was alot of fun. It used all the music from the movie plus a few original songs by Tim Rice (lyrics) and Mr. Webber (music), who kinda knows a thing or two about writing musicals. The girl playing Dorothy was an understudy, so I enjoyed watching her have her moment in the sun. I think my favorite parts were both in the last ten minutes:

• When Dorothy said to the Scarecrow, "I think I'll miss you most of all", the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion both reacted with "thanks alot" type comments. That is an emotional moment in the movie, but I have always thought that it was weird that the others were ok with that. To see them react to it was hilarious!

• At the close, after Dorothy's family has left her alone in her room, a closet door bursts open and there are the ruby slippers with a single spotlight on them. Dorothy picks them up and the stage goes dark as she hugs them with a single spot on her. First, I love this because it raises the issue, "was it a dream or not?", unlike the movie where it's pretty clear it was a dream. I love that kind of ambiguity that makes you think. But most of all, I loved that it was a pretty clear piece of self-deprecating humor by Mr. Webber. It was a visual parody of the ending of Phantom of the Opera. If you saw it (and you've seen Phantom), you would agree. Awesome!

And while it was a good day over here, yes, Dorothy, you're right - there's no place like home.

Same language...sort of

I love visiting London, for a lot of reasons. I was reminded of a small one a few minutes ago in a Caffe Nero near our hotel.

I love how the US and the UK have different phrases or words for the same thing. They go to the water closet instead of the bathroom. The first floor in their elevators is designated with a "0" instead of a "1". Their signs use different expressions:

• "Way out" = "Exit"
• "Mind the gap" = "Watch your step"
• "To let" = "For rent"

Well, I saw one today that I had never noticed. Here it is:

Yeah, I thought it was only considered litter if you threw it out on the ground. Otherwise, isn't it trash? Or garbage? Or even, as I've seen elsewhere here, rubbish?

Not wrong, just different. And kinda fun.

Park-and-Ride

Last night, returning home from Chicago, I followed my usual routine. I always use the park-and-ride at the Atlanta airport (bus pictured at left). It's convenient, cheap, and I always know where to go for the bus that returns me to my car. (There was one time when my ticket was wrong and we spent over an hour looking for my car - but that's another story.)

As always, I got on the bus along with about eight others, and the bus headed to our lot to drop us off one at a time.

As it turns out, I was at the end of the parking lot where I was going to be the last one dropped off. One of the first guys to be dropped off was a young dude in a suit, and he got out and went straight to his Audi. This group of strangers were actually laughing together about the way we would find our cars - making the lights blink with the key fob.

Well, when the group was down to three, a young woman near the front of the bus noticed one of these on the seat beside her:

Yeah, that's right. Somebody had left their iPhone on the bus.

We quickly figured out who had been sitting there; it was the guy with the Audi. The driver asked the rest of us if we minded whether she tried to find him before dropping us off. Of course not! So she whipped that bus around and headed back toward the exit. We weren't exactly burning rubber, but we were moving pretty good for a shuttle bus.

Well, just when we thought we were too late, we saw an Audi moving toward the exit booth. Is it him? We all thought so. So the driver got us as close as she could quickly, and as she came to stop, the exit gate opened for the car. She began blowing the horn loudly and repeatedly.

A blur - She opened the bus door. I grabbed the phone and jumped out. I ran toward his car as fast as I could. And yes, I caught him and knocked on his window before he left. Needless to say, he had this look on his face like, "what the heck is wrong with you??"

It was funny. I handed him his phone and he just had this stunned look on his face. I was probably 10 feet away when I heard him call out "thank you" from a distance. I'm sure it took him that long to process what had just happened.

It was a very cool thing to be a part of. It made the night of everyone on that bus that we had helped the dude. For just a few minutes, the driver, the young woman, and one other man felt like friends instead of strangers.

And that was awesome.

Wo zai na li?

It was an early morning in a northeastern China city, a little over two years ago. I had spent about a day there visiting friends who were living there at the time. I was staying at a flat about 15 minutes away from theirs, and I had no idea how to get there. In preparing for the trip, I had learned a little Mandarin, but not enough to give good instructions to a taxi driver. So I was very dependent on my friends to make sure I could get back to them.

On this brisk August morning, Clark and I were going to catch a plane to Beijing to do a little sightseeing. He had arranged a cab to come and pick me up, take me to his place, and then take up both to the airport. So at 6:15 am, a van arrived...my transportation. I threw my luggage inside and jumped it. I said "Ni hao" (hi) to the driver, but that was about it.

Well, after about 10 minutes we suddenly pulled into a parking place and stopped. We were in some downtown district and I had no idea where we were. Where were we? Why had we stopped? Where were my friends? Did I even get in the right cab? After all, it's not like the driver and I were able to discuss it. Dang!

I had no clue what to do. What to say. How to find out what the heck was going on. I was in a foreign country where I spoke very little on the language. So I blurted out the only thing I could think of. Amazingly, in Mandarin:

Wo zai na li?

That is, where am I???

I don't know exactly where that came from, but when I got over my..um...discomfort with the situation, I was pretty proud of myself. When I panicked and blurted something out, it was actually in the right language!

Well (fortunately), the rest of the story turns out not to be nearly that suspenseful. Turns out, the guy was stopping at his cab company's office to switch cars because he didn't need a huge van for just Clark and me. He called Clark's wife Laura (who speaks excellent Mandarin) and explained the whole situation to her and then handed the phone to me so that I could understand. We changed cars, picked up Clark, and headed to the airport. Beginning an awesome three days where I got to see:

...the Olympic Stadium...

...Tiananmen Square...

...the Great Wall...

...and many other awesome sights. We had a great time and I will never, ever forget it. I will also never forget that moment of panic, that moment when I realized that I was totally helpless and needed my "peng you" (friend) to rescue me. These kinds of adventures are the stuff life is made of.

Can't wait for the next one!

"Well, then I'm gonna say no"

First...yes, it's been a while since my last post. Almost a year ago I promised that I wouldn't blog just to be blogging; I would make sure I had something to share. Thus the drought. Anyway, now I have something to share that that was pretty funny. At least to me.

So earlier this week I had to fly to Richmond, VA for work. I flew from Atlanta to Richmond on the same flight with my friend and fellow actuary Lee - we were both headed there for the same meeting. I had checked luggage and Lee (who had not) went to get a rental car while I picked up my bag. When I got to the rental car counter, he had a big grin on his face. I had missed a really amusing conversation.

The car was with Advantage Rental Car, a fairly small and low-budget company without many vehicles there to choose from. So Lee and the rep at the counter had agreed on a particular car early in their conversation. After having all that set, the guy asked him, "Would you like to add satellite radio for $5?" At which point Lee asked if it was in the car they had already selected. "Yes."

Amused, Lee responded, "We've already picked a car. What if I say no?"

The answer? Well, the car would have the satellite radio anyway. At which point my friend said, and I still laugh thinking about this, "Well, then I'm gonna say no."

How funny! You ask if the customer wants to pay for something that he's going to have whether he pays for it or not! Yeah, I think no was the correct answer. But the funniest part, according to Lee, was the look on the guy's face. Apparently, nobody had ever said that before. He didn't know what to say, so he just stared with a confused look on his face.
_______________________

How often do you ask questions where the answer doesn't matter? I know I do it. A friend calls and tells me his car broke down and he's stranded. "Do you want me to come get you?" Well, duh! That's why he called me right? I'm sure you can think of your own examples. Maybe life would make a lot more sense if we would think a second or two longer before we spoke.

But maybe a little less funny.

Who stole my bowling ball?

Monday night I landed in Atlanta around midnight after an amazing long weekend in the northeast. It included so highlights:

• A fantastic Broadway show in NYC Thursday night, as I wrote about in my last blog post.
• Huge chunks of time hanging with friends from this summer's Africa mission team - I love those guys!
• A tour of "Chocolate World" at the Hershey plant in, yes, Hershey, PA. I even got to do a taste test.
• Getting to stay with the Swank family, who I think at some point in their lives must have gone into some sort of top secret hospitality training.
• An awesome morning of worship with my friends, as we shared our love for Ethiopia with their church family.
• Surviving the edges of Hurricane Irene, including a two-day power outage. I love adventure, so that turned out to be one of the most fun things about the trip. Check out the downed trees, one of which happened right before our eyes through the kitchen window, and the other being what we encountered trying to find a route to church:

All that was amazing! And enough to help me gloss over my one goofy, "Donnie" moment of the weekend. I don't know why I'm going to admit this...except that the urge to tell a funny story seems to always overshadow any embarrassment I might feel.

I was at the Palmyra bowling alley Friday night with David, Ashton, and Sarah, three of my friends from the Ethiopia trip. We had bowled 3+ games and we were having a great time hanging out even though none of us (well, maybe David) really were bowlers.

Rewind to the beginning of the evening. Despite being a terrible bowler, I had followed my usual pattern whenever I'm involved in a competitive sport. I had looked all over the alley and finally found a perfect color crimson bowling ball. Roll Tide...I was ready to go!

Well, as we were bowling the fourth game, they turned on the black light for their version of what we in Montgomery call "cosmic bowling". When it came my turn, I stepped up the rack and...dang! Where is my ball? Who took it? I looked at every ball in the rack and there was no sign of it. I turned to my friends and yeah, I think they would say I was kinda freaking out. All of them begin to tell me, "It's right there!" "Where?" "Right in front of your eyes!" I looked again - no crimson bowling ball. Finally, they pointed out that the black light had made it look purple all of a sudden. At which point I blurted out, "Great! Now I've got an LSU ball!"

How goofy is that?

And yes, it's football season in less than 24 hours. And it's just a little bit on my mind, don't you think? Let's get it kicked off.

And oh yeah, one last little adventure: my Sunday flight got canceled and so I spent an extra day there. But that just meant more time with my new friends, which was very cool.