Caroling

I love Christmas caroling. Singing the old Christmas carols not only helps get me more than ever in the "Christmas spirit," but it also helps remind me of the awesomeness of Christmas time and the miracle of the Incarnation of Jesus. He came to earth to humble himself like a little human--a little nothing--and then even to be humbled further and be nailed to a tree to redeem us from all our iniquities.

I also love sharing the joy of Christmas with others. Tonight we went caroling, as is the tradition, at the nursing home near our home. I love singing out with all my heart, along with people who used to sing these songs 70 or 80 years ago and still love them like I do. As we walked the halls, we met a woman who came to her door to listen to our singing. We asked if she had a request, and she said, "Not really... but you could sing Silent Night." We began the song she requested, and soon tears were streaming down here face. I'm not sure exactly what was going on--if she was touched by an old memory or by the fact that we were sharing the love and joy of Christmas with her--but either way, it was cool to be a part of that (assuming, of course, that she was not crying because of our singing. always a possibility). Moral of the story: people should carol more often.

Jet Lag

I'm feeling jet lagged for the first time in my life. I'm tired and generally not coordinated to the time here back in good ol' MN. It's funny, because I haven't really had this experience before, even when I went to Europe and Chile. I've been exhausted from travel, but I've always bounced back in a day or so. This time, even though I've been really exhausted, I've woken wide awake two days in a row early in the morning (when I wanted to sleep in). That means something is weird. :) Honestly, I was beginning to think that this "jet lag" was either a big deal about not much, or else something I was immune to. Maybe God's just showing me my place.

Munich Revisited

Munich is a beautiful town, so it deserves a few more photos. First we have an arch whose name I don't know, but which was quite impressive.



We passed a restaurant known for its beer. Interesting.







This particular tower was beautiful,



from all angles.



Especially cool were the gargoyles,



although they are rather creepy up close.



Here's John with his mouth stuffed with spinach. He would let it in, but swallowing it was another matter entirely.



We had fun relaxing together at the Freunds'.



Tiffany tickled the ivories for live entertainment.



And finally, here we are gazing upward to the heavens... or at least the reflective ceiling.

Munich--Edible Version

A chronicle of Munich without some of the foods that I viewed and voraciously devoured would be incomplete. Here are a few. We begin with my tribute to the fusion of Arab and American culture.



Next we have an array of luscious-looking fruit. Mmmmmmmmm!



The highlight of the food at the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market) was the candied and chocolate-covered goods. I didn't get to sample any, but if looks say anything, the treats must have been outstanding.





Here's what Ruth looked like on the outside.



Here's a sneak peak into what she was thinking.



There were not only candied apples, but also all sorts of other delicious sweet nuts and fruits.





Naturally, we needed Jeff the Chef to complete the smorgasbord of delicious cuisine with his elaborate homemade pizza. We each got a personal pizza with our choice of toppings.



I didn't get photos of the dizzying variety of meats we tried, but that's probably just as well, or you would be tempted to envy. I am now enjoying French delicacies, so the culinary transition probably won't be so difficult. Au revoir!

Munich

Well, here I am in Munich! I don't plan to make this post long, but I think it's better to write a little than to wait until getting home to MN and having a severe overload of things to do at that time. So here's a bit of update. I did my grand world tour from Santiago to Minneapolis to Munich, thus making stops in 3 continents within 48 hours. The language and culture shock was definitely noticeable; it just doesn't seem right that you can cut across so many cultures and languages in such a short period of time. I am really thankful for the chance to be here, though.

I also am just loving being with family, as I expected that I would. It's especially fun to be with Ruth, Adam, and little John, who is really getting big and is now starting to talk and, well, be a big kid. He's really cute, and I'm not biased. Also, though, I think I'm starting to realize what a blessing it is to have a huge family--extended family, as we like to refer to them sometimes. These are the people God has allowed me to be in physical relation to, and I think it's really fun and eye-opening to get to know them better. Another reason that I'm thankful God provided for this trip.

Hm, I was going to upload more photos, but I'm going to bed. That will just have to wait, I guess. :)

I don´t have time to write a legit post

so I will just give one picture, and the link to more:



http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070785&id=63804488&l=3c415c9c6e

Man, it feels good to be a slave

Lately I've been thinking quite a bit about the difference between being a slave to sin, or a slave to God. It's interesting that those are the only two options: "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?... But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:16, 22-23, ESV). Along the lines of belonging to God, i.e. being His slave, I thought I'd share the lyrics to a great old song that I just remembered and sang.

Now I Belong to Jesus

Jesus my Lord will love me forever/
From Him no power of evil can sever/
He gave his life to ransom my soul/
Now I belong to Him

Now I belong to Jesus/
Jesus belongs to me/
Not for the years of time alone/
But for eternity

Once I was lost in sin's degradation/
Jesus came down to bring me salvation/
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame/
Now I belong to Him

Now I belong to Jesus/
Jesus belongs to me/
Not for the years of time alone/
But for eternity

Joy floods my soul, for Jesus has saved me/
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me/
His precious blood He gave to redeem/
Now I belong to Him

Now I belong to Jesus/
Jesus belongs to me/
Not for the years of time alone/
But for eternity

the world is beautiful

Today I had a lot of free time, which I spent roaming around Santiago. Here are some of the flowers I had the privilege of seeing on my trek:

Finally legal

Yesterday I spent 4 1/2 hours in the Office of Foreign and Migratory Affairs waiting to get my visa. It was rather boring, fome, to be sure, but in the end it all worked out. I got to talk with a Colombian dude who is here to study economics, as well as a New Zealander here working to optimize baggage handling at the airport (as he said, if I lose my luggage I can blame him). It was a little embarrassing when I started talking with him and asked if he was Ireland because of his accent. Oops. I also received my visa, which means that I can finally legally study here. This is a good thing not only because I think it might be technically illegal to study on a tourist visa, but also because my tourist visa had already expired. I was and am thanking God for working everything out so nicely. All right, I´m five minutes late to class, so I´d better book it. :D

Fútbol

Yesterday I played soccer for the first time in South America. Really, it´s kind of crazy that I haven´t played yet, given how big it is here. I was invited by a Minnesotan girl that I know, and we ended up playing with a mix of gringos and Chileans. In fact, I was one of four Minnesotans playing! It´s always fun to be able to flaunt my MN pride just a bit. I had a lot of fun for several reasons. First, it was good to get out and play a real sport, something I haven´t really done here yet. Also, inexperienced as I am, I was able to score a goal (probably more correctly an assist). That was pretty fun, and definitely unexpected. I would say it was lucky, but as a famous person recently said, "Luckily, we don´t believe in luck." So it must have been pure skill. More importantly than all that, though, playing soccer is a chance to spend time with people in a real-life (i.e. not in class or some other highly structured situation).

I think this is often a weak point in who I am. Here´s what Jesus said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV). Most Christians know this, but I don´t know how many consistently practice it. First off, God should consume us. In a world where idols abound, God should be our supreme passion. We can´t stop there, though--God created us for relationship, not only with Him, but also with others. Just as we should be loving God with all of our heart, we should be pouring out love into our fellow man all the time. This is hard to do. Often it´s uncomfortable to talk to people we don´t know, to open up to people in real friendship, to include others in parts of our lives that would be easier to just do ourselves. There´s a lot of this I´m not used to. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what it practically looks like to love one´s neighbor as oneself. But from the little of it that I´ve done, I know it´s a beautiful thing, and I want that kind of love to absolutely saturate my life.

Up and Up

lyrics to a great song that's encouraged me today:

Yesterday

Is not quite what it could've been

As were most of all the days before

But I swear today

With every breath I'm breathing in

I'll be trying to make it so much more

Cause it seems I get so hung up on

The history of what's gone wrong

And the hope of a new day

Is sometimes hard to see

But I'm finally catching onto it

Yeah the past is just a conduit

And the light there at the end is where I'll be

'Cause I'm on the up and up

I'm on the up and up

And I haven't given up

Given up on what I know I'm capable of

And I'm on the up and up

Yeah there's nothing left to prove

'Cause I'm just trying to be a better version of me for you

A better version of me for you

To be prosperous

Would not require much of me

You see contentment is the one thing it entails

To be content with where I am

And getting where I need to be

I'm moving past the past where I have failed

But I'm finally catching onto it

Yeah the past is just a conduit

And the light there at the end is where I'll be

'Cause I'm on the up and up

I'm on the up and up

And I haven't given up

Given up on what I know I'm capable of

And I'm on the up and up

Yeah there's nothing left to prove

'Cause I'm just trying to be a better version of me for you

A better version of me for you

You never cease to supply

me with what I need for a good life

So when I'm down

I'll hold my head up high

'Cause you're the reason why

I'm on the up and up

It is more blessed to give than to receive

Today was quite an enjoyable day. After church, I enjoyed an absolutely delectable cook-out with my family here--choripan (grilled sausage eaten in tasty bread), pork, and beef. Chips and peanuts were available too, and for just about everything there was the scrumptious, spicy pebre sauce. Several delicious varieties of salad completed the meal. Conversation was animated, and we all amused ourselves with the wind-up running mice that were meant to be toys for the baby granddaughter who was there. In short, the simple joys of life.

This evening I was able to go out bowling with some of my church friends as well (hence the bowling pictures). Bowling was definitely a blast, but my favorite moment of the day came before that. Since I was getting dropped off at the mall early, I brought juggling balls to keep myself occupied for an hour. I heard a lot of little kids say, "¡Mira!" One little boy came up to me with $2000 (that´s Chilean pesos in case you were worried), or about $4 US, which I think his parents had given him. It was supposed to be a donation to my fund, I guess. I felt kind of bad getting so much money from a cute little 6-year old, so I asked him if he knew how to do it. Since he didn´t, I told him I´d teach him something before he gave me the money. We started with one ball, and moved to two. He was picking it up really well for his age. It sounded like he didn´t really have good juggling balls to practice with at home, so I decided to give him three of mine. I checked with the parents as I left too, just to make sure they were cool with it. So in the end, I guess I earned $4 - 3($6) = -$14 or so, as well as now only having 4 juggling balls to my name. But that doesn't matter. I think I may have made a little kid's day, and I know that he made mine.

for the facebookless

here is a link to my most recent photo album on facebook. it's just my friends and me enjoying ourselves as we watch the Chilean fútbol team classify for the World Cup 2010:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069291&id=63804488&l=4c51740afa

forgetfulness is bliss?

As I wait for my next and final class, I have decided to do something more productive than browse facebook for 20 minutes, namely write this post. Today in my "Prose of Borges" class, we discussed a short story (which somewhat ironically I have not yet read) in which the protagonist has an infinitely good memory--he remembers everything he has ever experienced, in absolute detail. Because of this, to recall a day of his life, he needs another day--24 hours to remember in exquisite detail a previous 24 hours that he has lived. In part, Borges was poking fun at or criticizing the authors of the Realist school who attempted to reproduce reality as accurately as possible, sometimes spending 30 pages on the description of a room.

However, the philosophical questions raised by this story are quite interesting. First of all, we talked of how in the act of remembering, one is required to forget and to choose. When you tell a story of something that happened to you, no one would want to hear every detail, even if you were able to remember everything. Instead, you must actively "forget" the parts that aren´t relevant to what you´re telling. Conversely, you choose what you deem relevant, and that´s what you include. We talked too about those with an overactive memory, who have to look for a way to block memories from their mind so that they´re not overwhelmed.

Along those lines, I thought of my experience with memory. There are some things I remember really well. Don´t ask me what those things are, I just know they exist (if I thought hard enough, I´m sure I would remember. haha). There are many things, though, that slip my mind. Although sometimes this is frustrating, I think in reality those with a not-so-sharp memory have things easier. They say "ignorance is bliss"--I think one could equivalently say "forgetfulness is bliss." Those who remember most of their lives in great detail have a lot to deal with. I think there´s a cloud in the silver lining of good memory, so to speak.

On another note, forgetfulness can´t be all bad if it´s what an omniscient God chooses for Himself. He will not remember our sins or iniquities anymore, if we are His. That´s a forgetfulness that I´m thankful for.

I get down

I have so many things I want to write about, but I have to take at least a few minutes before getting back to the math to remark on something God's been really been bringing up a lot lately--humility. I mean, by now I've got to be the most humble man alive.

First of all, there are a lot of ways that I'm reminded of how faulty and weak I am. I've made decisions I'm not proud of. I forget important things. I'm a math major, and yet I can't seem to take a math class where I'm not at the brink of failure. Of course, not all of my life is in utter disrepair. I'm thankful to be learning a lot about how to communicate in another culture and language, and I probably have more dreams than ever before. But in the end, I'm nothing in myself.

Sometimes I look at my failures and start to despair. I'm used to being expected to perform well, to being known for excellence in one way or another. I guess that's what happens when you go to a "first-tier" university, whatever that means (a university where everyone is expected to be a study-holic and where everyone has either a superiority or an inferiority complex? hmmm). Sometimes I forget that it doesn't matter whether I do well or fail, in the grand scheme of things. Don't get me wrong here. I'm a lover of excellence; I think that's a quality that I could never lose, even if I wanted to. I believe God made people in His image, and He made us for a life to be lived to the absolute fullest and best that we can possibly manage. On the other hand, God is Who matters. Whether I get an A in Abstract Algebra or whether I fail out of college and end up working driving trucks of "very gross weight" for Biff's, God is still God, He is still on his throne, and He is still the one who deserves all the glory. When I freak out about the fact that my performance is subpar according to my standards or those of others, I'm losing sight of the bigness of God.

Pastor Samuel, the guy who hosted me in his home and acted as my personal guide when I visited Puerto Montt last weekend, started talking about humility when we were sitting together in the car. "Humility is one of the most important qualities in life. But man, how hard it is to humble yourself before others, especially when you don't think you're in the wrong!" He talked about the fact that almost all church splits are over tonterías--they are completely avoidable and generally brought about by differing opinions and rampant gossip, rather than a desire to truly follow God's will. Along with humility goes obedience. As he put it, "when people come to me for counseling, they often say, 'Well, I think...' And I say, 'That's the problem. You don't need to think here, you need to obey.'" He clarified that there's certainly nothing wrong with thinking--God made us to do that. But when our human thoughts are contrary to God's, well, guess who's right? We'll see if you can figure out the answer.

Another curious thing he said was this: "After all these years of being a pastor, I'm convinced that people aren't happy because they don't want to be. People get into all sorts of problems--simply because they say things they don't have to say, they do things they don't have to do." I think this too is related to humility. Wanting vengeance, wanting to have always one's one way, having to get involved in everything--these qualities that cause so much trouble are antithetical to humility. Humility says, "God is right, others are more important than I am, and I want to live in peace with both God and others." I'm highly plagiarizing the Bible in all of these ideas. I highly recommend that you reference that book yourself... it's pretty amazing :)

Speaking of getting down, I think there's an Audio Adrenaline song I have to go listen to. Chao!

this post is a lame copout

but at least you can view my newest facebook photo album even if you don't have a facebook account:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068885&id=63804488&l=00b4d7cd92

The gathering of ourselves together

I went to a youth conference yesterday. It was a new experience for several reasons. First, since Straitgate doesn't have a youth group, I never really went to such conferences when I was a teen (ouch, it's sad to me to think that I've been a non-teen for over a year now. Life is too short!). Second, the "youth groups" here are not the typical "teen groups" consisting of middle school and high school students, like you find in the States. For instance, the age range of the youth who come regularly in my church is about 16-26. I guess it's mainly composed of the single young people. So it was a little strange for me to be going to a youth conference on the youth side of it, but that didn't keep God from using it in my heart. Here's part of the group from my church:



The day started with some lively worship music. I don't necessarily like taking photos during worship time, but here's part of the band getting ready:

The music was really good! A lot of the songs were new to me, but it was good as always to be able to praise the Lord with other Christians. The guy on the left is and has been the youth pastor of the church where the confraternidad was for 11 or 12 years now. More on that later. I bring up the music for a couple reasons, actually. First, I think when talking about--and more importantly, while singing--music used in worship to God, it's important that God is the one in focus. The musicians, while they should certainly play and sing with all their heart, shouldn't be the primary focus. And whether a musician is rocking out on the organ or the guitar, in my mind the principle is the same; I don't really see it as a traditional/contemporary distinction. In practice, I'm not sure exactly how that always plays out. You're always going to have someone leading music and playing instruments, unless you go without music or sing a capella (and there you still need a leader). I think a lot of times that's an issue of the individual's heart. As a musician, are you playing to God or to the crowd? As a part of the congregation, are you admiring the music, or are you worshipping God? The second reason I mention the music is because it was really good! The musicians were extremely talented--guitarists, bassist, drummer, the keyboardist, and the singers too. I'd say they were better than some professional bands that I've seen in concert. As a firm believer in excellence in what one does, especially for the Lord, I appreciate that, even though it's not the most important thing. It's also kind of cool to see a guy who can play a mean guitar solo, but who also can preach a challenging message that glorifies Christ. It makes it even clearer that his goal is glorifying Christ, not himself.

There's definitely more I want to write about the conference, specifically about how God used it to challenge me in my walk with Him, but I will keep you all in suspense until the next entry. :D

New camera

Hi folks, for better or for worse, I have a new camera. I had to test it out on something or someone right away, and having no better subject to prey on, I took some silly photos of me. At any rate, I should now be able to document my Chilean adventures even better than before. The bad part is that now I have no excuse for not taking pictures. Oh well, life is a tradeoff [see Econ 101]. I promise that my next post will have more meaningful or interesting content than this one. Chao!

loco weekend

This weekend was rather interesting all around. After the 18th (see last post) came the 19th, my birthday and a continuation of Chile's festivities. I had a good day. I slept in and got a hearty "feliz cumpleaños" from my Chilean parents when I woke. I went for a run in the city, as I like to do, and on my return I got a delicious lunch. My stomach was so filled with delicacies that I had to wait until later to eat some of the cake that they had bought for my birthday. I was also able to talk to Dad, Mom, Ruth and Adam, and David and Kelsea throughout the day, so that was a blessing as well. And as usual, it was intriguing to see who on facebook said happy birthday, and how they said it.

In the late afternoon, I went to a fonda (party celebrating the 18th) at a nearby park with my parents here. It was basically just a fair, with food, shows--even a rodeo! We looked around at a lot of the little shops there that sold Chilean crafts and foods, and we ate some kebobs before heading out. Here are some pigs that were being roasted at one of the tents. Yummy!

Sunday was the party after church. It was fun to see everyone dressed in traditional garb and in Chilean flag colors (which happen to be red, white, and blue as well). After the service, we shared a meal together (more about that in a bit!) and those who knew how danced some cueca, the national dance. It was fun to watch, although it made me wish I could do it too! Maybe I´ll get a chance to learn while I´m down here. At any rate, I included a little video at the end of the post so that you can get a taste of the experience. The pictures are of the little kids saying their memory verse, me hanging out with said cute little kids, and some of my friends and me enjoying our meal together.

On Sunday night, right before I went to bed, I started to feel a little bit sick--my stomach was upset, and I felt slightly nauseous. Sure enough, a couple hours later, I woke feeling terrible and knowing I´d better run to the bathroom before I threw up all over my bed. I ended up vomiting all night long and into the morning; I couldn´t even keep a bit of water down. I will spare the details, because it was pretty ugly. Somehow my parents didn´t wake up from it all--I´m happy for them that they didn´t. I literally slept almost the entire day Monday, gradually getting better, to the point where I could take liquids and where the vomiting finally stopped. My oh my, food is so much more enjoyable on the way down than on the way up! I was able to eat a bit of a meal on Monday night, and now I am happy to say that I´m back to normal. My guess is that the culprit was mild food poisoning from something I ate at the Sunday potluck. I definitely don´t want to relive that experience, although it was cool to see how God used it in me to help me focus more on Him. "All things work together for good to those who love God..."