Waving a new art form?

One thing really occurred to me during our trip to Guatemala and travelling throughout that country...everybody waves at everybody.  I was amazed at how we would be travelling through remote areas and come across a truckload of total strangers and they would feverishly wave and honk their horns simply as a gesture of friendliness and sense of recognizing the presence of a fellow human.

Gathered and Scattered Church

A Youtube link for the much awaited book by Hugh Halter...click to watch, pretty interesting?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5AMKwj73kY&feature=player_embedded

Pioneers and Settlers

This is a quote from a Brennan Manning book.  It's a bit long, but quite good and engaging...I hope you enjoy it.

“According to Wes Seeliger in his book Western Theology, there are two kinds of people, two visions of life. The first sees life as a possession to be carefully guarded. They are called Settlers. The second sees life as a wild, fantastic gift. They are called Pioneers.

Some thoughts on the "E" word...

Some thoughts on Evangelism from one of my favorite thinkers, Brian McLaren, as shared at a recent conference in Canada:

"So many of our forms, structures, and assumptions about evangelism are not Biblical – or even traditional in the ancient sense. They are simply conventional in the modern colonial era of recent memory. For example: evangelism is not revivalism. Evangelism is not colonialism. Nor is it sales and marketing. Nor is it argument.

Getting in touch with my inner dog...

This picture was taken while riding in the back of a pickup truck on a Guatemalan two lane road.  It seems that the primary mode of transportation in Guatemala is riding in the back of a pickup truck.  The country is full of Toyotas trucks with "lumber" racks stuffed with three generations of passengers.   We can't do this in the USA now, it's illegal, it's dangerous, it's the kind of thing you do with dogs and livestock.  People should be in a seat and a seatbelt.  I had my first chance to ride in the back of the truck was when we traveled from the capiatal city out into the villages at night. 

Brick making 101

Guatemalan brick making recipe:  Dig clay from a field and place in pile.  Mix in water from a bucket and stir with hoe, best done at night with a headlight and ten of your best friends in bare feet.  Let sit overnight.  Add pine needles (gathered from nearby mountains).  Stir.  Pour into single form.  Repeat.  Let dry for four days then turn over.  Let dry for another four days.  Build walls.

As I mentioned in my last post regarding our Guatemalan trip,

Guatemalan quandry...

Back from the ten day Guatemala trip.  Not really sure where to start...but I guess I might start with one of my selfish goals for the trip, and that was to get totally ruined by rubbing elbows with the Third World.  I think it was goal attained, I do feel pretty ruined.  We just have no idea how prosperous and spoiled we are in the West and the rest of the world is full of some pretty amazing people.  For three of the days we stayed in the village of San Antonio, about three hours from Guatemala City and a humble farming and ranching community in the foothills.