Recent Events in Belarus

About a month ago, I dedicated some prayer space to Belarus here on the blog. I just realized today, that Belarus had some elections last week, followed by quite a bit of protesting and demonstrations. In all likelihood the elections were rigged. So here's the question: As an authoritarian dictator, why hold elections when you have no intention of doing it correctly in the first place? Apparently dictators like Lukashenko have a tendency to think that nobody sees through their lies and corruption.

Be sure to check out this blogger for more on life in Belarus.

Keep praying for Belarus. Unless something drastic happens, it's going to be at least another 7 years of dictatorship.

Categories: Europe

Thoughts on Prayer

Our new website is going up pretty soon. It will better reflect Kristy and I as a couple, as well as our upcoming life and service together in Ireland. The site is actually already online, but has yet to be made official. The other day, I posted an article on prayer, which you can read by clicking here.

When the site goes up, the address will be www.brandonandkristy.net. (At the moment, this URL just takes you to my old site.) Once the site goes "live," we'll send an e-mail to everyone on the newsletter list and probably post it here on the blog.

Categories: pray

The Constant Gardner

Last night, Kristy and I saw “The Constant Gardner,” which was an absolutely brilliant film. The remarkable cinematography is reminiscent of other films like "Traffic," though more varied and artistic. The unfolding of the story was also excellently done, but at times, it’s difficult to catch what the characters are saying. (We had to turn the volume up and “rewind” several times.) It's a similar plot to movies such as "The Insider," and the current world events/issues that are thrown into the mix (Iraq, African AIDS crisis, Sudanese state-sanctioned violence) strike an all-too familiar chord in the hearts and minds of any viewers with a TV or internet connection.

Kristy and I were particularly impacted when the main character found himself in the middle of a Janjaweed raid on a Sudanese village. It was the maddening awareness that these raids are still happening in Sudan that made it such a difficult scene.

For whatever reason, that scene stuck with me. I found myself pondering the dilemma that the U.S. and other Western governments face in their dealings with Sudan: take leadership in pressuring the Sudanese government to call off the ethnic cleansing BUT don't make an enemy of the Islamic government lest they revert back to harboring terrorists and we endanger our own people.

My only conclusion was that sometimes good leadership must take risks. In this case, I think (at least I think I think) it's very necessary for the democratic, Western world to uphold the cause of justice and human rights for all people - not just their own. The U.S. in particular is much worse off if the rest of the world sees the hypocrisy of using it's power solely for the purpose of protecting it's own interests.

At the risk of sounding overly critical about an international crisis that I'm not fully educated on, I have read reports that the Bush administration is taking action. The question remains, will it be enough to stop the bloodshed?

So anyway . . . The Constant Gardner . . . great film.

(Click here for more on the crisis in Sudan and how you can be involved.)

Categories: film, justice

Qumana Experiment

Just trying out a blog editor that was recommended by Andrew Jones (who got the recommendation from one of our GEM Ireland colleagues and friends, Matt Kingsley).

While I'm at it, check out this article about socially conscious teenagers and their consumer habits. And who says youth ministry can't change the world?? Jr. Highers, unite! (See if you can spot the word "ameliorate" in the article. That's my Word of the Month.)

Now, let's see how this Qumana thing really works.

Categories: blog, justice

A Short Ireland History in a Long Blog Post

Recently I finished a little Irish history book. It was a great summary of the big events and main characters that made Ireland what it is today. Part of my reason for snatching it up a few months ago when Kristy and I were at Powells was the "Interpretations" section at the end of each chapter giving the big ideas of various interpretations that significant historians have offered through the years.

I must admit, history has always been a bit boring to me when presented as a bunch of dates and facts. It's much more fascinating and exciting when presented with ideas of how it has made our world what it is today. It especially gets interesting when it engages the human imagination by asking questions regarding why things happened the way they did and what factors may have influenced (or changed) the outcome. That's when the study of history goes beyond knowledge to understanding.

For me, I was keeping an eye out for the things in Ireland's history that have made it what it is today. Why has Catholicism been such an intrinsic part of Irish national identity? How much of Irish culture has really been shaped by it's struggle with it's close neighbour, Great Britain?

The following is a list of things that I learned about the history of Ireland, particularly the biggies.

• The ancient Celtic people found their origins in Central Europe and Northern Britain, being well established in Ireland by 150 BC.

• The roots of Catholicism in Ireland go way back to before St. Patrick in the fifth century AD.

• When Henry VIII officially separated Britain from the Catholic church in 1529 and established the Church of England in 1534, he never effectively enforced this change in Ireland. For the rest of history, Catholicism would be something that the Irish would cling to in order to distance themselves from the oppressive British.

• King James led an organized effort to Anglocize the Irish in the northern part of the country by granting land to Protestant English and Scottish settlers in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. From then on, Northern Ireland shadowed the agricultural and industrial innovation of its British neighbour.

• In the late 17th century, England enforced Penal Laws on Ireland that required the Catholic Church to pay tithes to the Church of England. For centuries, Catholic priests passed on the memories of that discrimination to their congregations.

• Through the influence Daniel O’Connell, a Catholic Emancipation bill was passed in London, giving Catholics the right to sit in parliament, hold military ranks, and hold all but the highest government offices. Later, O’Connell gained other reforms for Catholics, like abolishing the tax that Catholics had to pay to the Church of England. “It is possible, therefore, that O’Connell and his movement raised the political consciousness of Catholics and his movement raised the political consciousness of Catholics to an extent that Catholicism and Irish nationalism came to be seen as the same thing in later decades.” (Coohill, 45)

• The population of Ireland reached 8.5 million by the early 1840’s. (Present day population is approximately 4 million!) During this time, most of Europe (as well as Northern Ireland) was undergoing industrialization, while Ireland stayed largely rural and agricultural.

• As a result of the potato famine, beginning in 1845, roughly one million people died of starvation and disease. Another million Irish emigrated to the U.S. and Europe. The poor handling of the crisis by the British government caused further deep roots of animosity in the Irish psyche.

• Sinn Fein (now considered the political arm of the IRA) was originally formed by Arthur Griffith in 1905 to promote total autonomy from Britain (versus home rule status that retained political connections with London and the monarchy.)

• During World War I, Irish nationalists were split on whether or not to ally themselves with Britain. In 1916, Irish rebels requested arms from Germany for an Easter Uprising on April 23rd. When a British ship intercepted the Germans, the rebel ranks were thrown into confusion and the rebellion was initially called off. However, two rebel leaders, Patrick Pearse and James Connolly led a small rebel contingent of about 1,770 men to get on with the rebellion, capturing the General Post Office in Dublin. After shelling the GPO, British troops defeated the rebellion on April 28th. Within weeks, fifteen rebels were tried and executed, including Pearse and Connolly.

• In 1919, lead by Michael Collins, the Irish Volunteers militia group became the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and waged a guerrilla warfare campaign against the Royal Irish Constabulary, a British paramilitary police force. A truce was called in 1921 while the British government and the Irish nationalists negotiated 1) the partition of Northern Ireland (Ulster) and 2) allegiance to the British Crown. On December 6th, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith signed the treaty, establishing the Irish Free State and the Province of Northern Ireland as separate political entities.

• In 1922, civil war broke out between those who thought that Ireland should be totally autonomous and united with the north (this anti-treaty group retained the name Sin Fein) and the Irish Free State. Both Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith were killed during the civil war, but the opposition was finally crushed in April, 1923 and Ireland was able to begin repairing the damage and building a country.

• Eamon de Valera, who had allied himself with Sin Fein in the Irish Civil War, won the election of 1932. In 1949, he was successful in removing allegiances to the British Crown and transitioning the Irish Free State into the Republic of Ireland.

• Ireland stayed neutral during World War II, though it favoured the Allies by interning German pilots who crashed in Ireland and rescuing Allied pilots, returning them to Britain. Thirty-four people were killed in Dublin when it was bombed in May of 1941.

I know there are lots of things that have happened in the last fifty years in the Republic of Ireland, but as far as I can tell, it's mainly been a heck of a lot of emigration and slow catching up with the rest of the world in terms of technology, the economy, and social issues. From my understanding, the last ten years have brought a lot of economic growth, due in part to the country's involvement in the EU. The population has also begun to grow slightly rather than shrink. Aside from these things happening in The Republic, most people are aware of the violence and terrorism happening in the North, which has also had implications in the south.

It'll be a lot of fun to actually live there and interact with the people and the culture at large. Some things (especially cultures other than one's own) you just can't fully learn or appreciate without experiencing them for yourself.

Categories: Europe, Ireland

One Click to Feed the Hungry

Came across a brilliant web site today that essentially uses our beloved system of capitalism to feed the hungry. When you click the "Help Feed the Hungry" button, you are taken to a new window with ads from companies that sponsor the site. 100% of the ad revenue goes to providing food for the hungry through America's Second Harvest and Mercy Corps.

So what are you waiting for? Get to clickin'!

HT: Jason Royce

Categories: justice

Prayer for Croatia

For the last several mornings, I've been going back and praying for European countries that I missed during part of our trip to the mid-west. Below is a prayer for Croatia. You can check out some prayer requests for this historically troubled and chaotic region of Europe here. Also, visit the BBC country profile for a brief synopsis of relatively recent events in Croatia. (As always, please feel free to offer a prayer in the comments section.)

P R A Y E R:
Father of all nations and Creator of every race, we pray for this war-torn region of Europe. We thank you that peace is slowly infiltrating Croatian life after years of violence, ethnic cleansing, and bitter hatred. We’re grateful to you for raising up your people to provide aid and trauma therapy for those who have suffered and we pray that this ministry will continue to build credibility for your Church in Croatian society. We boldly request that you raise up and use Christ-followers of all segments of Croatian society – the Serb, the Croatian, the Bosnian, the Albanian – to speak supernatural love and reconciliation into the villages, towns, and cities across that land. Cause Your Church to address the unique challenges of Croatian society in ways that bring hope and that demonstrate Your Kingdom, bringing scores of Croatian people into intimate, life-giving, fruitful relationship with You.

Categories: pray, Europe

Uncle Brandon

Just got word from my mom this morning that my brother and his wife are on their way to the hospital in Fresno to have their second baby! Kristy and I will go and visit them in early May to hang out with our new niece and probably continue to be utterly charmed by our other niece, Justus.










Categories: life

3D Chalk Drawings

I watched a lot of football on TV when I was living in England (Americans, read "soccer.") I always thought that the advertisements on the pitch (field) were pretty cool. The way they were painted on the grass made them appear 3D to the viewing audience. Well . . . that was nothing. Check this out.

HT: JR
Categories: culture, art

Prayer for the Czech Republic

The last month's activity in travel and time with family has kept me from being very consistent in web-based prayer for Europe. So instead of trying to catch up, I'd like to post a prayer for the Czech Republic and invite you to post your own prayer in the comment section, especially if you're a Czech believer or an ex-pat living there. (Be sure to check out what Josiah Venture is currently up to in the Czech Republic.)

P R A Y E R:
God of life and freedom, we lift up the Czech Republic to you and we ask that you would continue to raise up a Church in this former communist country to address the unique cultural issues that this nation is wrestling with, including issues of crime, substance abuse, prostitution, and materialism. Raise up your people to speak light into the darkness in the Czech Republic. Raise up Czech church leaders who are committed to reproducing the life and ministry of Jesus through churches in their cities, towns, and villages. We ask that you would place a passion in the hearts of your people in the Czech Republic to love the lost Czechs all around them with a supernatural fervor as they proclaim and demonstrate Your Kingdom.

Categories: pray, Europe

I Live More Fully Because of You

The other night, Kristy and I were talking about ways that God is at work in our lives and areas of weakness that we still struggle with that come out, in particular, in the way we relate with one another. At one point, Kristy said something along the lines of, “How do you put up with me?” Without any hesitation, I replied, “I don’t put up with you. I live more fully because of you.”

Whereas that idea was kind of floating around, somewhat foggy in my mind as we discussed those things, it became so clear when it came out of my mouth. In our closest relationships, our flaws are brought to the surface and exposed. At that point, it’s our choice to lay those flaws at God’s feet and say, “HELP!” OR turn our heads and take the more comfortable route of denial, self-righteousness – and life less full (not to mention continued frustration in our closest relationships.)

Yet our awareness of and confrontation with our self-centered tendencies is ripe with opportunity for transformation. But only if we are willing to embrace humility and honesty with ourselves. What makes being faced with that self-centeredness all the more painful is that it is rarely a one-time event, even if we’ve resolutely decided that a particular expression of our selfishness or character weakness has to go. Such is the nature of spiritual transformation. Repetition. Review. Patience. And not just for ourselves, but for the person who is putting up with us – and learning to live more fully because of us.

So it wasn’t just a romantic one-liner that I was feeding to my beautiful new wife. I really do have opportunity to live more fully because of our relationship – and all the imperfections and character weaknesses that we both bring into it. I guess you could say that relational community with others is the nourishing soil of our spiritual transformation. Without it, we can’t know what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind – and to let that love for God flow into our love for people.

Categories: transformation, life

Web Meditations

Today, I've come across some great opportunity for spiritual challenge and meditation right here in cyberspace.

Alt. Worship church, Grace, has their 4th annual lent blog with some great posts to chew on and inform our lent meditations. Joel's post in particular had an impact on my own heart. Give the last slide a good 10 seconds to ponder. Then see what happens. (It's subtle, but profound.)

Also, after being at Solomon’s Porch the last two Sundays, I was really touched by the worship songs written by the music guys in the church. Fortunately, they’ve posted a lot of their music (lyrics and mp3 files) on the Porch website. As I listened to the song “Made,” I was touched by these lines toward the end:

But the steps I take that are nearer to the truth,
Are the steps leading away from me.
'Cause it's not about me,
Not about me, not about my image
Of pedestals made of clay,
It's when we realize that it's all about You,
That's when we,
That's when we are
Made

More lent meditation from Irish Jesuits.

In other news . . . (The following is intended to be read facetiously.)
Scientists are finally going to give us their official decision on whether or not prayer is a waste of time. We wait in eager anticipation. Because it was so darn helpful when the scientists gave us their official findings that there is no such thing as God or other such supernatural powers and phenomenon. Why pray when you can play God?

Back in Colorado

Kristy and I arrived back in Colorado yesterday morning only to find ourselves in yet another snow storm. It made for a long ride home (Denver to the Springs) after enjoying some lunch with Kristy's parents. We barely had enough time to unpack and unwind before preparing to have some guests over. Kristy's former roommate and ministry colleague in Romania (Dawn Ellenbas) was in town with a friend of hers doing some fundraising for her work with abandoned children in Timisoara.

Sunday night was a great time at Solomon's Porch. Before things got started, I ran into Doug Pagitt while helping my wife locate the restroom. By the time he gave me directions, Kristy had already figured it out. During the service, I was so blessed by the words of the worship songs and the beautiful backgrounds behind the words on the screens. Like other churches doing church in fresh new ways, the worship songs from Solomon's Porch are written by members of the community, therefore springing from the context that the church finds itself in. They're not as sing-songy as the pop worship music of the majority of evangelical churches today, but they have incredible meditative qualities that guide you into profound worship - without even having to sing along with every word. (At least they did for me.)

At the moment, I'm still having problems loading any pictures onto Blogger, so I'm planning on putting a few up in my web gallery. The images of our time at Youth Enterprise and at the St. Patty's Day Parade in St. Paul are particularly significant to our time in the mid-west. And Kristy was really excited about our visit to Minnehaha Falls, which was really beautiful.

Categories: life

Back to The Springs

Kristy and I are headed back to Colorado Springs tomorrow morning. Today we gave presentations at Peace Church here in the Minneapolis area (Eagan). We were really encouraged by the responses and the conversations we had with people between the two services. The Welters' (whose home we stayed in for the last 10 days or so) are really involved in the missions/outreach ministry of the church and they've done a great job of advocating for us.

On Friday, we went down to St. Paul and joined the festivities for the St. Patty's Day parade. More to come on that (with pictures of course!) Yesterday was full of more meetings with friends and financial partners. This evening we're headed back to Solomon's Porch.

Categories: life

Unleashed Comments

Okay, so I just happened to discover this "new" feature on Blogger that gives me the ability to review outside comments before they get posted. It took me to a page where I had comments from over a month ago waiting to be reviewed and posted on the blog. Sheesh. Not sure if I should be frustrated with Blogger for not letting me know about the new feature or if I should be kicking myself for not having noticed it for myself. I don't even really know precisely how new this feature is, but I found comments that people tried to post from early February.

Soooo, if you tried to leave a comment, but thought you were doing something wrong when it never went up, I'm sorry! Please come back! I wasn't trying to ignore you!!

Anyway, the last few months have brought some good comments and feedback that I'm hoping to interact with - now that I know they're there. (I was particularly encouraged by a comment from a missionary blogger in Belarus.)

Categories: blog

A Visit to Youth Enterprise

Yesterday, we stopped by to see our friend Patty at her work place, Youth Enterprise, before going out for dinner with her. Patty was one of Kristy's house mates after college and was also a bride's maid in our wedding. She's recently become the Executive Director of YE, a youth outreach organization here in Minneapolis. YE hires teenagers in the inner city to make t-shirts and currently employes an average of about 54 young people. Teens who get a job with YE are also mentored in life skills (including personal financial management and goal setting) and discipled in the ways of Jesus. YE gets customized orders to make t-shirts from hip-hop groups as well as from churches for mission projects or camps. They also make their own line of t-shirts and print the shirts for all of Youth Works mission trips.

It's a really exciting initiative and one that benefits at-risk young people in the toughest parts of Minneapolis. So here's the question: If you're looking to buy t-shirts for an event (or for whatever reason) why buy from a company who's only interest is to make money when you can buy from YE who serves urban teenagers in the name of Jesus and can give you just as good a product at competitive pricing??

I've got a handful of pictures from our visit to YE, but for some reason Blogger isn't having any of it at the moment. I'll ty again later.

Categories: justice, mission

Snowed In

Today, Kristy and I are shut in from a snow storm that dumped about 10" of snow on Minneapolis last night. It's unfortunate, because I was looking forward to meeting some of Kristy's friends who are going to be involved in a church plant in northern Minnesota. We're hoping to venture out later on in the day after the snow plows have had a chance to clear the roads. The good news is, I seem to be picking up a weak Wi-Fi signal from one of the neighbors.

Last night we dropped by Solomon's Porch, though we were 20 minutes lates. They changed their service time to 5pm but the web site still says 5.30. It was really good to see the church in action, after having read Doug Pagitt's book "Reimagining Spiritual Formation" a few months ago. The church was packed and full of life and a deep sense of community. The seating was in the round, so everyone faced the center of the room, sitting on sofas and armchairs. There was even seating on what used to be a front stage. It now just kind of serves as another balcony-type area. When Doug taught, he would casually spin around in the chair/stool he was sitting in to address the congregation seated around him. It gave a very conversational feel to his sermon/teaching. Doug is an intense speaker. (At least he was yesterday evening.) At the end of the teaching, he opened it up to feedback from the church community for a short time.

More later. Gotta go see if we can dig ourselves out of the driveway.

More Pics from Minnesota

We spent an evening with Kristy's cousin, Duane, and his family on Thursday evening. Duane made his gourmet hot chocolate for Kristy and we played some Dominoes.












Yesterday we had a chance to spend some time in historic St. Paul and then met with Kristy's college friend, Brian. More pics to come! (At the moment, I'm bumming some free Wi-Fi off of a hotel next to the restaurant we've got our next meeting in.)

Categories: life

Hanging out in Minneapolis

Yesterday, Kristy took me down to an art gallery downtown Minneapolis with lots of scultures and even some media installations. We also spent some time in trendy Uptown and had some coffee at Dunn Brothers.













For the last few days, we've been staying with Kristy's former roommate, Tracy, and her husband, Jay. Last night they took us to dinner and then Kristy showed them some pictures from Romania.

Categories: life

West, to Minnesota

On Sunday, Kristy and I headed West to Minnesota. This is an important detail because, being from the West Coast, I was previously ignorant of where Minnesota is in respect to where Wisconsin is. All I knew was that it's all East of, well . . . the West Coast.

On Saturday night, we had a chance to meet Kendra's boyfriend and play some cards.

We also had the privilege of enjoying Kendra's masterful baking skills.

Wisconsin, Land of Cheese

Here are a few other pics from our time in Wisconsin. Really enjoyed getting to know Kristy's aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparents. (Grandpa plays a mean game of pool.)












We also had a chance to meet up with Kristy's best friend Kristen and her husband Thomas, who live in the Chicago area.









Unfortunately, during the few windows of time I've had to post comments and pics, there have been problems with either the servers that host my site, or with Panera's internet connection, or with Blogger. Sooooo, it was good timing for me to chew on these things today.

Enjoy the pics. Hopefully my streak of bad luck (or divine intervention????) is up and I'll be able to be a little more consistent over the next few weeks of our time here.

MidWest Photo Journal

On Wednesday, Kristy and I flew into Minneapolis, rented a car and took off for the Southeast corner of Wisconsin to stay with Kristy's Uncle Bob, Aunt Arlene, and cousin, Kendra. The next day, we visited Kristy's grandparents, Vernon and Fannie Zinsmaster. At 91 and 89 yrs. old, these folks are as energetic and lively as ever. (You just have to speak up a little bit once in a while.)