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Saschenhausen Concentration camp

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Published on Sep 06, 2013, by in Travel.

I spent Wednesday touring around Saschenhausen. I suppose touring would not be the right word for it. Viewing the pure evil of humanity for several hours would be more accurate.
As a Canadian of mixed German and Norwegian descent, the emotions ran pretty high. My great uncle was part of the struggle to liberate Europe and the thousands who were condemned to camps like this. He gave his life in that fight.
I wonder if those who fought really knew the evil they were fighting to destroy.

I can’t express the emotions of the day. I’ve included a picture of the walls of the camp. I’m thankful for each person who fought so that I could freely walk where thousands and thousands were imprisoned, tortured and died.

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I Am Where I Should Be

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Published on Jun 18, 2013, by in Spiritual.

I’m sitting in a stifling hot church with no air conditioning but the fans are roaring.
I got about four hours sleep last night and about the same the previous night.
I’m surrounded by men who have sacrificed to be here but I hardly understand anything they are trying to tell me.
The food is foreign, the culture is so different from mine. I have to be careful what I say because I am unaware of what words are taboo or coarse.

I almost didn’t make this trip because it was quite inconvenient. 20 hours of total travelling for a two day conference.

But…. I am where I should be.

I haven’t been here for four years but when I walked out of the airport there was this reminder, this heart familiarity that I was home. Not my first home, but my second home.

Our friends came to get us at the airport and made sure we got checked into our rooms. They hugged us and I nearly cried. On the car ride we fondly remember their visit to our home. It’s been too long since I was here.

Walking into the church, familiar faces, bear hugs and warm smiles. Many faces I recognize, some I don’t and I know a few are missing. I feel it. Deep in my heart.

It’s lunch and we are served my favourite food. I get a wink when coffee is offered. They remember how I love their coffee. We talk about so many of our shared experiences. The experience is indescribable, but also hard to fully share with others.

It’s amazing to me how this utterly foreign experience is so comfortable right now. My world is enriched and enlivened. I’m exhausted and sweaty hot. I love!

I am exactly where I should be.

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On My Way

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Published on Jun 17, 2013, by in ramblings, Travel.

I’m writing this at 37000 ft on an AirCanada flight between Vancouver and Toronto. I’m currently just over the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. I’m telling you this because nearly everything about that paragraph would have been entirely made up and probably unwritten just a few years ago.

But the iPhone in my hand that is recording my thumb clicks as letters and the small personal LCD screen in front of me make all of this normal and expected.

The LCD just updated and I see that Shaunavon, SK is now 80 miles to the north.

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Sadly, this plane is a bit older and the technology is slightly dated. I will have to wait until we land to actually post this entry so you can read it.

How quickly we can become dissatisfied with what we don’t have instead of fully enjoying what we do have.

I suspect the Apostle Paul may have been pondering similar feelings when he penned in his high tech way, “I have learned to be content in all things”. Actually I think it was dictated in Greek or some other cutting edge communications framework.

The fact is, it doesn’t matter whether we love the latest technology or avoid it like its a Devil, it’s all around us and its constantly changing. The one thing I can do is learn to be content.

Wow! Looks like we are just south of Melville, SK right now. That’s where I was born and still have relatives there.

Talk about going back in time. ;) Only 8 more hours til we reach Havana.

Lets talk soon!

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