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Posts from April 2007

April 30, 2007

Ladies only, but I was there.

I am writing this blog from a ladies only prayer meeting/Bible study group without a name in London that meets every Monday night in Shannon Hopkins' London apartment. They invited me to stay for part of it and it was great. Over the meal we played the Whack Pack cards for stimulating our conversation. Very cool. They all prayed for me at the end.

Banner for May - Montreal

Montrealtsk

This month's banner is taken from last weeks events in Montreal, Canada. I spoke two nights at Emerge, a very cool church that meets in the basement of this huge cathedral. David Brazzeal put a sign out front .. . thus the photo.

Co-Send Initiative

My friend Joel Vestal is kicking off the "Co-Send Initiative" to help churches send people overseas. Check it out.

April 29, 2007

Scum of the Earth

Mike Sares, pastor of Scum of the Earth church in Denver, just popped over to have a chat. Great to meet him and hear the story of his church. Josh Cook told me about it last year in Scotland and its been good to finally meet Mike in person.

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God loves Blue Collars

The sharing session at this house church conference is raging on and I don't think i will get a chance to share this. But I feel God's heart on it so in case I dont get to stand up and say it to the group, here it is.

God is doing a new thing in this country and those with blue collars will have special honor.
GOD LOVES BLUE COLLARS.
And I know He loves white collars also and has used white collars in church leadership for hundreds of years in this land.
But blue collars? Ahhhhhhhhh . . . thats something new.
So if you have a job where you spend the final ten minutes of your day washing gunk off your hands

or putting away the tools of the laborer,
or your watch says Casio and not some Swiss guys name,
or you live in a trailer,
and you couldn't afford to go to Seminary,
and you can see the road through the floor of your car

. . . then
you have special honor and favor in this new thing God is doing.
And you wont have to switch from Dunkin' Donuts to Starbucks
and you wont have to change your mullet to a side parting
and you wont have to swap your Eddie Bauer for a Georgio Armani.
God will use you to LEAD and this leadership will not have to sit at the feel of white collars to be appreciated.
Be free.
Be free to lead and serve.
God loves your blue collar.
Be grateful for the state in which God has called you and play it out where you are and how you are.
There is a reason for it.

Hey. Nice to be with you all. Lets hook up again.

Reflections on The House Church Leaders Conference

This DAWN house church leaders conference is drawing to a close. Here are some random thoughts in reflection.

- Mike Steele shared on the beginnings of this journey began in 2001. 170 people met in Tony house. I was there also in that meeting which was a part of the Epicenter Roundtable. Actually, I thought it was 120 but it may have been 170. This is the 9th major leadership group since that time that Mike has led.

- John White and Mike Steele shared about how they disagreed on some things but diversity is good. I AGREE. The leadership team here seems very CONGENIAL and homogenous and its good to see some diversity.

- Some bloggers here. Greg Hubbard from Las Vegas and Alexander Campbell (who has been sharing a room with me) and of course the inimitable Tim Pynes of the House Church Chronicles Blog. WE went out for a drink the other night and Tim apologized for interviewing me in South Africa last year on the differences and similarities between 'emerging church' and 'house church' movements and then accidentally deleting the entire interview - as well as interviews with Wolfgang Simson and Thom Black who works with George Barna. Oh well.

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April 28, 2007

TallSkinnyKiwi NO!

Cant please everyone. Even Emerging Church folk. I am sure there are many people that hate my blog and protest it but only a few people do so multiple times. Someone from an emerging church in UK stopped reading my blog a while back because, or so she told me, I was not willing to take a strong stance against capital punishment. Which is true - I visit a lot of countries and try to respect each nation's decision on that issue as much as possible. Its a divided issue with about 52% of the world being in favor of the death penalty [Wikipedia].

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Local Church and Local Food

I am still at this house church conference in Denver, Colorado. Words being used here to describe this new movement are "simple", "organic" and "house" church. I have introduced another word that may add another layer or two of meaning.

My contribution to the conversation in my group yesterday was about being a "LOCAL" church. That may sound quite mundane because the word has been thrown around for decades, but driving 30 minutes across a city once or twice a week is NOT a local church, its a DISTANT church. I think we will see a new movement of "local" churches. This is what i mean.

In the USA, changes in society's values have been reflected in the cuisine as well as in the church. I love food and cooking so it speaks to my mind as well as my stomach. Here are some trends i have noticed over the past 20 years that have affected the way i see both food AND church.

The gourmet food movement in the 80's, which educated hairy alpha males in the nuances of brie cheese and balsmanic vinegar, focused on bespoke foods of excellence. Churches in the 80's were also pursuing excellence in programing and worship. Second best was not good enough for God. We aimed at health, growth, and a high level of communication and art.

Sometimes gourmet food had to do with relative scarcity. Sometimes regional identity (coffee beans from the south-west slope of a remote Sumatran mountainside) allowed geographical location to add exotic value to the eating experience. Information about the food also enhanced the experience and increased the price.

The organic food movement in the 90's contrasted the artificial nature of industrial-processed food and offered a higher standard of food grown in environments free from suspect chemicals and stimulants. Many churches used the word "organic" to focus on the simple churches not enamored or ruled by institutional structures or outside leadership or value systems imported from another time or place. The word is still in use.

The recent slow food movement, which may come partly as a reaction to fast food abuse, challenges people towards cooking slowly and eating in. People are re-imagining their own kitchens and enjoying the cooking experience. Also in the church, we see house church meetings that linger over long casserole meals and conferences that resemble parties. Going OUT for church is in competition with staying IN with friends in the confines of a home for an extended period of time.

and here is the one i want to talk about . . .

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Ngwiza Mnkandla: Honour the Womb

Ngwiza Mnkandla, President of Dawn Ministries, challenged us to honor the womb from which we came. He talked about his physical mother and how he sends her a check each month. He also talked about how we in the organic/simple church movement must also honor the church that gave us birth. Yeah!
Other discussion groups are reporting right now. Conference is going well.

April 27, 2007

Robert Webber (updated)

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UPDATE (April 28, 2007): Message from Northern Seminary

"It is with great sadness that we announce that Robert Webber passed away Friday April 26. We will be posting details on www.seminary.edu and on the AEF Call web site www.aefcall.org about the upcoming public memorial service in the Chicago area as soon as details are finalized. Please keep the Webber family in your prayers."

ORIGINAL (April 27, 2007): Robert Webber has been battling cancer for some time and is now having a bad turn, according to Jim Hart at the Webber Institute. The last year Bob has been continuing his ministry despite ill health. Jim says pray for God's timing in all this.

Bob has done an incredible amount of good in bringing people together and educating the church. He was the guy behind the Chicago Declaration and more recently, I signed Bob's ecumenical document when he sent it to us. What a remarkable contribution to the family of Christ! See an interview with Bob on The Ooze. Bob is the author of the excellent book The Younger Evangelicals.

House Church Network Leaders Conference, Denver

Denver, Colorado. Meeting for house church network leaders has begun. I joined the proceedings this morning. There are about 75 people here, all of whom came by personal invitation. Very focused group of leaders who are all doing house church/simple church but at the same time there is a desire to connect and integrate with the wider church.
No speakers at this conference but instead there are group discussions and creative exercises in thought, prayer and reporting. Scriptures are woven through all the conversations and presentations. Very house church like in its flavor, even though we are meeting at the Radisson hotel.

The event is sponsored by DAWN Ministries. A lot of married couples are here and the women add a more wholistic element In fact, as I speak, a lady and her husband are sharing their group's disccussion that included a "passionate desire of and for God Himself", and "catching the eyes of the Groom"

Mary not Martha, Intimacy, connectivity, identity, bride and bridegroom, only do what you hear the Father say, listen to God before moving ahead.

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Smuggling liquids and finger nail clippers through security

I was running kinda late to catch my flight to Denver. Jim Newberry and I had to go back to the house to pick up some things i left behind [not the first time] and i arrived with 25 minutes to catch my flight. They had stopped accepting luggage and told me to take everything and run to catch the plane. I was packing light but i still had full size toiletries and clippers and whatever was in my bag. I threw it on the belt and prayed up a quickie that God would cover over the contraband stuff and . . . thankfully . .. it emerged without security personnel jumping on me and i grabbed my bag and ran to catch my plane. Which I did and i have now arrived in Denver. Tell you about it tomorrow. It 12:30am and probably time i went to bed.

Bloggers Roundtable (when the roll is uploaded yonder)

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ORIGINAL: Almost 50 bloggers turned up for a lunch and chat today. I finally got to meet a whole bunch of famous bloggers that i had not met in person before.

UPDATE: When the roll is called up yonder, which should happen within the next few days, these names will be written in the Exponential Bloggers Roundtable Book of Life:
Shawn Lovejoy - well known blogger.
Chris Elrod sat next to me. Funny guy.
Travis Johnson commented on my blog so he gets on the list.
Drew Goodmanson is tall and skinny like me.
Michael Dixon is jobless minister.
Charles Whitmire is Connexion Pastor
Ben Arment making history.
Henry Judy making it all happen for everyone.
Me - tallskinnykiwi

BradMartin

Ken Witcher
Devin Hudson at GraceIsThePoint

April 26, 2007

Live-blogging Mark Driscoll and Bill Hybels

UPDATE: I just closed the comments on this because it swelled up into something much larger than what actually happened. Todd Rhoades has the skinny so go check out his blog post and comment there if you like.

Final Session. Intro by Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, speaking through a pre-made video. Very cool graphics, nicely done. And Mark is an excellent communicator - Mark gives 3 points. The man, the mission, the message,.

[update: this video is now available on youtube].

1. The man. Selection of the man - who fights like a good soldier. God needs competent men who will gather others.
2. The mission. What mission is that man on? A man can get sidetracked by civilian affairs. Jesus is not a gay hippie in a dress.
60% of pastors [edit: attenders - sorry - i corrected this but it didnt come out] are female but if you want to win the war you need to get the men. Force men to become the kind of men they need to come.
Misison is to get the men because if you win the men you win the war.
3. The message. The one thing that keeps the man straight and keeps the mission on progress.

[TSK response: Although i really like Mark, and appreciate the fact that this conference was composed of many different streams, I felt myself cringing during his speech and wondering what the ladies were thinking and feeling duringk. The other thing was that Mark's talk seemed to clash with the reproduction/multiplication/outward-releasing flow of this conference.]

Bill Hybels introduced and gets standing ovation. He looks older with his grey hair, and wiser. I saw him last in Australia in 1993 when his team came downunder.

Bill says:
"After that video i would like to acknowledge that there are women in this room and they have spiritual gifts.
[applause and yelling]
Bill's community - all gifts used.

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Alan Hirsch VIP

I attended a dinner last night at Bola's. Quite a posh Italian restaurant. All the speakers and officials were there. Thanks to Ed Stetzer who managed to get my name on the invitation list. We had a superb meal and then Dave Ferguson introduced the speaker and VIP . . . none other than the Aussie Alan Hirsch.

Good choice, actually. Alan's books - Shaping of Things to Come with fellow Aussie Michael Frost and The Forgotten Ways -have been the most important books of late in this area and it was appropriate to have him address some of the leading players in USA. After the dinner, we hooked up with Alan and Neil Cole for some after dinner celebrations and libations.

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Did you ever see my cartoony intro to The Forgotten Ways?

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Shane Deike - thanks!

Dsc08864Thanks to Shane Deike for hosting me during my Orlando visit. Campus Crusade for Christ guys have often been stereotyped as athletic jocks [not by me, mind you] and Shane does nothing at all to deconstruct that image. Huge energy and great strategic mind and tireless networker. We had a blast together, especially the late night communions and the breakfast with CCC leaders, and will no doubt conspire to play together in the future. Shane blogs at Movements Everywhere.

Dave Ferguson

GregfergusonDave Ferguson [author of The Big Idea] did a great job at his large group session last night, involving dancing, rabbits, and stuff falling from the ceiling. In his session this morning he went over the emphases in ministry that need to be in place:

New more than the old
Edge more than the center
Lost more than the found
Going more than the staying

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April 25, 2007

Ooooohhhh. Nice photos!

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Anita took some killer photos of our family in London earlier this month. Thats Tamara hanging on my leg. She's 5 years old and wearing the cardigan that my mother spun and knitted. You can see Anita's photos of us and our London experience (Borough Food Market) on her blog called WhereIsNiniNow?. Anita is a great friend and a professional photographer who makes her living doing graphics and websites for church ministries. She will be in Paris for the next few months but takes her work with her. THANKS ANITA! U ROCK!

Bob Logan on Church Planting

I am in Bob Logan's session. Sorting the Soils is what he is talking about right now, and being "cultivatable". Years ago when I was reading his stuff, Bob was using human reproduction terminology to describe the church planting process. Seems like he has switched to organic farming metaphors now to say the same thing - which is also a good way of seeing it. Some soils are hostile, resistant, passive, cultivatable, receptive and ready. Most pastors and ministry people spend time with the passive and not with the receptive.

Well done, Bob. METAPHORS be with you! Bob's group is called CoachNet.

Exponential Conference in Orlando

I had a few days to spare before the next conference (Denver) so yesterday I popped down to Orlando and am now in the flow of the National New Church Planting Conference called Exponential, an event hosted by Leadership Network.

Exponential

About 1800 people here in the cavernous building of First Baptist Church. A lot of friends are here and its good to catch up with folk like Glenn Smith, Hugh Halter, Bob Roberts, Bob Carlton, Alan Hirsch, Kirk Scheeman and others that have been a part of my journey over the last decade.

Ed Stetzer just spoke to the crowd on making the hard choice on being missional. Alan H and Bob Roberts shared yesterday. The media folk had some fun with the overheads. Check this out.

exponential-bobandalan

Lots of little groups meeting and lunch meetings lined up. I had a drink last night with some friends from Texas and breakfast this morning with the directors of Campus Crusade for Christ. All good. Will say more soon. Bloggers lunch in an hour but first i have to listen to Larry Osbourne - who I havent seen for about 8 years.

Exponential has been uploading podcasts and stuff on the conference.

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Back in the blogosphere.

Well I made it to Orlando and, more importantly, I am back with Mac so i should be able to blog a whole lot more. The past month traveling without a computer has been tough. Many of the posts below were sent through my phone. Thanks for hanging on with me.

EXPECT ME TO BE MORE REGULAR!

like a man eating prunes. PEace!

April 22, 2007

Montreal

Great to be in Montreal. I havent been here since 1986 when i sailed here on the MV Logos and enjoyed my very first date ever with Debbie who would later become my wife.

Schedule is very busy. Dave Brazzeal is working me to death but is feeding me well so i wont complain. He has a schedule on his blog for those who still want to jump in and learn about the global emerging church movement and chat about the contribution of the Canadian scene to that movement, especially Francophone Canada.

For those that have ended up in these meetings, I will write up a summary of what i am saying, including links to relative material, when i get a chance and i will post it here. Probably next week sometime.

April 20, 2007

Zurich


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Zurich this morning. Alles gut! We had a great party at Reinholds house last night in Steffisburg.

April 18, 2007

2007 National New Church Conference

National New Church Conference, called Exponential, happens next week in Orlando Florida.

For those asking, YES I will be there and I should have my computer with me and will probably assist in the live blogging processs. Maybe Jive blogging is a better word. There will be a bloggers roundtable over Wed lunch, room AP-1 and I hope to meet a few of you in person.

Preparing for worship by numbers

Most of the participants of Eurochurch are walking in the Swiss alps in the manner of Francis Schaeffer (famous theologian and author of "How High Shall We Then Raise Our Socks?  . .  or something like that)  but poor old me is stuck indoors where i am working on the alternative worship experience for tonight. I am putting together a worship by numbers experience that i think will be a good thing for the many strategists and research geeks here, as well as for those of us that are used to a more visual or word based worship.
God likes numbers and often used them to communicate. Like . . .how many baskets did you pick up? You have 5 husbands! etc.
Fact is, 4 years ago i led worship for the same group (called European Church Growth back then) in England and I made fun of the number crunching geeks for their infatuation with numbers, statistics and compulsion to project numbers on a screen. I told them we should focus on starting something to measure rather than discuss new ways to assemble and aggregrate numbers. For the worship, I went with a word based experience composed of photos of words found that day on the grounds of the conference center.

Emptieddaily

You can see more of them and how i used them here.

So in a way i am repenting of my previous dislike of numbers and admitting that, for some people, numbers are a language and one which should be used in worship.
Tell you how it goes later.

In Switzerland Again


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Switzerland. It would be a great view here if it wasnt for these bloody mountains!!!! Actually, its great to be back here again. my previous visits to Switzerland are blogged here. Its a very functional country and it feels like a visit to the chiropractor as well as a nice break.

April 16, 2007

Scooterworks, London


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

At scooterworks cafe which is officially closed due to it being used for the filming of the third bourne identity movie.

Catching my breath in London

Ahhhhhhhh. Internet again. I dont have my computer on this trip and so blogging is sporadic. My apologies. Heres an update.

Camp was fantastic and the whole family loved it. Great people, great time.

Friday we went to Birmingham for the day and drove through the night, getting a few zzzzz's in the rest areas once or twice in the night. Saturday we ended up at a friends house in Gifford, south of Edinburgh, where we stayed the night. Sunday I dropped the family off in Aberdeen where they sailed home on the LOVE BOAT. I flew down to London on a standby which was nice of British Airways, considering my flight was supposed to be Monday.

Stayed last night with Shannon and Anita, and went for a drink at the Prospect of Whitby, one of the oldest pubs in London with a history going back to 1510.

Meeting today with CMS in London and off to Switzerland tomorrow morning for Eurochurch conference.

I feel REALLY good. Travel pumps me up and helps me to see life from a fuller perspective. Had a nice prayerful walk through London this morning on the way to work. I seem to function better in motion than being still. Must be how I was made. Thankful that I have a job that lets me move around and be involved in many places.

My copy of John MacArthur's book The Truth War arrived and I have read it through. It was a little depressing, reading his critique of the emerging church which he likened to a poopslide (from a Greek word in the letter of Jude meaning a poop stain on one's undergarment, as in an unfortunate SKID, you know what i mean). Must say more on this later but for now, let me just say that the Emerging Church is not, I repeat, NOT the new skid on the jock.

April 11, 2007

John O'Donohue's blessing

When we were in Belfast a few months ago, Gareth Higgins (who is an interesting and intelligent guy - check out his blog called god is not elsewhere) read out this blessing to us by John O'Donohue. I now have permission to blog it here. Its from his Anam Cara book. And if you like it, you might like his next book of blessings coming out later this year.

Beannacht ("Blessing") by John O’Donohue

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.

Continue reading "John O'Donohue's blessing" »

April 10, 2007

camp going well


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Eating with a couple who live in france. Camp is going really well. Great people.

April 09, 2007

Is mission the mother of theology?

Its one of the questions i have been asked to deal with this week at the camp for Baptists.

Missiology or Theology? Chicken or the egg? Is missiology a slice of the theolgical cake or a foundational layer? And what about the sequence that goes missiology-christology-ecclesiology? Or as Alan Hirsch has laid it out, Christology-Missiology-Ecclesiology. How would you sequence it?

Thoughts? I might not be able to respond for a few days but i would be interested if anyone had some enlightenment on this.You will no doubt quote Kähler to me [someone says "WHOOO??????"] with his famous phrase that mission is the "mother of theology" (Martin Kähler) but how do you think it all adds up? And is this consistent with a Baptist missiology - something that will be important to this group. Well, important to me anyway.

Getting Shaped by God at Camp

Off to a camp today at the Frontier conference center near Northampton. People have been asked to read "Shaping of Things to Come" by Hirsch and Frost or listen to a series of talks by Michael Frost. All of this dealing with the kind of churches we are creating. I will be teaching from the life and ministry of Jesus along the idea of being SHAPED as people and as missionaries, and looking at the shaping of our ministry structures in light of the current culture and past history, and of course, in the teaching and practise of Jesus. APPRECIATE PRAYERS to say what is on God's heart.

I wont be using much multimedia but there are one or two video clips i hope to use. One is Flea Circus Playstation commercial that Jonny Baker showed us last year. It carries the idea of shaping pretty well.

The team leading worship and kids programs are flying over from Tempe, Arizona. They set up a blog called C.O.M.Team comes to the UK. These guys are quite impressive. A few months ago they sent out a music CD to all the kids coming to camp so that they can be familiar with the songs.

Anyway, have a great week everyone.

We finally saw Amazing Grace

After our huge Easter lunch we all went out to see Amazing Grace the movie at London's West India Quay. Best place to watch it! West India Quay is one of the first places mentioned in the movie and the scene where much of the slave trade took place in London. About 11 of us went, including our German friend Claudia, and we all enjoyed it.

Art and War

We took the family out to London's Imperial War Museum for an easter egg hunt, actually more of a war symbol hunt with a prize at the end. A really moving experience to be at the war museum. It triggered emotions that were strange to me. I wonder if thats because i am too young to remember any wars, except watching Desert Storm on CNN from a TV in Portland Oregon. War is always horrible to me and it triggers disgust and terror and I was surprised to find, among that disgust,  elements of beauty, innovation in fashion (camouflage), communal closeness, the thrill of a cunning strategy, the exhileration of VE day, the effort to conserve resources and give sacrificially to the war effort.

I wonder if my lack of war experience has made me emotionally immature in that area and has prevented me for understanding war and how it relates to theology and God.

I wonder if older people have the same experience i had when they enter an art museum and have their emotions assaulted with disgust and surprise and wonder and dont know how to navigate their experience.

Art and war. Older people seem to equate ministry with war and give it military terms. Younger people sometimes use the language of art to describe spiritual experiences and ministry projects. Interesting when the two come together.

Question? When did the church develop a theology of war. A book I read recently [The First Crusade by Thomas Asbridge] claimed it was during the First Crusade. Anyone know?

April 07, 2007

Easter weekend in London

448469606_3e87c6fe74_m We are in London at the moment, staying with Shannon Hopkins near the Tower of London. Easter celebration for 20 people tomorrow. Anita Roach from LA is here with us - havent seen her since Greenbelt 4 years ago.

Wales was great. Saw the house my grandad was born in. We also spent a night in Oxford at the big house that is on its way to becoming a new monastery under the care of Church Missionary Society. Jim Barker spent the evening meal with us. He will be heading up the community and he is already building relationships with the various monasteries and communities in that area.

April 06, 2007

Borough Market


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

At borough market, london. Very cool place to get lunch and smell foods from all over the world.

Oxford. Mission House.


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

We stayed here one night. This building will be a monastic house in a short while. They need to do some serious renovations inside to create a larger eating space. Should be great. Jim Barker showed us around and ate with us. Nice guy. He will head up the community when it emerges.

April 05, 2007

Welshpool, Wales


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

In welshpool, wales. We bought some lamb for our big easter celebration in London this weekend. I like to have lamb at Easter, goose at Christmas, and roast pork at Pentecost.

April 03, 2007

Da Vinci Horse Manure


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Right across the road from Rosslyn Chapel is horse manure for sale, under this sign. Had to take the photo, like all the other tourists. Actually, we took a wrong turn out of Edinburgh and stumbled on Rosslyn Chapel by mistake. We didnt intend to be here at all but needed to stop and eat a picnic lunch somewhere . . . so why not?

Rosslyn Chapel


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Passed by rosslyn chapel. It has a huge steel roof structure and doesnt look anything like what i imagined. Quite disappointing actually. And we didnt pay 7 pounds admission to go in.

New American Passports


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Getting new passports at american consulate, edinburgh. We will be travelling all over Europe this summer on pilgrimage and the kid's passports were getting close to expiring. Some countries wont let you in if you have less than 6 months left on the passport.

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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Fer

April 02, 2007

April photos and more about our car.

I wont be blogging much over the next 2 weeks since there is not much WiFi in Wales, or much of UK actually, and because i will not have my computer. But i will be taking photos and uploading them to Tallskinnykiwi on Flickr.com from my phone.

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This is our car - a ten year old Peugeot 806. It cost us £2000 and its probably the best car we have ever owned. It has 7 seats for Debbie and I and our 5 kids. Not much space for anything else but the roof box on top (new addition) holds our sleeping bags and mats and tents and stuff. Plus a little room for anything we might find at a desolate thrift store in a remote part of the country. Only drawback is the colour - the same forest green as my mother-in-law's carpet back in Oregon.

We took it to Germany last year and it didn't break down which was a change. Our family are famous for our breakdowns but we usually drive cars that are nearly 20 years old and cost a few hundred.

Our car


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Originally uploaded by tallskinnykiwi.

Our ten year old peugeot is ready to go.

On the Road in April

Here's my schedule for those of you praying for me and trying to connect with me or my family. My whole family will be with me for the first two weeks.

2- 3 Edinburgh
4- 5 Wales
6-8 London
9-13 Near Northampton. Speaking 3 times.
14 Easter People Festival, Blackpool. Not speaking.
[family drive home and i fly off solo]
16 London
17-19 EuroChurch, Wilderswil, Switzerland.
21-22 Resonate Greenhouse, Montreal, Canada
24-26 Exponential Conference, Orlando, FL. Not speaking - just hooking up with friends and checking out the scene [Networking Track].
26-29 Denver, CO. DAWN ministries hosted conference for international house church network leaders.
30 London and then home to Orkney on May 1

Chicken Run

We got chickens last week. Three families, including ours, have gone in together to buy and look after 10 laying hens. We have borrowed a plot of land from a friend (thnks James Stockan) and expect some fresh eggs in a few weeks.

Hens1Hens3Hens2

Dropouts the Video.

Bob from Family Room Media sent me a cool video called Dropouts but it got lost inside our house before i got to see all of it. I was hoping to review it here and probably will later on but Bob tells me you can view it online.
Anyone else seen it?

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