my computer seems to have crashed..
still working on that one..
in other words, I'll be offline for a bit...
will be back in Nigeria as of Sunday, & then maybe I'll have more internet time/a workable computer situation by then...
so excuse my abscence...for now..
Tx! ;)
P.S. We had a wonderful fellowship for the Family International's 42nd anniversary the other Sunday at the Vine Lodge...it was great...2 bad there weren't any pics taken..that followed by a short but sweet little ''bash'' thereafter that went into the semi-wee hours of the night..not tooooo long though...most everyone had things the following Monday, so couldn't be up to late..
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
TIA
hmmmm....
So I'm applying for my Nigerian visa, right? As I'm going next week...
In order to leave the country, my current S.A. extension on my visitor's pass has to come through first...
I set off to home affairs at 9 yesterday morning & after looking for a parking space for nearly half an hour & enduring another 12-15 minute walk to the office (that's how far down Pretorius street I parked), another 15 minute wait in line, they tell me that (and it had been more than 30 days): My visa is not ready.
"Try again in 2 weeks!"
"But I'm leaving the country in 2 weeks!"
"Ok, try next week!"
Wow. I'd even called ahead, but no one picked up...
I thought "Oh, well!" Let me at least be productive & go apply for my Nigerian visa, so as to save time...(the idea being that my Nigerian visa would be through by next week if the application was submitted yesterday) & I'd go collect my extension at Home Affairs next week..
Phone information told me that a) Visa applications were excepted between 10am & 2pm Tuesdays & Thursdays. b) forms were given at the embassy as the website was experiencing a problem (I wasn't able to view the visa forms earlier--or load the page at all for that matter..).
I rushed to find the place, not knowing that Rivonia Road was so long that it would take me all the way through Sandton & into Illovo (nearly an hour drive from the Pretoria office I'd just left). I was making good time: 1:15pm. Well--rushed time--but good time. I took my passport pics, printed the invitation letter & other needed documents, rushed to the embassy (I even left my car parked at the plaza & ran down the street to avoid going all the way to the parking booth in order to save "precious minutes"), got there at 1:30 only to find that "we have closed for the day! Office hours are between 10am & 1:00pm."
I'm like: uhhhh...oK..."well, can I at least have the forms & come back Thurday w/ them?"..
"There are no forms! You can only get them online!"
Woooowwww...so I had nearly wasted my whole day...but what can I say...This Is Africa..
I'm repeating said process tomorrow..please pray I have the right info/documentation in hand & that all goes well..
Tx soooooooooooo much!
So I'm applying for my Nigerian visa, right? As I'm going next week...
In order to leave the country, my current S.A. extension on my visitor's pass has to come through first...
I set off to home affairs at 9 yesterday morning & after looking for a parking space for nearly half an hour & enduring another 12-15 minute walk to the office (that's how far down Pretorius street I parked), another 15 minute wait in line, they tell me that (and it had been more than 30 days): My visa is not ready.
"Try again in 2 weeks!"
"But I'm leaving the country in 2 weeks!"
"Ok, try next week!"
Wow. I'd even called ahead, but no one picked up...
I thought "Oh, well!" Let me at least be productive & go apply for my Nigerian visa, so as to save time...(the idea being that my Nigerian visa would be through by next week if the application was submitted yesterday) & I'd go collect my extension at Home Affairs next week..
Phone information told me that a) Visa applications were excepted between 10am & 2pm Tuesdays & Thursdays. b) forms were given at the embassy as the website was experiencing a problem (I wasn't able to view the visa forms earlier--or load the page at all for that matter..).
I rushed to find the place, not knowing that Rivonia Road was so long that it would take me all the way through Sandton & into Illovo (nearly an hour drive from the Pretoria office I'd just left). I was making good time: 1:15pm. Well--rushed time--but good time. I took my passport pics, printed the invitation letter & other needed documents, rushed to the embassy (I even left my car parked at the plaza & ran down the street to avoid going all the way to the parking booth in order to save "precious minutes"), got there at 1:30 only to find that "we have closed for the day! Office hours are between 10am & 1:00pm."
I'm like: uhhhh...oK..."well, can I at least have the forms & come back Thurday w/ them?"..
"There are no forms! You can only get them online!"
Woooowwww...so I had nearly wasted my whole day...but what can I say...This Is Africa..
I'm repeating said process tomorrow..please pray I have the right info/documentation in hand & that all goes well..
Tx soooooooooooo much!
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Perspectives..
Yesterday I saw a man getting beaten by the side of the road…
We’ll never know why...all I know is that the wickedness of man is reaching new proportions to the point that these things can carry on in broad daylight. But that’s not the saddest part. The saddest part is that I did nothing to help the situation. I, & no doubt, countless others, drove right on by… Granted, I just caught glimpse of the situation in my rear view & had to keep my eyes on the road. Granted, I was winding down a bit of a mountain road & had to watch very well what I was doing. Granted, by the time my faculties kicked in, so did the realization that the criminal may be armed. But by the time I got home a truer & grander realization kicked in: “Evil prospers when good men do nothing” (does anyone know who originally said that?). Now I know how true that is.
Thankfully communication with God is one reflex that I do have that did kick in immediately & I instantly prayed sincerely that God would do something to help that man. Approximately 240 seconds later a cop car drove past me towards the direction I’d just come from. I prayed again that God would send the police right by (after all it was on the side of the road) & that they would put a stop to what appeared to me a mini-terror that I’d barely witnessed. But if my reflexes were quicker still I would have honked/flashed my brights at the police, or turned around & gone towards them, flagged them down & told them where & when the crime was taking place & urged them to do something.
I have a lot to learn. But I’m praying for a faster mind, so that I can have the correct reflex at the correct time.
I trust that God is helping that man. Why? Because I prayed for him consecutively for the next 2 hours after I got home & I’ve prayed for him alternately since. I’ll keep praying for him.
But another realization still took place in my life because of that 4 second happening (my witnessing the event, that is)--and it produced a learning in my spirit. And that realization was concerning the suffering of so many Africans & so many people in the world in general. This man being beaten probably didn’t have money to pay the taxi & so the taxi driver pulled over & took it out on him. Or even worse, maybe he’d been picked up innocently & then been the subject of a hijack/burglary…with a beating (or is that the better case scenario?—I can’t figure).
Changing the subject slightly, our house help (newly acquired after Jacob & Gansan were slaughtered on the road 4 months ago) lost his daughter recently to heart trouble. She was 13. Probably due to lack of medication & proper health care, due to them being a low, low, low income family. The saddest part is that her father couldn’t even attend her funeral as he didn’t have the money to travel back to Malawi for the burial.
Where this story is actually going is to the point that I realized then that I complain a lot (yet another realization). Ironic because...I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT!! I have a loving family, a beautiful girlfriend, a thrilling/adventurous lifestyle, A fulfilling calling, a God who cares for me, & what’s more, safety, good food, protection, full health…..Basically I lead a charmed life compared to so many. So many of us do. Yet we still find ought to gripe/bemoan the small things missing in our lives (inconsequentials, really, like summer sea-cruises, designer clothes, iphones, expensive cars, etc.). That’s changed for me. If I have to go back & scratch out all the other new Year’s resolutions & replace them with just one it would be this: in 2010 I will be thankful! I will not complain about anything this year & I will thank God for my many blessings.
Alright. There you have it. My new New Year’s resolution for 2010. Thank You God for all you’ve given me. You're the greatest. I love you!
We’ll never know why...all I know is that the wickedness of man is reaching new proportions to the point that these things can carry on in broad daylight. But that’s not the saddest part. The saddest part is that I did nothing to help the situation. I, & no doubt, countless others, drove right on by… Granted, I just caught glimpse of the situation in my rear view & had to keep my eyes on the road. Granted, I was winding down a bit of a mountain road & had to watch very well what I was doing. Granted, by the time my faculties kicked in, so did the realization that the criminal may be armed. But by the time I got home a truer & grander realization kicked in: “Evil prospers when good men do nothing” (does anyone know who originally said that?). Now I know how true that is.
Thankfully communication with God is one reflex that I do have that did kick in immediately & I instantly prayed sincerely that God would do something to help that man. Approximately 240 seconds later a cop car drove past me towards the direction I’d just come from. I prayed again that God would send the police right by (after all it was on the side of the road) & that they would put a stop to what appeared to me a mini-terror that I’d barely witnessed. But if my reflexes were quicker still I would have honked/flashed my brights at the police, or turned around & gone towards them, flagged them down & told them where & when the crime was taking place & urged them to do something.
I have a lot to learn. But I’m praying for a faster mind, so that I can have the correct reflex at the correct time.
I trust that God is helping that man. Why? Because I prayed for him consecutively for the next 2 hours after I got home & I’ve prayed for him alternately since. I’ll keep praying for him.
But another realization still took place in my life because of that 4 second happening (my witnessing the event, that is)--and it produced a learning in my spirit. And that realization was concerning the suffering of so many Africans & so many people in the world in general. This man being beaten probably didn’t have money to pay the taxi & so the taxi driver pulled over & took it out on him. Or even worse, maybe he’d been picked up innocently & then been the subject of a hijack/burglary…with a beating (or is that the better case scenario?—I can’t figure).
Changing the subject slightly, our house help (newly acquired after Jacob & Gansan were slaughtered on the road 4 months ago) lost his daughter recently to heart trouble. She was 13. Probably due to lack of medication & proper health care, due to them being a low, low, low income family. The saddest part is that her father couldn’t even attend her funeral as he didn’t have the money to travel back to Malawi for the burial.
Where this story is actually going is to the point that I realized then that I complain a lot (yet another realization). Ironic because...I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT!! I have a loving family, a beautiful girlfriend, a thrilling/adventurous lifestyle, A fulfilling calling, a God who cares for me, & what’s more, safety, good food, protection, full health…..Basically I lead a charmed life compared to so many. So many of us do. Yet we still find ought to gripe/bemoan the small things missing in our lives (inconsequentials, really, like summer sea-cruises, designer clothes, iphones, expensive cars, etc.). That’s changed for me. If I have to go back & scratch out all the other new Year’s resolutions & replace them with just one it would be this: in 2010 I will be thankful! I will not complain about anything this year & I will thank God for my many blessings.
Alright. There you have it. My new New Year’s resolution for 2010. Thank You God for all you’ve given me. You're the greatest. I love you!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
New Year Goals!
Some already enacted:
Am reading the Bible straight through for pretty much the first time ever..
Because I’ve started & stopped so many times, I decided to skip the first five books of Moses having read those 1000 times over (Genesis/Exodus particularly) & began from the book of Joshua this time. The Bible is one looooooooooong book, let me tell you right now. Been reading for 2 months (again, starting from Joshua) & I’m now only at Nehemiah chapter 10. Although, to be fair, I am a slow reader!
Continuing in my fitness vein, TTL! It seems it’s for life now. I’m learning to make do w/out a gym, and although I have gotten considerably smaller since leaving the comfort & regular regimen of my Dome Gym in Abuja, I’ve managed to keep frequent work-outs going with the current exercise equipment comprising of dip bars, pull-up bars &….the floor…which suits all other exercises (squats, push-ups, plank, calf-raise etc.). So I’m still happy & healthy…(won’t say happy & buff, but happy & healthy nonetheless)..
Am learning to say no. Said it a couple times recently, including a big no when I turned down a 4-week long road trip to instead extend my current visa internally which turned out a tough process & was pretty much down to the wire, but my application was accepted in the end & I learned the art of weighing up balances & the advantage of sometimes choosing the more immediately tedious option, to avoid an easier option that may take 5 times longer to reach the same result (in few words, sometimes it’s worth it to go through several days of intensity, if it avoids you weeks of slower work). Raise your hand if you’ve ever experienced that?).
Putting on God’s mind:
This one still a work in progress, but it definitely feel great to be taking more time in meditation & prayer, going to the Lord w/ my questions, not being too busy for Him, praising Him more in my heart, reviewing the Word & key promises, keeping a spirit song in my head or playing on my phone. A great way to start the year! Like some kind of phenomenon, the more of God’s Word you get, the more you want…cool. Of all the goals, I hope this one I can truly keep up throughout the year.
Am reading the Bible straight through for pretty much the first time ever..
Because I’ve started & stopped so many times, I decided to skip the first five books of Moses having read those 1000 times over (Genesis/Exodus particularly) & began from the book of Joshua this time. The Bible is one looooooooooong book, let me tell you right now. Been reading for 2 months (again, starting from Joshua) & I’m now only at Nehemiah chapter 10. Although, to be fair, I am a slow reader!
Continuing in my fitness vein, TTL! It seems it’s for life now. I’m learning to make do w/out a gym, and although I have gotten considerably smaller since leaving the comfort & regular regimen of my Dome Gym in Abuja, I’ve managed to keep frequent work-outs going with the current exercise equipment comprising of dip bars, pull-up bars &….the floor…which suits all other exercises (squats, push-ups, plank, calf-raise etc.). So I’m still happy & healthy…(won’t say happy & buff, but happy & healthy nonetheless)..
Am learning to say no. Said it a couple times recently, including a big no when I turned down a 4-week long road trip to instead extend my current visa internally which turned out a tough process & was pretty much down to the wire, but my application was accepted in the end & I learned the art of weighing up balances & the advantage of sometimes choosing the more immediately tedious option, to avoid an easier option that may take 5 times longer to reach the same result (in few words, sometimes it’s worth it to go through several days of intensity, if it avoids you weeks of slower work). Raise your hand if you’ve ever experienced that?).
Putting on God’s mind:
This one still a work in progress, but it definitely feel great to be taking more time in meditation & prayer, going to the Lord w/ my questions, not being too busy for Him, praising Him more in my heart, reviewing the Word & key promises, keeping a spirit song in my head or playing on my phone. A great way to start the year! Like some kind of phenomenon, the more of God’s Word you get, the more you want…cool. Of all the goals, I hope this one I can truly keep up throughout the year.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
3 10s...
On the 10th of January 2010 I had my 10th Africa Anniversary..
I couldn't get online on the 10th, so am posting this now..So celebrate w/ me..
Let's c how many more their will be..well, I'll let you on to the simple fact that there won't be that many more, as I'll be moving at the end of this year..
but my history in Africa is certainly not in any way coming to a close..The future is bright & big w/ God's help..TYJ!
In other news, after 4 trips down-town Pretoria..at the last minute on the last day of my visa, they approved an extension for me, as I finally had all the right forms..(it's a loooong story w/ a long process)..Thank the Lord! I'm so thankful that it worked, as this way I didn't have to travel out..Hal!
I couldn't get online on the 10th, so am posting this now..So celebrate w/ me..
Let's c how many more their will be..well, I'll let you on to the simple fact that there won't be that many more, as I'll be moving at the end of this year..
but my history in Africa is certainly not in any way coming to a close..The future is bright & big w/ God's help..TYJ!
In other news, after 4 trips down-town Pretoria..at the last minute on the last day of my visa, they approved an extension for me, as I finally had all the right forms..(it's a loooong story w/ a long process)..Thank the Lord! I'm so thankful that it worked, as this way I didn't have to travel out..Hal!
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Happy New Year!
Wishing everyone out there a fantastic 2010! I had a GREAT C'mas & New Year's, btw...more details coming w/ pics..
First happenings of 2010: I stayed a few days at the Centurion Home while my team was down in Cape Town & we had a candlelight/New Year reflection..Here's what I came up w/..
Thankful for in 2009: Rebecca, Projects conducted in Nigeria & South Africa, lessons learned, survived a life-threatening car accident, FDTP, travels, visit w/ my family, PMA course & that I was able to be here for the graduation ceremony.
Goals for 2010: Embrace Change & be open to the new things the Lord has for me this year..Full Possession (in other words, a mind meld w/ God..to know Him & His Word better then ever, so I can do what He wants, not what I want).
Funny enough, one of my 2010 goals is to learn to say no. It seems simple enough, but I actually need that resolution as I too often do everyone else's wishes, without making sure it's right in my own life. Already managed a couple nos..and the year's just getting started..
New Year's promise:
(Message from Jesus, speaking on the Keys of the Kingdom:)
The power of the keys will never be broken. Within the keys lie all the power and energy and components you will ever need to build on your dreams and carry out My will.
Awesome.
First happenings of 2010: I stayed a few days at the Centurion Home while my team was down in Cape Town & we had a candlelight/New Year reflection..Here's what I came up w/..
Thankful for in 2009: Rebecca, Projects conducted in Nigeria & South Africa, lessons learned, survived a life-threatening car accident, FDTP, travels, visit w/ my family, PMA course & that I was able to be here for the graduation ceremony.
Goals for 2010: Embrace Change & be open to the new things the Lord has for me this year..Full Possession (in other words, a mind meld w/ God..to know Him & His Word better then ever, so I can do what He wants, not what I want).
Funny enough, one of my 2010 goals is to learn to say no. It seems simple enough, but I actually need that resolution as I too often do everyone else's wishes, without making sure it's right in my own life. Already managed a couple nos..and the year's just getting started..
New Year's promise:
(Message from Jesus, speaking on the Keys of the Kingdom:)
The power of the keys will never be broken. Within the keys lie all the power and energy and components you will ever need to build on your dreams and carry out My will.
Awesome.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas after-thought..
Got this from my Mom..
Good gifts for anyone to give..for the New Year as well, not only for Christmas..
Good gifts for anyone to give..for the New Year as well, not only for Christmas..
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS...
Below is the txt I sent w/ my C'mas e-card (or will send, when our connection is fixed..)to my friends in Nigeria...but the wish goes out to all of you just the same..:
Wishing you a relaxing & invigorating Christmas season & a thrilling New Year w/ Jesus..
My prayers are with you that this year will be a combination of your hopes & heart’s desires come true, as well as your destiny realized.
I’ll be praying for your health, safety & prosperity (those practical things that we all need) as well as for those of your family.
God willing, I’ll be seeing many of you sometime soon. Even though I haven’t been there w/ all of you over the last several months, I wanted to also say thank you again for your help & support to Family Care Eduvision’s missionary & humanitarian projects over the course of this year. May God continue to bless you & repay you for your generosity & kindness.
Merry Christmas,
Brian
Wishing you a relaxing & invigorating Christmas season & a thrilling New Year w/ Jesus..
My prayers are with you that this year will be a combination of your hopes & heart’s desires come true, as well as your destiny realized.
I’ll be praying for your health, safety & prosperity (those practical things that we all need) as well as for those of your family.
God willing, I’ll be seeing many of you sometime soon. Even though I haven’t been there w/ all of you over the last several months, I wanted to also say thank you again for your help & support to Family Care Eduvision’s missionary & humanitarian projects over the course of this year. May God continue to bless you & repay you for your generosity & kindness.
Merry Christmas,
Brian
Monday, December 14, 2009
Today's infostore quote..
The humble are not afraid because they’ve already accepted that they are nothing, that they know nothing, and can do nothing without Me and without the love and help of others.
--Jesus
--Jesus
Monday, December 07, 2009
Euro pics!
Had a great time w/ my fam in Europe..1 week in the UK, 1 week in Belgium..
My sister Lisa came down from Iceland & Phebe & her son, Dorian (who I met for the 1st time), came across the ocean from Atlanta(GA)..
Some photographical evidence follows:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)