Monthly Archive

In recent months Naomi and I have been in conversation with friends, medical specialists and other counselors regarding my health. The past three years and particularly the past seven months have been extraordinarily difficult. As I grappled with such significant disability over the past seven months, post diagnosis of the spinal infectionn, we began to talk about the possible need to locate closer to more health care options as well as friends and family.

Many of you have seen Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. He plays the part of Clark Griswold who leads his family in a disastrous search of Wally World, a theme park. Today on the plane from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, I sat in front of a family of four headed to Disney World and they could have been the Griswold family. The husband was a friendly aw shucks kind of guy and his wife a plump, pleasant doting mother with children, son 14 and daughter 7 who fought over who sat next to the window. I was exhausted and so slept about 2 1/2 hours of the 5 1/2 hour flight.

It has been a life-giving trip, from the beginning, November 30 to Perth, then South Africa, the UK, to Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boise, Weiser, Dallas, Abilene, Dallas, Philadelphia, Dallas, Philadelphi, now to Los Angeles today and Auckland tomorrow. Almost 60,000 kilometers, 14 flights total. I have experienced the deep, abiding, wondrous grace of God--I have traveled better than I could have hoped, had a few medical issues but stayed in good health, most importantly have had great connection and community with family and friends.

I have not blogged regularly in the last month . . . . more of a vacation from the blog. My return to New Zealand was delayed by dental surgery and the precautions taken regarding my risk for infection. I have been cleared for travel and will begin my way back to New Zealand on Friday, overnighting in Los Angeles then flying out Saturday night, arriving strangely on Monday morning (with the international date line).

A friend sent this poem to me today:

The Layers  (Stanley Kunitz)

I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels

I have spent a good deal of time the past few days watching the news coverage of the disastrous earthquake in Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and for the average Hatian, daily life--just trying to get food on the table, water and shelter--is a struggle. A disaster like this opens the door to a vast humanitarian crisis. Can you imagine, the blackness of the night without power, no toilet facilities, no water, no security-police forces or the normal U.N.

I am currently reading the book, The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence by journalist/historian Martin Meredith. It is an extraordinarily well written book, covering in somewhat chronological fashion the inspiring and devastating history of Africa's many nations. From the aid and oppression of the colonizers to the liberation and then too many times exploitation by deliverers, Meredith details the story of how power corrupts and how absolute power absolutely corrupts.

Hi all Pennsylvania friends. Naomi and I will be in the atrium at Calvary between 8:45 and 12:00 Sunday morning, January 3. We hope to see many of you. We have had a great visit so far in Pennsylvania. Naomi and I had a quiet New Year's eve at Walt and Denise Coyle's home. New Year's Day was Christmas celebration with Naomi's parents, Bob and Hertha Blake and Naomi's brother, David and his wife Michon. We are doing lot's of medical followup and dental appointments.