The race

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:13 – 14

I'm still reminiscing about the good times I had in Uganda this past summer and the MTN Kampala marathon certainly fits the description.

One event I didn’t want to miss while at home was the MTN marathon. Being a former employee and having lots of friends working there, it was certainly one of those things on my to-do list. For months I reminded myself of the need to get in shape, but until the last week that was only a thought.
I got into panic mode and decided to do a jog around the Ntinda neighborhood two days before the big day – bad idea on many fronts.
For some reason I seemed to look pretty odd jogging on the streets, maybe because it was 9 am on a Friday morning. People stopped to stare, traffic jams started out of no where, I over heard one chapatti vendor saying something like “it’s these Tanzanians who are going to disturb us”. Ok, so now I look like a Tanzanian??
The next day I was so sore, my muscles were aching and threatening to go on strike and yet the marathon was a day away.
I was determined to run the 10 kilometers so nothing was going to get in my way even if that meant limping to the finish line (talk about determination).
We were scheduled to arrive at the starting point at 6am Sunday morning , I was up by 5, got dressed, fastened the running chip to my shoe and carried my water bottle.
We had also been advised against having heavy meals that morning so I drunk a glass of water and that was it.
When I got to Garden City (starting point) people were jogging back and forth and scaring the rest of us, trying to show how fit they were. I decided I wouldn’t be bothered by them, walked around a bit, met friends here and there and waited.
It looked like the whole of Kampala was there, the sound went off to start the race, while some begun to run others were still talking away and only realized later that the race had begun.

My goal was to get to a fairly steady pace, not too fast just comfortable. I set off, running the race before me (literally pressing on because the crowd was large and people were pushing). We begun at Game, run down to Jinja road roundabout, up past Garden city, on to Fairway Hotel, to Kyadondo road, then down to Kitante road joining the Mulago roundabout, passed the Uganda Museum, to Kira road police station and back to Game.

It was fun, some people walked the entire journey, some others made it a point to scream really loud, startling those in front of them only to use the opportunity to get a head. It was certainly a race for all. I saw a kid who looked 11 years old or there about, then there were the wazeeyi, the skinny, the not so skinny, the short, the not so short, black, white, the disabled name it.

Friends were sticking together, encouraging each other to keep moving, not to get tempted to take short cuts or get into taxis and that sort of thing.

I had my own struggle, there was one lady who really bothered me, she looked the chubby-cute-fragile-I-will-drop-any-minute kind of girl but she had amazing stamina, she jogged past me, then I passed her, then she passed me, eh!. Now I had extra inspiration, there was no way this lady was going to beat me to the finish line. She proved a hard one to tackle, but I eventually passed her, woohoo!
My lesson? - don’t judge a book by its cover.

Above and beyond all that, the marathon had a spiritual connotation for me. I pictured it like I would life, it requires discipline, training and perseverance.

- ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us’. Heb 12:1
- ‘You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?’ Galatians 5:7
- ‘Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize’. I Cor 9:24 - 27

I run the marathon in an hour and 14 minutes, came in the 416th position yeeeeeey!!!. The number of people that run that day? Over 10,000.

And now I continue to run the race of life.

Icicles/Kampala craze

Today I was literally sliding on the road, there was ice everywhere. It was like a large skating arena I tell you. Now if walking was hard, then imagine what was happening with the cars. Well most of them were parked at home but for those that dared to go out, they were skidding like crazy.
Mich's school was closed for the day and so were many others.
So the joke that when it snows Texans stay home is not funny, there are good reasons - not skidding and dying being one of them.
Check out Mich's collection of icicles, he was so excited I was given strict instructions to keep them in the freezer.

But meanwhile my fellow Kampalans', what is going on?

Can we take it easy?, this borders on embarrassing.

But I must give some credit, these guys are fast, over here no one is thinking of putting up sign posts or anything. We are just stressed, there is a lot to deal with, the weather, the economy, finding a church for the first family, you know, that sort of thing.

Chilly

It's getting cold up in here, these are the times I need to look on the bright side. Somewhere down the road, not too long from now nature will be springing. Took these pictures last spring in Philly.

A week of pre-school

It's a week today since Mich started pre-school and am glad to report that the protests haven't been as many or as severe as they were in Uganda. He seems to be getting a hang of it which is certainly nice. Of course the questions about why he has to write or read still come up but not as forcefully as before.
I think we are on to something good.
He has a file that details the events of his day and looking through it I definitely see an improvement, his name is getting more legible and the coloring is not too off. At such moments I'm usually delirious, hugging and kissing him and telling him what a great job he's done. Mich on the other hand has this - "what's up with you? it's no big deal" look on his face.
Over the weekend I was left speechless when after I spanked him for disobedience he said "thank you mummy for spanking me". Aaaah! who is this kid? did we get a swap? if we did they certainly did a good job and I'm liking what I am seeing.

Sunday school was great too, someone came up with this brilliant idea of making a prayer clock with pictures of family members. Whom ever the hour hand points to (there is only an hour hand on this version), that's the person we pray for. I like the way in the middle of a conversation he will move the hour hand then we have to stop and pray for that person, it's cool.

Ugandans and their ways.

Just sitting around thinking back to the time I spent in Uganda.
It is interesting the things one notices and learns about a place after being away for a while.

So, I walk into the bank to withdraw some money, I join the queue of about 7 people. I am just about to reach the teller when a young man walks up to me and asks if I could help him bank his money. Huh??? He said something about leaving his post of duty and how he has to get back before a certain time. I was in such shock, amazed at his boldness and also wondering why me? There were other people in the line you know?! Well as you may or may not guess I agreed and the rest is history.

Another day, I get into a taxi and remember that I need to send a text message. I pull out my phone and start typing, then my neighbor develops an interest in my message - reading as I typed. I pretend that I need to get something else out of my bag and the lady turns away, when I get back to writing, she is all interested again eh! Dryness! in fact it seemed like she was trying to help me think of what to write. I finished quickly and put the phone away.
Again, I’m in another taxi, I open my bag to get my fare and this guy eagerly without shame looks into my bag, I felt like saying “some privacy please?” I tried to cover up, like we did when we didn’t want people to copy us in an exam and it worked. But eh! What’s up Ugandans? I know we are touchy feely but I think this has moved to the nosy nosy level.

I have had quite a few taxi incidents, here is one more. It’s a hot, sticky, sweaty, Tuesday morning. I boarded a taxi headed to Kansanga and unfortunately I was sandwiched between two not so small people, it was literally tight. After a while I figure I would be more comfortable if I leaned forward. It worked for a little while before one of them leaned forward too, then I leaned back and she followed suit. What was a poor woman supposed to do?
I thought that was crazy, later that day I dropped into Shoprite to buy a drink (remember it was a hot, sticky and sweaty day), after walking a few meters I opened my bottle of juice, a beggar walks up to me with hand raised towards my drink asking for something. I immediately handed him the bottle because there were no subtle hints about it, he said thank you and walked away.

Oh and one more, this one happened while I was yet in another cue to enter UMA show grounds for the trade show. It was a really hot morning and the cue was pretty long too but I wasn’t discouraged I joined in at the back. When I was just about half way to the counter a lady walks up to me and asks if she could get a place in front of me. Her excuse? – “The line is long and it is really hot” duh! Like the rest of us didn’t know that?! Again I was taken by surprise, left a little speechless but I agreed to it. Thankfully the line was moving swiftly so we were not there for much too long.

Ugandans, we wouldn’t like to wait in line, we drive like mad men, are very impatient and what really nags me is the way we elbow and push to get a head. Even with that, we are concerned for each other, more on that in upcoming posts.

Dentist

Dentist appointments took on a whole new meaning for me this past week, it was a lot more fun than I expected - I kid you not.
Seeing a dentist has been defined by grim, miserable periods that I hoped I could wish away, not this time.

I went for a checkup two weeks ago and the nurses attended to me hand and foot, they were literally at my beck and call. May be it's the competition over here, they want to make sure you come back.

When I finally met the dentist (probably in his late 40's) he introduced himself and gave me a firm hand shake, now seriously, how many doctors do you know shake hands with their patients? (unless of course they have a relationship).

There was a screen in front of the patient chair on which I could see photos, x rays and digital drawings of all my teeth. The ones marked in red needed attention, lets just say with my chart you had to look for the ones not marked red :-(

So I made an appointment to get the project underway and this is how my second visit turned out.

The nurses were thrilled to see me again (I don't know how they do it but their energies are fierce). The nurse attending to me mentioned that it was going to be a really long procedure and asked if I would like to watch a movie. Errr... movie? here? now? or is that like after we are done with this?. She said something to the effect that they had some cool ones that had just come in and that I could make a choice.

What is going on? this is the dental clinic right? right, well I certainly checked that before walking in. She came back with a file of all the movie titles I could choose from, I smiled to myself, it was kind of weird you know - either this was really good or the dental work was going to be more than intense.

I played along, but since my mind was not in movie mode I asked her to make a choice - "baby mama it was, then I lay back in the reclining patient chair.

Before the movie begun she brought me a neck warmer and ear phones, nice!! now where is the pop corn and can of coke?

You've got to understand that this atesot girl (in all my years of seeing a dentist and believe me they have been many) had never ever experienced this kind of treatment, it bordered on a prank.

Ten minutes into the movie I had forgotten that I was in the dentist chair, well that's until the main man appeared and pulled out "the needle". After this short interruption I was back to my movie, true comedy, I kept giggling now and then. When the numbing finally took effect the doctor was back on site. Except for the sound of drilling and the doctors hand occasionally getting in the way of my viewing I was fine. I made sure to keep my eyes glued on the screen because some of those dental gadgets are scary you want to use the bathroom immediately.

Two major issues though, it's really hard to laugh (movie was hilarious) with an open mouth filled with gadgets so I had to stifle them lest I choke.
Secondly, only after I had left the office and was well on my way did the excruciating, unbearably distressing, "am-never-going-to-eat-another-sweet-again" pain set in.

Later that evening I received a call from the clinic asking how I was doing, "are you kidding me? am about to write my will, but thanks for asking". No seriously, I appreciated their professionalism, they advised me on what pain killers to take and to call if I had any questions.

Benediction by Rev. Joseph.E.Lowery

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day.

We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations.

Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you are able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor, of the least of these, and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that yes we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.

And while we have sown the seeds of greed — the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say AMEN, AMEN and AMEN.

20th January 2009

This is a great day.

Today, the 20th of January 2009 I saw Mich off for his first day of school right here in Irving Texas. I woke him up, he got dressed and was off without so much as a complaint (well except for the fact that he wanted to sleep a little longer).

Then I got myself a nice comfy spot on the sofa and watched the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America, so yea, that's another reason why this day is special.

Since I couldn't make it to the mall in Washington D.C, I took pictures on screen, funny huh?!.

We had a perfect view watching it on TV because one, we were in the comfort and warmth of our home and two, ABC reliably delivered all possible angles. I can confidently say I didn't miss a thing.

I got a little concerned when Barack begun the oath with a slip, I thought oh my goodness, the man is overwhelmed. I was relieved to later find out that Chief Justice John. G. Roberts made the blunder when he said the words in a different order from the way Obama had 'crammed' them and the way it's actually written.

Obama's speech was fantastic no doubt, calling people to take responsibility for the country and all but the man that took the day for me was Rev. Joseph. E. Lowery. He gave the prayer of benediction and my! was it loaded with love, hope, humility, longing, rejoicing, wisdom,soul... What can I say? he really did a good job and to think he wrote it just the night before, even more amazing. Hearing such a prayer from an 87 year old man in his frail and husky voice made the prayer fierce (another word for amazing).

"God of our weary years- God of our silent tears
Thou who has brought us thus far along the way."

By the end I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I will certainly up load the rest of the prayer in my next posting.

Mich had a great day, teacher Dee said he had lots of fun and was well behaved.

Otherwise the rest of the day was spent watching and reading something or the other about the inauguration and the inaugural balls' in the evening. Clearly there is no guessing what I'm going to dream about tonight;- O, O, O, now am getting dizzy.

In the meantime I will probably hola at our new neighbor, former President George Bush who is coming home to Dallas woo hoo!!!. I hope there is a welcome team or something because it would be sad if he had a silent return.

The "O" name

Probably the most talked about, written about person in the past several months - Obama.

It's a buzz up in here, almost every channel I tune into is saying something or the other about the man and his up coming inauguration.
Mich was a little puzzled about why they want Obama to say so many things - time to educate. I explained to him how Obama was going to make a promise and what that meant.

It's great to be right here when America is making history.

I get teary eyed watching videos of Martin Luther King Jr making his "I have a dream" speech 46 years ago - "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Seeing Obama live that dream today- is absolutely awesome!

People are coming from every place that you can imagine to witness the 1st black president of America take his oath. As I watched on TV;- children, grandmas', fathers', sisters', grandpas', mothers', brothers', uncles', friends', strangers', foreigners' gather at Washington square in the freezzzzzing cold (quite honestly I don't know how they do that) to witness this momentus occassion.

Lots of people have lost their jobs, their homes, dear ones in war but they are all looking up with hope, a hope for something new, something good, something different. This can be very daunting for one man, clearing up someone else's mess and also meeting the peoples expectations ( which are as different as night and day). One vibe that I was getting though is that even though some people are like some Africans who elect you to power and then sit back expecting you to do all the work, Americans are taking heed to Kennedy's words "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". It's encouraging to hear people take the responsibility and know that all Barack is doing is giving them a pillow to dream on and hope to keep those dreams alive.

2009 ---> Attitude of Gratitude

I feel like 2009 is a year in which we should look back on our lives and thank God for all the blessings He has given us. It is amazing what happens when we start counting our blessings, all over a sudden hearts are lifted, things don't look as gloomy as before and we realise that we are truly blessed.
Start with something as simple as life itself, I am so thankful to be a live, yeah I got bashed in 2007, was continuously reminded about it in 2008 but I'm certain I never would have made it with out big J or is it big G.

At times I feel real lousy about my big tummy and the fact that I have no kids (Mich not included) to show for it but then I'm reminded that God loves me anyway, it's not something He is hangup on and at the end of the day I don't look that bad - really.

This year, the words that dominate my mind are obedience, discipline and self-control.

Self-control literally means controling yourself - being the boss of you. It hit me recently that over eating is a sin, it means you have no control of your body but that your body has control over you. This is where the discipline comes in, beating the body and bringing it under control. It's not easy but the fruits are well worth it.

As for obedience, even as I'm constantly trying to help Mich understand its meaning - willing doing what we are asked to do, I'm reminded that the same theory applies to me in relation to God, parents, bosses, friends, colleagues, neighbors on and on.

Mirror

These past few weeks with Mich have been amazing. I can't get over how much he has grown and continues to grow. His statements never cease to tickle me, just like last night when he had a "eureka" moment.

Mich - "Mummy, I know why it takes long for God to give us the things we ask for"

me - "really, why?"

Mich - "because He is still making them. I asked Him for a cart and I haven't received it because God is still making it"

me - silence "wow!"

Mich - "He finishes them at the end of the year, around Christmas"

I was amused that he was covering for God and better still, He knows that God is faithful, when He takes long there has got to be a good reason.

His little brain soaks up information like a sponge, right now he is in the phase of creating theories to explain different phenomena.

He has a sense of humor, loves to tell jokes and catches them too, even when they are quite subtle.

Books are a big thing in his life right now.
He sleeps with books, he stays up late to read books, he wakes up in the middle of the night to read books. He even finds fascinating stuff in The Economist (I'm talking about the cartoon drawings).

We've got a genius on our hands I tell you, but there is one slight problem though. The little man thinks writing and learning how to read letters are one of mans' worst inventions. He gets splitting headaches, looks like he could pass out the next minute when you mention anything to do with writing.

It continues to be an issue of contention, I pray that God grants me wisdom on how to deal with it. It doesn't help that I meet children his age and younger who read, count and write with so much ease and eagerness.

I'm reminded that my "cup" is different. I'm certain he will read and write sometime in his life, when is a whole other issue - it's not for want of trying right?!.

We have been through the entire list; lectures, spanking, withholding, talking, name it.
Yesterday I was at my wits end, I explained to him what this was all about, tried to understand his point of view but at the end it wasn't so much that didn't want to write small "a" as it was I him not listening to me.

So we went on a different tangent, I realised I would be happier if he obeyed than if he actually wrote a prize winning essay.

"Obedience means to listen and obey, to willing do what you are asked to do". I made him repeat this statement over and over, then I told him the story of Adam and Eve, how they disobeyed and added the concept of repercussions. Along the way I was caught in my trucks when I felt like the Holy Spirit was saying, "what?" and I repeated "Obedience means to listen and obey, to willing do what you are asked to do".

That was the end of that, I coiled (in my mind) just thinking I was preaching to myself and the many times I have been disobedient.

Children cross examine parents, I got the real mirror effect.

The Wonderful West

I bet you were thinking about cowboys and Indians and whatever other connotations “west” has today. Well sadly no, I was actually referring to the western region of Uganda.
Sam, Mich, Rukundo, Geoffrey and I took a trip to Kabale to visit with Mich’s great grand mother (Sam’s grand ma), Mich’s grand aunt and other relatives.
Kabale is breathtakingly beautiful, it’s defined by hills, mountains, lakes and valleys. It’s also very fertile; I got the impression that every household owned a farm.

Looking out the window I could see acres upon acres of tea, sorghum, millet, cabbage, bananas, onions, Irish potatoes, rice, mangoes, pineapples, green vegetables and lots more. I’m told it’s the land where “mirik, frows on the virrage paths” – “milk flows on the village paths” in other words they have lots of cattle - break that down to milk, cheese, ghee, butter and everything you can squeeze out of a cow.

“Nyogukuru”, grandmother in Rufumbira was really happy to see us, especially Mich. She spoke in Rufumbira which Mich and I are still learning. I thought I had mastered the greetings and basic words of conversation until I visited and she pulled out ancient words that I couldn't fathom, they were nothing like the ones I learned and so I was thrown off. When I thought I had learned those, someone else would come up with yet another version.
Eh! The beauty of marrying into a different tribe.
Some of the greetings I know ; “umezute” response “mezeneeza”, “amasho” response “amashongore”, “uwiriwe” I don’t remember the response to that may be “uwiriweneeza”, “osibirotya” response “ndiburungi” or something like that. My favourite response was "yego", you could get away with almost everything if you said "yego" meaning yes.

We visited relatives in Kisoro with Nyogukuru as our guide, I was a little concerned especially considering the fact that her eye sight is failing. Just when we needed direction she would turn to Rukundo, now, neither Rukundo nor any of us knew the area, so we had to stop and ask the locals.
She is an amazing lady, did I mention how at some point she accused me of wanting to throw her down because I was trying to help her get out of the car?. Well I learned not to be so "helpful", at least not until the help is sermoned for.

We had about 5 hours in which to visit 5 people and considering that they were located in different places and we had to stop to ask for directions we actually didn't have that much time.

We nearly did some stand up visits - stand at the door, greet, make sure everybody is fine, time keeper says times is up, we say our goodbyes and hit the road.
Even with our impromptu visits, nyogukuru managed to get some presents. I think they had been waiting for her.

One of my highlights was meeting her brother. He was whisked from his garden, dressed in gum boots, a sweater, what looked like two layers of clothing underneath, a walking stick and a hat. He has clearly lived a long life, still I was amazed at his energy and stamina. Nyogukuru is the last born of 15 children and her brother is the 7th. Now if she is around 89, just how old would her brother be? Well, he told us he is 93 but quite honestly I suspect he is over 100.

We visited another old lady, I think I know how they coined the phrase "little old lady" because she was little. She was so glad to see us, especially Nyogukuru, their conversation went something like "if you get there before me, keep me a place. And if I get there before you I will keep you a place". Do you get the drift? Mich was certainly concerned, between beautiful scenery's he got to see old people.
On our flight back from Uganda he asked me if all the people in the plane had been visiting their grandmas. Hmmm ... he wasn't traumatised was he? :-)

We drove passed Lake Bunyonyi on our way to Kisoro, apparently its the second deepest lake in Africa. Saying it was such a pretty sight would be a serious understatement. I could have driven back to Kampala after that- not wanting anything to tarnish the picture that it had imprinted on my mind. That was the icing on the cake.

Lake Bunyonyi

But the fun was not over, Geoffrey is a wine connoisseur and we couldn't leave Kabale without visiting the local store. The lady and her husband brew wine in their backyard.

We stopped by the healing Kitagata springs in Bushenyi, and found some crazy guy who claimed to work at State house but did tours part time. He seemed to know a lot about the springs but frankly I think he had 'lost it'. He gave us some detailed information about what potent was in the different temperatures of water, he said the waters healed all diseases. But clearly there were women and men bathing in the water and drinking it.

Later on we got to eat the hugest hottest tastiest roasted cassava on this planet courtesy of Geoffrey.

We drove through Queen Elizabeth National Park, spotted some Elephants drinking at a water source and nearly jumped out of the car in excitement. We also saw some Buffaloes, and antelopes. Uganda is a truly the Pearl of Africa.

Elephants at Queen Elizabeth National Park

Birds eye view of Queen Elizabeth National Park

Mount Habura

Found a church

After 4 weeks of church shopping we found what we were looking for. It fits the bill-I think (you know that sometimes what we want or think we want and what God would have for us are not always in sync). But the goal is to step out anyway, start with what you think is right and God will clarify things as you go along.

What was I looking for? well, here is the description;
Average sized church, not too big, not too small, size enough for us to develop meaningful relationships.
Free worship, I need to be able to lift up my hands and dance without being a distraction or a spectacle.
Friendly and warm atmosphere, a place where we can feel at home without bending over backwards to fit in.
Solid teaching, what ever that means.

Last Sunday we visited Living Hope Church.
We got to the door and were greeted by two or three people, in the mean time I was trying to figure out where Sunday school was when a lady came over (I think she was an usher), and gave me a welcome hug. I was still rilling over the fact that this lady hugged a perfect stranger when another lady came over, asked if we were new and invited us to sit with her and her husband - nice. She took us to Sunday school, waited for us to register Mich and you know Mich, as soon as he sees some fascinating toys, he forgets you ever existed but that's ok.
The songs were new to me but lyrics - very meaningful. When I noticed an error with one of the words on the over head I thought cool, these people are actually human so I'm in good company. I liked the fact that we sung choruses over and over impromptu, the congregation worshiped and prayed. At some point I saw a man walk up and pray for someone without being asked, I thought that was cool too.
The pastor is a nice guy, 60 years old, seemed like a funky granddad - one who is approachable, wise, loving, funny and tells interesting stories.

His sermon was on the theme "Nothings too hard for God"
Genesis 18:14 "Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

Dan 4:35 "All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: "What have you done?"
That just sounds like a super hero to me.

Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

These are a few of the verses that we looked at. I liked the fact that for every scripture he referenced we actually read. I get real lazy when a preacher mentions verses and then tell us to read them at home.
At the end of the service we all got wrist bands with the words "Nothing's too hard for God", its a nice way to always remember that God can handle everything.

I was ministered to, it was not so much about what they did or didn't do, I felt the presence of the Lord and had a personal encounter with Jesus. Do I sound too spiritual? well I don't know how else to put it.

For now I can say we are in business. Oh and Mich said he loved Sunday school.