Entries from December 2002

December 18, 2002

Rain at the end of the world
posted by David at 10:45 AM |

Family and friends— David and I are in a Locutorio in Ushuaia, Argentina, spending time while waiting for the rain to stop. This town of 42,000 has not a lot to do, though we have seen three museums, shopped, and walked and walked. Our hotel is about three miles from town, and we have checked out, so there will be no shelter there. Our next ploy will be lunch, when we will likely get a ham and cheese sandwich, a favorite around here. Last night I had a ham and cheese pizza, with an olive on each piece.

The trip down was long, and uneventful until just before it ended. At that point, David and I got off the plane at the wrong airport! Not a real problem to get back on, though we had to go through security again. With that we discovered our heart rates were adequate for most of what we will do.

We board the ship in three hours. After that, the next message will be in two weeks. —David

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December 14, 2002

Thanks for the interest
posted by David at 09:56 PM |

To all of you who have called or written in the past couple of days, thanks for your interest in the Antarctica Expedition. David and I are now packed and about ready to go. We are high on anticipation, though we know getting there will be an adventure in itself. David will have traveled on two overnights, and I will have one night’s sleep(?) on the plane when we finally land in Ushuaia, Argentina. He will have been on four planes, and I three. We change airports in Buenos Aires, Brazil.

Strangely, for me the most difficult part of getting ready was finding appropriate boots and gloves. You would think they would be easy, but it took some detective work to get what I needed. Finally, late this afternoon (Saturday) it all worked out, 24 hours before leaving!

I am taking a notebook and sketch pad with me, and expect to keep notes for a full report when I return. Until then—- David

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December 4, 2002

More adventure travel
posted by David at 11:24 PM |

After several months of inaction and indecision, earlier this week the Worldwide Ministries Division again talked with me about going to Africa. This is the trip that was originally planned for last January, when Jon, my colleague, had surgery. By the time he was recovered enough to take long trips, we were deep into budget cuts. Ruth suggested I raise the possibilities again this fall, and after several weeks of humming and hawing, they finally decided to act. However, they waited until almost too late, so we are in a hurry up mode.

As plans now stand, Jon and I will leave about January 21 and return about February 7 or 8. He is making the final arrangements, and will take care of flight schedules and housing and meeting plans. I will spend a bit more than a week in Ethiopia with representatives of Lutheran, German, Scottish, and other USA missionaries, as well as the Ethiopian church leaders. Then I will spend the rest of the time with missionaries in Kenya, first in Nairobi then in some of the outlands. This trip will be for getting acquainted with the church and its surrounding culture, and opening conversations in response to their requests for help in stewardship. Then I will come home to spend time developing some of the ideas, with the possibility of Ruth and me going back for a longer voluteer in mission assignment for teaching in a lay training center.

One amusing sidelight—I said Jon was in an urgent mode. He wanted my passport to begin visa applications. However, I need to have it with me for the Antarctica trip—so he will need to use a photocopy until I can find him on the 30th to give him my real one. Also, I need to begin getting the shots for that trip before I leave on the first expedition. Such is world travel——

I will try to post a note of more details before leaving on the 15th.

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