Cars and the Pacific Northwest

As a missionary, part of my job is to observe and learn about the culture I am entering. As many of you know I have been on a tour of the Pacific Northwest drumming up support for Oaxaca '06, our men's ministry in Oaxaca scheduled for September 9 - 16, 2006. (Yes guys, that's a plug!) This will be the first of a few snippets sharing some of the interesting things I learned while I was there. It seems like the people in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho all drive regular cars! Being born and raised in So. Cal., home of the "Car Culture," I find that fascinating. Many folks here in Los Angeles live for their cars. It is my guess that the whole idea of renting your car, called leasing by the industry, was thought up with Los Angeles in mind so we could constantly have new cars. But I digress. During my travels I saw one Hummer! Now perhaps that seems about right for the rest of the country, but I generally have to avoid about seven of those tanks daily on my trips to the store. They are common sights in Los Angeles. As are cars from Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, and even Ferreri. I did not see one of those other brands the entire time I was there. That is amazing to me. Here is what I was more likely to see. Passanger vans. Oh yeah, and maybe a few trucks. Actually lots of trucks. But not always the pretty ones we see here in So. Cal. Dirty trucks. With dents, scrapes, and peeling paint. You don't see alot of that around Los Angeles. I once had one of those trucks. Some people call 'em beaters. But you know what? That truck was a Godsend. My little red 1986 Nissan became the backbone of our ministry when it was founded. It wasn't a glamorous truck. But it ran, and ran, and ran. I finally sold it in Mexico for $1000.00 in 2002. It had 280,000 miles on it, and it was time. Today we have a nice new truck. A 1989 Dodge Ram. Less than 100,000 miles. We call it the tank. As our ministry grew, we found that we needed a bigger backbone. It is still a beater, but it too has been a Godsend. Lots of people in So. Cal. are convinced that they need their expensive cars and trucks. I wonder if they haven't just got needs and wants a little mixed up. It is something I still struggle with everyday. My trip to the Northwest helped bring that a little more into focus in my life.

Don't do it George!

Okay, this includes absolutely nothing about my trip to the Pacific Northwest.  I’ll get to that soon.  But I wanted to get my two cents in regarding the US Port issue and how we as a country are responding to it.  I have generally been reluctant to comment too much on some of our nations politics as I tend to be rather unhappy with both parties, but with this, I feel things should be pretty clear. Don’t do it George!  That’s right.  Don’t do it.  Get on that red hot line right now and tell the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to announce that they have decided to back out.  Do whatever you need to do to not let this issue continue to move forward.  Because it is not just bad politically, it is also bad policy! Here’s why.  If this deal goes through, a foreign government will own a business that manages our ports.  Not a foreign business as in the past with the company from Great Britain, but a foreign government.  This is not about race.  To me it does not make any difference who that country is, they should not own businesses that are involved in either strategic or sensitive issues in the United States.  And this certainly qualifies. Now, if a private company from the UAE bought in, that would be different, but this is a foreign government.  A big difference!  I am amazed that the administration cannot see the political problems here.  As some have suggested, they seem to be tone deaf on this issue. Finally, lest you think I am only smacking the administration, here’s a little love for our congress.  Couldn’t you have done this behind closed doors?  Your actions in challenging our President publicly on this issue have not helped to resolve this situation.  You have however, managed to get some good footage to use in your next reelection campaign.  I guess that is what is really important.  I think we deserve better, what about you?

A Few Random Thoughts

I am hitting the road for the Pacific Northwest tomorrow. Each year I get to visit that area as part of my responsibilities with Adventures in Life, a small ministry I serve with in Mexico. This year I will be speaking at a number of locations, but one church has me speaking at their "Sweethearts Valentines Day Banquet." I am planning on sharing about how much God loves us as evidenced by "the forgiveness and riches that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding!" Now you bible scholars will quickly realize that phrase from Ephesians Chapter One. Isn't it a great phrase? I will be focusing on one word in it...lavished. I love that word. It is such a decadent word to me. Like rich chocolate, luscious cheesecake, or an incredible crème brulee. And yet it is also a word that truly describes what God has done for all of us. He lavishes us with His love, all the time. The Super Bowl is now history. Congratulations to the Steelers and all of their fans in what was a less than thrilling game. I believe the MVP award should have gone to the Pittsburgh defense. They were the only true standouts in the dull game. Even the commercials this year were only so so. If you are like me and enjoy great commercials though, here is a link to some of the best over the last few years. Thanks to my friend Elwood for sending it along! I hope you enjoy them. Also, I need your help since I missed a key part of the post game celebration. Who is going to Disneyland? I hope Jerome "The Bus" Bettis means it and stays retired. Finally I noticed that depending on where you live and which groundhog you follow, we will have six more weeks of winter, or not. This much I do know. I can sense that there is more daylight each and every day. It is wonderful. It means spring really is on the way. I love this time of year because you can always count on God providing some great moments filled with the colors of His universe. As spring approaches, take a few moments to marvel at His creation and how beautiful it is as it too emerges from the winter hibernation. In my next post I'll share a few insights from my travels in and around Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.