The Beautiful City: A Retrospective

We're back in Canada now, recovering from jet lag and lack of sleep. After 46 consecutive posts we're finally off the "blog-a-day" treadmill, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop writing! So for today, here are some thoughts and photos from the places we visited.

For much of my life I didn't really care for cities. Although my family travelled a great deal and I had the chance to see much of the world, I always preferred to be "closer to nature". I liked small towns like the ones I had grown up in.

So I was a bit surprised at one point on this last trip to hear myself say to those around me as we drove through Manila, "I love cities." I do? Since when? Along with everyone else in the car I was all ears to hear my explanation on this one. It went a little bit like this...

Natural beauty is incredible. Majestic mountains, rushing streams, trees reaching heavenward... how can concrete, glass and steel compete with that? They don't; a city's beauty is another sort of thing entirely.

A city cannot help but be a reflection of the people who inhabit it. Cities take aspects of culture, of values, of the best of us and the worst of us, and they magnify these things and carve them into stone and concrete. Whatever else a city might be, it is a product of the people who live in it. If there are beautiful spaces in that city, it is because someone took the time and effort to make them beautiful. If the city struggles, it reflects the very human struggles of those who inhabit it.

We had the opportunity to spend time in three cities on this trip: Davao, Manila and Bangkok. Each of these cities has many stories to tell; each has its own character, its own feel. A city is more than its buildings, its parks, its traffic; a city is the people who live there. A city is a celebration of the everyday; smells of food wafting from stalls and restaurants along the street, public transit that runs on time (or doesn't), vendors hawking their wares... a city is all of this and more. To find beauty in the city is to find beauty in God's greatest masterpiece, His most treasured creation, that fragile creature made in His image.

I guess I really do love cities. Huh. Who knew?

Evan

 

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Day Forty-Six: The Long, Long Way Home

The alarm went off at 2:30 AM today. We packed up the last few things, checked out and got in a taxi to the airport. By the time we get to bed again, we'll have been up for somewhere around 34 hours; thanks to the time changes, it will all be on May 4.

As I write this, we are somewhere over the Pacific, taking advantage of the in flight wifi. I need things like that on long trips like this. Airplane seats aren't comfortable for anyone, let alone tall people, and with my fractured tailbone still mending this is not going to be an easy day. 

But this is "Beauty in Mission", not Lamentations :), so where's the beauty?

For that, I direct you to the previous 45 posts and pose the question: was it worth it? 

For us, it doesn't even need a second thought. These 34 hours are nothing compared to the beauty we have observed and been invited to participate in. As always, the invitation is open to all - join us in beauty, join us in mission, join us in any way you want to, you are welcome!

Evan

Day Forty-Five: Communion

Today was our last full day in Asia, our flight home leaves at 7 AM tomorrow. We once again attended the morning service at Christ Church, a beautiful 110-yr-old Anglican church in the heart of Bangkok.

The congregation is very multi-cultural, representing many different countries and ethnicities. As we joined together, though, taking the bread and wine, we were reminded that in Christ we are one body. As Bonnie and I leave Asia (hoping to return soon!) it was meaningful to us that one of the last things we did in Bangkok was to take communion with our fellow believers here.

"The body of Christ, broken for you. The blood of Christ, shed for you." It is as true in Bangkok as it is in Winnipeg, and the believers here are no less our brothers and sisters than those at home. It was a beautiful lesson to leave with.

Evan

Day Forty-Four: Complimentary Upgrade

With Evan's birthday coming up, his mom helped us get a bit of a nicer hotel for our last weekend in Asia. We still only spent about as much as an average business hotel in North America but you get more 'bang for your buck' in Asia. Since we made the reservation, we have really been looking forward to this weekend.

As we were going up the lift, our concierge turned to us and said, "Oh, by the way, our hotel is fully booked so we've upgraded you to a Deluxe Suite."

Oh, my goodness... I'm not sure I've ever stayed in a place this nice! At least, never a room as posh as this one. Now I wish we had more time here! With a couple of days left in our trip, we enjoy the simple beauty of an unexpected upgrade.

Bedroom and fancy bathroom

Living room and work station

Pool with a glass wall overlooking the city

View from our room

Thanks Evan's mom! 

Now if only we could get upgraded on our flight...

~ Bonnie

Day Forty-Three: Serving

Today was the fourth day of meetings but the first day of Asia Shared Services Team meetings. (Not sure who let that acronym slide.) ASST is a group of service domain leaders who meet regularly (often over the Internet) to discuss what is happening across Asia in regards to their scope of service. This includes domains like IT, HR, Publishing, Training and mine, Funding Management. There are more but you get the idea. We also have Area Directors join us to give us their perspective on what is going on in their regions.

One of our group exercises today was to brainstorm what made our team unique. There seemed to be an overall feeling of servant-hood. We really are here to serve. The specifics got much more detailed but it is pretty cool to be connected with others who just want to do good work for those around them and to honour God in the process.

Interconnectedness... Global < - > Grassroots

Punny helper spelling bee

~ Bonnie