A January Tidbit

This officially is the first adventure of 2009. Missed flight! First class! Rerouted to LA! Free hotel (please may that happen)! It is pretty exciting to think that all this happened because of a small flame failing to ignite in an engine on the tarmac of Edmonton's International Airport in the wee hours of this morning. Something about it being -40°C or other… And on top of this, the clock in the room where I was staying got re-set with a different time, throwing me off my schedule be an hour! That was odd... Thank you, Lord, that my mom woke me up because I'd be willing to bet that even if my own alarms had woken me, I'd be poking around, biding my time during that hour before my plane was supposed to take off completely unaware that I was 60 minutes behind schedule. The great irony is that it didn't really matter in the end, seeing as the airplane only left YEG a full two hours after it was scheduled to depart.

And here I am, in seat 2A on Northwest Airlines flight 315 to Los Angeles for a 17ish hour layover before I fly out—a day later—to Tokyo for my connecting flight into Bangkok. I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of this delay is in the grand scheme of things, but there usually tends to be a reason that floats to the surface sometime later in this progression of time called life. I have never been to LA before, so it will be an experience to say the least. Is my rerouting a need to fill a gap or to interact with someone while I layover in Los Angeles? Was there something that was going to happen on my other schedule that I wasn't supposed to experience? Is there something that I am supposed to be missing in Bangkok? Not sure. Yet. Maybe one day I'll find out, but at this juncture, all I know is that I know that God is doing His thing: and when He works, ain't nothing gonna stand in his way.

I am going to be crazy tired for my friends’—Dominic and Sherri—wedding on Tuesday. Sheesh! I mean, talk about a busy day: first I get in at 12:30—all things going to schedule—then I struggle through customs & return to GES probably by 2 at the earliest, 3 at the latest. That morning, we have staff meeting at 7:30 am. My two computers classes plus library stuff. Maybe Thai class? The wedding at 6 & the party until who knows when? It's going to be a full day, especially when there's a games day on Friday which may or may not interfere with my classes... And then Teachers' Day the following Friday! The Grade 7 & 9 classes will be sooooo far behind if the time allotted in class is for instruction. Methinks we're going to have to hash out something—some sort of monthly plan of attack—to see if these classes can stay in line with each other (parity or something... Or not. I mean, who says that each class must have the same level of instruction? I know that it's kinda gay for those students who get less [or for those who get more, depending on your perspective. Ha!] instruction, but the way that the schedules have worked out this year really doesn't lend itself very well to instructional parity. Oh well.).

It's going to be an interesting year back, Lord, and You've decided to start it off with a bang :). I'm not 100% sure why my brain is screaming & throbbing at this point in time, but I trust that You've got it looked after & that it may merely be a result of fatigue or dehydration or both.

Father, I pray that you help me to be faithful with the resources that you've given me & the relationships that you've afforded me. Let me not squander them, but give me the wisdom & the direction to take these things and develop them for your glory. I pray for reconciliation between Sparky & I; for an open & curious spirit to overwhelm Oom; for opportunities to lead & develop the staff & the students that wouldn't become nullified due to lack of interest or lack of priority. Father, I ask you emphatically for wisdom with how to proceed in this church plant ordeal. I'm going to wait on you, as you've instructed, but in this time of waiting, let your wisdom steep my brain & pickle my thoughts so that all of the information that comes at me (and has already done so) can be processed through the distinct flavour of your loving wisdom & discernment. Jesus, I ask that you bring reconciliation & cooperation & understanding & restitution in the relationships surrounding this church plant project & NBC. I pray that William turns out to be an excellent resource & willing servant in the advancement of Your Kingdom. May his excitement / passion and vision not be swallowed up, but Lord, may you be so gracious as to use him as a catalyst to enliven those Christians around him.

My brain is sore—as are my legs—and I'm tired (not to mention that the battery on this contraption has sunk below 70% & I don't have access to my charger until further notice). So, that being said, Lord, I pray that you take my life & take my will & take my all and make it Yours. Give me the grace & strength to live in subjugation to Your will.

I's loves ya's.