To End All Wars (and Hopelessness)




Get it at Amazon!

  Despite my love of hope, I still have dark days. We all do. I had one a while back, had to spend half the day in bed recovering. I was looking for a story of hope and found it in the book To End All Wars. Ernest Gordon wrote his experiences in WWII in Japanese POW camps (Death Houses) in Thailand and Burma. (He helped build the "Bridge over the River Kwai"...you may have heard of the movie, it's based on his story).
Basically it's this amazing story of how despite brutal conditions, backbreaking work, constant debilitating sickness, and seemingly hopeless conditions, he and those around him were able to keep hope alive. And it came from a willingness to look beyond themselves and their current situation. Ernest is a Christian and was forced to come to terms with the evil surrounding him and his idea of a loving God. After reading the stories of Jesus in the Bible, he summed it up this way.

I see that the victory over the impersonal, destructive and enslaving forces at work in the world has been given to mankind because of what Jesus has done. This is the good news for man: God, in Christ, has shared his suffering; for that is what God is like. He has not shunned the responsibility of freedom. He shares in the saddest and most painful experiences of His children, even that experience which seems to defeat us all, namely, death. He comes into our Death House to lead us through it.

To read the stories of the little acts of hope (making a special meal for a prison-mate by blending lime juice with their rice ration) becoming entire industries of hope (they created an entire factory to make prosthetic limbs from scavenged tin, leather and bamboo for amputees). He was moved to several camps. In each one, it would feel hopeless, despondent. He would begin with kind, encouraging words and regular contact with people in need. Other men began to see the joy of serving others. One man who was the most despondent Ernest had ever met, ended his time in the prison by making it his daily duty to clean and collect the pus-and-maggot-infested, putrid-smelling dressings of men with major infection. He'd be seen whistling the day away, carrying his bucket of putrid purpose.

Ernest ends his book with words that were particularly striking for me, living in a privileged easy life in Canada.

Being forced to face life in the raw may help one to understand the nature of the Debate (between good & evil, health and suffering etc), but that isn't necessary. Every person who uses the talents God gave him so that he is not afraid to live as a sensitive human being among the impersonal forces at work in society is participating and will be conscious of its only possible conclusion.

So what is that only possible conclusion? He goes on to write about Jesus in the paragraph I quoted earlier. And I would summarize it with Paul's words: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Faith and hope to you all.

Hope

I'm taking a graduate class called "Hope and the Helping Relationship". Fascinating to see how the academics look at hope and how much Jesus fits all their lofty wonderings ; )
After my initial readings, this verse just popped into mind

John 16:33
'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

The entire Christian gospel is wonderfully, completely encased in this little pearl...
a) peace - we all want it, whether it's peace in the middle east or peace in our hearts: So Jesus addresses our greatest felt need
b) you will have tribulation - this is not an airy-fairy, Tony Robbins, one-sided positive message. It addresses reality: this world sucks, it's evil and you'll get hurt.
c) but be of good cheer - in my reading I've encountered a new phrase that encapsulates what Jesus is saying here "have hope as your orientation". Let hope be your compass.
d) i have overcome the world - Why should I choose hope when doubt makes oh so much more sense? Because Jesus has beat the evil, He's faced it before you, He's won and thus HE IS YOUR HOPE. He is your true north. He is your inspiration, and His loving arms are your final destination.

Lisa Hwang

Bada-bada, ding-ding, ding-ding, ding!
That stereotypical Chinese "jingle" is what I would bellow into the phone everytime I talked to my friend Lisa Hwang. I've since realized the cultural crassness of this, but it's a testament to her good naturedness that she'd simply laugh at my white insensitivity (or maybe it was just my poor "jingle skillz").

I was always blessed by Lisa's sense of adventure. I don't remember where we met, I just remember the adventures. The epic hike down (and back out in 40C heat!) to Havasupai Falls near the Grand Canyon, tubing down the epic North Fork of the Walla Walla River, and of course the epic "jig-moshing" parties we'd have with Great Big Sea & Cotton-eyed Joe blaring. If you're doing something fun and epic, she's there.
Thanks for the laughs and showing me how to let out the dance in all of us Lisa! You'll be a blessing and an inspiration to all your patients!

Mike Adams

I love all things about India. Their curries, colours and culture. Their family focus, their friendliness and food. Yes I mentioned the food twice, it's the best! So it should be no surprise that I love Mike Adams (sounds Indian eh?) Here's the picture to prove it.

Awesome. Lovin' the Indi-Urkel thing you got going on bud.

This one shows him all growd up and sarcastic. That's one of his defining traits, his withering sarcasm. Don't EVER get into a war of words with him, he'll ace you.
But beneath that veneer of sarcasm is a heart of gold. I visited Edmonton a lot before I moved here. I often crashed at Mike's house I always appreciated the awesome hospitality he and Bev gave me...and the MOST AMAZING FUTON EVER! Thanks bud.

The real blessing Mike's given me though is a model for someone who really loves the youth of this world. He's been tireless in his youth activities at his church, and is always seeking to bring the kids closer to God. I spend a lot of time with the youth at my church and I've learned alot from Mike's approach of being fun, real and relevant.

He's a teacher at Coralwood and it appears he has found that balance between fun and authoritative. Point in fact...two comments from students on his facebook pics page.

"`wow i can't believe you r my teacher"

"Oh mygosh. i showed my mom this and i said. this is the guy whose teaching me every week" (hopefully not english, eh Mike ; )

Anyway, just wanted to send a shout out to Mike for all his love he's shown to the kids at school and at church. I know many of your students...they love you and they're blessed by you...and so am I.

The Little Engine That Could

When I was a kid, one of my favourite stories was The Little Engine That Could. He had a mantra that got him up a seemingly insurmountable mountain pass. It was "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...". And he did.

So did my friend Nikia Furman.

Tenacity. That's his word.



Never
Give
Up.

I met Nikia in video production classes at Walla Walla College. He was quiet, strong, passionate when he spoke and just a bit different. He believed in the power of story more than us. He believed in the possibility of story to change, for the collective good.

That tenacity led him to create an outdoor adventure documentary series called Escape. The idea was to get people outside. View their adventures. Hear their story and insights along the way.
Under very trying circumstances, he turned it into an internationally broadcast and award winning show. He started with "I think I can" and he did.

Since then he's gone on his own with Furman Pictures, producing films, corporate promos, ads and a show similar to Escape called Beyond Adventure. It's taken him all over USA, Canada and even Patagonia in Argentina. And as far as I can tell, he's still the same strong, quiet, quirky guy.

God bless ya bud. Keep chugging away. It's a blessing to me and those around you.

Bouquet of Blessings

I just want to say thank you. Thank you to TJ for his persistent, God-filled friendship and encouragement. Thank you to my mother for wisdom, deep caring and never-ending love. Thank you to my father for understanding, listening and leading me down the paths of discovery our brains share. Thank you to Keith for smiling and laughing. Thank you to Kibbee for being himself. Thank you to Nyater for being Jesus' greatest witness. Thank you to God for pain, for letting me face it, for always being there, for carrying me when I couldn't walk anymore.

My kind of party

So I turned 32 yesterday. To be honest, I wasn't feeling great, couldn't really explain it, just down. But I'd been invited to supper by my former colleague to supper and the only night it worked was my birthday night. Totally random. My friend Suresh Joshee is from Nepal (which I visited for 1.5 days) and he's got a wonderful happy outlook, a wonderful happy wife and a wonderful happy son...and by the end of the night I felt wonderful and happy too!
I wasn't expecting any birthday festivities, but here's what the Joshee family did for me. They bought me a nice new shirt (which fits perfectly), they cooked the most delicious vegetarian pakora (fried veggie patties), butter korma (cheese) curry, lentil soup and best of all...for the vegetarian...they bought me a carrot cake!!
Their son Samyog and I ended up playing hockey for an hour too. I found that rolling around on the floor in your business clothes is incredibly freeing and indeed confirms I'm still young : )