where in the world… (part 3)?

are viv + i?
“bonjour mon ami…” from southern france!

 using “rick steves’ provence & the french riviera guidebook“ (a.k.a. our “other” bible in southern france), vivien outlined a tour de southern france via our avis rental car: an opel. definitely a different experience for me… cause when i vacation, i tend to stay in one hotel/location for the duration of the stay and take a taxi. the long, windy and scenic roads from town to town were pretty fun to drive.

bonjour from hotel negresco in nice! le'g+v...

not knowing what to expect for the city driving/parking conditions, it was crazy and stressful! the streets were SO narrow and often-times one-way and it was shared by cars, bicyclists, scooters, cats and dogs all at the same time! in most intersections, they had these roundabouts that were a bit confusing as well… and just required you to pretty much close your eye and jump into the circle of death and drive around until you find the right road to get off to! you just had to pay attention to the many arrowed signs and pray you chose the right one!

when in doubt... always head toward "centre ville"...

total distance driven: 1234km = 766.772 miles
total spent on diesel: €106 euros = $158.73 USD
total number of swear words dropped: 11 “mutha F-bombs”

thank the Lord that there were so many things to ease my driving stress… paellas, poissons and pâtisseries, oh my! 

the places:

welcome, baby sophie yae-eun ramborger…

i can see it already... daddy's little girl!

dob: 10/23/2009 (post is delayed b/c i was in nepal…)
time: 09:04pm
weight: 8lbs 1.7oz
height: 19.5in (will probably be super tall, look at her dad)
to: proud 1st time parents… papa jim + mama esther

can’t wait to see you when we return!
love,
auntie viv + uncle george

where in the world… (part 2)?

are viv + i?
“namaste…“
nama-stah,
ma-ma-coo-sa from nepal!

definitely a dream destination (more so for vivien + her love for outdoor adventure than i). the sights were spectacular and awe-inspiring… how could one look at it all and not acknowledge the Creator?

the places:

• kathmandu (1400m/4593ft)
• pokhara (910m/2986ft) – a short 25min flight from kathmandu.
• phedi (950m/3116ft) – starting point of our 6-day trek with a gazillion stone steps and insane incline grade!
  we were blessed to have our guide: manoj + our porter: kumar. over the journey they became more like family! while we had our hiking boots, performance gear attire, trekking poles and only carrying day packs… kumar wore nike tennis shoes, jeans, a button-up shirt, used NO poles and carried our 35lb. backpack through some sick terrain. he saved our lives (and our backs… literally).
  ** note: am thankful for international porter protection group (i.p.p.g.) and hope they continue to look out/care for the porters. and in the future, we hope trekkers will have enough porters for the gear they bring as to not overload/work and pose potential harm to them!
• tolka (1790m/5872ft) – first night’s stay. having no electricity at this teahouse, viv + i, ended up going to sleep at 7pm! one of the most restful nights of sleep i ever had! only took going to nepal to find it. who would’ve thunk it?
• ghandruk (2020m/6627ft) – imagine having this view while eating breakfast!
  

  momo having mint tea + traditional chapati bread

daniel + ada: now engaged…

now engaged: daniel + ada…

congrats you two! been exciting to see your relationship develop… the Lord bless you guys in your engagement!

congrats you two!
been exciting to see your relationship develop…
may the Lord continually bless you guys in your engagement journey!

one day’s wages: now officially launched!

one day’s wages: now officially launched…

mad props to p.e. and his wife, minhee for giving birth to an important dream of theirs with the start of one day’s wages!

check it out, investigate it and if you feel compelled join in…

mad props + happy belated birthday to p.e. and his wife, minhee for giving birth to an important dream of theirs with the start of one day’s wages on october 20th!

for more information, check it out here, investigate it and if you feel compelled, join in…

craving for some good pigs brains…

then: eating traditional korean jjah-jjahng-myun in the beginning of october @ h.mart in seattle, wa (usa).

now: eating traditional sichuan jjah-jjahng-myun in the middle of october @ a local family’s home in jiuzhaigou, south west china… CRAZY!

[UPDATE] right now: eating sichuanese hot-pot @ a packed restaurant in chengdu, south west china with a nice cold coke… and “yes” that IS pig’s brain (just for you, peter + lotus!)

then: eating traditional korean jjah-jjahng-myun in the beginning of october @ h.mart in seattle, wa (usa).

now: eating traditional sichuan jjah-jjahng-myun in the middle of october @ a local family’s home in jiuzhaigou, south west china… CRAZY!

will i get swine flu if i eat what’s below…?

where in the world… (part 1)?

are viv + i?
“ni hao ma” from china!

so far, it’s been:

hong kong ->

shenzhen ->

chengdu ->

huang long (here’s a pic right before i got some major altitude sickness… NOT fun) ->

jiuzhaigou (here’s viv welcoming you in traditional tibetan garb! and the scenery… seriously breathtaking, will post more pics/vids later!) ->

back to chengdu ->

leshan ->

emeishan ->

shenzhen ->

hong kong…

• hong kong
  then off to the sichuan province (where the great 2008 earthquake had struck):
• shenzhen
• chengdu
• huang long (here’s a pic right before i got some major altitude sickness/sweaty throat… NOT fun!)
  

  g, v + baba @ huang long (approx 12800 ft. elevation)

  and more…

congrats: rosana + mike…

had the privilege of helping joseph with the wedding of these two cool peeps/dentists on 10.10.09…
i have never been to an egyptian/chinese wedding before in my life, but can now cross it off on my ‘bucket list’.
when joseph and i were in the bride’s room as she was getting prepped, i almost dropped my camera when i heard the mother walk in and begin to holler at the top of her lungs… i thought she had either burned her hand on a hot curling iron or something crazy extreme, i mean seriously, i thought someone died!
then, the other women in the room began to join her in the hollering (about 1:00 min into the video) and i was sure hotel security was going to knock down the door any second to see if we were all still alive.

now i know that screaming at times can help relieve tension

finally can sleep in the master bedroom now…

before:

after (color: valspar’s venetian plaster in sea glass from lowe’s):

after #2 (color of accent wall: painted in “chocolate plum”):

after putting primer on to prep the master bedroom… we began the arduous task of personalizing it. and wouldn’t you know it that vivien has the incredible knack for choosing the… how shall s say… the most “interesting” of choices?
in this case, it was a technique called “venetian plaster“. this gives a marble-esque look and feel.
it’s kinda cool that the more uneven and random you apply the plaster application, the more natural it looks like real marble (beats having to apply coat over coat with a paint roller). but you have to put some serious sweat equity to make this work. see below for the instructions from valspar on how to attain this look:

have 56 min. 58 sec. to spare? are you a guest… or a host?

i can’t promise you wealth nor power nor fame (at least not until you send me a money order or payment of $995)…
but if you take some time to listen to PE’s message on colossians 3:12-17 titled “things that build community” i can promise you a great message that will challenge and speak God’s words that you just might need to hear.

i know it was for me.

are we getting too comfortable at church and stuck in a “gimme gimme” mentality as we sit in the pews, fancy brown cushion-y chair (or whatever you sit on) and sucking dry a church and getting what we want/need from it and then claiming it lacks this or lacks that… or pointing out this fault or that to justify the need to move on to another church in hopes of satiating an insatiable desire? and if we keep doing this, won’t we eventually end up in a loop and back at the starting church? because what church will ever meet all of our lofty ideals?

don’t get me wrong there will be some drop-dead theological issues that might be a deal-breaker… and if so, fine. then move on to a place where you can embrace the teaching and find connection to the church body.

but if we would simply roll up our sleeves, take more ownership and actually care for the church/community we call “home/family” and are willing to acknowledge its flaws (that all churches have) and commit to being a host church would be the coolest place to be.

can you spare a brutha 56 min. 58 sec… ?

click here for the audio: things that build community or see below for the video (thanks randall!)

The 10 contextual points PE shared: