Learning when life is good and when it may not be so good.

I think this is another thing I have to learn yet. As in I get so worried about my main concerns and then, then I learn of the deep suffering of another and feel confused and ashamed at the worried self-gazing I was standing in, when I heard the news.

I just found out that a former classmate of mine has severe cancer in her back; such a beautiful women she is, it is hard to believe this is happening to her; gentle, land-loving, and so healthy—even her style, her way of relating to the earth – even her eating habits—were so healthy. She was our classes’ favourite reader, esp. for medieval literature; words come from her so smoothly and it was like she savoured each word that she uttered, as if they were delicious pieces of apple, sliding across the tongue. I was so surprised by hearing of her distress that I emailed everyone I could think of who knows her, and who I have email contact with. Asking everyone to pray. She and her family (husband and I think at least one young child) must be reeling with shock—I would of never thought this would happen to them. It is crazy, this. And I am not even a close friend of hers; I guess I just love and see people; we were part of the same group; English and philosophy lovers; lovers of language, words; and she sought God and I also sought God; she was at my friend’s shower and wedding; she is so beautiful. I remember having lunch with her; she came to visit me; I remember her eating an apple; two years later she visited my first home I lived in by myself; she liked the three glass candle jars I had on the window sill.

I find myself thinking, Dear God in Heaven who Saves us all, please save her and heal her of this really awful cancer;

I am at school right now, waiting to have a meeting and as soon as I get home, her, her husband’s name will go on my prayer list, in my icon corner. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.

this one goes out to the one(s) I love

HOWDY!

So, I'm going to be in Calgary on August 6th. I will have free reign on a vehicle and so will be able to consume the Orthodox Liturgy of my choice. Any suggestions on where to go to church in Calgary?

Skiing

G12 on Battle Mountain

G12 on Battle Mountain
Originally uploaded by pasivirta.

phew.


we're back.

Canada Day - Graduation Party @ The Jordans

Friday, June 30th, 5:00pm ( a slight amendment has been made: we will no longer require a Canadian Content portion... you may wimpout on this aspect if you so choose*^)As per our last Canadian celebration, there will be a 'Canadian-content' portion of the evening. Come in your RED & WHITE, byob, mabye a salad or some other munchie. We will have burgers and hot dogs on the bbq. Feel free to bring a sleeping bag and crash overnight. We will also have the pool set up, so tell the kids to bring a bathing suit and towel.

And you thought the concept (never mind the theology) of the Left Behind video-game was questionable...

I suppose that if "monetizing" the questionable theology of the Left Behind book series into a video-game is acceptable, it shouldn't be too terribly surprising that the game developers should take that liberty to the nth degree...

Ars Technica: Religious video game leaves spyware behind

In Need of Help—Still/Again

Hi lovely St. Hermanites – I now have the addresses for the two places in Fort Langley, but I have been utterly unable to get the postal codes! I went to the post office here in London—the streets are not listed in the big postal codebook – and I called 411 directory assistance and they could not find them either. I am guessing that because Fort Langley is small, that there are PO Boxes used instead of mailboxes and that is why I am not able to find the postal codes.

So here is the places I need postal codes for:

8819 Bartlett Street
8960 Mackie Street (I think I am remembering the house number for this; I left it at home!)

I was wondering if either the very lovely Wildeman’s or maybe Phil or Biss could do this for me???

It is crazy that I have been trying to get this information for a good while! I had no idea that it would be this hard…

I hope to do the security clearance ASAP and would really appreciate the help…

Thanks

Alana - friend of Dave and Dan

Alana
Will you call me?
I hear you now are in possession of Luke's orange back pack. Maybe we can meet somewhere in Langley and do the exchange. Well I don't have anything to give you... but I could pick up the back pack. Or if you are staying in Langley I could arrange to come and pick it up.

Ramona - of the Wildeman clan - we are in the directory ...

Thessaloniki

Hey everyone. I'm in Thessoloniki right now enjoying the rich cultural experience of their internet cafes. We arrived by ferry to Igoumenista yesterday and were blessed to catch a ride to Thessaloniki with a Russian Priest-Monk and his ex-convict-turned-Orthodox disciple from Germany. We figured out that we spoke at least 8 languages between the four of us, none of which was Greek (so we still had a hard time getting directions). We made a brief stop at the Meteora Monastaries on the way, which (as one who has a particular affinity for giant rock faces) was a thrilling experience.
Tomorrow we depart for Mount Athos. Please pray for us. I am excited and terrified. I really don't know what to expect, spiritually, emotionally, physically (little sleep, little food, long prayers, long hikes). Pray that my ears will be open and my heart will be discerning.

I am looking forward to coming home at the end of the month. Graham: can Jesse borrow your car to pick me up, since mine is at the bottom of the sea? Also, I may have to move downstairs to Gabe's old room (since he is apparently also at the bottom of the sea with my car). Do you think that Jesse and you can keep the noise down during the day while I'm sleeping? Also, if you happen to brave another mission into my room, I was hoping to read my "Letters of the Desert Fathers" when I return. As I will be in exile from my own home and possessions (in the cruel desert of Gabe's room), this reading may offer some consolation. See if you can grab it from my shelf or recover at least a few pages from the papier mache cacoon. If one of the aliens happens to be reading it, please kindly ask him if he could finish before my return (or at least take some good notes for me).

All my love,
Dan

G12

Hey y'all! my linguistic abilities are perishing with great velocity.

however. I thought it pertinent to address the issue of the upcoming hike.

yes, thats right folks! Gabe-raham, Muryn, Josina and I are about to join others from the Isle of Vancouver, and some prarie dwellers on a journey of great proportions.

we are going to wells grey provincial(national?) park for the group of twelve. we are going to be soul searching, mountain searching, liturgy searching etc. we are exploring the transfiguration feast.

pray for us, too bad you are not coming. pray for us, safety, wisdom, and any other thing that might be pertinent.

and leave us all sorts of witty comments to read when we get back.

peace!

I like this one:

dear Fellow Casualty,

I think that God alone can Love. Only God can hold up against the force of Love --violent and immense-- which is His Nature. Man can't give or receive love without being killed. So the Trinity intervenes. You asked me once why there is any creation at all --and why a fall and a redemption thrown into the whole mess? I don't know. I suspect that the outcome of all this will be the miracle of having beings who are able to enter, living, into the Love of God. He Loves first, and then dies. We die first, and then Love. After our dying, and His, we have this in common: The Life of Christ. Before there was no mutuality. Now, we share the Cross and the Resurrection, the bridge of Love.

Creation / Fall / Salvation, and the impossible is accomplished: Men can bear the weight of Love.



yours,

St. Precarious

found here.

climb climb climb!

more trail.
Originally uploaded by pasivirta.

Here is one of a few photos from our hike. click the link to see some more.

Glory to God for all things?

So, don't get me wrong. I am not having a mid-life crisis or anything, neither mid-life nor crisis describes me right now, but here is my question.

are we really supposed to say and believe that we give Glory to God for ALL things? everything we do, good and bad, we say, "Glory to God" ?


good things, thats easy to imagine or live or believe, but bad things too?

Buenogiorno!

Hi everyone. I just thought I'd give a quick update since there is internet at our hotel. Denis and I arrived in Rome on Sunday morning and have been thoroughly loving this beautiful and significant city. We've seen many of the ruins (coloseum, pantheon, capitol hill, etc) and we just spent a day at the Vatican seeing Saint Paul's Cathedral, the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, etc. Tomorrow morning we will be having an audience with the Pope and then doing a guided tour of the ruins. If you've never been here, Rome is an extremely lively city with lots of artisans, vendors, and eateries filling the cobblestone alleys and squares. It's been a wonderful experience so far!
We leave for Florence on Friday and shortly after we'll be heading to Greece. Please continue to keep Denis and I in your prayers!

Dan

p.s. sorry I can't upload pictures, but I'll post a few when I get back

p.p.s. Biss: Paul and I had a wonderful time. He asked about you and I'm sure would have loved to see you too!

jack and jill went up the hill...

Hello from Dubai!

Well since Dan's doing it, I figured this is the best method for updating all the people I love in Vancouver! Yes, i'm alive, but barely, the heat is choking the life out of me, (47 degrees today) but it's so good to be with my family again that it's worth it. Dubai is crazier than ever, the malls are bigger, cars are faster, and construction sites on every corner. I went to the Mall of the Emirates, a gargantuan space-style mall where "Ski Dubai" is located, yes, snow in the desert. Don't worry, I took pictures. I'm going on a trip to Sri Lanka, a beautiful island just south of India for a week next month, and excited about that. Let me know if theres any requests.
I hope you are all well and know that I miss you all so much! I love you all and can't wait to be back! big hugs,
Abbi

Greetings from London

Hey everyone! I just thought I'd let you all know I'm alive and well in London. Denis and I have had a great time so far. We've seen some amazing sights, including the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, and St. Paul's Cathedral. We've also seen a couple of shows, including a marching/mounted band concert put on for the queen (yep, we saw her from across the field- you might even be able to make her out from the picture I took!)and an amazing performance of 'Titus Andronicus' at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre . This afternoon I'll be having coffee with Paul Janz (some of you might know him as the 80's rock star, others from taking his courses when he taught at Trinity Western). Tomorrow morning we (Denis and I) are flying out to Rome for a few days and then to Florence, Venice, Thessaloniki and shortly after.... MOUNT ATHOS! I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to post again before I come home, but I'll give you an update when I return.

All my love,
Dan

June 6th, 2006 Is Here!

...so I just had to share this with you all!

I'm almost toothless, but the demons sure aren't

I had the first of three sessions on the two thousand dollar tooth today. The Dentist took this opportunity to inform me that I have a not-yet-specified number of other lesser cavities that will need to be filled as well. I almost have to laugh at how ridiculously contrived my misery seems. I worked all night, then spent all morning getting a root canal, only to be informed that I owe my dentist the moon and the stars and more firstborns than I can ever hope to HAVE in the first place. Now I'm brutally overtired, drugged out of my tree, hungry and malnourished because I'm halfway through a filling and can't chew, and feeling generally doomed. I think only the Devil could have such a tasteless flair for melodrama. But however silly the plot sounds it's working, and it's really getting me down. And in the temporal realm it's looking like if I don't miraculously drum up more money than I've made in the last year over the next two months there's no way I can go serve the Bishop in the fall. Please pray for me. Tomorrow morning I'm back to the grindstone. No wait, I am the grindstone.
J

being is beautiful and hard

photos from our road trip are now on flickr. stories to come. it was great. off to work soon.

Stacy's here!!!

And she's staying at our house...but we're gone for a week, so call her and give her something to do (like, say, eat).
She's cute, just so y'all know.

church shopping and king of the hill

calling all closet dental surgeons . . .

So I did go to the dentist -- Dr. Moores, as recommended by the Chois -- and had rather a rude awakening. She says the tooth in question is rotted halfway to Hades and back and badly abscessed. How in heaven's name I didn't feel anything until Tuesday remains a mystery. It still doesn't particularly hurt. But there it is. She says I need a root canal and a crown, totalling up around two friggin' grand. And of course they haven't worked out a dental plan yet for renegade poets. As most of you know I'm planning on travelling with the Bishop in the fall, which means a net income of booger all cubed (which nixes paying it on some kind of installment plan). I can borrow the money from my parents, it's money that they aren't USING right now but will certainly need and they're understandably a little hesitant (though being the kind of people they are of course they won't say no). I asked if I could get the tooth pulled, and she hemmed and hawed and said she really thinks it's a bad idea, it's a really important molar that I really need and that I would probably need to get a bridge or an implant eventually, which would be just as expensive. On the other hand, there's really no guarantee that going the expensive route (ha ha root) will save the tooth anyway. I'm going in Monday and I haven't decided what I'm doing yet. So I'm mostly asking your prayers: that I'll make the right decision, that my mouth won't go to rack and ruin, and that my finances will maintain enough equilibrium that I can carry on with my plans for the fall. But also if anyone out there happens to know anything about these matters, or doesn't really know anything but just has a strong opinion anyway, I could really use some advice. IS THIS DENTIST JUST MESSING WITH MY HEAD????
a toothy rotting grin to all of you,
Jesse

Some of you may know my good friend Graham, who goes to Holy Nativity (but visits Saint Herman's). He just wrote an amazing post on his blog. Go here. Read this.

I'm still planning to go to Gibsons, BUT I've decided just this moment to wait until Monday or Tuesday, because Muryn is moving and I really would like to help her out. So the trip is off until next week. Still the 9:20am ferry which costs about $10 and there might be some labour involved because they are still (I believe) doing construction. So if anyone would like to tag along just contact me. If not I'm planning to go anyway.

God Bless!
Later days.


p.s. I don't care about the spelling this time.