Monday, August 27, 2007

The Sabbath in Salt Lake City Utah

LDS Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah

Woke up this morning to a beautiful HOT Sabbath morning. My son, Seth; his wife, Meg; my daughter, Liz; and Kevan and I decided to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast this morning as the last time we went was right before leaving for Connecticut. So we left Kink's condo (my father-in-law) to walk over to Temple Square.


What a wonderful treat to live so close that it is just a short walk. The Choir has recently returned to performing in the Tabernacle, so we headed there but saw everyone crossing the street and entering the Conference Center where the Choir performed while the Tabernacle was being renovated. So, into the Conference Center we went along with about 3000 other souls.

Tabernacle

Conference Center

Inside the Conference Center

It was a beautiful performance, as always, and when the Choir sang its traditional postlude, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again," I totally lost it for a moment thinking of the friends and family I am leaving so far behind. But in the same moment, I thought of all the wonderful new friends awaiting my arrival and the opportunities I will have to serve the people of Tinian. Besides, this is not the dark ages! With the internet and all the wonderful tools it provides for keeping us close, it is not nearly as traumatic as it was even 15 years ago. My parents lived in Mongolia and Hong Kong in the late '90s and even in Mongolia, they had internet access and so we ICQed often. Now, with Skype, we find ourselves talking more often than when we live close to each other. Must be something about making the effort because of the distance.

This afternoon, we attended our old congregation and enjoyed seeing many old friends. We hadn't told people we were coming, so a great and wonderful surprise was had by all. There is truly something to be said for relationships that endure time and distance . . . and the ability to begin a conversation in mid-sentence as if you had never been gone. I realized how much I missed everyone but also how honored I am to have the opportunity to move to CNMI where I will make new friends and enduring relationships. We leave for Tinian on Wednesday morning, and I can hardly wait!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

On our way!

Terri and I are finally on our way to paradise! Terri is done with school, completed her final testing, and has just a few more papers to fill out once on Saipan and Tinian. We have packed our lives into a number of cardboard boxes (now wending their way to Tinian ahead of us), and are making our last 'goodbye' stops in Philly and Salt Lake prior to flying to Saipan. Now that all the packing and cleaning are behind us, we are both beginning to feel the excitement build as we start a new chapter in our lives.
Everyone we talk to is jealous...it is an interesting view of other peoples lives and perspectives. As we say our goodbyes to friends and co-workers, they often express how much they would like to do the same thing we are doing-- going on an adventure to an exoctic location. We feel the same, in reverse: why don't more people do this! It is fun and exciting, we will meet new people, make new friends, learn about new and interesting cultures, and, hopefully, grow as individuals and as a couple. There are so many possitive things, and so few negative things, it really is strange that we have become the exception instead of the rule!
So we are officially on our way, and will reach paradise by the end of August. Although we have 'signed up' for at least two years, we actually expect to be on Tinian for much longer. I have at least 10 books already 'written in my head' (each book I have written has taken about a year, so you can do the math), and have no doubt that Tinian will be a conducive place to write. But only time will tell.
The future has always been different from what Ihave expected. Like many proffessionals, I am trained to plan ahead, to look for possible problems and provide contingencies for those problems if they arrive. The goal is to avoid or prevent problems before they happen. But life is far more complictated than our mortal minds can plan for! Life is full of surprises and problems that no one could possibly predict or plan for. One of my wife's favorite sayings to our children is to always live 'on the balls of your feet'. In other words, always be prepared for the unexpected! Knowing this to be a fact of life, a person can either 'enjoy the ride' by veiwing all of life's surprises as a fun adventure, or simply look upon life as a series of unending, unsolvable problems that simply bring us stress, pain, and hopelessness. Terri and I have chosen to veiw life through the former window: a fun adventure, full of exciting surprises and joy. We have and do face all the same problems and challenges others face, we just choose to see them in a different light. Perhaps that is why Terri and I are on our way to a paradise called Tinian, while others only dream of doing the same thing.