This Blog is Moving to New Quarters

I Have Moved!

I finally got switched over to Movable Type. Blogger is nice, and it's free, but MT gives me all kinds of new flexibility. Plus, I've had plenty of practice with it, since I've designed several blogs for work using Movable Type.

I'm also switching names. "Whatever" will now become "RandomPokes." That's the name of a column I did in the United Brethren magazine for 14 years. The column is kaput, but I'm still writing stuff. Might as well resurrect that name. (I'm also using that name for my commercial site where I sell Powerpoint slides for churches, but that site the .com version, whereas my blog uses the .org extension.)

So, please re-bookmark your browsers. My blog is now located at this address:

RandomPokes

That is: www.randompokes.org

The Bridal Shower Alternative

Yesterday afternoon, Pam and I went to Convoy, Ohio, for a wedding
shower. My niece, Paula, is getting married on June 24 to Tom, a guy
I wholeheartedly approve of. I, of course, was not invited to the
shower. Pam was, though. So I dropped her and Mom off at the Convoy
United Brethren Church, and then went over to the parsonage (where my
brother Stu lives), to hang out with my two brothers, Tom, and Stu's
sons Benjamin and Jonathan. There was, among us, no sense of being
"left out" of the festivities (i. e., silly little games) which are
allegedly common at bridal showers. We, instead, talked about
computers and dogs, and did some grunting.

Benjamin, who is 21, bought a house in Willshire, about 20 miles
away. It's a two-story house sitting on three lots, with a separate
brick building. This place is a true fixer-upper, but when you
realize he got the thing for just $10 grand, it's a steal.
Fortunately, Benjamin knows handyman-type stuff; Stu seems to have
hogged all of Dad's handyman genes, since me and Rick sure didn't get
any of them. Anyway, Benjamin took me (and my brother Rick) over to
his house. Yeah, the thing is torn to pieces, with stuff everywhere.
Benjamin sleeps on a couch in what will be the living room. But I
say--good for him! He's willing to put all the work into totally
renovating this house, and when he's done, it's gonna be worth a
whole lot more than he paid for it.

The shower ended, and I did get some leftover cake. Paula and Tom
hauled their loot upstairs. I guess they're looking for a house to
rent. Better hurry.

Back in Fort Wayne, Rick, Dorene, and their two kids stopped by our
house. We ordered the aforementioned Hungry Howie's pizza, which
they'd never had. Pizza, regardless of brand, always works at Dennie
gatherings. Rick and I were both bummed to learn that the Lakers had
taken a 3-1 lead over the Phoenix Suns. This just can't happen. Kobe
cannot be validated.

Today's Email Junk

I just finished checking my email. I received 76 emails since
checking last night. Only one of them was NOT junk (and even that was
just an email subscription I have which I deleted without reviewing).
This is really getting out of hand. And it's been like this for quite
a while. It used to be that the government talked about doing
something about it. Oh well.

Roger and Marilyn Reeck

Roger and Marilyn Reeck were in town today. They are Wycliffe missionaries in La Ceiba, the third largest city in Honduras, situated on the north coast. I wrote a book about the life of Marilyn's father, Archie Cameron, who basically started and built the United Brethren ministry in Honduras, which now has over 80 churches. An amazing man. That was the best, and most rewarding, piece of writing I've ever done.

Both Roger and Marilyn are graduates of what is now Taylor University-Fort Wayne. Back then, it was called Fort Wayne Bible College. Marilyn attended Anchor, my church (then called Third Street United Brethren Church), while she was in college. An interesting connection.

In writing the book, I made three trips to Honduras, during which I spent many hours interviewing Archie, but also traipsing across northern Honduras with Roger interviewing other people, missionaries and nationals, who could tell me something about Archie's life. The interviews were usually bilingual, which made it interesting. And having Roger translate made it especially interesting, because he's such a fun guy. Roger knows over a dozen languages, and has been integrally involved in translating the Bible into the Zapotec and Garifuna languages. Now he's working in the West African country of Guinnea Bissau (though still living in Honduras), working on translating the Bible into a language there. What could be more rewarding than that?

Pam and I had breakfast with the Reecks this morning (Pam accompanied me on one of those trips to Honduras). Roger told about being in a remote village in Guinea Bissau. All they had translated was the story of the Good Samaritan. The villagers gathered, and the story was read to them in their own language. "Read it again!" they said. So they read the story again. "Read it again!" This happened over and over, and they kept re-reading the story. Roger told me that the people are starved for God's Word, and by hearing this single story over and over, they would be able to remember it well enough to repeat it to others.

Archie Cameron died last fall. He had lived in Honduras since 1952. He was a pioneer, and part of the dying breed of missionaries who are "lifers"--who make missionary service in a foreign land their career. It was a great honor to do the book. Roger and Marilyn have told me that the book has been a blessing to other missionaries in Honduras, who value not only Archie's testimony, but the background information I give about the country's history. They mentioned one man who leads work teams to Honduras, and he always gives a copy to team members (and he's not even United Brethren!). The book is used in teaching at the UB high school in La Ceiba.

Tio Archie has been translated into Spanish, and the Spanish people of Honduras are eager to read the book, but they don't have the money to print it. Seems like, out of our American abundance, we should be able to come up with the money to make that happen. Because the book is really the Hondurans' story, not an American story. (Archie, I should also mention, was Canadian.)

Roger and Marilyn are on their way to Florida, where their youngest daughter (of four) will graduate in May from Pensacola Bible College. I trust they have a joyous time.

American Idol Predictions

I'm so shallow.

I think Kelly may get the boot tomorrow. She probably deserves to get it. Paris may get it instead, but only because she doesn't seem to have a big fan following. Singing the love songs of Andrea Bocelli--geesh, who thunk up that theme? Paula Abdul is a flake, in case you hadn't noticed.

Hungry Howie's

I do hereby declare that Hungry Howie's, home of the flavored crust, is the best pizza in Fort Wayne. With their Sunday $5.99 special, they have been a regular weekend treat for Pam and me for well nigh unto a year. Thought it was time to alert the rest of the world.

A Trivia Tidbit in Search of a Cause

In China, 84 percent of all car buyers are first-time buyers.

I've known that for a month now, and I've been trying to figure out what to do with it. Was there some analogy, perhaps, with first-time visitors to my church? None that I've been able to find.

The United States probably passed that 84 percent mark in the 1940s. But during periods in my life, I'm sure 84 percent of all cell-phone buyers were first-time buyers, and likewise with computer buyers, home cable installers, and even color TV buyers.

So, I don't know, there you have it--a useless fact. Hope you can figure out what to do with it.