Anabaptist Foundation

I returned home last evening from the Anabaptist Foundation board meeting in Pennsylvania. We had a two day meeting at Shady Maple near Blue Ball, PA. Part of the meeting was a meeting of our micro-finance committee. We are continuing to plan for a micro-finance project somewhere overseas in the future. We had two men from Hope International come and share with us about what they are doing in micro-finance. Hope International has 18 million dollars loaned out to over 190,000 people in 13 countries. Listening to them always gets me motivated. They are out to change the world.

It was good to be with the other board members and the staff from Anabaptist Foundation. These men are men who are committed to God and strengthening His Kingdom and the Church. I am always encouraged by being with them.

It was also nice to see that Spring is actually coming in some parts of the world. If it comes to Pennsylvania, it seems like it should also get here eventually too.

Easter Sunday

Today we had a number of special events to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We started at 7:00 AM with a sunrise service. Then we had a fellowship Breakfast at the Church at 8:30. Our morning service began at 10 AM then rather than the normal time of 11 AM.

This afternoon Dallas and Elaine's sister is here with her daughter. She is three months old now.

This is the sunrise service. The fire was needed because it was minus 20 C. at 7:00 this morning.

Gaetano shared a short meditation after we had done some singing.

This is the breakfast at the church. Edith and Dallas are on the right hand side. They were making pancakes.

This is Dallas and Elaine's niece, Angel.

Math

I've never been very good at mathematics. I think my problem started in Third Grade when Miss Lehman was teaching us how to multiply. I had no trouble with the concept that if Johnnie has 0 apples and you multiply that 2 times, he still has zero apples. So, it seemed obvious to me that 0x2=0.

My problem was that 2x0 should equal 2. My reasoning was, if Johnnie has 2 apples and you multiply them 0 times, he still has 2 apples. Just multiplying the two apples zero times doesn't make the two apples disappear. Miss Lehman and I had many discussions on this matter. In the end I caved in to societal pressure and made any multiplication problem with a zero in it equal zero. Even though in my heart, I felt that my argument made perfect sense. Miss Lehman assured me that you can't think about it in that way, and how multiplication is a short form of long addition, and on and on, but I still saw Johnnie with his two apples, he multiplies them zero times and they disappear! Amazing!

This week I read about a mathematician who solved what is known as the "Road Colouring Problem". This problem has gone unsolved for 38 years. Avraham Trahtman, a Russian immigrant to Israel has solved the problem. You can read about it HERE.

The interesting thing is the applications they say this solution may have:

"The solution to this problem has definitely generated excitement in the mathematical community," he said in an e-mail.

Margolis said the solution could have many applications.

"Say you've lost an e-mail and you want to get it back - it would be guaranteed," he said. "Let's say you are lost in a town you have never been in before and you have to get to a friend's house and there are no street signs - the directions will work no matter what."

This could solve the problem of men not wanting to stop to ask for directions. I have lost many things that I would like to have back. This seems like a very important thing.

The difficulty is that when I look at the "Road Coloring Problem", I don't even understand the question, much less the answer. I would love to have some of the math whiz guys that were in my high school class, or perhaps even Mr. Kreider himself, our algebra teacher at least explain the question to me.

You can read Mr. Trahtman's solution to the "Road Coloring Problem" HERE.

Let me know if you understand it.

Driveway

This is what the end of our driveway looks like now. The snow banks are high enough that our snowblower doesn't get the snow up over them anymore. This is another reason why we need Spring!

Spring?

The calendar says that Spring begins this week. We have been noticing a few signs of Spring. It was above freezing today! Someone told me yesterday that they heard crows. That means the crows are back. We have also seen a skunk on the road close to the garbage dump. Also the squirrels are back at our bird feeder.

These signs and the calendar agree that Spring is actually coming. I hope that in a few more weeks the snow will be really melting and disappearing. Spring never comes too soon in the North. I think everyone is glad to see it coming.

Parenting

Edith went to the Believers Fellowship ladies retreat yesterday. She will be home tomorrow. That leaves me to do the parenting now. I guess it is only fair since I left her to do the parenting while I was in Haiti last week. One of my pet peeves is when I hear men say that they are "babysitting" when their wife is gone and they are caring for their children. Guys, when it is your own children it isn't called babysitting!

The Northern First Nations hockey tournament is going on this week here in Sioux Lookout. It is a big event and there are a lot of First Nations people from the North in town. We plan to go in to see a game or two later today. It is a great place to meet people from all over the North.

Yesterday I met a First Nations friend of mine in the grocery store. He ask, "So, who are you working for now?" I told him I am working for Believers Fellowship. He replied, "So after all these years you have now finally become a believer."

Haiti Trip

I returned last evening from my trip to Haiti. Kevin Miller and I had a good time there. The convention went well. It was well attended and appreciated by everyone. Our friends there seem to be doing well.

Here is a blind man who read from the braille Kreyol Bible and sang some songs. He played the guitar, keyboard and violin. He was very skilled in music. He is going to the States this Saturday for a concert tour. The people at the convention were quite interested in how he did these things. Pastor Gabriel did a public interview with him. He has a fiance. He said he hasn't seen her but he does have an imagination, and he is sure that if she were there, everyone in the church would see that she is the most beautiful woman in the church.

Here is something that I thought I would never see in the church at Cadiac. Cell phones have become very popular in Haiti. The cell phone coverage is very good in most places on the island. Most of the people do not have electricity at their houses. They bring their cell phones to church to charge them during the service. The church runs a generator for the service and has a homemade power bar for cell phone charging. The one rule they have is that you cannot send your cell phone to church with someone else to be charged. You have to be at church while your cell phone is charging.

Here is Milord with his children. The boy in the front row on the left is Roland Devalcy's son. The other four boys and the girl are Milord's children. Milord is married to Pastor Paul's daughter. Once she told me that she sees ladies with their little girls on the tap taps with nice dresses and bows in their hair. She said she wants a girl so badly but all God gives her is these naughty little boys. Now she finally has a little girl. The girl's name is Bethanie.

Travelling

Kevin Miller and I are on our way to Haiti. I dropped the children off at school this morning and then met Kevin in Dryden. We arrived here in Minneapolis a few minutes ago. We are staying at a motel here where we have a park and fly arrangement. We will leave our car here until we get back next Monday.

It is rather shocking to leave our coats in the car and think that by tomorrow evening we will be sweating. There was a wind chill of minus 32 when I left Sioux Lookout this morning. It is hard to believe that it will probably be over 80 degrees F. in Haiti tomorrow afternoon when we arrive.

I am looking forward to seeing Pastor Paul and all our friends in Cadiac again this week. The church there is having their convention. The text is the verse that says, "Pray without ceasing". The theme they are taking from that verse is, "We are not going to give God any rest". I am preaching two messages on that theme.

If you think of us pray for us in the next few days. Pray for our families at home too.

Senior Girls Dinner

Last evening we were at Marcia Schrock's house for the dinner cooked by the senior girls from Cornerstone Christian School. We had purchased the dinner at the school auction. The girls did a great job with the meal. We invited Jesse Lyon to join us. She brought her daughter with her as well.