http://marknewland.theworldrace.org Mark Newland - en-us Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:33:35 GMT 30 http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leave http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leave This is something I read just after getting to Canada in May. It's an author's note by Don Miller in the intro to Through Painted Deserts (previously titled Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenence). Reading it felt like when you get a puzzle piece you've been twisting all over the place to make it fit in the spot you know it should go, and suddenly it slides into place, completing the image before you. It's a lot of things I knew but could never articulate, and is the reason I started more strongly considering Colorado (which by the way I'm aiming to move there at the end of September. More on that later). I showed it to Danny and Seth during debrief, and they have both posted this as well for how much it spoke into what we're all kind of going through right now. All three of us are going back home only to move away inside a month of being there - Seth and I to Colorado, Danny to Los Angeles - and I think what it says about leaving in this is a big part of that. Hope Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-journeys-end http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-journeys-end For those that don't know my morning wake up tendencies and routines, let me fill you in on what it looks like. Groan, roll over, snooze button, out cold. Repeat process every ten minutes for an hour. Been doing it for about 2 decades and I dont see any signs of change on the way. Not this morning though. I was deep in a dream nowhere near the surface when my alarm pulled me into instant clear conciousness to a single crisply formed thought:   The race is over. Wow.   And that was it, that was the moment, at 3:45 this morning, when the world race ended for me. There were see you laters, goodbyes (just see you laters with an #ff0000 end point at the moment), hugs, tears, and laughs still to come, but that moment was the finish of it all for me. I will miss it all, of course. I added it up at one point as we walked through an airport somewhere and discovered that all 27 of us plus our luggage weigh around 6000 lbs together. 3 tons. That's 3 whole Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=facing-reality http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=facing-reality This year.how many times have I started a sentence with that phrase lately?....This year we have seen a lot of how the world really is. So many people in the places we all come from have been saying things along the lines of Its time to face reality, get a real job, contribute to society, etc. Fact is, Ive been back to Reality for a couple months, Ive seen the comparison back to back, both ways, and this, out here, away from North America, this is reality. 60% of the world lives on less than $1 a day. None of them have spare bedrooms to use as an office or a guest room that the in laws stay in for a week of the year. They dont have separate rooms for each of their kids. They dont have living rooms to entertain guests in. If theyre lucky, theres A room. Period. With a family of 5, 10, 15 or more. There arent 3 car, 2 car, or single car garages. In reality people walk the majority of their travels. Theres no private front lawn where the kids play. They dont burn 100 barrels of oil per pe Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=back-in-the-saddle-again http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=back-in-the-saddle-again Im home again. This will sound a little confusing to some of you, as my last blog was about returning to Abbotsford to help with Leia, my youngest sister, after a bad car accident left her nearly blind. But Im not talking about Abbotsford. Im talking about being back in the world where I feel belonging, alive, and a sense of completion I havent found elsewhere. I flew into Nicaragua and was greeted by some of my squad mates three days ago with excited hugs and lots of questions about mine and my familys well being. The next day we were picking up garbage, shoveling horse crap out of the playground, and swinging machetes to clear overgrowth around the slides and gardens of a park we are throwing a carnival in this weekend. I woke up yesterday stiff and sore from the work, and more than a little tired still since I wake up a dozen times in the night due to the heat (something I forgot about). Meals include rice and beans, eggs with rice and beans, and chicken with rice and beans, a far c Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=last-day-birthday-celebration http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=last-day-birthday-celebration It was my last day on the race and it was also Megan's birthday, so we celebrated in style. Hope you enjoyed the video, here's some pics too:........................ Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=heart-cry1 http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=heart-cry1 Soooooo...I'm back in Canada. Really, that's the easiest way to start this I think. It's been 11 days, 16 hours, and 29 minutes now since crossing the US/Canada border. Basically with everyone else's schedules and how much juggling was going on to try and help Leia, it made more sense for me to come and help out. So, 8 hours after getting into the country, I was sitting in my old high school taking notes for Leia's social studies 11 class and reading subtitles to her from a PowerPoint presentation. I probably should've felt a lot weirder than I did about that, but there's something in keeping busy that doesn't allow you to think too hard on such things. I'm still living out of my backpack, wearing the same clothes I've worn all year, and I'm sleeping in my nephew's bed, surrounded by stuffed animals. It works really well, cause it makes me feel like I'm staying in a space that's not my own, which I'm far more comfortable with now anyway. I feel more at home when there's n Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=living-it http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=living-it I had originally intended on having a few more blogs on Mutarara, but things got a little interrupted by life there, so I'll just recap the rest of it. We left when the foundations of the orphanage (and also some spiritual foundations) had been laid, as per God's direction. Brandon stayed longer and saw the beginnings of the walls going up, and when we last heard a couple weeks ago the roof was ready to be put on. There is another world race team on their way up there now to help with that and continue to build the spiritual house of God for that community. If things go to plan, there will be teams regularly going through there providing things like beds, crops, animals, food, wells, and of course teachings, evangelism, and fellowship for the community around them. Mutarara is such a ripe place for the gospel and for solid biblical teaching, I'm excited that the work will continue on under Mike and Lynn Laubshauer (I hope I spelled that right), who have amazing hearts for children all Sat, 3 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=prognosis http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=prognosis I want to put this into a blog where I talk about how it has affected my family, what has come of it already, the things we can see coming up, and what it was like facing what was probably the hardest day of my life yesterday, but I just can't get it started. So it will just be straight facts at this point:Leia is blind in one eye. There is no blood flow going to it, and no vision. Her other eye has only a spot of vision, and from what I understand she can't see color. Something to do with the retina not functioning, and some of the eye still working. Doctors say sometimes that heals, sometimes it doesn't, we'll just have to wait. Tuesday is when my parents will meet with the social workers and whoever else they need to to talk about bringing her home, what kind of care she'll need, extra help, those kinds of things.For those that don't know Leia, and since I think I've failed to mention it here, this is that much harder for all of us because Leia is one of the most naturally talented Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leias-surgery http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leias-surgery Leia's surgery went off without any problems - better, in fact, because they didn't have to do a bone graft like they thought they would and were able to do the work using just plates and screws instead. They did everything in one surgery, though down the road she may need more work on her nose, say a year or so from now. Again, the eyes are the main concern but also what we won't have much information on for awhile. Her breathing tube was removed today, and a lot of the swelling in her face has gone down. They are weaning her off sedatives, so she'll hopefully be more able to communicate more in the next week. Some days are harder than others - the drugs affect her ability to comprehend things properly and she gets frustrated and scared sometimes. A lot of extended family and friends have come from all over to be there for Leia and my family. I'm really thankful for that, and for friends I know I can rely on to do little things like returning the car seat that was in the pathfinder so Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leia-update http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leia-update Well, Leia is now considered out of danger as far as brain damage goes. She's laughing when her cousins make comments about her blue hair, asks if anyone else was hurt in the accident, and if she'll be able to take pictures again among other things, so she's all there. She really doesn't like her breathing tube, and it's been a source of frustration for her, but it sounds like she's calmed down in the last day about it. The eye specialist said there is still bleeding in both eyes and so they can't say one way or another, or even know a time frame for when they'll be able to know anything, so it's a waiting and praying game. Her surgery for everything else is today (Friday) at 9am, so please pray lots for everything. It's been amazing to see how many people are in prayer for Leia - literally hundreds of people, all over the world, from every continent except Antarctica (and who counts that one except the scientists anyway?). You don't realize how many people you're connected to in small Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=urgent-prayer-for-leia http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=urgent-prayer-for-leia I just received an email from my Dad about my youngest sister Leia (17), which I'll copy and paste here (it's just easier):Mark,We need you to pray for Leia. She is OK but is in the hospital. She was in a crash and was air lifted to Royal Columbian. We are praying for her brain and eyes. She is responding properly so her brain is good but they are monitoring for swelling. After tomorrow that danger should be over. She is sedated to let her heal with minimal disturbance to blood pressure etc. She is able to nod and even shrug and indicates that the pain is ok (morphine) but she doesn't like the breathing tube. She can breath fine on her own but they have it in so they can control her blood gasses when she is sedated. Brenna even got her to laugh a bit. The plastic surgeon has planned to do repairs to her face on Friday, she is confident of a good outcome. Leila's nose jaw and eye sockets are broken. Her neck is OK. The accident was Sunday afternoon, she was on Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-i-will-shelter-my-children http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-i-will-shelter-my-children As I've said, day to day can be frustrating here, but at the same time it can be a blessing. You have a meeting with the District Commissioner at 8, the foreman at 9, and should be looking over the plans for the orphanage with the drafter at 9:30. Well, District Commissioner reschedules, so you have an extra hour to read your bible and pray. Foreman doesn't show up at 9, nor does the drafter at 9:30, so there's another hour to read the novel you're working on. By 11 you can get an early start on lunch (because you had breakfast at 6 so you're quite hungry by now), and when the foreman shows up with the drafter on the back of his moto at noon, you've already done your dishes, put away the stove, and are ready for the rest of the day. You still don't get anything done because the foreman didn't do any of the things he said he would before meeting with you, such as putting together a quote, but I still got extra time with God. It's all about taking advantage of what you have when you have Sun, 2 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=progress-report http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=progress-report This will be a quick info blog to keep you all in the loop. Basically, God is awesome. The plans for the orphanage are coming together one obstacle at a time, and the ways in which God is solving these obstacles is continually amazing each of us. For example, we havent been able to get out the funds for the orphanage due to limits on how much the ATMs will give us (think trying to take out $100, $1 at a time, and being limited to 3 times a day), and we are of course a full day drive from the nearest ATM. So here we are today bank hopping trying to withdraw enough funds for the materials to start the orphanage, and before we know it were arranging wire transfers into the bank account of a local missionary we randomly met because he was delayed 30 minutes at the bank (without that delay, wed never have even seen him). Add to that the fact that were using the internet for free at the world vision office because we made friends with the world vision people stationed in Mutar Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-ow http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-ow Be sure to read the 'The Arrival' and 'General Life' blogs before this! Today Brandon and I rode on the backs of bicycles for 30km to get to Malawi, where the closest ATM is. It took four hours on bumpy dirt roads in the hottest sunshine I've ever encountered. I don't recommend the experience, or the sunburn. When we got there, the border post said they don't sell Mozambique visas, so we wouldn't be able to return if we crossed (our visas are single entry only). Many swear words came to my mind. We started the return journey, and about 2km down the road, we paid our bicycle drivers what we had agreed to for the entire return journey and hitch hiked instead. Thank you Jesus for World Vision and their trucks. Just another day in the life in Mutarara, trying against all odds to make things work. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-general-life http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-general-life If you haven't read 'Mutarara: The Arrival,' read that first. You can find it on the left under 'Current Life Happenings'   I woke up our first morning in Mutarara to discover I really had no idea what our surroundings were like due to arriving in the dark the night before. I was surprised to find we were surrounded by a collection of mud huts with grass roofs and two concrete homes. To the south is a soccer field, and at the far end of that.a giant white tent? It took a bit for me to register what I was looking at, but I soon discovered that we were at the other end of a soccer field from a displacement camp for flood victims. The giant tent I first noticed was the supply tent for Unicef, World Food Program, World Vision, and a few other organizations that were all working together to care for some 80,000 people. And the soccer field was no ordinary field either - all day long, nearly 7 days a week, giant cargo helicopters would come in and out with supplies and food, using the Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-the-arrival http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=mutarara-the-arrival Here we are in Nelspruit, South Africa again, after a week in Swaziland for a debrief and some teachings. It's been a long journey, having driven over 2000km to get back. There is a lot to update everyone on, since we've been so far from internet access, so what I'm going to do is start at the beginning. I'll hopefully post a series of blogs over the next week that will all be backdated to give you the whole scoop on the Mozambique experience and everything God is doing in Mutarara. So, here's the first one: After a five day journey from South Africa (driving stick shift on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road!), we've arrived in Mutarara, Mozambique. The journey took us over every type of road from washed out dirt track to smooth highways, and even through a mine field or two; most of the journey was just harrowingly filled with foot-deep potholes you had to dodge and weave through for hours. During one of our stops on the way up I even had the privilege of be Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=abundance http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=abundance We've surpassed our goal of $5000 for the orphanage in Mozambique! The last time we heard we had $5900 either already in or on it's way in! The extra money will go towards things like medical supplies, food, toys for the kids, or anything else that God may guide us to help with. If you are among those that were sending in money at the last minute, please still do so as the money will still be put to a very good cause for these children. We're still praying for our transportation to come together - we're delayed at least a day right now waiting for a vehicle to be ready. Please be in prayer for that, and that we'll get through all the checkpoints in the area without any troubles, and just for abundant fruit in ministry while we're there! God is doing something big, and has been preparing each of us in amazing ways, so I should have some good stories when we get back in range of communications. Keep on praying! Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=this-is-africa http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=this-is-africa How do you describe Africa to someone who's never been here?' Pam asked me that after our first night in Swaziland, and I knew she wasn't talking about the scenery. I was acutely aware of that nearly forgotten Africa' feeling washing over me the moment I arrived in Johannesburg, a feeling that had held my thoughts all the next day as we drove over the South African hills and on into Swaziland. The beauty of this place is stunning, but that is only a small part of it. There's so much more to it all, and really, I don't know that I have an answer to the question - I can only attempt to describe how it makes me feel. It's like life melts away from you. That's the simplest explanation I can think of. Whether you miss home or not, have huge things on your mind or not, there is something there in front of you that simply eases all the other thoughts in your head into their rightful place of priority, which is the nothing to be done about it right now' section of your Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=family-in-need http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=family-in-need In September 2007 Pastor Ezekiel, the head of the Mnaka Orphanage in Muturara Mozambique at the time, was murdered for sharing the gospel with local Muslims. Since then his wife has carried on looking after the 40 kids at the orphanage with the help of a few others. More recently, the orphanage had to be evacuated as the catastrophic floods hitting Mozambique took away their home. All 40 of the orphans are living in one room together, and in the last few weeks tragedy has struck again as three of the children died in close succession from malaria. Needless to say, this family is in need, and our hope is to meet some of that need. Our initial plan is to travel to Muturara with food supplies for the orphanage and to lend ourselves in service to the children, staff, and surrounding community in whatever ways we can for two to three weeks. But we want to do more than that - if we can raise $5000 by Friday the plan is to pay for the construction of a new orphanage that' Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-need-and-an-update http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-need-and-an-update Finally, a week before our half way point, we're given no more than a contact and a location to go to. Since the beginning of the race many of us have been itching to walk into a location and rely on God for direction and ministry rather than having things pre-set, and we're finally getting a taste of what that will look like. Next week (though we haven't worked out how yet) the plan is to travel 2 - 3 days into Northern Mozambique where the floods are displacing people by the thousands. We'll be taking as many food supplies as we can carry and possibly things like soccer balls and toys for an orphanage that Iris ministries is connected with there that has been destroyed by the flood, but much of the ministry side of things - praying, preaching, healing, evangelising, etc. - will be just asking God what He wants us to say or do. We're all pretty excited to be trusting God in this way. That said, there is one physical need that we're hoping to meet - the o Fri, 8 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-billion-people-at-a-time http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-billion-people-at-a-time For the messages I was speaking at different youth and cell groups in our last Asian location I borrowed a lot (probably all) of my notes from sermons given by my young adults pastor Jeff Bucknam (you can listen to the podcasts at sola.com). Hopefully he takes that as a compliment and doesn't try to sue me. What follows is a condensed version of what I found myself sharing:   How did 12 men, in only 400 years, change the entire Roman empire and, as a result, the entire world? This is the (paraphrased) question that the sociologist Rodney Stark asks in his book Rise of Christianity.' In it (I'm told) he attempts to answer this question through a sociological study of Rome. After all the information is laid out and the different arguments presented, he eventually comes to the conclusion that all the sociology in the world won't answer the question, because the basic fact was this - Christians lived differently.   See, the Romans believed in gods that didn't c Tue, 5 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=alive-and-well http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=alive-and-well I'm alive, we're staying in Swaziland for a few more days before heading off to ministry. I'll have more of a blog up soon, but I know people are anxious to hear I'm ok. Everything was awesome, I'm looking into moving to where we were last month after the race for about 6 months. Looks like our team will be helping with a school in South Africa for a week (maybe even building a playground!) and then heading into Mozambique to help with flood victims. Thank you for all the prayers, they were much needed - please continue to hold us up in prayer! On that note, be in prayer for Sarah Lapp and her family. Sarah had to go home to Kentucky a few days ago to be with her mom that was just diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. The team isn't the same without her, but we have faith that she will be back before long after her mother is healed. Pray that this will be a time that God really opens the eyes of Sarah's family. Thank you again for all your prayers! Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=3-week-prayer-list http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=3-week-prayer-list For the next three weeks, from January 4 to January 20, I need you all to do something for me. My team and I will be in a closed country where it is illegal to do the things we do. It's a spiritually oppressive place where most people we've talked to have had major battles on their hands each and every day. On top of this a few of us are still sick (including myself), many are homesick ('tis the season), we'll be hitting some major culture shock, and we've just had a big change in our team dynamic (see 'A Different Kind of Leader' for more details). So what I need is for you all to pray for us every day for the next three weeks.Pray for: - Discernment on when, where, and how to share the gospel and when to just pray - Safety - New team dynamics to keep growing us the way they already are - Spiritual protection and strength - No mistakes in security precautions. There are stories of people destroying 20 years of ministry by sending a text message to their mom with the word 'pray' in it Fri, 4 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=heart-cry http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=heart-cry It's 2:50am when I stir myself into enough consciousness to ask one of the guys moving around our room what time it is. We're supposed to be downstairs ready to leave by 3, so I'm glad that for once I actually packed before going to bed three hours ago. My stuffy head demands that I get more sleep, but I'm forced to ignore that voice as I gather my gear and put the clothes on I left out for today. As I put on the one collared shirt I have the reason for setting out these particular clothes hits me and I find myself in another moment I never expected my life to contain - I have to catch a flight to get to a meeting in downtown Hong Kong this afternoon.   .   Me. Mark. Asked to join in with three of my squad mates to meet with one of the chairmen of International Care Ministries in his 19th floor office with a window view of Hong Kong bay. I've only made enough money to be above the poverty line for a grand total of one year in my life and I've been invited into an office t Thu, 3 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leadership-needs http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=leadership-needs Most people would describe me as someone with a gift for empowerment. I see what people are gifted in, I see their tendencies, talents, and patterns where others just see actions and hobbies. Hopefully I then encourage them to take hold of those things. I try to push people to be who they really are. And I love doing it. Nothing makes me happier (except maybe a really good back rub) than seeing someone come alive in what they were made to do, even if it's just one aspect of a whole. I draw my leadership style from this as well, placing people where I see their abilities shining the most and encouraging them to grow as people. But that's not all that a leader needs to do. A leader needs to direct a group or team as a whole towards the ultimate goal and keep the team focussed on it - and that ultimate goal, of course, is Christ. Even if I empower someone to take hold of their giftings in amazing ways but their focus is not on the love of Christ, on serving Him with that gift, all I do is Tue, 1 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-merry-christmas-to-all http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-merry-christmas-to-all Well, at 4am tomorrow morning we head off to Puerto Galera (or something to that effect), where we will be spending the next 8 days. As far as we know there is no internet access right where we are staying and a town that may have a net cafe is a little ways away. So I'm not sure when I'll get back online to check email or send updates, possibly not even until we're in our next country. And our next location will only be for a few days before we enter a closed country, from which I won't be updating at all for security reasons. All this to say I may not be able to get on and make skype calls to wish people a Merry Christmas like I'd hoped to. So here it is, the best I can do from here: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=home-for-the-holidays http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=home-for-the-holidays Through forgotten convictions,Misplaced affections,I'm losing the sound of your voice.I've been chasing after emptiness,Trying to tidy up this mess,I swear I've been down this road before. I'm a deflating balloon. That's how I described myself last night. This month here in the Philippines, while there were many amazing moments, has been one that ground us all down with hectic schedules in which we never really got to know anyone we were working with very well. Everything changed daily, we could never seem to communicate with people even though we were all speaking english, nothing was ever what we expected - from pick up times to ministry to what was required of us - and on top of all that we were in a new team dynamic with people that we weren't used to and weren't used to us. We did our best, we came together, and we persevered through it all; but emotions, spirits, and bodies are all at the ends of themselves. God is teaching us a lot through it I think, like how to rely on H Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=cambodia-montage http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=cambodia-montage Here's a montage I put together from our time at the orphanage in Cambodia. Hope you enjoy it! Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=paradise-regained http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=paradise-regained I heard some words from a friend on the phone;Didn't sound so good.The doctors gave him two weeks to live;I'd give him more,If I could.You know that I would now.If only I could. - Jack Johnson, 'If I Could' I'd heard a little about the man who's house I was entering two weeks ago from Jen who had met him and prayed with him the day before, but none of it had been anything to prepare me for what I was to see. I knew his name was Elmer and that he was sick. What I didn't know was that upon entering the house I would see a man who looked more wasted away than dead bodies I've seen at funerals. Though a sheet covered him from his stomach down, I could see that his legs were thinner than my own wrists, that his stomach was a hollow pit in the midst of his body, and his face barely held more shape than that of a skeleton. His hands were about the only thing he could move, and those he moved slowly and feebly. He could only say a few words, mumbled, and not very coherent. This was a man a Sun, 9 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=paradise-lost http://marknewland.theworldrace.org/?filename=paradise-lost 'Welcome to Paradise.' I've uttered those words quite a number of times since we arrived in Dumaguete last week. There are mountains, populated by palm trees laden with coconuts, that slope straight down into a crystal clear blue ocean populated by fish and coral reefs of a million vibrant colors that you never associate with nature. There are flying fish and sea cucumbers and urchins and clown fish and angel fish and sky blue fish and striped green fish and spotted yellow fish and that's just what I've seen. I was holding a star fish last weekend that was the color and texture of bright navy blue baked playdo. Before and after finding the starfish I was swimming with hundreds of sea creatures over coral growths of green, blue, red, and yellow, shaped like castles and brains and a pile of nails and a field of mushrooms and...shapes and colors I can't put into words. But in the midst of all that we would deem paradise, all the beauty and majesty of God's creation, I couldn't help but Sat, 8 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT