Welcome to Adventures with Phil v2.0

So what is/was Adventures with Phil and where did "Step it up a notch" come from? Well, I used to do Adventures with Phil e-mail updates to let everyone know about the happenings in my life. If you're wondering, I originally got the name idea from the Red Green show, where there's a segment called Adventures with Bill.
Now, where did "Step it up a notch" come from? Before I go into that, there's something else I want to say. Even though "Step it up a notch" was hilariously funny in its original context, and the 20 or so of us who were there will definitely remember it as such, I am finding it is becoming more than just something I say; it's like a life motto, like the one the Three Musketeers had.
As I think about the words "step it up a notch", what comes to mind is the idea of doing more/going the extra mile, which also brings to mind Jesus' teaching in Matt 5:38-42. For me, applying step it up a notch means going deeper with God, building stronger family relationships and recognizing that I have the ability to reach out to help someone in need, no matter what the need is.
This section is getting too long so please make your way to the sidebar to find the origin of the phrase "step it up a notch".

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Back from Rwanda

Well it's been just over a week since I got back from my short-term mission trip to Rwanda. We didn't have internet at our guest house, nor did I really have the time to write and post something when we did go to internet cafes. Now that I've had some time to process some of my experience, it's a good time to make a post, also, today is my birthday. I am now a quarter of a century old. I know that people are going to ask me "how does it feel to be 25?" and I think that it's the age when you know you're still young but you also know you're old (or at least getting there).
So, Rwanda.... there's so much to say and yet words will never be able to convey what I experienced. In terms of the project work, I got a little bit involved in almost every aspect: I helped with the surveying, putting together the model (it's like playing with Lego) and helped with the water test. I have to admit I was amazed at all that was accomplished in one week's time. In reality, there were only 4 days spent doing the work. There were also many times when I was just observing the other team members working and I wondered how they knew that whatever it was they were doing was going to work. But that's what you get with years of experience; you just know. The highlight of the trip for me was hearing Eddie's response after we gave him the presentation of our week's work. It was a special moment, that's all I can say. I am excited for him and his ministry. I would love to go back to help build it or to see it when it's fully built; Lord willing, I just might.
This trip is the best thing to happen to me since finding salvation in Jesus Christ. Even so, it was overwhelming at times. Visiting the genocide memorials was.... difficult, yet necessary given the scope of our project, and I'm glad we did see them. We were at one of the churches where people got massacred and afterwards I was dazed, I couldn't really think and the second church didn't really affect me much because I was still stunned from the first one. It's hard to explain but I was stuck in this rut, almost like a depressed state and some of the team saw it on my face when we went to get food. It took me 6 hours to get out of it, with some help from Jesus. I'm so glad I have Jesus to help me, unfortunately for a lot of Rwandans, they don't have that.
More to come on my experience, it's pretty late now.

Posted by Phil at 10:34 PM 2 comments  

Monday, February 4, 2008

Pictures!

Hooray! I've got pictures. I spent most of Saturday fixing up and uploading pictures to the internet. One thing I noticed while fixing the red-eye on the pictures from orientation was that Connie and Tammi almost never had red-eye problems (as well as myself but I think that's because I'm wearing glasses). Anyways here's the site where I posted some pics: http://philipchan.myphotoalbum.com/

So we're making our final preparations for our trip and here's some fun that we had with that, a couple of pics from the office:
This is my desk, complete with mosquito net and sign, practicing usage of the net for when we are in Rwanda haha :)



Here's one with me at my desk: The doctor is IN, haha. Jason thought it would be fun to put up that sign; ironically, some of my UofA buddies call me Dr. Phil, which he didn't know until after he put up the sign.

So, I'm considering writing a book: How to fly Ethiopian Airlines for Dummies. The last couple of days at the office, I had been trying to get information to deal with some possible luggage issues we might run into on our flight over to Rwanda. By the time all is said and done, I'll be an expert!
Last night, I watched the Super Bowl, what a game! It'll go down as the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. Even though it would have been great to see the Patriots make history, I had to keep with my tradition of cheering for the underdogs. But in one sense the Patriots did make history, they'll be remembered as the team that fell just short of the perfect season. I also got to watch all the real Super Bowl commercials (my American friends probably don't know that here in Canada, they sub Canadian commercials in place of the real ads, lame-o) Some of my favorites include the Fed-Ex Carrier Pigeons (mostly because it has my car in it, the little blue car is a Geo Metro), Charlie Brown Coke and Bud Light Wine and Cheese party. But I think my favorite has to be the Budweiser Clydesdale Team.
I'm not sure what's happening but ever since getting back from Colorado Springs my internal alarm clock has been messed up and everyday I wake up around 5 AM (I don't know the exact time, I've never actually looked at the clock but it definitely feels like a long time) I can't fall back to sleep until just before my alarm clock goes off (on weekdays). I get to talk to Jesus a lot which is good but it cuts about 2 hours of sleep away. I guess I could try going to bed at 9 just so I get enough sleep. One day last week, I was so tired when I woke up that I almost put the cereal box back in the fridge instead of the milk.

Posted by Phil at 10:25 AM 1 comments  

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