Advertisement
Published: October 17th 2013
Bangkok (6)
The streets of BangkokWell, it’s been two years since we heeded the call and went to Tanzania to do the Lord’s work. We are very happy we went, but also happy to be home with family and friends. It has been a life-changing experience; one we trust will affect how we think and live for the rest of our lives.
When we began to plan our journey home, it occurred to us that we could take advantage of our position almost halfway around the world and visit more of God’s interesting creation. Who knows if we would ever have this opportunity again? It also occurred to us that while on the same trip, we could pass by our son’s place in Calgary and visit his family, our own siblings and some friends as well. We’re not sure which thought came first. But when we left Msalato on June 14
th, instead of heading west, we headed east, and thus began the completion of a world tour that took just over two years.
Stop 1: Thailand Our first stop was, Thailand. We started our trip by treating ourselves to a week’s stay at the beautiful Banyan Tree Hotel with all
the amenities of home in the heart of the city. This very modern city with its first class transportation system, allowed us to explore and meet the people of Thailand without having to take expensive tours. We ate in authentic Thai restaurants, visited some local tourist attractions like the Grand Palace, large shopping malls and sampled delicious food from street vendors. There was a lovely park near our hotel where cautiously and from a safe distance, we watched a large komodo dragon meander along the waterway. We always felt very safe, even walking home from the train stops or restaurants in the evening, and enjoyed experiencing the city both day and night.
To get to Phuket from Bangkok, we had to choose between taking an overnight 15-hour bus ride or a 1 ½ hour flight on a large domestic airplane. This decision required no marital discussion. In Phuket we had booked a time-share unit at a place called ‘Boat Lagoon’. It was a beautiful location to relax and enjoy Thailand hospitality. Here we sampled many good restaurants and took long walks around the resort with its myriad of large beautiful yachts and vacation homes. Our resort included the use
of a huge warm swimming pool that we availed ourselves of every day. Our stay here also included an amazing variety show called FantaSea, a boat tour of surrounding islands and caves, and a day touring the town of Phuket. We allowed three weeks in Thailand so that we would have time to get a good rest and be able to visit a former student of Rob’s who is also the daughter of our friends from our home church, the Dalrymples. Laura, her husband Hugo and their two young daughters, live on a small island off the coast of Phuket in the Andaman Sea called Phi Phi (pronounced Pee Pee). Here Hugo runs a scuba diving shop called Aquanauts while Laura, temporarily retired, cares for her daughters. During our two days there we explored the island with guidance from Laura and her young daughter. Laura is a delightful young lady and we enjoyed meeting her again and seeing how simply but comfortably she and her family live to be able to enjoy the beauty of this luscious island.
Our highlight on Phi Phi was taking a speed boat tour to key points around the island and to some of
the smaller outer islands and included snorkeling at 5 of the coral reefs in the waters surrounding these islands. At Shark Point, Jeannie actually caught a glimpse of a docile 8’ black-tipped shark meandering along the bottom of the reef. It was indeed a thrill to visit such an exotic place, so different from our experiences in Africa.
We concluded our time in Thailand by staying on the west, more popular touristy side of Phuket, at Karon Beach. Here we rented a motor bike for a day to explore the beach side of the island. Thailand was an excellent place for us to relax and enjoy many of the different sights and activities the country has to offer; too many to include in our blog.
Stop 2: Hong Kong What an amazing city with an incredible infrastructure of transportation and walking routes, and clusters of high rises. With only two days in Hong Kong we were able to explore the whole island quickly using the subway system and the incredible network of hop-on-hop-off buses. Hong Kong is well-known for its skyscrapers, but it also has beautiful forests, beaches and small local markets in the south part of
the island where we had the opportunity to shop and eat in a few local unique restaurants. We were told that the national sport here is eating and we learned that they are very good at it, as the food we sampled was always delicious. It is a city that does not sleep with something going on all the time. From a drop-off point where the bus took us through the streets of Kowloon on the mainland, including taking us through the high fashion area, we debarked at the entrance to the Walk of Stars which led to the ferry dock back to Hong Kong. Quite coincidentally, we spotted one star (out of 70 or so) with Maggie Cheung’s name, a good friend at our church. However she sadly confirmed that it was not her, but a famous Chinese actress. There really is so much to see and do in this fascinating city we were wishing we had more time. However, our trip was fully booked and Susan was expecting us in Hawaii.
Stop 3: Hawaii Susan Lukens, a dear friend and passionate theological teacher at Msalato in Dodoma, picked us up at the Oahu airport and
drove us to her delightful condo just off the ocean. It was great to see Susan again and to reminisce about our time together at the college. Before we left Tanzania Susan heard that we were taking the long route home, and she immediately invited us to stop in Hawaii and stay with her. How could we say no? Jeannie had never been. So Susan became our official Hawaiian tour guide and her hospitality was amazing. On our first day Jeannie and I needed to recover from our second overnight flight; this one from Hong Kong via Korea to Hawaii (the first was from Dar to Bangkok). We were exhausted and had to have an afternoon nap. Upon rising and showering, she had dinner prepared and her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter joined us. It was a lovely easy conversational evening, and we got to see Susan as a loving mother and grandmother.
However the next day we were ready for more exploring. Our bubbly hostess took us to visit the Pearl Harbour museum which was a little unsettling, but fascinating. We visited the museums that so skillfully depict the WWII attack, and then we took the boat out to
the floating epitaph which is positioned over the destroyer Arizona, still underwater with its crew intact – a fitting memorial. From there we drove to the upscale area of Waikiki Beach for a stroll and an alfresco dinner at a hotel right on the beach, with a live ukulele duo and an authentic hula-hula dancer. Waikiki is surely a rich man’s paradise in an amazingly beautiful area of pristine beaches and walkways.
The next day Susan gave us the grand tour around the coast of the island where we were able to see beautiful ocean-side views and the more famous surfing areas of the North Shore. In three days we got a full picture of the island. As Susan informed us Hawaii is a beautiful place to live, but can also be very expensive. It was great to visit her in her own comfortable spot at a quiet beach where she swims and bikes daily, teaching part-time at the university and planning her next trips; to Virginia in October, Jerusalem for 4 weeks teaching in January and then back to Tanzania for 5 months in February. She has enough energy for both of us.
Stop 3: Vancouver and Calgary, CANADA
It was now time to return to Canada on the third and last overnight flight on our exciting journey home. We landed in Vancouver at 7am on July 12
th and we were very excited to be finally in our own country after two long years. As we had wanted to visit Bruce and Gerry in Victoria and Rob’s cousin Christie Grace on Bowen Island, we had pre-booked a rental vehicle to ease the transportation of all our luggage for three ferry crossings in two days.
Bruce and Gerry Melville were instrumental in providing valuable information about life as a missionary in Dodoma, Tanzania when we were first researching the possibility of going there. We had never met the Melvilles but were directed to them by someone in the Anglican missionary department that was about to close its doors. We talked via Skype and emailed. We had many questions and they were very generous with their time in helping us out. When we realized we could stop in Vancouver, we emailed that we’d like to meet them. They very kindly invited us to visit them at their home, where we were graciously hosted and able to
spend time reflecting on both our sojourns in Africa. It was quite amazing to find that we had very similar experiences. We could relate as if we had been friends forever. It was a precious opportunity for us to debrief, which we hadn’t had time to do since we left Tanzania.
The next morning, after Gerry prepared a scrumptious breakfast for us, we had to drag ourselves away. We needed to catch the ferry from Nanaimo to get to Horseshoe Bay so we could catch our breath before boarding another ferry the next morning to Bowen Island. We needed to get there early as possible to have enough time for a good visit with Christie, her husband Jack and their daughter Ashley, and be able to return our car to the airport in Vancouver by 5pm.
The Callisters have been living on Bowen Island for years. This is where Christie ran a jewelry studio selling her own gold and silver creations, and where she still bases her vocal career and where Jack also maintains his electrical business. They kindly met us at the dock and took us on a quick tour of the island before heading back to
Hong Kong (4)
Busy city life the ferry dock, where there is a lovely park with restaurants and shops with local entertainment and where we had a tasty lunch. It was great to finally have the opportunity to visit and have a good chat with Christie and Jack, and see for ourselves their lovely hideaway overlooking majestic Horseshoe Bay.
When we returned to the mainland, Jack and Fran were waiting for us at the airport car rental return. Jeannie’s sister and her husband visited us in Tanzania last March, where we took them on several animal safaris and to two rural Tanzanian villages for an authentic taste of life there. They, then, offered to drive all the way from Calgary to pick us up at the Vancouver airport and take us on an exciting bike tour of the San Juan Islands to make our trip home even more interesting, and one that we didn’t have to organize. From there they drove us to their favourite summer destination of Coeur d’Alene in Idaho, a beautiful resort town for active living with well-kept parks and fabulous restaurants. Jack and Fran are a very active and we were kept busy biking, walking and swimming the whole two days.
Waikiki Beach Walkway
Our wonderful hostess It was a fabulous trip and we really enjoyed each other’s company again. We then travelled back to their rustic condo on the lake in Windermere, BC for some down time after a hectic travel schedule. After a few days there our son Sean and daughter Kiana came from Calgary to meet us and stayed another two days to enjoy some swimming and relaxing by the lake before bringing us back to their place in Calgary.
We stayed another two weeks with Sean and Kriszti and our granddaughters Alyssa and Kiana in Calgary and I’m sure that we caught up on everything we possibly could and had some rousing games of euchre. Our time also gave us an opportunity to unpack a few things for a while and visit with all our family in the Calgary area; Rob’s sister Ann and brother John and his wife Vera, and all of Fran and Jack’s three kids, spouses and two grandchildren. It felt like home and was great spending time with those we love and missed so much.
While here, we made a decision to skip the airport hassle, and bought a car to drive home to Stouffville - effectively
eliminating the need to do that as soon as we arrived home. And the 3 ½ day drive allowed us some very good quiet time and the opportunity to see again how beautiful our country really is. It takes second place to none. God is a marvelous creator.
Home at Last We can’t tell you how good it felt to finally be home. Over the next few days we stayed with our long-time friends up the street, Dariel and Greg, and enjoyed their welcoming hospitality and catching up on each other’s lives, until we arranged to move back into our own home. They very generously looked after our mail while we were away and our house after the tenants moved out and before we got home. We’re sure it was a lot more work than they let on.
Before we could get distracted by our move back into our house, our son Jason, his wife Sandy and grandson Conner, hosted a welcome-back BBQ and swim at their home in Whitby for Jeannie’s sisters, Louise and Audrey, and brother Allan and their families. It was so good to see them all again and get caught up on all
the happenings. We arrived in Stouffville on August 8
th, had a family BBQ on the 10
th and moved all of our things from storage to our home on the 13
th. What a great feeling the night we were able to sleep in our own bed in our own home in our own country after two years away; finally home after what has been a life-altering experience. Now we could take our time to get our new life in Canada back in order and digest what our time in Tanzania means for us.
We only have two more family members left that we are anxious to see; Rob’s brother Donald and his wife Nancy in Chatham, and we will do that before the Thanksgiving weekend.
This is the Final Blog This is our final blog and we thank you for sharing our African adventure with us. It was fun to share our stories and pictures with you. So now what? Currently, we are reintegrating ourselves into the western culture and reestablishing ourselves at home. It’s like starting over again. Our next task is to put together a presentation of our mission to share with our church and other
interested groups. This will help us reflect on our experiences and share them more intimately with you.
Let us know if you want us to share this presentation with you so that we can accommodate. Acknowledgments During our time in Africa, Reid’s African Mission received almost
$12,000; amazing! This money went to support many different initiatives such as: the sports program at the college, other college programs, support for our students to help with school fees and living expenses, street kids ministry, local kids school programs, village support including schools, micro loans, seed money for graduate students, and food support programs. There were so many needs that one of our most difficult challenges was to spend these precious donations wisely. We always had two goals when supporting programs; that the projects be self-sustaining and that they support education. This was not always the case as some projects needed immediate help for survival such as the food support program for families that needed food after three years of drought conditions in the Dodoma region. 100 %!o(MISSING)f all donations were gratefully received and on behalf of these people, we pass on their heart-felt thank-yous. We were your front-line
workers, but it was very comforting to know we had such a network of support back home helping financially, physically and prayerfully. We always felt your support behind us.
As all of those who donated know that our church, St. Philip’s on-the-hill, very kindly agreed to give tax receipts for those wishing to donate to our mission projects. Unfortunately, they were not able to divulge the names of the donors, due to privacy issues within church policy. The only regret we have is that we have not been able to give you our personal thank-yous. But please know that we are very humbled and grateful that we could help out our Tanzanian friends in some financial way, more than we could have ever managed on our own.
We are very grateful for all our family at St. Philip’s for giving us such an encouraging send-off, for supporting us financially and prayerfully, for taking donations and preparing tax receipts, not just from our church friends, but from any who wished to support our cause, and lastly, for so warmly welcoming us back into our church family. We are very happy to be back.
Our new incumbent at St.
Philip’s, a former missionary in far northern Canada, Reverend Stephen Kern, kindly prepared a lovely prayer service to jump start our mission and he and his wife had us over for personal welcome-back dinner immediately on our return. We are grateful for his passion and dedication at St. Philip’s. As well, our previous incumbent, Canon Phil Bristow was instrumental in getting us started on a missionary route and we are very grateful for his long-time spiritual guidance and service. During his 10 years at St. Philip’s he led us to a 17-day short-term mission in Honduras and began a 5-year project with Lugala, Tanzania. Rob went there on a short-term mission as well and met Bishop Mhogolo who was our connection to Tanzania. We have maintained a cherished relationship with Phil and his wife Cheryl.
It would be remiss of us not to mention all our friends and colleagues at the college. The Tanzanian staff, students, and all the missionaries at Msalato Theological College welcomed us, fed us delicious home-cooked meals in their homes, guided us through all the intricacies of life at the college and encouraged us at every corner. They enriched our lives greatly in every way
Family in Calgary
Some of the Calgary connection and will always be remembered and prayed for.
We were happy to come home and find our house in excellent condition. Thank you to the Pienaars from South Africa for renting our house and being such great tenants. We wish you a blessed life here in Canada now that you have permanent residency status.
We are very thankful to our family for supporting us in this endeavour and our special thanks goes to Louise, Jeannie’s sister, who looked after all our bills and held onto two years’ worth of mail, keeping it in very good order so that we had little work to do sorting it all out. We will be forever grateful for all your hard work Louise - we know it was a lot.
We are forever thankful to God for leading us into this ministry and for sustaining us through it. He was with us all the way. We give Him all the praise and glory.
At this time Msalato Theological College is without water due to a pump breakdown which will require extensive repair and the town of Dodoma has shut off their alternative water supply as well. There is no water available at the college for students and staff. This is a dire condition that will shortly require sending students home if no immediate resolution is found. Please remember them in your prayers.
Thank you all again, and may God bless each of you, according to His love and will.
Rob and Jeannie
Advertisement
Tot: 0.132s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 8; qc: 51; dbt: 0.05s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 3;
; mem: 1.2mb
Phil Bristow
non-member comment
Welcome Home
It was indeed good to see you again and we look forward to seeing how the remark that you'll never be the same plays itself out in new ways. We know God has more plans for your creative and generous spirits. I really do hope that you will spend some time compiling these well-written blogs into something permanent. They have been a joy to read. God Bless and guide you both.