1 1/2 Answers to Prayer

So I've been trying to pray a little different recently. I've been
trying to talk to God with the attitude that he is listening. The
Bible says that he listens and intellectually I believe it to be true.
Yet often when I pray I talk to myself or I run through a checklist
of things I need, hoping it does some good. So I've been praying for
less things, remembering what I prayed for, and watching intently to
see what happens... on a good day. I'm a work in progress.

The other day as I was walking I really felt like an ice cream cone
(they sell this awesome ice-cream on the street. It costs about 40
cents and usually doesn't give you diarrhea). But I only had 20 cents
in my pocket. I let God know that I really felt like an ice-cream and
that I would love it if it only cost 20 cents. I promptly forgot what
I had prayed (like I said, I'm still working on it), and kept on
walking. I saw an ice-cream vendor and walked up to see how much it
cost. To my dismay it cost 40 cents. Ahhh. So I said, "thank-you"
and walked off. But the guy called me back. He told me he'd pay my
other 20 cents!! I was pumped. Then I remembered what I had prayed
and praised God as I ate my ice cream cone.

The other one has to do with food as well. About 2 weeks ago I was
sitting outside a store close to my house chatting with somebody. I
had earlier bought a yogurt at the store and I ate it as we talked. I
finished the yogurt but my craving wasn't satisfied. I sat there
wondering if I could justify buying another yogurt. Then the thought
came to mind that maybe I should pray and ask God for a yogurt. It's
kinda a ridiculous thing to pray for and I wasn't sure what to exactly
pray. As I was pondering what to pray my friend who I was talking to
asked me out of the blue, "Hey, do you want another yogurt?" I
laughed. How could it be so perfect? I said yes and enjoyed my
second yogurt incredibly. I didn't even begin to pray for it and God
answered!

So now I'm asking God for a corvette, 1000 hamburgers, and a million
bucks to go with my swimming pool full of Jello. No, God can
obviously not be controlled and manipulated by feeblies like us. But
I think He likes it when we honestly place our desires in His hands to
do what He wants. And sometimes He surprises us by doing just what we
so selfishly asked for. Who can compare to this God?!!

Sunday Sunday Sunday

I'd like to tell you about what I do on Sundays after church.

I go to a zoo of sorts.

I run around with a bunch of kids and try not to lose my head while
they have the time of their lives. It's great!

Every Sunday afternoon is Soccer School and Francesco and I have been
helping out with it for the past 2 ½ months. The person in charge is
this guy named Jordan de Fritas (Fritas is the Spanish word for French
fries and he is sure to order them whenever we are in a restaurant
together; to keep with his name of course). He is from Brazil and is
in the country to coach the Men's National Team. He is a fantastic
guy who loves the Lord as much as he loves soccer. When he speaks
it's probably as much Portuguese as it is Spanish but the kids love
and respect him and we do too.

And the kids… all 36 of them. What a joy and a challenge! Much of
our time is spent in crowd control, yelling things like "Drop it!",
"Leave him!", "Quiet!" and other equally threatening words. As far as
I understand, discipline in this country looks like this:

- ignore the problem until you are incredibly mad
- ignore it a little longer
- yell something
- take your anger out by clacking your kids on the head or something worse.

Usually things stop by the third step but it's not uncommon to see
parents "disciplining" their kids on the side of the street. It's
just how things work. So it makes it difficult to control the kids
when you're not good at ignoring things, didn't grow up in a yelling
family, and don't have the guts or the desire to smoke the kid on the
head. But to be honest, things are getting easier. The kids are
truly loveable and I'm starting to understand things a little better
(both culturally and language-wise). Praise God for his help in times
like these.

But now it all changes. Jordan was let go as the coach of the
National Team and left for Brazil on Wednesday. And now Francesco and
I are in charge. Before Jordan left he showed us how everything
worked and gave us all the equipment needed to continue the Soccer
School (hundreds of dollars worth of stuff). What an amazing
opportunity! I wish Jordan was still here but I feel that part of the
reason God has us in Equatorial Guinea is to continue this amazing
ministry. The first Sunday without Jordan is this week and we will
need all the praying we can get. Even though we feel very
unqualified, we feel peace that the ministry is in God's hands. Let
the zoo begin.

Hospital

So today I went to the hospital for the first time.

And I wasn't going just to visit somebody.

I needed help.

I needed to be checked for AIDS. Now I should say before my parents
hit the floor that I haven't been poking myself with used needles and
I haven't been doing anything that could make them into grand-parents
anytime soon. I needed it checked to finalize my papers that let me
stay in the country. I won't know until tomorrow whether I got it or
not but I feel like my chances are pretty good of the test coming up
negative (as I understand, negative is a good thing).

The hospital was made sometime in the 60's and it feels a little like
walking down the tile hallways in Tier at the University, except more
run down and with people lining the hallways. I got there at 8:00 and
waited with all the moms and their babies who also wanted a blood test
(the kid next to me threw up and her mom caught it in her hand.
That's loving your child!!). Finally at 10:00 I got in. I was
relieved that everything was sterile and I let the man know that I'd
rather not get AIDS while getting a test for AIDS. He laughed.

Anyways, I'll go back tomorrow to see if I can stay in the country
AIDS-free. Otherwise, see you next week.

Oct. 25 2008

Right now I'm sitting in on couch in Jason's house. Him and his
family went on a mini-vacation for the weekend and we (Justin,
Francesco, and myself) are house-sitting for him. Quite a nice break.
Lots of things have been happening and I want to tell you a little
about it.

Here's what I do in a day:

6:00-6:30 - wake up. Immediately realizing I slept through my 5:30
alarm... again. When I set my alarm in the evening it just feels so
possible. After spending some time with Jesus I go and haul some
water from the well to be used for the showers and flushing of the
day.
7:30 - meet Francesco at the corner store close to our house. Pick up
breakfast (usually bread with beans for 20 cents - so good). Together
we walk to the work site. The path we take leads us over a sketchy
bridges and past the same people each day (not to mention the
beautiful mountains in the backgroud). It's a 30 min. walk and I look
forward to it each morning.
8:00 - begin work. For those of you who don't know, we are building a
Bible School. We mix cement with shovels, make bricks by hand,
construct walls, pour columns of concrete, and pretty much anything
else that needs to be done. It's super fun work because you can see
your progress each day. They hope to begin classes in the new site by
January.

Neat story: While we were transporting already-made blocks by
wheel-barrow, we came across a pretty big snake. It was a spitting
cobra about 1.5 meters. I removed a brick from the stack and there it
was, curled up and overflowing in the uncovered block. I tried to
play it cool, being wary of being the scaredy-cat foreigner, but when
I told someone about it everyone came running. Dao and Everisto, our
resident hunters came running with shovels. As soon as the snake
showed itself, Dao lunged with the shovel and chopped the snake pretty
bad. They killed it. Roly said that it probably wouldn't have killed
me, so that was nice. Anyways, I spent the rest of the day being a
little paranoid each time I removed a brick.

1:00 - finish work and head home.
1:30 - arrive at home, shower, eat, and maybe nap
3:15 - Spanish lesson

The evenings are spent either at the Bible School for classes (i'm
taking 2 courses; Discipleship and Panorama of the New Testement), or
doing other random things. The evenings are pretty short because
everyone is always in their houses here by about 9:00.

9:00 - have supper and watch Spanish soap operas.
9:30 - shower and go to sleep.

Sundays mornings are spent at church (I've been helping in Sunday
School with the kids. Lots and lots of miscommunications... haha).
In the afternoons Francesco and I go and help at a soccer school for
kids. It is run by the former coach for the national team. His name
is Jordan and he's just a great guy who loves Jesus even more than
soccer. This next weekend (Oct. 31 - Nov. 2) we are having a retreat
where we will talk about Jesus and train. I can't wait.

Jesus has been so good to me these past few months. This is His
ministry and it's fun to be a part of it. He is so good.

- Tim Bock

A Lifetime in Bata

I have been struck by the question, "What would it be like to be born, to grow-up, to work, and to die in Bata?"  Nobody's asked me but I've wondered about it as I buy bread from an old, bored woman on the street (paying twice as much the regular price and knowing it; she seemed so miserable), or as I talked to the kid who I bought caramels from (my first frivolous purchase).  I am just meeting people all the time who I don't know their stories or what makes them tick. 

I really don't understand people here well at all.  In so many ways they are like people back in Canada (they know of Justin Timberlake of all people), but every now and then I am smoked in the face with something I just don't understand (like why does nobody use bikes here???  I have no idea).  For the most part, the whole culture shock thing hasn't been a big issue.  I don't think it's as much culture shock as it is an inability to communicate effectively.  In fact, as I think of it, it is kinda like when i used to stutter real bad.  I feel like I'm at someone else's house who I don't know very well and I can't really relax or fit in anywhere; and if anyone tries to talk to me, I drop the ball and make things a little awkward.  But each day gets easier.

I live with some awesome people.  Rafael is my main connection in the home.  He's about my age and he loves going to the church by our house.  He's kinda quiet but when he's with his friends (usually at the church, which is the main place where people hang out) he comes alive!  He laughs lots and 2 nights ago we had our first time truly laughing together and both understanding what we were laughing about.  It was in bed (sharing beds here is no big deal) and ya, we were talking about who we liked; just like i was back in gr. 5.  It was great and felt sooo good to laugh. 

We also live with Dodo, who is Rafael's niece but she is our age as well, and Ramami who is about 15 probably.  Ramani is actually Dodo's niece.  Families are crazy extended here.  It's great.  Our house is very homey and sufficient.  It's different in the obvious ways.  Like I shower using a little bucket dipping and spilling over my head, and I sleep with a mosquito net.  Sometimes it feels very missionary-esque.  Other times it really doesn't, like when we are sitting around in the evening watching tv (like today, 24 was on in spanish, kinda weird). 

There is lots to share and it's hard to sum up my feelings.  This whole concept of God living in me has been on my mind recently.  The verse I read this morning was , "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."  Pretty cool.  How would my life change if I understood this. 

Sorry about no pictures on this blog.  I haven't taken any and I don't have a digital camera.  I will try to change that as soon as I can.

sorry about no pictures, and no video's

Travelling and the first 2 Days: Crazy!

This is my first chance to be connected to the internet for any significant amount of time so I thought that I'd let everyone know what's been happening the past few days.

We left from Hamilton on Sunday at 4:00.  We were prayed off by the wonderful folks at WEC before leaving for the airport.  Randy and Heather (the understanding and patient staff who were in charge of our orientation) gave us a ride to Toronto where we would catch our flight to Paris.  We left without a hitch, partially due to a gracious check-in lady who turned a blind eye to our slightly over-heavy baggage.  Me and Justin sat next to each other in the middle 2 seats in the middle row of 4.  Squishy; but the movies on the flight made it go fast and before we knew it we were in Paris.

Paris, we found, is a spectacular city.  After lugging our bags into, between, and out of the Metro (like the subway system) we made it to our hostel.  It was located right in the tourism hub of Paris.  Notre Dame Cathedral was a five minute walk from our home.  It was incredible.  After napping for 2 hours (we didn't sleep on the plane and it was 9:30 am when we arrived in Paris b/c of the time change) we went touring the city.  Since we only had one day in Paris we thought we would see it all in 8 hours.  Starting at 5:00 pm we began walking.  We walked to Notre Dame, along the canal to the Luev, arc de triumph, and the Eiffel Tower.  By the time we were done it was 1:00 am and our feet were killing us (Justin has a big blister on his foot to prove it).  But it was great.  I have never seen anything like it; so many OLD buildings all over the place.  If I sat and imagined it I could see people with wigs and leggings walking out of the doors in front of us.  So we slept in Paris and then Metro'ed to a different airport that would take us to Casa Blanca. 

We didn't leave enough time to get to the airport and the security check line was massive (justin here guesses at least 400 people) so we got to the boarding area with 5 minutes till boarding.  Thank-fully, when we got to the airport we found out that it was delayed so we made it with good time.  However, our stop over in Casa Blance left us about 2 hours to make the trip.   Our flight was delayed about 3 hours!   So we left for Casa Blanca praying that somehow, someway we could make the flight to Equatorial Guinea even though we'd be arriving in the Casa Blanca airport AFTER the next flight was about to leave. 

Thanks to God.  When we arrived in the airport, we began to run to the boarding area that was specified on our ticket.  Francesco glanced at one of those tv's in the airport and saw something about Equatorial Guinea on it that specifed a different boarding area.  So we high-tailed it to that gate and found a big line-up of people.  Somehow, that plane was late too (or it waited for us, but that might not be the case b/c most of the people were stopping in Libreville, Gabon before the plane made it's way to EG).  Thank-you Jesus!!

From Libreville the plane went to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.  Because of all these delays, we got through customs in EG at around 4:00 am.  The most amazing man and woman were waiting for us.  Pastor Robin and his wife (this is the same Robin that my older brother David lived with when he was in EG ten years ago) loaded us and our stuff into a taxi and we made our way to their house.  We figured out that the total of us together weighed 1000 pounds!  Ya, the car was bottoming out like crazy, the driver didn't seem to mind though.  We winded through dirty, dark streets and entered this area that looked like a large, open cattle barn in the dark.  It happened to be the market I would find out later.  Everything was kinda spooking because it was all dark except for the yellow lights of the shops we passed and everything smelled like the Conservatory in Assinaboine Park.  Eventually the car stopped and we stepped out into the night.  We grabbed out stuff and followed Robin down this muddy side-street with small houses on each side.  We eventually came to one of the small buildings and Robin's wife unlocked the padlock on the door.   We walked into a rather large concrete-floored room that was almost completely bare except for a small platform on one side.  It was Robin's church.  His family lived in the back.  In the corner a toddler and a guy named Juan Pablo woke up as we walked in.  It was kinda surreal.  Finally we were in Africa!  After all the preparing, writing, praying, packing, orienteering, we were finally here.  We set up our nets and slept for 2 hours until we needed to wake up for our flight to Bata.  Juan Pablo asked if i wanted to sleep with him (I learnt in orientation in hamilton that it's normal for guys to sleep in the same bed here).  I decided to put my orientation into practice and gladly accepted.  It felt good to use what i just learned. 

We woke up and caught the flight to Bata.  It was sad to say goodbye to Robin.  Even though we spent so little time with him, he pulled through in such a big way when we needed him, obviously sacrificing lots for us, that we felt so grateful to him.  I don't think we quite expressed it though.  We said gracious gracious gracious, hugged, and went on our way.  Bata is beautiful!  Malabo is situated on an island in the coast of Guinea and has a reputation for being dirty.  Bata is completely different.  Though it is by no means extravagant, it is quite clean.  We have been staying at the Grenier's house for the past 2 days, just getting introduced to the culture here.  Tomorrow, after lunch, i will be moving in with my "hermano" Rafael who lives with his sister in the city.  I can't wait.  He is a Bible School student in his last year and we have met briefly.  Here at the Grenier's house it is quite nice and I live with all the modern accesories, right on the beach.  Rafael's house will be different and I'm looking forward to the adjustment. 

Spanish right now is a struggle.  However, I've been able to communicate somewhat and I fully expected it not to be easy early on.  There has been lots of laughter and waving of hands and "ahhhhhhh's".  The people here have been fantastic.  They laugh loud and hard and have great smiles.  I can't wait until tomorrow.

peace.

We're in Bata!

Wow, I have a few minutes on the internet so I thought I'd post a quick blog.  EG is great.  Our trip was eventful and awesome, and incredibly tiring.  We arrived in Malabo today at 4:00 am and woke up to leave for bata at 7:00.  Everything is beautiful, especailly the people we have been meeting and the children.  I will write more when I have more time. 

peace.

- tim bock

Hurray for Hamilton

I'm sitting here on my bed in the WEC headquarters in Hamilton; my stuff strewn everywhere.  Here's some interesting things that have happened in the past 2 days:

- In the airport I met a friend from steinbach who was travelling to Ontario to visit his sick parents.  Minutes later i met another man on the plane who was also travelling to see his dying father.  He was "going for the funeral" even though his father hadn't died yet.  He allowed me to pray with him after our flight arrived in Hamilton.  Quite sad.

- Hamilton has a pretty lousy airport. 

- I met the most enthusiastic video-gamer I have ever seen in my life.  We went for a stroll downtown and walked past the video game store and someone from inside came onto the sidewalk yelling, "Come on in, don't you like video games?"  We walked into a different world.  The 20-something brought us past 2 groups of button-mashers  and into this red-flourescent dungeon filled with special video-gaming thrones facing the wall. An LCD monitor was mounted in front of each chair (probably 15 or 20 chairs).  They use this area for massive 8 on 8 games of networked HALO 3 matches.  It's incredible.  This person was seriously passionate about gaming.  He told us about tournaments that you could watch on TV at home and about teams who were professional that would go to tournaments and win $20 000.  He was passionate about making a place where gamers could interact with one another and where everyone was accepted no matter what.  I commented that "gamers must love the atmosphere in here" and he agreed.  He said that they were all nerds and not ashamed of it.  When we were leaving he told us that they're vision was not just for hamilton.  They wanted to make Canada into a gaming hub, recognized internationally.  I admired his passion and commitment that sprung from his obvious love of gaming.  He loved to talk about it. 
Are we that enamored with Christ?

- I've had some cool conversations with some of the MK's around here

- I'm reading "the Cross and the Switchblade".  I like it.

- I'm looking forward to talking "missions" with the staff here at the base.  They all have significant experience somewhere in the world.  Hopefully we'll talk more this week.

- Today i spent a number of hours sanding windows to prepare them for painting.  Each day we will be put to work in the afternoon doing some sort of renovations around the house.  Good preparation for EG.

- This morning i snoozed my alarm about 10 times (ya, just like the man-hole).  Justin wasn't impressed.  Won't be doing that again.

- There are 2 others taking orientation here in hamilton with us.  One is going to Morocco to work in a clinic taking care of kids with Cerebral Palsy and the other is going to a pretty remote area in Guinea Bassau (he isn't sure what it's all going to involve).  He's tall (like 6'5) and has a firey red beard.  I think he'll have trouble blending.

So things are going well.  We leave for EG on Saturday (aug. 30).   They have  some more things here for us to bring along for the greniers so we'll be pretty loaded down.  It's so nice to be finally on our way.  It sometimes doesn't quite feel real but I'll just try to enjoy the moment as best I can. 

Feeling Fortunate

Well, 5 days until we leave for our orientation in Hamilton!!  I've felt incredibly fortunate to have so many people supporting us in this trip.  Thank-you to all who have given a kind word or a note of encouragement.  Thank-you especially to all of you who are praying.   The support I have felt from many of you has blown me away. 

Today, for example, about 20 people met at my church (Grant Memorial Church) and spent some time praying for us and our time in Equatorial Guinea.  It ended with everybody laying hands on us and commissioning us for the time that we trust God is preparing for us.  It was a very special time.  I sometimes wonder if people really know the person who they are sending out, and if they really knew me if they'd be as eager and supportive.  I take comfort in the stories about Jacob and Peter and the way God stuck with them despite their obvious flaws.  One person prayed that we would return as different people.  I wonder what that person will look like and what he will think of the person i am now. 

50 Days and Counting

Thanks for visiting my blog!! This will be the space where I will be writing regular updates during my time in Equatorial Guinea.

I leave for my week-long orientation in Hamilton on August 24. However, in the meantime I've been spending my time volunteering at Pembina Valley Bible Camp. This is my sixth summer at "the Valley" and I've been reminded why I love going back year after year. It's the genuine relationships with the staff and the common purpose of loving the campers that keep me coming back each summer.

For now I don't have much to write. However stay tuned for more updates as the date approaches.

peace.

Heading to Africa

Hello
It’s happening!! I’m spending a year volunteering with the mission team in Equatorial Guinea and I’m so excited. Since you are either one of my friends or a part of my family, I thought I would give you some background and let you know what’s been going on this past year and what is coming up this next year.
After spending 2 years living in Steinbach and volunteering with youth ministry, working, and coaching sports, I decided to move back to Winnipeg and spend a year at the University of Manitoba. Although the studies were actually pretty interesting, the highlight of this past year was meeting a ton of new people from a bunch of different perspectives. It was exciting and stretching to learn what it means to love Jesus at the university among friends who don’t know Jesus. In the second semester I was able lead a prayer meeting that joined a number of the Christian student groups at the U of M. We met weekly in one of the chapels and it was so heart-warming to see followers of Jesus from all over the university come together to pray.
During this past year I was approached with the offer to go with WEC (Worldwide Evangelization for Christ) to Equatorial Guinea. After spending some time praying and discerning, I am happy to say that I feel God’s leading in this trip. WEC has missionaries all over the globe and I’m pumped to be going under them. When I’m there I will be staying with a local family that speaks only Spanish. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa.
So that’s what’s been going on. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited. If you are the sort of person who prays, PLEASE pray for this whole situation. If you would like to be a part of my prayer team, or would like to know more about how you can support me in any way, feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear from you.

Sincerely,
- Tim Bock