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Today Dr. Perkins came to speak at Regent.
I was impressed by his love for the Bible and his humble spirit. He challenged us at Regent to think in depth about the issues of alienation from each other and how the Gospel calls us not only to reconciliation with God, but also our neighbors. It was also great to hear about how content he was with his life’s work. You don’t hear that very often. It was great to listen to a man that has lived his life committed to his convictions and living them out.

My wife was impressed by his insightful observations of the Arab world. She feels like most North American Christians do not understand the implications of Western culture and foreign policy on missions in the Middle East.

At Loren and Mary Ruth’s

This weekend we went to Galleano Island with our community group from Regent College.
We had a wonderful time. We got to make Pasta. You can check out the pictures on our photo album. We also went on a row with a replica of a ship that charted the islands. They used the charts up into the 20th Century. Can you believe that!

Birthday

Lisa’s birthday is January 30th and mine is February 21. We had a big surprise party for her, but we forgot the camera. So this Photo Album you only get to see my birthday party.

June Curry

June Curry
Originally uploaded by julio and Lisa.

This is an inspirational woman, she is know as the Cookie Lady of Afton. Her father used to own a gas station and convenience store. She convereted it into a hostile for touring cyclists. She provides cookies. pop/soft drinks, and a warm place to rest for bikers on one of the hardest climbs on the TransAmerican trail. When Alex and I were on our crosscountry trip in 2001 we were ready to quit. It was cold and rainy. She opened up her home to us and we spent the evening chatting with her.

Please pray for recovery because she just had a stroke. If you know her you can email me and I can send you her address so you can send her a card.

Lion’s Gate from Seawall

Lion’s Gate from Seawall
Originally uploaded by julio and Lisa.

Today February 20th is our 14th month anniversary of our marriage. We had a great day walking in Stanley Park during a bright and sunny day.
It was a great day of relaxation and chatting.

We got to see all these fun dogs today. There was this cute little 7wk old Cocker Spanial that Lisa and I saw. It was a a cutie.

This next week is reading week and I got lots of reading to do! Hopefully I can get a lot done this week.

Commemoration of Monseñor Romero’s Martyrdom

Right now I am working on getting Isidro from the Romero Community of Vancouver to come to Regent to give a talk on Romero’s life and work. I can’t wait for th is to happen.

From March 16th to march 28th the Romero Community is organizing a Commemoration for Monseñor Romero. I heard that Padre Jon Cortina, director of the San Salvador-based Association in Search of Missing Children is coming to Vancouver during that time to speak in churches here. I am excited about that.

Recommendations from an immigrant to the US

“Use your common sense,” countered Mr. Castillo. “This country is good as long as you don’t start offending people. Try to look confident.” Never get drunk and pass out in the bushes at Home Depot, he said. This is against the law.

Whenever plagued by doubt or confusion while living in the United States, there is one simple rule, Mr. Castillo said.

“Always remember how much you have suffered to get here. If you forget how much you suffered, you will be sent back.”

From The Everymigrant’s Guide to Crossing the Border Illegally

El Salvador in the News again

Here is an article named
“Salvador Option” mooted for Iraq

Some in the Pentagon have now been mooting the idea of training Iraqi hit squads to target insurgents and their sympathisers to quash open civilian support for them.

But for this to work would mean out-terrorising the Iraqi rebels, a difficult task indeed.

Nor is success for a Salvador-style death squad democracy guaranteed.

I hope that this does not take place again. It was a terrible way of dealing with opposition. I believe that repression does not bring peace. So what will work? That is something that I am haven’t worked out, but I do know that the “Salvador Option” is evil. It must not be an way of dealing with insurgents.

Biblical Authority

I have been reading a chapter out of R.H. Gundry’s Matthew: A commentary on His literary and Theological Art. He challenged Christians to think about biblical authority in new ways.

I liked how N.T. Wright compares the difficulty of understanding biblical authority to a person looking for answers from an authoritative voice by telephone. “It is now as though the voice on the line, which is presumed to be authoritative, gives no instructions, barks no orders, but rather tells a story” (New Testament and the People of God, p. 86). His lecture on Biblical Authority was recommended to me by Glenn today in class.
You can read it on The unofficial N.T. Wright Page

Mt. Seymour

Photo Album
Today Lisa and I went snowshoeing with our church . We had a lot of fun. The end was more like hiking with snowshoes because there was not much snow; it was more rocky than snowy. At the end we all went to a cabin had hot chocolate and lunch and warmed up by the fire.