Monthly Archives: November 2009

are something we should be careful of… they are kinda like expectations… too many times we place our wants on people and God and, as such, make ourselves out to be God… lets be careful about comparing cultures, experiences and people… careful not to place one above another… when we are not careful we can slip into being judgemental…

on or about Nov. 9, 1989 the “Cold War” ended and “freedom” started anew for Eastern Europe. Since then, many of the countries that formed much of the “Warsaw Pact” now call them selves Central Europe. This uses a geographical reality to set Hungary and its northern neighbors apart from the former Soviet republics that now form Eastern Europe.

Corruption mars much of the politics of the region. Bad fiscal management and just bad government have strapped some of these economies with awful economies.

“Freedom” exists to a great degree but there is much that needs to be done in the areas of freedom of the press and educating the populace about its governmental systems.

“Capitalism” has failed many people here.

But, as I write this using the WIFI of a McDonald’s surrounded by students of a local university and cross boarders freely much has been gained. It takes a while. Patience is needed.

Mostly gone are the days of fear of expression. Present are some opportunities for the motivated.

The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” is appropriate here. Neither was the USA democracy (representative republic) and it still needs work. So, time will tell.

kingdom travelin is 4 years old today! This is the 959th post.

I’m in Szeged trying to catch up on some internet work. This is my view:

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is an eight thousand word post… click here

This weekend has been a quiet time after a busy week… I have decent Internet and a little time in combination for the first time in a while so I thought I’d say hello from the Heartland.

Sadly, this combination of time and good Internet does not include uplading pictures because this opportunity is a surprise. I am on day 7 of the trip, am in Kyiv, Ukraine and am at the home of my friends Roman and Natasha. Roman handed me the computer (to talk to Sweet Anna via Skype) and having some time before lunch (we just finished church), I thought I’d say hello.

I shared briefly in church about the fear that grips the world. Financial woes, H1N1, wars, etc. have created a pessimism in the world. In fact Ukraine is reacting to a near epidemic of flu. Schools are closed for two more weks after the fall holiday, public gatherings are urged to be canceled, churches might even be asked to not meet. (BTW I think its an election year tactic bt the PM who wants to be pres. and is trying to look caring and decisive, but thats my opinion). So there is a lot on people’s minds. I reminded them of Lamentations 2:23. God’s mercy is new every morning, great is His faithfulness. We should not fear. Instead, we should ask for and seek greater faith.

This is a new thread of thought for folks I run into these days. Building faith. More later, I’m sure.

More about the trip so far… if you are following my tweetsyou know that CDG in Paris lost my luggage on the way from Dulles to BUD. I try to avoid CDG but I could not this time. I did get it intome to take off to Ukriane next day.

After getting to Budapest, we had a great time at the Nemeths with some of our friends. It was fun to see those guys and hang out.

Speaking of jet lag, this trip has been the easiest in memory, it has been awesome not to wake up in the middle of the night.

My ministry partners are really doing some great stuff. I will be able to really do a much better job with our website soon with all the pix and info I am gathering.

One of the highlights has been visiting three shelters/homes for kids in the country. Pix will be on ceokids.org eventually.

I’m really pumped because of the depth of conversations I am having with people too. I look forward to more of that ask I enter week 2 of the trip tomorrow.

Well, my host is back from his errand and lunch awaits so I must sign off. Next top for me is Tiblissi, Georgia tomorrow night. You can track the trip in the News Feed at www.ceokids.org