My happy place

Although I’m a loyal Starbucks customer sometimes I step out of my comfort zone to explore the local coffee scene. We live in a university neighborhood and despite what you may think about Taiwan there is a very vibrant cafe culture here in Taipei. There are coffee shops everywhere and although some of them miss the mark there are others that stand out as hidden gems.

Today was a tiring day and I spent a lot of time nodding off and eventually crashed after supper for a couple of hours. But with work to do I’ve headed out on the town to find a little corner to seclude myself and focus in on work. My first stop was Cafe Giulano. It’s a great little spot with sort of a Parisienne style. Fancy floral furniture and very old worldly. Most importantly my recent favorite coffee drink...sambuca coffee. It a delightful mix of espresso & sambuca topped with a dollop of whipped cream. Mmmmm...It was a great treat. Unfortunately I got there at 10:30 and they closed at 11 so my stay was brief. Well worth it though for the drink. Funny story side note: While I was sitting on the patio this lady came up with her dog in tow. This isn’t uncommon in Taiwan for people to have their dogs at cafes or even restaurants...especially places with outdoor seating. She leaned her head into the cafe to make her order. Her dog remained outside connected to the leash. While the lady was interested in what liquids would enter her body the dog had other ideas. Before you could even make sense of it the dog started peeing right on the patio and directly on to a fan that was set up on the floor. It was right next to my table and I sat that with a “did that just happen?” look on my face. I shared a goofy grin with some people at another table who witnessed what had happened. What a strange situation...oh well...c’est la vie!

After the first coffee shop closed down I was still intent on doing some work and wanted a chill spot to sit down. I skateboarded around the neighborhood to see of any other places were still open. Luckily enough one of my other favs was open until 1 am. So here I am sitting in the cleverly named “Cafe Espresso”. It has the best atmosphere. Tables with comfy antique style chairs. Each table is dimly lit with a light fixture that drops from the ceiling and sits just a foot and a half off the table. Very intimate feeling. They have classic jazz playing with that record player sound and an ecclectic decor that includes antique cabinets filled with collections of old mugs and glasses. They have a big coffee roaster on display as well as burlap coffee sacks spread around the room. The whole vibe is just relaxing and perfect for achieving that feeling of sacred space away from the busy world. It's times like these that I have no complaints about life. The struggles are forgotten, the stresses are melted away and I can't help but be happy.

Where is your happy place? If you haven't found one yet, keep looking cuz once you find it your soul will thank you.

Visitors galore

So Nevada, Gemma, Guinness and I have been fortunate to have my mom here for an extended visit. All in all she'll be here for a month. She came to hang out with us and to help with the adjustment of adding another little one to our family. She's been a great help, doing dishes, washing clothes, cooking the odd meal and of course cuddling/changing Guinness. She's also shopped a lot and we've all benefitted from some of those purchases. Although her and I don't always get along it's fun to have her here to joke with and banter with. Hopefully she'll make this a regular trip in the next couple years.

In other news, Nate (Nevada's brother) just booked his ticket to come here. Mom leaves on April 17 and Nate gets here on the 29th. It'll be his first time over here so it'll be really fun to show him around and help him to get his first taste of Chinese Asia. It'll be a different type visit than my mom, a little more touristy so that will be fun. I love giving people a taste of our life here and helping them to see the beauty that can be found on our island. It'll also be fun to have the kids spend some time with their uncle. I know he's not really used to hanging out with little kids but they'll grow on him. I'll make sure he gets enough adult time to blow off some steam. I don't know if I've mentioned it before but it's been awesome getting to know Nate in the last couple of years. I've never had siblings and the more we hang out the more I get a sense of what it's like to have a brother.

New McKenzie Website

New website address: http://web.me.com/chrismckenzie/themckenzies

With the arrival of Guinness (our new son) I realized that we would need a new blog for the little guy. I also started thinking of you the readers (potential readers) and how bothersome it would be to jump back and forth between 4 blogs and a Flickr site. So what I've done is created a website that hosts all four of our McKenzie blogs and that gives us an opportunity to share so much more....like photos and videos. I'm using a hosting service that tends to be a bit slow loading, so I apologize for that, but I hope you'll enjoy the new look. Please remember to "bookmark" this page or save it in your "favorites".

From now on rather than going to our individual blogs just head to our one main website and everything you need is there.

Practice post

trying to create a new site and checking how it works with blogger

Dearly Beloved...

(original drafted on Dec.31/08)
Some friends from the Pearl got in touch with me today with a challenging proposition. They are getting married here in Tapei on Jan 10th and they would like me to be the officiant/pastor at their ceremony. The groom's childhood friend, who is a pastor, backed out at the last minute and they need someone to do the ceremony. They've been off and on members of the Pearl and I totally want to help them and support them on their big day. It's quite last minute and I'm freaking out but I know that it's the right thing to do. This will be my first wedding gig so despite the nerves it's an encouragement as I move into my ministry calling.

So I sat down with the couple to discuss the wedding plan. In my mind we were meeting just to discuss some of the "pastoral" details of the wedding, such as what vows to use, sermon style and ideas and rehearsal/ceremony times. But to my surprise they had no plans at all in place. They had no music/musicians, no readings/readers, not many ideas about personalized ceremony structure....wow! So not only was I speaking on stage but i was also wedding planning. AAHHH! I think it was the short notice that freaked me out. To explain a little...the wife is Taiwanese and here they don't do wedding ceremonies (since they aren't Christian as a culture), here they have a family get together that officializes the union and then they have a big banquet to celebrate. In general, in western culture, the wife plans the wedding but in this case the wife didn't know what a wedding entailed. With Nevada's help and some great internet resources we sculpted a nice traditional wedding that ended up going smoothly and totally meeting the couple's expectations.

It was an unnerving but amazing experience. I felt like I took a step in the right direction as far as being a "real" pastor. God really came through in giving me a calmness and a confidence to stand up there and deliver. It's a rewarding thing to see two great people joined in marriage especially in this world that seems to be less and less interested in the value of a lifetime commitment before God. It was also a good growing experience to put together a wedding sermon. Of course I've heard many and am familiar with some of the standard wedding Bible verses but I wanted to come up with something a little bit unique. I'm sure that doesn't surprise many of you that I wanted to be different. So here's what I did...I put together a little gift box of four items. The purpose for the box was that I wanted to leave the couple with something tangible they could reflect on in the future. I feel like people are so frazzled on stage at their weddings that they don't really take in the sermon. They listen and appreciate it but the whole experience is a bit of a blur. The four items I included were: a Cross, a piece of Rope, a stuffed toy Heart, and a bottle of Glue. The Cross represented sacrifice, referencing Jesus Christ as the ultimate sacrifice. Marriage, of course, needed each person to sacrifice and serve like Christ. The Rope representing the cord of three strands from Ecclesiastes. This was to remind the couple that they needed to have God involved in their marriage for strength. The Heart to represent romance and fun. I read from Song of Songs (Soloman) about passionate love and encouraged them to keep the spark alive. And the Glue was to re-enforce the idea of commitment. They are now stuck together for life (not in a bad way) but in a blessed union, two become one sort of way. I thought it was creative and unique. Mostly I hope that they can pull out that box every couple of years and remember what the lesson on marriage was and re-evaluate where they are at from time to time.

I hope to be a able to officiate many more weddings in the future and see many people commit to a life together under God. Another first for me in a year of firsts in my life as a pastor...
(pics will follow soon)

Fatherhood

(Originally written on Dec.10/08)
Something fairly heavy has been on my mind in the last few months and I was reminded of it with something Nevada said. As I was hugging Gemma and laughing with her Nevada said "Can you believe your dad missed out on this?". (maybe not exact words but something like that) My father wasn't the man he needed to be when I was a baby/infant and although I don't know all of the details what I do know is that he ceased to be a part of my life when I was 2. Ever since I got married and started thinking about a future with children I knew i had to be different and do it differently than I experienced. In my mind a big thing I could do is make a commitment to being with my child, loving on my child. Although it's still not the standard, I wanted to be a stay-at-home dad. It seemed the best way to "be there" for my child. I've been lucky to have a wife that has been willing to support that. I've really enjoyed growing up with Gemma and spending time with her. Sometimes it hasn't been fun or easy but every time I get a hug, a kiss or a giggle I can't imagine doing it any other way. With only two years as a dad under my belt I'm a changed man and can't wait for a lifetime with my little one(s).

With that in mind my ideas and heart have been adjusting. I think my original idea (of being a stay at home dad) was a bit based on emotional parenting. I am a touchy-feely kind of guy and missed out on having that kind of dad so I wanted to be that for Gemma. I don't regret it but I'm moving into a new stage of my fatherhood values. I've never been ignorant to the provider role but chose the emotional provider role over the practical/financial provider role. Nearing 30 years old and with a second child on the way I'm trying to make that adjustment to figuring out how to take care of the future of my family. As a person pursuing my calling in ministry I will never be wealthy but I want to always do my best with what I've got to provide for my family. The next year may bring some big changes in our life as a family but with some aches and pains my hope is that we will move into a stage that is both rewarding and secure. I believe God has us firmly in his grasp and as long as we seek hard after what He wants for us we will be taken care of. I am positive that God is calling me to step up into my role as a man and not just a young man.

Bittersweet Decision

I guess this is a bit of an official announcement...we have signed on for another 2 years in Taiwan. We've been mulling over this decision almost every day since we returned to Taiwan from our summer vacation. More than any time in the last four years we were very conflicted. We've both been missing home....people, comfort, lifestyle etc. But it came down to a matter of faith. Taiwan is where God wants us and has big things in store for us. I know some people who read this won't understand but as Christians we don't just follow our own desires, we make choices based on what God wants and where He wants to use us. Our life is good here. We have a place to live, we have food to eat and we have wonderful people around us. It just isn't the typical life that most of us (in Saskatchewan) envision living. At this stage Taiwan is where our lives make sense. Nevada and I both enjoy our jobs and have potential to learn and grow in our professions, our callings. We are able to take good care of Gemma (good medical system, benefits through Nevada's work) and there are so many people here that love on her. These things will also be true with the new baby. Our church is awesome and has been a major blessing. Not to mention some of the frivolous things in life that we enjoy here: travel opportunities, tropical climate, international big city culture, fun exercise (basketball whenever I want it, biking for transportation and enjoyment), chance to learn Chinese etc, etc.

My heart does break when I think of missing out on life with certain people. We both miss our families a lot. It's been so sad for me that we haven't had Christmas together in 4 years and that our daughter only gets to see her grandparents/great grandparents briefly each year. For me, I miss Tom...my best friend. I feel that we get more and more disconnected as time goes by and that kills me. I hate that I don't get to see his daughter growing up and that our new families don't get to spend time together. Lastly, I miss our old church family at Lakeview. There are a lot of people there that i value and have lost touch with. A lot of people to learn from and grow with that I may never bond with again. I think that in the end one of the tough things we have to do as adults is make the best decisions for ourselves and our families and this comes with a cost. This disconnect with our "home" city and the people we've left behind is the biggest cost for us.

We do envision a time when we'll make a return to Canada. We both feel strongly that I need to finish a Bible college/seminary program in order to fully reach my potential as a pastor and that will bring us home so i can be a student at Briercrest. We're just not sure when that will be and how that will happen. Please pray that we will make the right decision in regards to how to complete those studies and pray that somehow the finances for that will be in place when the time comes.

I could probably write pages and pages on this decision but this post sums it up nicely. If you are a reader from "back home" please keep in touch with us and we will do our best to stay connected with you as well.

Gemma's 2nd Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Gemma's birthday with two parties. Feel free to check out the pics on Facebook and Flickr.

Who is this guy?

There’s this guy that I see from time to time at Starbucks and every time I see him it makes me think. He’s quite ragged looking, disheveled perhaps but has this look of innocence on his face. He sits with his coffee and an old IBM thinkpad. He’s always working on computer code, or that’s what it looks like to me. The black screen with the text based commands, kind of MS DOS like. In the chairs around him and on the floor are his many bags, 3 or 4 at last count. I’m not sure what’s in those bags but all indications based on his appearance point to the possibility that his entire life may be in those bags. I don’t have much, if any, real life experience with homeless people but he fits the stereotype. The thing that intrigues me is this, if he is homeless or going through a rough patch what is doing with a laptop and drinking Starbucks? I’m all for people having equal opportunities to the various perks of life it just seems like such juxtaposition. That also makes me think that maybe money is not the issue but maybe it’s something else. In moments of realizations like that my heart wells up. I want to know more and try to connect with him. (Unfortunately the language barrier holds me back) I want to hear his heart and walk with him through whatever it is that’s bothering him. I haven’t mentioned his feet yet. To be honest, the first time I really took notice of this guy was because of his feet. He doesn’t wear shoes and his feet are calloused, cracked and there are various scabs going up his ankles. It’s all a very weird package but I’m intrigued. The famous cliche of “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” runs through my mind. I suppose in this case I would have to walk a mile in his feet. Where has he been? Why doesn’t he wear shoes? What’s in those bags? What’s his heart? What’s his Starbucks drink of choice? For now, all i can do is wonder and pray.

Chilling in the mountains

I'm beat and need to get to bed but have to share these two pics cuz they are making me smile from ear to ear.(BTW, i just finished uploading those and a bunch more pics on my Flickr and Facebook...check 'em out.)