Sunday, April 30, 2006

Check out these blogs

(By Erik)

In an effort to confuse and bewilder you, I’ve broken down the barriers between blogs national and international in our list of blogs (to your right).

I’ve also added a few new blogs to the ever-growing list:

robbrowne.blogspot.com — Rob Browne is a former missionary to Novosibirsk, Russia, who now works for an organization called World Wide Youth Camps. His ministry organizes camps for children and teens around the globe. Rob’s a fellow graduate of Lipscomb University.

jphilwilson.blogspot.com — Speaking of Lipscomb alums, Phil Wilson was reviews editor for the student newspaper, The Babbler, when I was a freshman. (Yes, that was the name of our student newspaper. It’s scriptural — from the books of Acts.) Phil’s got a podcasting project going that looks really interesting. I need to listen to one or two of them. Check it out.

intorwanda.blogspot.com — Dave and Jana Jenkins lived in Oklahoma City for a year when Dave was our visiting missionary at Oklahoma Christian University. Now he’s a full-time missionary in Rwanda — the first from churches of Christ.

remains.blogspot.com — This is a great site by J.D., a minister in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. He’s got a bunch of great thoughts on recovering from the storm, and a really good page of links to other sites by Church of Christ folks.

And speaking of sites you should check out:

Ask a Ninja — This is one of the funniest podcasts I've seen. The Ninja answers questions on topics from physics to George Clooney. (The "Ninja Omnibus" podcast is my personal favorite. Enjoy!)

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Things that mystify me, Vol. 2


toothpicks
Originally uploaded by eandjtrygg.
(By Erik)

Individually wrapped toothpicks.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Ah ... coffee


Ah ... coffee
Originally uploaded by eandjtrygg.
(By Erik)

We visited the new Starbucks tonight.

There’s a Starbucks in the Target superstore about two miles from us to the north and another one on Broadway about a mile and a half west. As you can see, we're woefully short on Starbuckses within a one-mile radius.

But no more. There’s a new one at the corner of 15th and Bryant — right across the street from Panera.

I ordered a grande mocha frappuccino, which came out caramel for some reason, but it’s very good. (Jeanie said that my “mocha” often comes out sounding “caramel,” so perhaps it was my fault.)

As I was emptying the contents of my wallet to pay for this delicious beverage, the cashier asked me “Would you like some free coffee?” Turns out they were giving away nice-sized bags of something called “Caffé Verona Bold.”

The cashier assured me it was good. I assured her that if it were free, I didn’t need convincing.

Pretty much, if the question begins with “Would you like a free …?” you don’t need to ask me any more. Just assume “yes.”

“Free spearmint gum?”

Great!

“Free trombone lessons?”

Sure!

“Free colonoscopy?”

Throw it in the cart! I don’t know what it is, but it sounds delicious!

Sunday, April 16, 2006

PHOTO: Happiness is a popsicle


popsicle
Originally uploaded by eandjtrygg.
(By Erik)

I shot this in San Pedro, Belize, just ouside the newly constructed Church of Christ. (The church is off camera to the right.) No matter where you live in the world, a popsicle is hard to beat — even in Siberia, I'd wager. (Back me up, Rob, if you're reading this.)

Click on the photo for a larger image and links to additional photos from Belize.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

PHOTO: Sunset over San Pedro


Sunset on San Pedro
Originally uploaded by eandjtrygg.
(By Erik)

Great people and great seafood. Exactly what I’d recommend in a mission trip.

I spent about a week in Belize, which, if you don’t know, is a small country of about 266,000 people just east of Guatemala and just south of Mexico. It’s about one-fourth the size, population-wise, of the Oklahoma, and, as you might expect, everybody there seems to know everybody else.

I joined a mission team that goes down to Belize at least once per year. Windle and Barbara Kee of Onalaska, Texas, headed up the team. I know Windle’s brother, Doyle Kee, through my work with the Chronicle. Doyle is a longtime missionary to Switzerland, and Windle and Barbara have done extensive work in Belize and Cameroon, where their son is a full-time missionary.

Dale Gaither, a member of our small-group Bible study here in Edmond, has gone to Belize with the Kees before and recommended the trip to me.

I also recommended the trip (before I went on it) to Dennis Cady, one of the elders of the Faith Village Church of Christ in Wichita Falls, Texas. Dennis is a longtime missionary to Indonesia. He wanted to take all three of his children, their spouses and all six of his grandchildren on a mission trip, but, since the kids are young, he didn’t want more than a two- or three-hour plane ride. And he was looking for an English-speaking country outside the U.S. Belize fit the bill.

At the time I recommended the trip, I didn’t know I’d be going on it myself, but the timing worked out, so there we all were in Belize. At one point there were 31 of us on this trip, but we didn’t all do the same thing or go to same places, so it was a manageable group.

I’ll post some more about the trip as I get time. The photo, by the way, is of a sunset over the marsh on the island of San Pedro, where we spent the last three days of our trip working with the local church. It’s a beautiful island with a lot of touristy stuff, but a lot of great people, too.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Karen-gratulations!

Our good friend Karen Reynolds is engaged and is getting hitched this July. Click here to see the ring.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

More posts a-comin'!

(By Erik)

Scores of Tryggblog fans (and by that, I mean Ann) are yearning for — nay, demanding — more posts. I'm just back from the beautiful island of San Pedro, Belize, and have lots to talk about. I'm "unloading" my camera now and will share photos soon.

Sorry for the delay!