ERIC "can't touch this" MCMAHON

24 hr Sk8athon videos

2010-12-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

Here are two videos from our 24 Hour Halloween Skateathon at the dropin. Enjoy...

2010-09-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some videos you might enjoy. Both videos are of Guerilla Warfare. One is a music video of "Taco Man on the Moon", that we made here at the Drop-in and the other is a live performance of one of our songs called "The Robert Munsch Opus" that we played at the 3rd Annual Frozen Coffeehouse this last August.

Thanks for watching.

New Video

2010-09-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Here is a new video to feast your eyes on:

This one is a video of our "Destruction Night" here at the drop-in where kids were actually allowed to destroy things this summer. It was a blast.

Hope you had a great summer.
God bless
Eric McMahon

Fall/Winter Collage-Style Update

2010-01-12T07:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a collage update for you all...

These pictures are from our YFC Banquet '09, our volunteer Christmas party, our senior high feast, our Christmas staff pictures and Mel and I at the train tracks (where we got engaged) on our 1st anniversary.

Here's a little excerpt from the winter newsletter:

"Ever noticed that intelligence doesn't correlate with happiness. Knowing about things doesn't make you wiser. Knowing history doesn't prevent history from repeating itself. Knowing what the Bible says doesn't mean you believe in God. But being joyful when there is nothing to be joyful about...now that's a God-given gift. That's what I hope and pray for, for everyone at the drop-in. That teens feel safe and welcome in God's arms even when their lives suck, their families are useless, or their dads aren't even around."

Hope you had a great Christmas and are currently having a great January.

God bless
Eric McMahon

Christmas With The Drop-In...

2009-12-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

Christmastime at the Niverville Drop-In is filled with good food and really tacky gifts. But it is much more than just that. We are called Youth for Christ for a reason. We try to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. So we gave it our best shot this Christmas and blessed the drop-in teens and the drop-in volunteers by giving them...good food and really tacky gifts.

Here are some pictures of this years volunteer Christmas party...

Chris hoping to find a gem.

Grace, trying out her new bird whistle.

Melodie inspecting the cheesecakes (made by yours truly).

Quelf, the ultra random board game

Volunteers with their gifts, which include: a marriage certificate holder, a Superman comic and a thigh master.

Kaeleb testing out his new pirate mug/pot/beerstein

Now for some pictures of our Senior High Christmas Feast...

The best picture we have of our Christmas tree.

Feast!

Josiah and Zac fixing our Canada flag Christmas light display.

Feasting!

Homemade perogies, lasagna, farmer sausage, chilli and tons of desserts.

Thank you so much to all the people who donated so many baked goods and other foods of all shapes and sizes. It's good to know the drop-in, which was built to serve the community, can count on the community. If that makes sense...

Merry Christmas and may you experience God in a whole new way!

Niverville YFC Banquet Pictures

2009-11-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone that reads this sporadically updated blog,

Here's some pictures of the YFC Banquet at the Heritage Centre this last Wednesday. Our theme was "change". We have seen a ton of change in the community, the culture and the teenagers since the drop-in centre opened.

We watched a video with lots of old photos to show how much the drop-in has changed over the years. We heard what happened this year, particularly...Ecclectomania at the Niverville Fair with Island Breeze, and the 3rd annual townwide youth event, the Super Runningman 64.

Mark, Gord and Cheri (the board chair) gave inspired speeches. One of our volunteers gave his testimony of going from being a drop-in teen to being a burn survivor to being a volunteer for YFC Niverville. We also got a good dose of reality when two of our very own drop-in teens told us what it is like to be a teenager nowadays, in this society and culture.

This is Cheri Downey (the board chair).

Brent & Drew telling us what it's like being a teenager nowadays.

Me telling it like it is.

Gord telling it like it will be.

...and Mark telling it how it was.

Merrick Sandulak giving his testimony.

The awesome jazz band, The BMW's.

Thanks to all of you who came, who wanted to come and who thought about coming.
Come again next year, we will not disappoint. Well, we might disappoint, but God never does...

God bless,
Eric

Niverville YFC Banquet

2009-11-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

Just in case you hadn't heard...

Niverville YFC is having their annual banquet on November 25th at the Niverville Heritage Centre. Doors open at 6. Meal is served at 6:30.

Live professional jazz, video presentations, an incredible testimony by one of our volunteers, and two teenagers talking about what it is like being a teenager in Niverville.

It will be an unforgettable evening.

We have a couple tables left for $175 (seats 8 people), individual plates for $25 or just call us and we will see if we can get you in for free at a table that's already paid for.

388-6827

Hope to see you all there.

ps. This is a fundraising banquet, but we see the fundraising as secondary. We want as many people as possible to come out to see and hear about how the Lord has blessed the YFC.

Talk at Soncity

2009-10-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

There is this place called Soncity across from Niverville's high school where students come and eat a $3 all-u-can-eat lunch buffet every Tuesday. Before every Tuesday buffet, one of Niverville's youth pastors or one of us from the drop-in centre gives a "God talk". I gave one of these talks yesterday and I thought I should share it with you all...

I want to talk to you guys about racism. Not only between races. I'm talking about racism between, Muslims and Christians, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, teachers and students. Pride is the root of all types of racism. When you think that you are better than someone, (anyone) in a sense, you are being racist.

Martin Luther King Jr. ends one of his famous speeches with this:

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old song:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Paul says something similar in the New Testament...

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the Law.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise.

Those are beautiful pictures of unity and harmony in the human race. But the only way that will happen is if every single person looks into their own heart and changes what's not right. I challenge you today to look into your heart and see how pride has blinded your decisions.
You may think that Niverville is safe and free from racism. But it's not. You may think that this guy or that girl is the problem...but maybe you have become part of the problem. Pride is the reason there is racism. Pride creates divisions among people where there should be unity and friendship.

So if you want to change the world...get humble. Humility is the key to understanding other people and where they are coming from and understanding God.

Humility is the key to true happiness.

Short Films by the YFC Film Crew

2009-09-17T07:32:00.001-07:00

Here a video i've been trying to load for quite some time. Made by the Niverville dropin centre's very own film crew.

And here is another, more complex, stop-motion film that i uploaded on Youtube.

God bless you,
Eric

Summer '09

2009-09-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

We all really enjoyed ourselves this summer. It was a season of renewal and change. We are still doing many renovations to the building. Our booths are in the middle of getting a makeover. We have new blinds and a new computer. And thanks to some young geniuses, the computer is now working at full capacity and we feel very blessed to have it. If you want to help with any of the ongoing renovations, just give us a call at 388-6827 or email sixdegreesoferic@gmail.com.

One thing i wanted to mention on this blog post is about the drop-in's "prayerful reflection sabbatical week". The last week of summer, all of us at the drop-in, took a week to prayerfully reflect on the past year and to dive into the Word. We all read one of the Gospels. I read the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John focuses on Jesus' deity. He was and is fully God. Yes, he is fully human, but he was also fully God, walking on this Earth. I'm just so glad I read this Gospel. It put everything in perspective. I realized that although reading the good book can be difficult sometimes, it always helps to give you perspective and it puts your priorities in order. It was an amazing week of living in God's rest. Now all I have to do is choose to live in that special, peaceful place, all the time.

God bless
Eric

ps. I will be writing a newsletter shortly. If anyone wants to get an email of it, leave a comment with your email address. (I'm trying to save paper, by sending emails, rather then mail.)

Reflections on the Niverville Fair 2009

2009-08-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the video...

God bless
Eric

Niverville Fair & Golf Tournament

2009-06-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

The Niverville Fair was great. I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed it. Thanks Roger (father-in-law) for bringing out Island Breeze to perform on the YFC stage. Thanks Kristen and Bethany (sisters) who put the Island Breeze/Drop-in/Weird Moustache Man float together. Thanks Dad (Valleywest Landscaping Ltd. owner) for driving the float, just like the good ol' Maranatha float days. Thanks to all the peeps who rode on the float or unicycled/skateboarded around the float, Josiah, Zach, Riley, Brent, Seaver, Jeremy, Chris, Ben, Roger, etc. Thanks to the fair committee, especially Elaine Krahn and Bruce Neufeld for providing YFC with a stage and sound equipment. Thanks to our sound guy, Vince Taylor (head of lighting at the MTS Centre) for excellent sound. Thanks to Rory and Greg for setting everything up on the stage. Thanks to Out of Darkness for a killer show and for letting me use your drums, Andrew. Thanks to Riley(dij. master) who played with Guerilla Warfare. Thanks to everyone who setup and took down the stage equipment, Josiah, David, Chris, Ben, etc. Thanks to Zach (unicyclist extraordinaire) for filming Eccletomania.

Hope everyone enjoyed Ecclectomania and the float featuring Island Breeze. In case you missed our children's feature on the Sunday service, we did a modern version of the Good Samaritan story and called it the Good Steinbacher story. Thanks to Gord, Sammy, the ninjas, desperados, Hannah Montana, Tony Hawk and the Good Steinbacher for helping us make the story come to life.

And now for something completely different...

The 2009 Niverville YFC Golf Tournament was a hit this year. It went very smooth. Thanks to Melissa, our fearless volunteer who sat in the blazing sun at one of the prize holes all day. Thanks to Ed Dale and Carl Fast for making my day a bit more exciting by getting the closest to the pin on the 2010 Mustang hole-in-one hole. Thanks to all the golfers, especially Tim, Colette, Henry, Ed and last but definitely not least...Gary, Brian, Chris and Sherwood.

The day was perfect (it started pouring just as we got back to the drop-in after the tournament, praise God). The food was great. Thanks to the drop-in teens who finished off the leftover ribs (Drew). And having the support of a richly blessed community is priceless.

Thank you everyone and have a great summer.

Ecclectomania!

2009-06-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Well it's been awhile since I wrote in here. So I would like to update you that are still reading this blog...

On Saturday, June 13th at the Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair, the Niverville YFC Drop-in Centre will be hosting...

Ecclectomania!

This live show will include:

Island Breeze (team of singers, dancers and drummers from the South Pacific)
Island Breeze Power Team (a bunch of buff dudes breaking and tearing stuff)
Guerrilla Warfare (Josiah Speers, Mark Friesen and yours truly)
The Moria Band (a local band with extreme amounts of talent)
Out of Darkness (Niverville's metal band)

It will be an interesting mix of culture and music. The extravaganza starts at 2pm-6pm, this Saturday. So join us after the parade (when Island Breeze will be performing on a float as well!)

God bless and I hope to see you all at the Niverville Fair.

ERIC

the CRAVE! is coming up...

2009-04-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Enjoy this video i just made with last year's Crave footage with narration help from Gordon Kroeker.

Ever seen a Christian rave...in NIVERVILLE?!?!?

Well it happened and it's happening again on Friday, May 1st!

Food and Work

2009-03-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Whoever Reads this Blog,

How are you doing? I realize that it has been a long time since my last blog and what's worse is that in this new blog I'm going to ask for things. Isn't that ridiculous! Well i have to get used to it with the job that I have.

We have been doing well at the dropin. We have begun renovations! Our offices are almost all painted and Kaeleb patched the walls in the main area. This Saturday, March 28th we are having a WORKDAY EXTRAVAGANZA. We will begin priming and painting the main area of our building at 10am and it will go until sometime in the evening.
If you can make it out for an hour, for 4 hours or half an hour...it don't matter!

Doesn't that sound exciting! So come on down! YYYYOU'LL FIND US!

On another topic...next week is SPRING BREAK and we here at the dropin have some more big plans. We want to keep the renos going throughout the week and anyone is welcome to come and help out. But thats not really what i wanted to talk about. We are starting senior high nights in spring break...beginning with a SENIOR HIGH MOVIE NIGHT on Wednesday, April 1st. we want this to be a big event, so we have a big screen and some big sound coming in, but what we really need is FOOD!!!

Some pizza, chips and dip, pop, nachos, popcorn, etc. We will pretty much accept anything! If you want to bring the ingredients to make nachos or a dip of some sort or a bag of chips, that's fine. If you want to bring some microwaveable popcorn or a 2L...it really doesn't matter, but I know at the Christmas party we had an abundance of food and the kids were blown away that people from the community would donate food....GOOD food!

If you have any food to donate, just bring it to the drop-in at any point in the afternoon or evening on Wednesday, April 1st. Or just call me and I could come get it. My cell is 392-9822...call anytime.

So there is my pitch for volunteer manual labour and food.
We also accept cash(joke) ...but it is true...

Thank you, everyone, for all the support you've given me and the drop-in.

Chill out!

2009-02-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone

I finally finished all my training assignments...so now i'm just chillin' out watching these videos. I don't do this all day! But sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy some ridiculous comedy.

God bless

Life Languages Report

2009-01-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone

I've finally completed some more training assignments. One involved taking a personality test and then writing a report on it and how it relates to the YFC ministry.

According to the test, there are 7 types of people:
responders
producers
movers
shapers
doers
influencers
contemplators

I am a responder, then producer, then contemplator and my last place characteristic is a doer.

What do you think you are?

I just got a couple of paragraphs from my report here for you. Hopefully they will encourage you...

The one problem with this assessment and other assessments like it is that it unintentionally puts restrictions on people. I know the summary of scores says that each language is of equal importance and how other people with different languages aren’t more important than me, but I can’t help comparing myself to others. I feel like my personality and my character has been put into a tightly-fitted box. All the tests I’ve taken, say that I’m a compassionate person but I will never be a good doer or teacher. But I do realize the creators of this test did not intend for that. But these tests are just too mathematical for me. No formula can tell me who I am.
Having said that, this test has definitely helped me in communicating with others. In my ministry, I’ve learned how to communicate with my coworkers and the youth a lot more effectively. It can be very hard to speak someone else’s language but it is very humbling and rewarding. It can be very frustrating when you try to speak someone else’s language and the other person still gives you no response. That’s because there are so many other factors that contribute to good, clear communication. It’s not just talking about what the other person wants to talk about. It’s about attitude, mood, body language and most importantly it’s about the heart. Ministry without heart; without love, is useless.

Bless you

p.s. maybe next post ill have some pictures to keep you interested.

Blue Like Jazz report

2009-01-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone

Ever since taking the job with YFC, I've been doing assignments for my training. It's like being back at school kind of. But I have been doing these assignments quite slowly. You know, with working at the drop-in and all. But I have completed at least one assignment and I would like to share it with you...

Blue Like Jazz Report

Blue Like Jazz is summed up best by it’s little subtitle on the cover, “Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality.” This book fights religion and celebrates the relationship between God and man. Donald Miller looks at Christianity in our modern (or perhaps postmodern) era unlike anyone I’ve ever seen before. It’s not just a book that analyzes modern Christian spirituality. This book challenges status quo, encourages evangelism and the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom by simply getting closer and closer to the Father of all.

I assumed I would enjoy this book just based on what others have said about it, but then I read the author’s note and I knew I was definitely going to enjoy the book. Donald Miller wrote, “Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.” P.IX This has happened to me time and time again. When I see someone who is head over heels for the Lord, it inspires me to change and grow.

In the movie The Usual Suspects someone mentions, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn’t exist.” I think this statement is very true. I see this over and over in religion. So many Christians are deceived by religion. These rules that we have setup for ourselves that are supposed to bring us closer to God just pull us farther apart. In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller writes, “To me, God was more of an idea. It was something like a slot machine, a set of spinning images that dolled out rewards based on behavior and perhaps, chance.” P.8 Sometimes I’ve felt this way about God as well. I’ve believed that the Lord was an arbitrary dictator giving out blessings and curses at random. When I’ve seen the Father as an arbitrary dictator, I don’t see the point of prayer. If God is going to bless or curse me regardless of what I do or don’t do, then why pray? Why ask God for something or plead with God if he doesn’t listen. But according to Blue Like Jazz and more importantly, the Bible, prayer is about having a relationship with God. Laughing, crying, singing, listening, touching, screaming, and whispering with the Lord is what life should be all about. God cares about the heart, not about obedience to man-made rules and regulations. The Devil has done a great job of blinding us with religion. At the beginning of chapter 2, “Problems”, Donald Miller writes, “I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time.” P.13 Amen to that! When religion consumes your life, inevitably you feel oppressed and you get depressed. Donald Miller writes about how he and a couple of guys vowed to fast and pray and all this other religious stuff on certain days of the week for a full year. This particular year didn’t quite go as planned. “I hated the entire year. Hated it. I felt like a failure every morning. I hated looking in the mirror because I was a flop. I got ticked at all the people who were having fun with their lives.” P.81

One Sunday morning my pastor said, “Sinning is fun.” I couldn’t believe my ears. But I did have to admit that, yes, sinning was fun. Then he said, “If sinning wasn’t fun, obviously we wouldn’t do it.” Then I realized that it’s okay to admit that sin is fun, because it’s true. Donald Miller writes, “I think it is easier to do bad things than good things.” P.17 I agree. You can’t deny that man’s soul has been corrupted by evil. Everyone has sinned, except Jesus of course. But we try to look for reasons as to why bad things happen. Especially when bad things happen to “good people.” “I am the problem,”p.20 writes Donald Miller in chapter 2. He continues saying, “This is the hardest principle within Christian spirituality for me to deal with. The problem is not out there; the problem is the needy beast of a thing that lives in my chest.” P.20 We are all “needy beasts” and therefore the whole world has become infected by our selfishness, so that even the “good people” are adversely affected. But our hero and savior has taken care of it and we can now be saved. At least our spirit can be saved, and our souls…well, they need some time and some work to adjust.

One thing Donald Miller writes a lot about in Blue Like Jazz is faith. He writes about falling in love with a God that doesn’t make much sense to us mortals. Donald Miller mentions his friend, Laura, who was questioning Christianity and God in chapter 5, “Faith”. He says, “I think one of the problems Laura was having was that she wanted God to make sense. He doesn’t. He will make no more sense to me than I will make sense to an ant.” P.54 This can be extremely frustrating to any human being. But the more time you spend in His holy presence, the less you care about making sense of it all, you just enjoy his unconditional, selfless love. When you get rid of pretense and religion, believing in an unseen being is fresh and exciting. You never know what will happen next, yet God doesn’t change and you can base your whole identity within who He is. God wants to have a real relationship, not just the “butterflies and gumdrops” feeling all the time. “Like a new couple expecting to always feel in love, I operated my faith thinking God and I were going to walk around smelling flowers.” P. 60

Donald Miller argues that Christianity is no longer “cool” or “fashionable”. P.107 I would definitely agree with that statement. Many people go to certain schools, concerts, even churches because it’s cool. But unfortunately God is not concerned about what’s cool. Otherwise we wouldn’t be dancing around and singing praise songs or going to totally foreign climates and places to encounter people that want to kill us, just so we can tell them about God. Donald Miller talks about a friend of his, Andrew the Protester. “Andrew is the one who taught me that what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do.” P.110 He goes on to write, “Andrew would say that dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. Living for something, Andrew would say, is the hard thing. Living for something extends beyond fashion, glory or recognition.” P.111

Out of all the knowledge and wisdom in Blue Like Jazz, the best part is chaper 11, “Confession”. He shares the story of how he and his friends set up a confession booth at Reed College during the craziest party of the year. The confession booth was a little different then people expected. Young men and women would come into the booth out of curiosity and that’s when Donald Miller and his friends would begin confessing and asking forgiveness on behalf of all Christians at Reed College. I was touched by this story. It reminded me of something Jesus would do. There are many, many times when I’ve been ashamed to call myself a Christian and associate myself with Christians, but reading that story gave me hope. A hope that, regardless of what others do I will always love God and declare it out loud, that He is the One that can save you. He is the One who can protect you and will never leave you.

Blue Like Jazz has taught me a lot about living a Christian life. I’ve learned about being honest with yourself and others. This book has encouraged me to evangelize more. I hope to have that same attitude that Donald Miller had when he and his friends setup that confession booth. I don’t want to always be on defense. I want to actively pursue the Lord and find out how I can improve other people’s lives.

We are Blessed

2008-12-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone who reads this...

Last week the drop-in had a coffeehouse where kids, young adults, volunteers, and staff get to showcase there musical and lyrical talents. It was organized by Nicole Schroeder and I helped with the decorations! It was called the Shiny Things Coffeehouse. Which was great for decorating because we have a lot of really tacky/shiny things here at the drop-in. We sipped lattes and hot apple cider while listening to piano and poetry. We also got an eyeful of Mark and Josiah's dance moves. They were "off da hook" (if anyone doesn't know what this term means, let me know because I'm paid to know...jk). It was a lot of fun. A lot of youth came out whom we didn't expect and many young adults who used to go to the drop-in also had a chance to come out to watch and perform.

On a different topic, we have just been donated many prize possessions. A very generous young man just donated a brand new laptop with a huge hard drive and Windows Vista! Another kind young man has donated some top notch Adobe software for video editing, recording music, making dvds and also photoshop! And just last week Gordon went to pick up a very nice (slightly used) foosball table!

Once I get all the new software up and running, hopefully these blog posts won't be so boring. I'll have videos and pictures and all that jazz.

We are going to have our Christmas party here soon, where some ladies will be making a huge feast for all the staff, volunteers and teenagers. We will also being watching a Christmas movie that night on the big projection screen. So if anyone has any suggestions for what we should watch or if you have a dvd I could borrow for the night, that would be awesome. I believe we are also in need of some Christmas baking for the party. I will let you know when the party is sooner or later.

If you ever want to come down and see the place or volunteer or donate anything, just let me or Mark or Gord know and we will be glad to accommodate you.

Future Updates

2008-11-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I was just about to delete this blog. I didn't really use it that often (just look at when I last posted). But then I got this job at the Niverville drop-in. So I thought, hey, I could use this blog as a way to keep all my supporters informed as to what's going on. So anyone who is interested in the ministry at the Niverville YFC drop-in can just click on this website and there they have it.

At the drop-in, we will soon have 1 or 2 new (well...used, but better then the ones we have now) computers. So hopefully we can get pictures and videos loaded onto the internet for everyone to see.

Along with this blog, I will send out a newsletter and an email update.

For anyone who doesn't know...I just got married on October 18th to Melodie Armbruster. That was the best day of my life. And the best choice I ever made.

I've been working here alongside Gord and Mark ever since the honeymoon (Trinidad and Tobago). Mel and I are living in Niverville and she is working at Solomon's Porch.

THIS IS THE BEST JOB I'VE EVER HAD!

2008-01-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas is the time for love...

Grandpa and Grandma's house in Altona.
Coming back from the Grand Forks Family Hotel Stay Extravaganza.
Peace.
My dad was not posing here, he actually drives like that sometimes.

Simply stunning.
Christmas morning.

Gorgeous.
Look at that face...wow. What a great time we had...

God bless you all and to all a good night.

2007-12-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

My sister Kristen...

...comes home December 11th at midnight

Pray for her.

2007-11-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hey what's the deal? I wonder if anyone is going to read this post. Well just in case anyone does. This is where I now live. My parents brought a house from by Mitchell and put it up in our yard. It's a good time.
I thought i should put a pic of my sister Bethany. I believe that is a "g" note, moving into a "b flat". She's got laser eyes as well. Sivertson would be proud.

Well i hope you all are having a good day. God bless

Pictures of Poop

2007-09-04T17:00:00.001-07:00

Chris, Michelle, Joel, Jason and I in my pond.
Melodie and Crystal sitting by my pond.
Melodie holding a head of lettuce.
Melodie and I at Grand Beach.
Winkler Teepee Village camp.
Ihor swinging on the Tarzan rope.
Tapanga sitting by my pond.
Youth for Christ BBQ at St. Malo. (Mark, Ben, Gordon, and Kyla)

Kids

2007-08-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

So two days ago, I was at work at the Family Life Centre and I was playing with some kids in the toy room. We were pretending that these two bins were space ships. The first kid got into them and I asked, "Which planet are you on?" and he said, "Jesus-planet". Then I asked, "How does he look?" and he said, "Good".
Then the next kid got into them and I asked, "Which planet are you on?" and she said, "Germany! And there are people here." Then I said, "What do they look like?" she responded, "Tiny!"

Man, do I love kids.

God bless you all

Pictures for the Peeps in Thailand

2007-08-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

the past and the present

2007-06-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

roomate

Friends

genius

i don't want to talk about this one

last year

God bless

coming home

2007-04-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

The prayers worked! Thanks.

I will be back this Monday, April 23rd at about 2:30 pm. So i will see you all soon. Unless they find the marijuana, brass knuckles, fireworks or machine guns in my luggage....I think i'll make it.

God bless you all

Eric

Trying to get Home

2007-04-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody

How are you? Enough with the chitchat! I totally lost my ticket to get home! Please pray that i could get home with no extra charge. I want to come home this weekend...but i think it will happen. All we need is some elbow grease and prayers. Is that the saying?

In Australia, I touched a sea turtle!!! In the wild, not in a zoo!!!

God bless and I will see you soon.

Students

2007-03-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Here are some of my students...

Grade 5's. They did horrible on their final exam!

These are grade 1ers. Probably my favourite class. One kid's name is Eric! Who would've thunk it.
This is kindergarten 1. There are 3 levels of kindergarten.
These are grade 3's.
Grades 4,5 and 6 all in one class.

Grade 2's.
Grade 4's. The most disobedient kid...I'm holding him.

These are great kids. I will miss them all.

Anyways, while I will typing up this post, my parents called me and told me that my dear friend, Wade Kehler just died. That's the worst news I've ever heard. I loved Wade. I will miss him dearly. I pray that whoever reads this will pray with me for his family. God bless you Gerry, Gundy, Candace and Charlotte. Wade was a great man. I was really looking forward to seeing him again. I just can't believe he's gone.

God bless you all

Eric

Wes' Weddings

2007-03-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

The reception.
Singing U2 karaoke.

Wes, Lek, Tuk(Lek's sister) and me.
If you look closely, I look terrified.
Lek's friends: 3 friends from Japan and the rest are her colleauges from the airport.
Taking hours of pictures. I really mean hours!

The Chinese ceremony.
JELLO PUDDING!!

(that joke is exclusively for Wes)

God bless you homies.

Kanchanaburi

2007-02-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

This is what's been happening...

I went to Kanchanaburi (a province in Thailand) with Louise and Mink...

We rode elephants.

Saw a waterfall.

Went bamboo rafting.
Saw a WWII cemetery.
Walked on The Bridge on the River Kwai (see the movie).
Ate deer and wild boar at Mink's university.
Walked through Hellfire pass.

Rode on the Death Railway (it's actually called that).

2007-02-20T03:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posts recently.

I just got pictures, but I forgot to bring them to the internet cafe! HAHAHA. It's that hilarious. Anyways, ummm...What is everyone's favourite Lord of the Rings characters and why? And if you could live in Middle Earth, would you be a man, elf, hobbit, orc, dwarf, uruk-hai, and ummm... I'm sure Gordon could let you know all the other creatures you could choose from.

By the way, my students do some weird things:

-handstands and barrelrolls while I'm trying to teach.
-licking my hand and watch.
-lifting up my shirt and putting their heads up my back.
-spitting on their desks.
-headbutting me in the chest.
-etc.

Most of these things are done by kindergarteners. Most of them...

Keep it real, in subzero Manitoba, and arctic Russia.

God bless you

Life in the B'KOK

2007-02-04T01:54:00.000-08:00

I want to thank everyone for praying for all of us out here in Thailand. The south of of Thailand is still very much in a violent state, but in Bangkok the bombs and threats have settled down. But Thailand still need prayer...the government here is a very young democracy and ever since the coup in September we have been living with a military interm government. Their is still a lot of corruption in the government and corporations here. And the new international airport, which I flew into the second day it was open in September, is just doomed! It was built on a marsh! Their are huge cracks on the runways, the president quit and two other executives have been fired. Their was a murder and a couple rapes awhile ago right inside the building where the construction hadn't been finished yet! Anyways, God is taking care of this land.

Ok, that was a downer. Hahaha. Anyways, I'm sorry for the lack of pictures recently, I guess I've just been living everyday life. As some of you already know, Wes Peters is getting married and I am his best man! So tomorrow is the Chinese wedding ceremony (Lek is part Chinese) and Wednesday is the Christian ceremony. It is going to be a blast. It's been great hanging out with Wes out here. He's a great guy.

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of teaching. I love the kids though, so that compensates for the lack of teaching skill. I only have 4 or 5 weeks left or teaching! I wanted to thank everyone that was in that little video my family made for me. It was awesome!

Well, take it easy and God bless you all

eric

Science and Technology

2007-01-20T19:50:00.001-08:00

Hey

I just thought of something...

Science and technology only reaffirms old truths...

All the new diets and fat-burning pills reaffirm that in order to stay healthy all you need is a little exercise and a balanced diet.
All the MSN chatting and Myspace reaffirms that there is nothing like one on one human contact.
All the information and education we have reaffirms that we will never know as much as the one who made us.
All the information and education we have reaffirms that we are still men and war will always be waged. Whether between nations, between neighbours, between families or in our hearts, we will always be at war.
All the wealth we have reaffirms that everything comes at a cost. Nothing is free except the one thing we all want...eternal life in peace!
And all that we know is that the only way to happiness is to give it all up and live like Jesus did.

Your thoughts...

England and Hua Hin

2007-01-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

1. me at the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

2. Westminster Abbey

3. Sherlock Holmes

4. Tower of London

5. Mel and I on the Tower Bridge

6. my foot after a swim in the ocean

7. Hua Hin- which ironically means Rock Beach

8. me at Wat Pad Kaew temple with Wes

9. Wat Pad Kaew

10. Buckingham Palace

11. guards at the Buckingham Palace

12. Christmas dinner in Nottingham with Mel, Bex, Ryan and Mez.

God bless

New Year's Eve Bombings

2007-01-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'll post about London and other things later.

Right now I would like to inform you that bombs exploded in Bangkok on New Year's Eve. You might have heard already. I've heard different stories, so I'll try to give it to you straight: One or two bombs went off at about 12 noon. So the authorities rushed to tell everyone to cancel all New Year's plans. Then at about 6 pm more went off or were found before they went off. In total about 8 or 9 bombs! Then, the next couple days after that the authorities kept on finding more bombs that hadn't gone off. On New Year's Eve, I think, 3 people died and well over 30 were injured. This bombs were mostly placed in malls and squares. Wherever there is lots of people gathered! Now Bangkok is a lot quieter at night.

The media had two suspects right away: Muslim extremists or the old government, that was ousted in that coup in September. Now the media has eliminated the Muslim extremists and thinks that either the old government did it or the current government is doing it because of power struggles within the government. They believe this because the material used in the bombs is a restricted "government-only" material. For some reason, I don't believe that governments have anything to do with it. I don't know why I feel that way. It's just a gut feeling. Either way, I DON'T CARE, I just want it to END!

It was a sad New Year's here. Praise God that I was in a plane flying over India coming back from London when all this happened. Praise God, Jonelle, Oat,Wes, Lek and Deaw were all out of Bangkok for New Year's.

God bless you all and please pray for the citizens of Bangkok and the south of Thailand, where a Muslim extremist's bomb kills about 3 people a week.

p.s. Could someone tell Maranatha, or any church, about this, so that they can pray for Bangkok and Thailand.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-26T01:57:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God bless you, everyone!!

The week before Christmas

2006-12-19T04:19:00.000-08:00

So the Asian Games are going on in Doha. I believe that is in Qatar or United Arab Emirates. Anyways, Thailand won 2 golds in takra. Out here it's pronounced "tackgo", with a rising tone. It's that game where it's like volleyball except you use you feet. It's pretty cool to see a spike with a foot. If anyone hasn't seen The Office. STOP what you are doing and watch it. Either the American or British version. Doesn't matter! Oh, one of the teacher's assistants thought I was part Chinese!? We had a Christmas party at Jonelle's apartment, the night before Kyla left. We had chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, the works! Then we went to the tallest tower in Bangkok and had dessert buffet. Very expensive, very classy. High HIGH class. Here it's called "hiso". High society.

Anyways, this week I will be dressing a Santa and handing out candies to my students. Pretty fun. I got a feeling the costume will fall apart before the week is over. I tried it today. Haha. Luckily I haven't fallen on a kid yet this week, like I did last week. Oops!

In case you haven't heard...I'm going to ENGLAND!!!! for Christmas!!! I leave on Dec 23 and I get back in the new year. Melodie is coming down with her friend, Bex from Norway and we are meeting up in London.

Wicked awesome tubular radical groovy far out gnarly sick tight etc...

GOD BLESS YOU AND A VERY VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Poem

2006-12-12T07:14:00.000-08:00

This one's for Luke...

The Ballad Of The "Clampherdown" by Rudyard Kipling

It was our war-ship ~Clampherdown~ Would sweep the Channel clean, Wherefore she kept her hatches close When the merry Channel chops arose, To save the bleached marine. She had one bow-gun of a hundred ton, And a great stern-gun beside; They dipped their noses deep in the sea, They racked their stays and stanchions free In the wash of the wind-whipped tide. It was our war-ship ~Clampherdown~, Fell in with a cruiser light That carried the dainty Hotchkiss gun And a pair o' heels wherewith to run From the grip of a close-fought fight. She opened fire at seven miles -- As ye shoot at a bobbing cork -- And once she fired and twice she fired, Till the bow-gun drooped like a lily tired That lolls upon the stalk. "Captain, the bow-gun melts apace, The deck-beams break below, 'Twere well to rest for an hour or twain, And botch the shattered plates again." And he answered, "Make it so." She opened fire within the mile -- As ye shoot at the flying duck -- And the great stern-gun shot fair and true, With the heave of the ship, to the stainless blue, And the great stern-turret stuck. "Captain, the turret fills with steam, The feed-pipes burst below -- You can hear the hiss of the helpless ram, You can hear the twisted runners jam." And he answered, "Turn and go!" It was our war-ship ~Clampherdown~, And grimly did she roll; Swung round to take the cruiser's fire As the White Whale faces the Thresher's ire When they war by the frozen Pole. "Captain, the shells are falling fast, And faster still fall we; And it is not meet for English stock To bide in the heart of an eight-day clock The death they cannot see." "Lie down, lie down, my bold A.B., We drift upon her beam; We dare not ram, for she can run; And dare ye fire another gun, And die in the peeling steam?" It was our war-ship ~Clampherdown~ That carried an armour-belt; But fifty feet at stern and bow Lay bare as the paunch of the purser's sow, To the hail of the ~Nordenfeldt~. "Captain, they hack us through and through; The chilled steel bolts are swift! We have emptied the bunkers in open sea, Their shrapnel bursts where our coal should be." And he answered, "Let her drift." It was our war-ship ~Clampherdown~, Swung round upon the tide, Her two dumb guns glared south and north, And the blood and the bubbling steam ran forth, And she ground the cruiser's side. "Captain, they cry, the fight is done, They bid you send your sword." And he answered, "Grapple her stern and bow. They have asked for the steel. They shall have it now; Out cutlasses and board!" It was our war-ship ~Clampherdown~ Spewed up four hundred men; And the scalded stokers yelped delight, As they rolled in the waist and heard the fight Stamp o'er their steel-walled pen. They cleared the cruiser end to end, From conning-tower to hold. They fought as they fought in Nelson's fleet; They were stripped to the waist, they were bare to the feet, As it was in the days of old. It was the sinking ~Clampherdown~ Heaved up her battered side -- And carried a million pounds in steel, To the cod and the corpse-fed conger-eel, And the scour of the Channel tide. It was the crew of the ~Clampherdown~ Stood out to sweep the sea, On a cruiser won from an ancient foe, As it was in the days of long ago, And as it still shall be.

I know it's really long, but Luke will love it. Hopefully.

Address

2006-12-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

MY ADDRESS:

454/21 Petchaburi Soi 7

Ratchatewi, Bangkok

10400

I'm not suggesting anything...but, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Ko Chang and Whatnot...

2006-11-28T04:10:00.000-08:00

A view of Bangkok from The Golden Mount.

This is The Golden Mount, in Bangkok. It's not a mountain and it's not quite a temple. I don't know, it just looks cool.

Little alley right outside my apartment. My apartment is the first door/window on the left. There is one cat (not in this shot) that has taken a couple of dumps in my plants.

Petchaburi Soi 5- my street.

My apartment.

This is Ko Chang at sunset from my bungalow.
By the waterfall in the middle of the island.
We rented "motocii".
My apartment.
I definetly could not touch every happiness here!
This is Ko Chang or "Elephant Island".

Thanks for checking this sh-...crap out. Have a good day. And remember keep fit and have fun.-Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod.

Update

2006-11-27T04:15:00.000-08:00

Im going to just rack my brain for what ive been doing...

Ok, I went to an island in the Gulf of Thailand, called Ko Chang. Translated- Elephant Island. I went with Christina (from Landmark, she came out to see Kyla). SHe just left today for Australia actually. On the island, we swam in the ocean, swam by a waterfall in crystal clear water and rented motocii! (photos coming soon) Back in Bangkok I saw a little poor kid take a dump right in front of my on a stair bridge crossing a road! Everyone puts tons of baby powder on after showers, by the way. I teach PRESCHOOL up untill GRADE 6! Crazy. There is three years of kindergarden here. I saw Casino Royale with all the teacher's assistants of my company. I also went bowling with them, and my boss won. Weird. Her name is Gai- which means Chicken. Others TA's names translated-Joy, Rain, King, Small, etc. Thai people all have nicknames, usually just some English word. Some of my student's names- Best, Gun, Ice, King, Boom, etc. It's quite funny. I've been "chilling" with Wes once in a while. That's really fun. I didn't know him too well in Canada.

By the way, I'm meeting up with Melodie in London for CHRISTMAS! Wicked awesome. How are you?

Oh, with me going to London and Kyla coming home for Christmas, that means Jonelle is all alone, so maybe, give her an email or a call or something.

It takes a long time to put pics on here and i don't have my own comp so forgive me.

Gifts

2006-11-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

What do all of my loved ones want for Christmas? TELL ME!!

God bless

STILLS

2006-10-25T03:13:00.000-07:00

1. me on roof of apartment. haha.
2. one of Clare Friesen's crews working on a villa in Phuket.
3. BangTao Bungalow Resort, where i stayed in Phuket.
4. Tower I can see from my apartment roof. On it it says,"Drink, don't drive."
5. Siam Paragon, one of the beautiful malls in Bangkok. Over the top!
6. View of Phuket
7. Victory Monument in Bangkok
8. A "Crank" poster (for Jason)
9. Ocean view of Phuket

God bless

YEAR 2549

2006-10-22T01:13:00.000-07:00

- a lot of Buddhists have a mentality of live and let live. So a lot of problems are ignored(ie. the rat problem).
-dogs everywhere.
-the malls here are massive and expensive and beautiful.
- quote from Wes " it's a 3rd world nation with a 1st world mask." It's true.
-TRAFFIC- 10kms in 1hour in rush hour...on expressways.
-Thais put tons of hot sauces and ketchup on Western food to mask the taste.
-educated Thais usually make less than English teachers. Even though they have a degree and they work twice or triple the hours.
-it's year 2549 according to the Buddhist calendar. Same date though.
-construction works make about $15.00 a day. Regular workers at 7-11 or something makes 60 cents an hour.
-can't burrow money. Everything is cash.
-Muslims didn't wear traditional clothes until after 9/11. At least in southern Thailand.
-Thais are extremely scared of ghosts. In the new international airport, their is tons of construction going on still and 5 female employees have been raped by some construction workers! No security guards because they are scared off ghosts in the airport!

Everything is so different here. Pretty much every aspect of life is opposite and upside down to us as Canadians. Western civilization is prospering so much only because God. Christian morals have such a strong affect on life. Cherish North America! Keep Christianity ALIVE!!

ps. Pray for Wade Kehler. You've probably all heard, but he was in a severe car accident and broke his leg and whatever. Bless him.

God bless you all.

a hard question

2006-10-13T03:07:00.000-07:00

Jay-Z is playing next week, here in Bangkok. Should I go?

Pictures...more

2006-10-11T04:53:00.000-07:00

My apartment. I think this is the best picture for my hair. I'll get a closeup soon, don't worry. Some pictures of Bangkok. Jonelle and friends having dinner. Temples, monuments, etc...

God bless you

Pictures...finally

2006-10-11T04:30:00.000-07:00

All these pictures were taken in Bang Saen. It's about 2 hours south of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The people in the picture are Jonelle, Oat, Jane, Noon, Som, A, Gam and I. The 3 pictures at the bottom were taken at a Buddhist museum. The first represents heaven and the last two represent hell. It scared the crap out of Jonelle and I. There were a lot worse statues for all the different types of sins...

In the Buddhist faith, all you need to do is be a good person to get to heaven. I don't know about you, but I need more assurance than that.

God bless

Petchaburi Soi(Street) Jet(7)

2006-10-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

You see the title up there...well that's MY ADDRESS!!!! Not Jonelle's, not Kyla's, my own address!! Couple of days ago i rented an apartment. It is in Jonelle's building. It's so sweet, so beautiful. She moves like a breeze. Like a queen on her trone. Sorry, Jonelle and I have been singing that Aischa song so much. The apartment is about 18 feet by 10 and a half feet, plus bathroom-6 feet by 5 and a half. Small!
I've been going to tutoring with Jonelle. She tutors 2 teenage boys, Grit and Green! One night them and me (no Jonelle) went to the night market. It was so hard to communicate, but it was a great challenge. Hey Braveheart fans and the Buttermilk 5...I've been teaching people the Braveheart hand shake! Anyways, I've boughten a lot of clothes here. The fashion is way better than North American fashion and so much cheaper!
3 days ago Jonelle and I went to a massive Buddhist temple. Their was this "lying down" Buddha (biggest in SE Asia) in one room. Then me went to Bangkok's CHinatown- biggest in the world. So many people, such small spaces, so many shoes, so many watches...so I bought one...a gold one! Then we went in this other huge temple with these kids and then we went in their school right beside the temple. The kids said i looked like Beckham. Sweet! Everyone loves England here. Especially Manchester United.
Everyday Jonelle and I watch at least two episodes of "Lost". We are hooked. Jason, you were right, it is by far the best tv drama show of all time! Anyways, I've been meeting Jonelle and her boyfriend, Oat's friends. Joe, Nim, Joy, Miw, Noon, Jane, A, Som and Gam. I went with some of these people to various restaurants and yesterday, to Bang Saen. Coast town on the Sea of Thailand. Just south of Thailand. I didn't feel too good because I'm adjusting to the food, but we went swimming and we went on a banana boat,etc.
Get this. Here are some prices that will make you jealous. I bought a tv, tv stand, dvd player, speakers, hangers, garbage can, sheets, pillow and book shelf for about 1000, 1100 baht($ 40). I put a downpayment on my apartment and rent for a month-9600 baht($300). By the way, I was offered a job with Jonelle's company! So I'll probably start working at a school in Bangkok next month!! I'm going to check out the job today...

God bless you all.

ps. I saw this Buddhist museum with Buddhist heaven and hell. Kind of freaked the crap outta me.
ps.s. Please post comment about your life.

Culture Shock

2006-10-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

It's a different culture out here:

-you rarely make food, out here, you buy it at various vendors.
-there are markets everywhere...mall parking lots.
-malls are beautiful and huge and sometimes extremely expensive. You go in malls to show that you are rich
-the cars are all very new and very nice
-getting a ride on a motorcycle(motocii), you can't hold on.
-Thai people shower at least twice a day. They also put baby powder all over themselves after every shower.
-their are about 1 million tourists in Bangkok at a time.
-Thai guys give girlfriends/wives every paycheque they earn. Then the woman decides what to do with it. This is to show the girl that he has no other girlfriends on the side.
-I can hear the Mosque down my street playing the prayer chants. Weird.
-Thai people much rather give then receive. All of them, so far.
-3 seasons in Thailand: rainy(right now), hot, and cold(+25 Celcius)
-bootleg copies of everything seem to be more readily available then normal copies.
-not a single Thai person I've met can pronounce "r"s. Therefore my name is no longer Eric, it is Elic.

Good night and good luck.

Stills

2006-10-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

I DON'T HAVE A DIGITAL CAMERA. JONELLE HAS ONE BUT SHE DOESN'T HAVE A MEMORY CARD AT THE MOMENT. PICS ARE COMING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!

Culture

2006-10-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

In Thai culture men give every single paycheque they earn to their girlfriends/wives. Every single one! She can keep all of it or give some back! To be honest, I prefer the Canadian way.

Thailand

2006-10-02T03:20:00.000-07:00

yes I'm in Thailand. I'm hanging out with Jonelle. Kyla, Christina(from Landmark) and Scotty Penner! were here too but they just went to Cambodia. This place is so so different.
I bought an Engrish shirt! it says, "Go along forcefully, Full Power Life" it also has a huge handgun on it! Best purchase I've made in years. I also get a Thai haircut, maybe I can send pictures, but I doubt it I don't have a digital camera. So it's a very Asian mohawk. Seriously. It's kind of cool and kind of hideous at the same time.
Travelling to Asia? Take Japan Airways. So good, about 10 movies playing on your own screen and video games!