This is Rich

Now blogging at ValpoRev.com

Rich — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:04:11 +0000

Hi, all! I started this blog to keep in touch with folks back home while away on various trips. But I proved to be pretty lousy at keeping up with it once I got home, didn’t I?

So… I’m putting this blog on pause, perhaps indefinitely. I’ve started connecting with friends old and new over on Facebook and updating people on Twitter, too. And for things that are too public for Facebook and too long for Twitter, I’ve started blogging over at ValpoRev.com.

So don’t bother to watch this space anymore! But feel free to visit me over at ValpoRev.com!

Derik’s gone… but he’ll be back… then gone again…

Rich — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:32:06 +0000

I took Derik to the South Shore train station in Chesterton this week, where he hopped a train to Chicago, and from there to Philadelphia… It’s a long trip! I dropped him off just before 3:00 pm on Thursday, and he was scheduled to arrive in Philadelphia at 8:00 pm… on Friday! That’s 29 hours on trains. I don’t know how he does it!

Derik will be gone from Living Hope for 3 Sundays, while he travels around visiting family and friends, but he’ll be back on Sunday, December 14. That’s also the day he graduates from Valparaiso University’s masters program in Chinese studies. He’ll be moving back to the Seattle area a few days later, so the 14th is our last chance to worship with him before he’s outta here.

Congratulations, Derik, on completing your degree (soon)! And thank you for serving us at Living Hope by leading us in worship for the past year! We’ll miss you!

Anyone wanting to keep up with Derik should visit (and subscribe to) his blog: brond.blogspot.com. He does a much better job of updating his than I do mine!

Did you know…? I design websites.

Rich — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:49:39 +0000

I’ve been using computers since I was a kid. (First computer: Commodore 64.) I’ve been using the internet since before the web… way back in the days of 2400 bps modems and BBS’s… even before AOL!

Still, even though I’ve been using the internet forever, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I began designing and creating websites. When we started Living Hope, we created a website for it… but it wasn’t very good. Then Bill Klein designed a new one for us, and it was much better. And then I discovered WordPress. WordPress is free, open-source software that started out as blogging software and morphed into a platform for building just about any kind of website. I love it, because there are hundreds of free themes and plugins available, and it’s easy to update the website from anywhere. In fact, I hesitate to say that I “design” websites, because I always start with someone else’s design and make modifications from there (with permission).

So anyway, here are a few of the websites that I created and that are currently hosted by our church at Dreamhost.com. (By the way, if you’re looking for a webhosting company and are considering Dreamhost, use promo code LIVINGHOPE to receive $50 off your order… and we’ll get a referral bonus to help us with our hosting costs.)

www.livinghope.info - for Living Hope Community Church, the church that we started and I pastor
www.valpochurches.org - for the Valparaiso Christian Ministerial Association
www.sharefestpc.org - for ShareFest Porter County, an annual service event for all the churches in our county
www.indianachurchplanting.com - for people considering starting a new church in partnership with the Northwest Indiana District of the Church of the Nazarene
www.wvlp.org - for WVLP-LP 98.3 FM, Valparaiso’s low-power community radio station, where I volunteer on the morning show Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 7:00 to 8:00 am

And then there are a couple of blogs, this one that you’re reading and one for our church’s youth ministry, neither of which are updated very frequently. I’ve done other websites, too, that are no longer in use, and I’m in the process of developing others, but these are the only ones that are currently available online.

Some of these need some serious updating, like the first two in that list up there. I know. I’m working on ‘em.

I mention these here for a couple of reasons: (1) to let you know a little more about me, and (2) to invite comments and feedback. I love getting feedback. Sometimes I miss a typo or don’t realize that something that looks great in my browser looks like garbage in someone else’s. So feel free to share any thoughts, comments, or ideas with me. I’m open.

Labor Day at Wisconsin Dells

Rich — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:10:06 +0000

Stacey and I are spending our Labor Day in the Wisconsin Dells, where her parents live. It’s a great place to get away and relax. Thanks, John & Judy, for a wonderful time!

We’re home!

Rich — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:48:34 +0000

We made it! No flight delays, no traffic snarls, and we’d probably be asleep already, if Stacey weren’t so insistent on getting unpacked first!

Guatemala was great, but six weeks is a long time to be away from home! We’re glad to be back!

(That’s our bed with a bunch of suitcase stuff on it, in case you don’t know.)

We’re in Miami!

Rich — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:17:24 +0000

We’ve landed in Miami and are making our way through the airport to customs. One more flight, and we’re home!

Skipped school for a parade and graduated anyway

Rich — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:05:20 +0000

Today, Stacey and I didn’t spend much time at the school. Instead, we went with our teachers, Jorge & Miriam, to see the St. James Day parade. It was really interesting — mostly students from various schools, so lots of marching bands and kids in costumes. And at the end, St. James himself (kind of). I mostly recorded video, which I’ll eventually get up onto YouTube. But until then, here are some photos.

Oh yeah, and we graduated today, too. At Christian Spanish Academy, everybody “graduates” on their last day at the school. So every Friday, there’s a brief graduation ceremony during the 10:00-10:30 break. So, of course, we have pictures of that, too.

After the break, we took our teachers out for an early lunch at Chimino’s, the restaurant on the square where we ate breakfast during the half-marathon on Sunday. It was great. And we learned that you can buy gringas here in Guatemala! (Gringo and gringa are the words used for English-speaking foreigners in Latin American countries.) Apparently you can pick them up on the street pretty cheap.

Right now, I’m sitting in a cafe uploading these pics while Stacey is out in the park watching some marimba players. As soon as I’m done, I’ll be joining her. Then we pick up our laundry. Then dinner. Then packing. Then sleep.

Climbing the Cerro de la Cruz (again)

Rich — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:29:53 +0000

This morning, Stacey and I got up early and left the house around 5:40 for a walk/jog up to the Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross) with Andrea, one of our housemates. We climbed it with a group from our school on our first afternoon in Antigua (almost six weeks ago - crazy!), but the view was hindered by the rain that drifted in once we got to the top. We got soaked walking home that day!

But this morning was beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. And we got back in time to shower, eat breakfast, and get to school on time. This has been a fantastic last day so far. More coming in the next post…

Only one day left…

Rich — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:51:04 +0000

We’re down to the last couple days now… Or less, really. The shuttle is picking us up at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday to get us to Guatemala City for our 9:50 flight. We’ll land in Miami at 2:20 p.m. and take off again at 4:00, landing in Chicago at 6:15, where my parents will pick us up for the drive back to Valparaiso. That’s if everything goes as planned, of course. Unlike the trip here!

Today, Stacey passed her Grade E Spanish exam. So she’s basically done, since there’s no time to get into Grade F. I’m at the end of the Grade E book, but I don’t have time to prepare for the exam. I’ve been 2-3 days behind Stacey this whole time, and I still am. If we were staying, I’d be taking the exam on Monday. But I’d rather come home!

Tomorrow is a holiday here in Antigua - St. James’ Day (or Día de Santiago here). St. James is the patron saint of this town, which in years past was called Santiago de los Caballeros (St. James of the Knights). Banks and lots of other businesses will be closed, but our language school will be in session. But Stacey and I are planning to go with our teachers to see a parade, come back for the graduation ceremony during the break, and then go for an early lunch. Sounds like a good school day, doesn’t it?

Tonight, we’re meeting Pastor Josue Lemus from the Nazarene Church and his girlfriend Nancy for dinner at her apartment. And, if we’re lucky, for a little Settlers of Catan.

If I have a chance, I’ll write again before we leave…

Sent from my iPhone

Rich — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:27:20 +0000

I just downloaded the new WordPress app for my iPhone and thought I’d give it a try.

Stacey’s using the laptop right now… finally! I was hogging it for a while there…

(We’re still in the & Cafe. But I think it finally stopped raining!)