Breaking News - Population of Sleepy German Village Jumped by Almost 2%

I arrived in St Helena! It is a tiny village set on a hill within a valley. The view is nice in all directions, with mountains in the background. The village itself is also very charming.


This is the bakery and my new home. It's in the centre of the village, right across from the church. Incidentially, there's been a church in the same spot since the 1400s.


The neighbourhood kids gave me a warm welcome.


Being usually a light packer, I was slightly embrassed to show up with all these bags. This is my penthouse apartment (aka attic flat) for the year. After living 2 years on the ship sharing a narrow cabin with 3 other guys, this is luxury! I don't know what to do with all that space. Also, the flat is right above the bakery. So my commute to work is even shorter than when I was on the ship. I didn't think that was possible. Just walk down 2 flights of stairs, and I'm in the bakery. Perfect for those 2am starts.


St Helena - the village with a crane (from the saw mill) and steeple (not every village has their own church. This church serves the surrounding villages. So St Helena is the place to be on Sundays.)

24 hours in Erfurt

As alluded to in my previous post, I made a short trip to Erfurt. Here are some pictures from this pretty historical city.


The main city square is dominated by these two towering churches.


I don't know what this museum's about, but was afraid to go in. :) Actually, Anger is the name of the street this building is on, and may well be the name of the neighbourhood as well. So this could be a history museum of some sort. Wish my German is better.


Nice park benches


Various characters from a popular local children's TV show are installed all over the city. Apparently this bread loaf is the main character.


Pretty street with old houses and shops on both sides . . .


and it's a bridge as well! I was told this is the longest bridge street in Europe.

Erfurt is a really pretty city. Martin Luther also spent a lot of time here and in the surrounding area. Unfortunately I didn't have time to visit any of those places. Next time . . .

When East is North

Today, I left Munich, travelled almost 400km to the north, and arrived at the former East German city of Erfurt. However, before I talk anymore about Erfurt, here are some pictoral recap of my past few days in Germany.

OK, this was still in Canada, a little get-together with my engineering school friends. Question: How many engineers does it take to split the dinner bill? Answer: Who cares. I love these guys. I was so glad to see them again before leaving for Germany. But still, this is a funny picture.

A little Mercy Ships reunion in Munich. It was so nice to see familiar faces on my first day in Germany.

German Museum in Munich. I was blown away by the high quality exhibits there, from 4th century water mill to 21th century paper mill, the models were exceptionally well done.

I visited the BMW factory and saw how they turned a roll of sheet metal into a $70,000 sport car. It was amazing to see all those robots in action. As you can tell, Munich really appealed to the engineering side of me.

I had a quick stop in Nürnberg today, on my way to Erfurt. It's a really pretty city about 1.5 hours north of Munich, and about 45 minutes southwest from my village. Since this is the closest city to me, I will be coming here fairly often. I look forward to exploring more of Nürnberg. That golden structure is a water fountain built in the 1300s. Why don't we have water fountains like that in North America?

Guten Tag from Deutschland!

Hello dear readers, I send you warm greetings from freezing Munich!

I arrived 2 days ago, and am staying with friends from the ship. So far I have walked around downtown Munich, sampled German cakes and beers, and visited the Dauhau concentration camp, a very sad place and sobering reminder of how evil man can be. I plan on visiting a few more tourist attractions in the next two days, including the BMW factory! Very exciting. This weekend, I'll go to the village, and will start work next Monday.

Some of my first impressions of Munich:

• it's freezing cold here
  
• lots of people commute by bicycle, even in the cold
• most of the shops close at 8pm on weeknights, and are closed on Sundays
• there are bakeries everywhere
• unlike most other European cities I've visited, most of Munich was destroyed during WWII. As a result, there aren't too many old buildings left in Munich. Pity.

Finally, here's a picture of me in front of Marienplatz, Munich's city hall. Notice anything different about me? :)

Goodbye Mercy Ships, Hallo Deutschland!

My time with Mercy Ships came to an end, and once again, I am in a time of transition.

The past two years has been incredible, filled with ups and downs, exhilarating experiences and painful realizations. I stopped counting how many loaves of bread I baked, but it's lots. I hope not to have to use a loaf pan for some time. I met plenty plenty people, both on the ship and off the ship, and made some really good friends from around the world.

Some memorable moments from 2009:

• getting chickenpox
• bargaining at the local market with African women in Mandarin
• riding a camel
• eating deep fried grasshoppers, think of it as African popcorn
  
• seeing an opera for the first time, at the Royal Opera House in London, for free!
  

God blessed me abundantly, and I am so grateful for this wonderful experience.

For the past month, I've been home, visiting families and friends, speaking at churches, and getting ready for my next adventure: Germany.

I want to refine my baking skills and learn some new techniques, and what better way to do that than to live and work in a place with a long history and tradition of baking? Through a friend from the ship, I found a job at a small bakery in a small village in southern Germany. I am super excited about this opportunity, and look forward to new adventures in the coming year.

3 Mois au Benin

I’ve been in Cotonou, Benin for 3 months now, and want to share with you some impressions of this country. Benin was a former French colony, and is considered to be the most stable country in West Africa. It is definitely more developed than Liberia. The roads are in much better conditions, goods and supplies are much more readily available. The traffic, however, is insane. The main mode of public transportation in the cities is motorcycles/mopeds called zemidjahns. There are estimated 80,000 zemis in Cotonou alone. Not only is the air heavily polluted, these zemis drivers are aggressive. They would pass on the left, on the right, on the pavement, on the wrong side of the road. As long as there’s an opening, they’ll take it. I much rather deal with potholes in Liberia than the zemis here, because potholes don’t move!

I had the chance to go on a few trips around the country. Click on each location to see more pictures.

Ganvie – a village built on stilts in the middle of a shallow lake. I have mixed feelings about visiting this place. It is interesting to see a completely different way of life, but I feel we’re invading their community. Boatloads of yovos (white people) going up to the front of their houses, taking pictures like they are animals in a zoo. I think it can be done with more sensitivity and respect.



Ouidah – a former slave port, point of no return for many Africans. I find it ironic there’s a chapel in the slave fort. How can the slave traders have peace with God in their hearts? There are also many voodoo statues in the town and along the roads.



Nikki – a friend and I attended the annual festival of Nikki, which honours the King of Nikki and features horses of Benin and neighbouring Nigeria. It was a stunning visual smorgasbord of colour. Never being someone who cares much about clothes, I was completely absorbed by the amazing display of costumes, make-up, jewelleries, and colours of the different tribes. It was a fascinating experience, much worth the equally unforgettable journey to and from Nikki. 6 hours of cheesy African music videos and soap operas in a partially air conditioned bus, followed by 2 1/2 hours of bumpy ride in a dilapidated 5 seat sedan with 10 of my newest friends. Granted there were a few kids there, but still, 4 adults in the front row. I was just glad I wasn’t the guy who has to straddle the stick shift. The car’s transmission isn’t the smoothest, especially going from 3rd to 4th. I cringe everytime I see the driver forcing the stick into 4th, his hand inches (probably less than an inch) from my neighbour’s most sensitive part. Aiya! The amazing pictures were all taken by my professional photographer friend.



Possotome – A quaint village on the shore of a beautiful lake, it is also the site of several natural springs and a water bottling plant of the same name. Reminds me a little of Evian on Lac Geneve. I took a boat tour on the lake and learnt how to cast fishing net. That was a fun time.

Rite of Passage

2 weeks ago, I began to develop flu-like symptoms. 2 days later, to my horror, I discovered red spots all over my body. I had chickenpox. For the next 2 weeks, I was in isolation. I was in a very nice guest cabin, with 4 big windows overlooking the harbour. I spent a lot of time with God, reading the Bible, praying, listening to sermons. It was a sweet time of fellowship. I also enjoyed watching the cargo ships coming in and out of the port, and did some sudoku. It was an unexpected but much needed 2 weeks of spiritual revival, my one and only Polka Dot Spiritual Retreat.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Me

This past Thursday marked my 3rd year as a Christian. I never thought I would become a Christian, and I am amazed at what God has done with my life thus far. I am excited at what God has in store for me in the future.

Filling in the Gap

It's been a while since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened since then . . .



Baked almost 20,000 loaves of sandwich bread, plus rolls, specialty breads, cakes, cookies, truffles, pastries, and the occasional showpieces.



Ministered at Monrovia Central Prison, and later at Victory Outreach Halfway House for Men. This had been a powerful spiritual experience for me. God was ministering to me as much as I was ministering to the men. I will always remember the razor wire fences, the cramped and dark cells, the chalkboard in the warden's office with an ever increasing prisoner count, the smiles on their faces when they see us coming, the desperate cries to God for deliverance and the joyful shouts of praise.





Explored parts of Liberia, Tenerife, mainland Spain, and now, Benin.

Failed to climb the highest mountain in Liberia. Climbed the highest mountain in Spain.

Slept in an army camp, gave baking classes at an embassy.



Through all my adventures and misadventures, I am learning more and more about myself and the God I serve. I am excited to see where God will lead me in Benin and beyond.

Beginning of a New Outreach - Benin 2009

Nous sommes arrivés! We are now in Cotonou, Benin, in West Africa.