Ice Breaker – World Traveler

Most weeks on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question on Fridays. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

Question:  What countries have you visited?

My Answer:  Outside of the United States, here are the countries I have visited:

• Canada
• France
• England (only on stop-overs to and from France)
• Guatemala

Writing this list, I realize I have so much more of the world to see.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.)  And keep Stretching!

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Ten Things To Pack On Your International Short-Term Missions Trip

It’s time for me to start packing for our trip to Guatemala.  We can take up to 50 pounds in our suitcases.  We must plan appropriately to make sure we are bringing the necessary items.  Here is a list of things you should consider if you are traveling internationally for a short-term missions trip:

10 Things To Pack On Your International Short-Term Missions Trip

1. Long pants or long dresses.  Short shorts are not the norm in most of the world.  In fact, uncovered upper legs are quite offensive in most cultures.  We will be wearing pants and long shorts, and the girls will also be wearing long dresses and capris.  If you are traveling overseas, make sure you dress appropriately.
2. Clothes to leave behind.  The past two years, I have come home with less than half of the clothing I brought.  I can always get more t-shirts and shoes at home in America.  My shirts and shoes are treasured possessions for our friends in Guatemala.  If you are planning to go to a third world country, plan to come home with lighter or fewer suitcases.
3. Camera.  You don’t have to or want to bring an expensive camera, but you want to bring something to capture the faces and places you will be visiting. Our pictures from last summer of some of my most prize “possessions.”  I treasure the beautiful people and memories represented through these pictures.  (Plan to leave many of the other devices at home.  For one, you probably won’t have access to internet.  Secondly, our devices could cause us to stick out like a sore thumb to a pick-pocket or thief.)
4. Snacks.  You will want to try some of the food in the foreign land you are visiting, but there are times when you need a little snack or just a taste of home.  Pack granola bars, nuts, gum, or trail mix just in case.  These will come in handy when you are in the middle of a busy day far away from safe food and water.
5. Water bottle.  We drank a lot of bottled water during our trip last year.  This water was safe to drink, and it kept us hydrated during our travels.  Make sure your water source is safe before you drink it.  Once you find a safe water source, be sure to fill your water bottle as often as possible.
6. Rain gear and light weight jackets.  It is the rainy season in Guatemala while we are there, and it also gets cool at night.  Rain gear will help you stay dry during the random rain showers, and a jacket or sweatshirt will keep you warm in the cool evenings.  People often think we will be really hot in Guatemala, but we will actually be hanging out at 7,500 feet above sea level.  It’s much cooler at this elevation.  Find out what the weather is like where you are traveling, so you can plan and dress appropriately.
7. Hand sanitizer.  I can’t guarantee there will be soap and water around when you get dirty.  Make sure you have some type of hand cleaner on hand just in case.  You’ll need it.
8. Bible and journal.  I would probably recommend a small travel Bible to safe space.  You will want this while you are in the mission field.  God will speak to you in amazing ways, and His Word should be an important part of your listening.  You will also want to have a journal so you can capture your thoughts along the way.
9. Spending money.  Don’t go overboard here.  You don’t need a lot of money.  You can exchange it at the airport or at a local bank.  You need just enough for snacks, a few souvenirs, and a small gift for your hosts.  We brought $100 per person which seemed to be the right about for a week-long trip.  I would guess that we spend most of this on souvenirs for those at home and for a gift to our host family.  Carrying around lots of money is a recipe for trouble.
10. Cipro. Cipro is short for a longer pharmaceutical name.  This medicine is crucial for traveling overseas to third world countries.  Despite your best efforts, you will most likely be exposed to bacteria and germs your body is not used to having around.  Travel diarrhea is not fun.  In fact, it can be pretty hard on your body.  Make sure you have Cipro around just in case.  (Malaria is not a problem where we are going, but this is something you should be aware of depending on what part of the world you are visiting.  Depending on where you are heading in Guatemala, you may or may not need to take medicine for malaria.  Malaria medication typically must be taken before, during, and after your trip, so plan ahead.)

One more thing:  Don’t forget your passport!  You might need this to get into and out of a country.

What am I missing?  What questions to you have about packing for an international short-term missions trip?  What else would you want to bring on your trip?

Top 10 Things NOT To Do On An Airplane

With the terrorism on airplanes over the past several years and the heightened security, air travel has become less enjoyable.  Following our recent trip to Dallas, TX, I was thinking of a more humorous list of things NOT to do on an airplane.  Here’s what I came up with:

1.  Get up to go to the bathroom as soon as the plane takes off.  (Don’t you know that the fasten seat belt light is still on?)

2.  Ring the call button every ten minutes.

3.  When the flight attendant comes to check on you point to someone else in your row.  (“I didn’t press the button.”)

4.  Yell “Quiet” or “Shut Up” whenever you hear a baby crying.

5.  Aisle bowling.  (Wouldn’t this be fun though?)

6.  Stand up and shout, “Chinese Fire Drill!”

7.  Clog the toilet in the airplane bathroom.

8.  Move your seat back and forth over and over again.

9.  Order a drink that is not in the list of available beverages.  (“Can I have a decaf caramel latte?”)

10.  Pretend you’re Alec Baldwin and refuse to stop playing Words with Friends after the warning to put away all electronic devices.  (This is a fast way to be removed from the plane.)

I’m sure you have some more items that could be added to the list.  Share them here!

Ice Breaker – Leaving On A Jet Plane

It’s that time of the week again…time for an ice breaker question!  Last night, I flew home from the Chicago area where I was away on business most of the week.  Today’s question is about flying.  For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak.  I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think.  So for today, I’m excited to throw out another simple ice breaker question.  I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn.  Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy.  Thanks!

Question:  Do you like to fly?  Why or why not?  When was the last time you took a plane to travel somewhere?  Where did you go?

My Answer:  Here you go….

I kind of answered part of this question already, but I’ll give you a little more detail.  Actually, I like to fly.  I am amazed at the brain power and inventive thought that goes into flying.  Think about it – several tons of metal, luggage, and people traveling 30,000 feet above the earth at amazing speeds.  It doesn’t sound possible when you think about it like this.

As I mentioned in the introduction, I flew this week to and from Chicago on a business trip.  The trip was good for learning about a new company initiative and helping to set the standard for applying this new initiative across our business.  But the trip was great for other reasons.  I was born in the Chicago area, and I lived there until I was eight.  I have family that still lives there.  I had the chance to spend an evening with my Grandma and my aunt and uncle.  I also spent and evening with my brother and his family.  What a blessing to merge business and family.

(By the way, thank you to Diane, Chad, and Kevin for filling in while I was away.  If you missed them, please go back the last three days and read their contributions to the Stretched community!)

So there you have it, my answer to the question.  Now it’s your turn….I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say!

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I Need A Break

Have you ever come to a point where you know you need a few days off?

The time has come for me.  I’m taking a couple of days off from work, and I’m heading to NYC with my family for some time away together.  The Stretched blog will continue, so don’t go away.  It should be great to have some rest and recharge for the final sprint to the end of 2011.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

So seriously, do you need a break?  When will you stop to take a breath?

It’s The People – Back From Grove City College Homecoming

We just returned from a spectacular weekend at Grove City College.  The weather was uncharacteristically perfect – sunny with few clouds.  The campus was beautiful.  We continue to be blown away by all the enhancements and new buildings that keep popping up each time we visit.  The campus just keeps improving.  The homecoming festivities were traditionally fun.  We marched in the parade through campus and downtown Grove City with Leanne’s classmates.  We enjoyed a reunion luncheon.  And listened to the marching band march towards the football field during their pre-game ritual.  It was fun to give our kids a tour of all the places on campus that we remembered and that were new.  (Honestly, there was a bit more of a sales pitch going on this year than in other years.)  It’s hard to believe that our oldest is five years away from college.  (Did I just type that?!?)

All these things were great about our visit to Grove City College.  But the best thing by far was visiting with friends.  I got to visit with my friend, “Hack”, who roomed with me for two years and was the best man in our wedding.  Our time was short, but it was like old times as we shared some of our college days memories and caught up on some of the recent happenings of our families.  We also spent a lot of time with Leanne’s friends and their families.  In the 15 years since they graduated, Leanne’s friends have been keeping in touch through a monthly newsletter and through a once or twice a year get together.  The husbands of these ladies have become friends as well.  I absolutely enjoyed catching up these men.  And our kids had a blast hanging out together.

So while we enjoyed see Grove City College and its beautiful campus, the best part was the people.  Friendships of this quality and type are worth remembering and are worth celebrating.  I think the memories and the common Grove City ground help to bond these friendships, but I think it’s faith and the common bond of Christ that really has cemented many of these friendships that were formed more than 15 years ago.

As we finished up our time with Leanne’s friends at the hotel.  We cleaned up after breakfast, and we joined together in a small worship service.  We sang a few songs to the accompaniment of two guitars and a cello.  The kids participated in an activity designed to keep them preoccupied but also to help them think about how God is growing and shaping them.  And we finished with prayer together.  It was during this service that I realized how important our Grove City College friendships really were.  It was these friends who last year prayed every day at 1PM for Leanne and our family as we journeyed through some very difficult waters.  It was these friends who prayed yesterday and thanked God for healing.  It’s a wonderful thing to know that people have your back.  This is why I love Grove City College and why it was such a blessing to go back this weekend!

Do you go to your college homecoming?  How do you keep in touch with your friends from back in the day?

New Traditions

Here we are at the top of Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Canada after an hour and a half hike back in August.  If it looks cold and cloudy to you, you are correct.  We actually hiked into the clouds, and the temperature dropped noticeably as we made are ascent to the top.  As we journeyed up the mountain, our kids repeatedly spoke of a new family tradition.  You see, last summer, we hiked to the top of Sterling Mountain and Madonna Mountain when we were on vacation in Vermont.  So two years in a row must make a tradition.

Family traditions like this can have a huge positive impact on our families.  Traditions create fun expectations for everyone in the family.  For example, my family always anticipates putting up the Christmas tree and listening to each other share stories as they hang up Christmas ornaments that have special significance.  We also look forward to certain meals that have some tradition and family history tied to them.  For example, I love to make, serve, and eat the Swedish Christmas meal.  It brings back so many sweet memories of my grandparents, cousins, and parents.

This year as we rode the cable car down to the bottom of Mont Tremblant (yes, we cheated), our kids were already scheming and asking about where we could go next year on vacation that has a mountain we can climb.  Despite the fatigue of climbing, I shared their excitement for continuing our new family tradition next year.

What traditions do you keep?  Why?  What is the special significance of these traditions?

Vacation Church – My Sunday Quebec Experience

As you may have known or guessed, our family was on vacation last week.  We took off for a week to enjoy the great outdoors and the French Canadian culture in Quebec, Canada.  We spent most of our time in and around the small ski town of Mont-Tremblant.  It was gorgeous and a wonderful break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life here in the Stolpe home.  The Sunday we were there, we visited the only church in town, L’Eglise Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Church).  The church is a small Roman Catholic church that overlooks Lac Mercier.  Here are some of my thoughts from our visit:

It was very interesting to be in a French-speaking church and to be in a catholic church.  In some regards, it makes me appreciate my own church all that much more.

On the other hand, it was encouraging to see the devotion of those who regularly worship in this setting.  A few other observations:

1.  Besides the passing of the peace, we were not greeted by a single person.  Nobody said, “Bon jour.”  Nobody said, “Hello.”  Nobody said anything.  If you belong to a church, you should be friendly.  Stop and say hello to those you don’t recognize.

2.  We need to speak the language of those around us who don’t have a church home.  Putting aside the French language and the differences in doctrine, would I or anyone else understand what was going on as part of this service?  Do we expect people to come into our churches and fall in line with the routines and traditions we keep?  Do we provide an explanation of our traditions, etc.?  Are we relevant to the community around us?

3.  The priest reminded me of (my wife’s) Uncle Dave’s brother, Tom.  I know this is trivial, but it’s just what I noticed.

4.  The French language is beautiful.  I have no idea what everyone was saying or singing, but it sounded nice.

5.  People think that church ends after communion.  I shouldn’t judge as I don’t know what these people had to do this day, but I observed many people slipping out of the church as soon as communion was over.  They didn’t stay around for the closing words.  They didn’t stay around for fellowship.  They left as quickly as they arrived.  Our involvement with church isn’t meant to be a task that must be checked off the list.  It’s meant to be our life.  We’re called to be in Christian community that transcends the Sunday service.  We’re called to be involved throughout the week, and we’re called to bring it into our communities.  This doesn’t happen in a 40 minute Sunday service.  This happens every minute of every day.

6.  I’m not real great at the kneeling thing.  Perhaps, I need to practice this more.  Getting on my knees before God is a discipline of trusting God and of putting Him first.

I realize these thoughts are somewhat random, but I thought you’d enjoy hearing how I was stretched on vacation.

Where do you go to church when you’re on vacation?  What have you learned from your vacation church experiences?

Guess Who I Am

This past week, I took a few days off from work to celebrate the start of our kids summer vacation and the end to a remarkable school year for both of them.  We took a couple of days to go camping at French Creek State Park.  It had been a few years since we have camped with just the four of us (plus the dog).  And we really had a great time – spending time together and making many new memories.

One of the memories that I will have of this trip was a game that Hannah and Isaac came up with around the campfire.  I’m guessing that they learned this game at one of their camping experiences last year.  I’m not sure of the exact name of the game, but I think it should be called “Guess Who I Am.”  In this game, the kids wrote down words that represented something on our camping trip.  These words word were then taped to our foreheads so we couldn’t see them.  Our goal was to ask questions in order to figure out what was on our paper.

It was hilarious to listen to the questions and answers as we went around the fire trying to guess who we were.  For the first round, I was a chair.  At one point, I became our newest dutch oven recipe – Hot Dog Pot Pie.  Needless to say, we had some great family time together.  My guess is that this will become a regular campfire game for our family.

Do you go camping?  What do your campfire activities look like?  What other things do you do to create family memories?

Making Memories With Our Kids

Okay, I’m a proud dad.  I realize that I already posted this picture to facebook a week or two ago, but I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to brag again about my kiddos.  I took this picture while on the ferry between Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty on President’s Day.  We really had a great time together as we journeyed up to North Jersey.  The trip was timed perfectly for what Hannah was learning in school.

I had never been to Ellis Island, so it was new territory for me.  You could easily spend a couple of days there.  We spent four hours or so.  There is so much to learn and see.  It was amazing to imagine being one of the twelve million immigrants who came through Ellis Island in the pursuit of making America their new home.  Getting off a boat after several weeks and stepping in line to wait my turn to find out if I would be accepted or rejected.

I’ve been to the Statue of Liberty before, but it was really cool to show it off to our kids.  Things have changed a bit since I was there pre-September 11th.  We had to go through a couple of security checks just to enter the pedestal.  We only made it up to the top of the pedestal as the stairwell to the crown was limited to a few select ticket holders.  It was still worth it though.  We had an opportunity to look back on Ellis Island and then to look across the harbor to the New York City skyline – forever changed by the events of 9/11.

Our kids really seemed to appreciate this adventure and the lessons from history.  We enjoyed making memories for our family that will last a lifetime.  Maybe next time, we’ll venture into the city to catch a show on Broadway, to visit Ground Zero, and to walk through Central Park, but for now I’m thankful for the time with my family.  Our kids are growing so quickly, and our opportunity to influence and to make a lasting positive impact on them as they are under our care will pass like a blink of the eye.  We want to make a difference in our parenting.  We want to pass along a legacy that they can carry to their kids (just like our parents have done for us).

What are you doing to create memories with your kids?  How will they remember the time they spent with their family?

I can’t wait for our next family adventure!