an inch is as good as a mile...

that old adage proves true many times a day for me as i walk along the narrow streets next to buses, trucks, cars, scooters, other pedestrians, bicyclists, and dogs, all sort of bobbing in and out of one another's way as if dancing to some tune only distinguishable by the finely tuned chinese ear. i was wondering how long it would take until i found myself in a stand off (or worse). it happened today when i was leaving church. i looked both ways, walked slowly out into the pedestrian crosswalk (these are invisible to the drivers of any motorized vehicle), and from my left and behind me, a little old man (with a wife beater on) driving an old motorcycle slowly drove right for me. we both stopped at the same time just a couple of inches apart, me with a look of exasperation on my face, i'm sure, and him with a big smile on his face, the look of recognition that he had not timed that very well. no one was hurt, i kept walking and had a smile on my face before i got to the other side of the street. just thinking about the old guy on that bike still makes me laugh a little.

so, pray for me. not just for my safety, but also because i began ministering in a new setting today. i led worship for the congregation where i've gone the last three sundays. i had a singing group of five plus me (only one guy), and a band of four (an electric, an acoustic, a bass and a drummer). i sensed the presence of God early on in worship, so God was, as always, faithful and i am thankful that His presence is not determined by my level of familiarity in any one situation. we rehearsed after lunch as we will be doing for the next few weeks to see how it goes with everyones schedules, and that went reasonably well. can't help but feel like the new kid on the block. they are mostly high school students who are bi-cultural. chinese in ethnicity, but american in speech and attitude. ("we were like, and they were like, and i was like..." if you know what i mean.) even though they are young, they want and need leadership, and they know it. however, many times today i heard, "that's not how we do that." so i will need patience and discernment to be effective here i think.

here are a couple of pics from my church. we meet in the basement of an eight floor church building. the picture is of last weeks service, the new pastor, rocky bronson (love that name) from michigan, is praying, and the worship team is on the platform. the other picture was taken today from the eighth floor after rehearsal, and yes, there are about 100 scooters parked on the street, only one section of about five that look exactly the same on this street.

see you next time.