New Year, New Location

As well as the possibility of a new physical location (more to follow), I have a new virtual location, which includes much more photos. Where I'll blog remains to be seen, but for great photos, check http://ca.360.yahoo.com/profile-U2QdVx8yaK5NdibY4NvI.

Happy New Year to all, best wishes for 007.

My return to Ontario (twice)

So, as promised - note there are no longer time-sensitive promises in my posts - random comments on various topics.

#1 - returning to Ontario after years overseas...
There is always the flood of relief at feeling totally in control of your surroundings, comfort with people and scenery reacting exactly as anticipated, and joy at discovering forgotten pleasures or indulging awaited ones. This return was, however, different, as it involved long term planning, and the possibility of permanance. (Well, the scond return did, the first was more like a regular visit.) I have spent 10 weeks now, reflecting on my future. The struggle is this - relief work is tiring, often unrewarding, very lonely, and thrilling to no end. Staying at home is more expensive, not so lonely, unrewarding, and boring to no end. I decided that as long as there was a dilemma with no clear solution, it was best to keep happy those who love me most, and stay near them. This pessimistic view of life at "home" has not made it easier.

On top of this, there is the expected, but never predictable shift in relationships that takes place when time and space separate the related. So, I miss my new friends, bonds forged in the fires of trial and hardship while overseas. My friends in Canada are no longer all in Canada, and are certainly at a different stage than when I left them, as they should be.

Perhaps the most obvious thing to others, but surprising to me, is the changes in me. I view Ontario, and my home towns and communities in a different light now, because I am a different man - more aware of my surroundings, colder and less receptive, certainly less naive and less interested in the lives of bystanders. I guess living in Asian metropolises desensitizes you a bit to the "unwashed masses". In general, I have spent my time working seven days almost every week in October and November, between two low-income jobs, because it's better than having nothing to do (although less lucrative than the latter option.)

That is my posted take on Ontarian life. Oh, and it's cold a lot here. I forgot how much I dislike cold.

3 months, 3 days, 3 continents

It has been 3 months and 3 days since my last post, and there's so much to say. For those of you I haven't visited in that time, I apologize, because there's not many I've missed. Future posts will cover Ontario on my return, Europe, UK, Ethan's wedding, high school reunions and the connected realization of age, my second Canadian return, reflections on Indonesia, and more. I also plan to connect some sort of photo page. For now, I am in Guelph again, I have a job at a local bistro, and I bought a car. Thanks to Katharina, Daniel, Bea for German accomodation, Christine for English accomodation and the Gilbrooks for a great dinner party, and to Anie and the RVA96 crew for a great reunion, and John for the car.

If you're still reading this, post a comment to say hi.

Chris

Winding Down

Well, I arrived back in Medan today after a few days in Penang, Malaysia. I have fallen in love with the charm of that island city, beautiful, quiet, relaxing and modern. This can be added to Singapore and Boston as places Chris would like to live.

It was good to get away for a few days, and say goodbye to some close friends I won't see again. It was also good to have days off for sleeping, because I was up so late watching soccer. Late matches start at 2 or 3 am here.

On Monday I go back to Nias for the last time - I will be leaving for good on July 4. It's starting to begin the end - I was at my last manager meeting today. I have my ticket in hand. I'm spending my last days in Medan this weekend. I might begin to miss it soon!

That's all for now.

Dearest Friends, another long period of time has passed, and with another holiday in Indonesia (it’s Pentacost), my office is quiet and I can write another post.

My eyes are better, although not quite right. I’m still not sure what the story is, but they’re really tired, and strained. After the last post, I was ready to go to Medan and get them checked when they cleared on Sunday and pain went away. I was able to spend some time with my replacements, who are currently working for another agency, and will come later at the end of June.

On Monday I received word that my good friend and country director Paul would be taking his leave immediately, and I flew out to Medan for his farewell on Tuesday, and to meet our regional director, who will be filling in. Also, David Chang, my boss from Vietnam arrived, he will, after his leave, be looking to move to Medan as assistant country director. This means he will focus on Aceh/Nias, and the head office will move to Jakarta to cover more of the country.

We had a staff retreat on Thursday to Sunday, and it was good to get together with other staff and see old friends, as well as hear some great motivation and training from our special guest speakers. The end of the retreat coincided with Tumpal’s R&R time, so he stayed in Medan, and I had a holiday for Memorial Day. As our project is moving well, we took the time to interact socially, and I showed him my favourite spots in Medan. Tumpal, who was raised there, decided that I know Medan better than him! (He moved away for school, and hasn’t lived there for some time.)

When I returned to Nias, it was with a new finance officer, Kristyn, and Rani the admin officer was ready for a break. So, Rani left last Friday for a week, leaving Kristyn, in fear and trepidation, alone with the boss. We had a great weekend relaxing at home, and she is (I think) less afraid of me.

The big news is that I am confirmed to leave Indonesia and end my contract on July 4, leaving just 29 days. With some holiday time due on Friday, and meetings scheduled in Medan, I have less than three weeks in the field, to effectively hand over the project. On Friday I will go to

Singapore to visit Duncan and his family, who are on holidays at home, and then we will be taking a 12 hour bus ride to Penang, Malaysia, to visit Paul and his family for a few days. This, of course, coincides with the opening of the World Cup, and a chance to watch matches at all hours, without work to interfere. 

For those who are interested, click on the link to the right to jump to my other blog, where I have posted a new question, sure to spark some interest, and maybe debate…

Blind as a Bat

Well, I started writing this post yesterday, and lost the whole thing in another computer crash. My ego is being tested, as I was so proud of my new laptop purchase.

A brief summary of this week, as I fear another crash:
Wednesday - played soccer for the club I coach and play for. We lost our final game of the tournament, forcing elimination. Close game, 1-0, disappointing. Also watched my team Arsenal lose to Barcelona in a very close 2-1 European Champion's League final ending at 4 am.

Thursday: woke up early to meet my replacement, and then flight delayed until afternoon. spent afternoon chatting about the project. went to shelter coordination mtg. and discovered our timber donor is closing their project in september, even though they started delivering wood 6 months late, so they expect us all to receive double the targeted amount each month until then. I need space for 2 acres of wood every month, and trucks to move it.

Friday: woke up in the middle of the night with burning eyes, photosensitive. spent morning briefing new manager (I hope they stay, they're still not confirmed), and spent the afternoon in bed. Pain in eyes kept waking me.

Saturday: this morning the pain is still there, I will go see the paramedic (our only medical staff available) to have a look in my eyes, I may have to fly to Medan for treatment. Doesn't seem to be infection, telltale signs not there, I suspect abrasion or allergic reaction. The second half of the couple that should replace me arrives this morning, so they are going to visit the project with Tumpal, my project coordinator, while I hide in the office and take painkillers. That's it for now! Chris

Late night rumblings

Well, sitting in the office at 11 pm, yet to go home, my stomach rumbles started shaking the desk, and then the office floor started rolling, and the door swung open, and I realized we were in the throes of an earthquake.
I've lost my fear of earthquakes, but not the sick in the stomach feeling they cause. This one was a 6.8 (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/usmuaw.php) that came in two phases, a rumble and then a shake. It was over in one minute, and I went back to work. At least it didn't wake me from sleep! This morning was my second medical evacuation for another NGO. Samaritan's Purse, in our partnership with Mission Aviation Fellowship, has become the main support for UN and NGO evacuations from Nias, as there is insufficient medical service, and insufficient plane service as well.

The excitement of the early morning ambulance ride, and the late night earthquake have done me in, and I'm going to bed.

About Time

So, six weeks plus. No excuses. Except massive virus attacks that required formatting four computers twice each, and mine three times; mobilization of our project, initiation of a brick making project, loss of two staff, hiring of new ones, and a bunch of things I don't want to talk about.

The status is this: alive, mostly healthy, coping with my project.

The project stats are this:

Months in progress: 6
Houses built: 3
Houses in progress this month: 40
Staff:182
Concrete blocks made each day: 1200
Cubic metres of timber in my warehouse: +/- 300
Tonnes of materials moved daily: 30 to 50
Number of km. on my motorcycle in 6 months: 6000
Km. on truck: 30,000
Time it takes to get to projet site: 1hr. 12 minutes
Distance to project site: 27 km.

The at home stats are this:
No. of bars of mobile signal at my house: 0
No. of channels of TV: 0
No. of meals involving seafood each day: 2
No. of meals I eat each day: 2
Kg. of coffee consumed per week in our office: 2
Kg. of sugar consumed per week in our office: 5
No of DVDs watched more than 4 times this year: 5
No. of games of chess played: 100
No. of games i've won: 2
No. of shoes destroyed by our puppy, Bobo: 10

So, in summary, I had a new manager come to help me run the base, and let me focus on start brick production. After one month he was reassigned to cover a shortage when family pulled another manager home, returning my staff to my totalitarian reign.

However, that month was enough to lift my head above the water, and see a raft. This month has been about learning to row, as I empower my staff to make decisions, and spend more time focused on individual weaknesses. We have restructured our logistics, to get a more smooth system, hired more field staff to expand our supervisory role, and built up our brick supply.

This month is the visits month, as our regional director visited at the start, and last week HR Manager. This week, my replacements, Paul and Periskila (like Priscilla) Brinks visit, as well as our Livelihood and microfinance manager Jenny, who will look at possibilities for supporting business initatives, and helping people support themselves financially. Finally, after a staff retreat next weekend, we will have a visit from the country director and new assistant country director, who was country director of Vietnam while I was there. It will be good to see David Chang and his wife Adele and their lovely kids again.

Now that things are settling, I will have less excuses, and work on more regular postings. I still expect to be in Canada by July 6.

Sunday, March 19

Yesterday, Saturday, the younger brother of a security guard was married. Actually, he was married Thursday, but they need two ceremonies here, one for each family. The first ceremony is at the bride’s house, and is a farewell party. The second, which we attended as guests of the groom, was a welcome and blessing party. There were several speeches, admonitions, and blessings, while the women of both families gathered in the house to counsel the newlywed girl. Then, we all ate a huge feast of traditional suckling pig. The bride price for this wedding was approx. $3000 US in cash, and then another $2000 in pigs and foodstuffs. I found out why at the wedding – as an honoured guest, I was given the choice parts of one pig. This means not only pork chops, but head, organs, tail. And I got to take it home if I couldn’t finish it! This was good, as I took it home, cut it up and gave most away to the staff.

This reminds me of another story – we were able to help a boy who was hit by a car and needed reconstructive surgery on his leg. After being hospitalized for two months, we finally took him home, to the joy of his family. He gave me his chicken as a thank you gift. Now, we have an extra mouth to feed. His may be the smallest, but it’s certainly the noisiest! When Paul came, he asked why we didn’t just get a dog…

Today was supposed to be the arrival of a much anticipated shipment from Medan – our sofa, dining table, water heater, and the block presses. Unfortunately, the boat was delayed, and will hopefully come tomorrow. Meanwhile, the UNHCR timber finally arrived, more than five months late. With the time for processing and unloading,. We may be able to get some wood on Thursday. I went down to the harbour yesterday to see the wood, and it looks so much better than what we’ve been using – straighter, drier, smoother, and better quality grain. I look forward to using it! Next weeks goals are to prepare our factory site and hire the staff, receive the shipment of timber, and finish our remaining 12 houses of those started. Tuesday the 28^th is the anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed Nias, and we have been asked to receive media at our project site, so that needs to be planned and prepared.

Saturday, March 18

Well, the ship did arrive, but could not get into the harbour, because there were too many other boats in line. Last Thursday the Country Director, Paul Gimson, came from Medan to tour the project. He likes the quality and finish of our houses, but we are so far behind. In honour of his arrival, we had a Housewarming for our new team house. This meant two days of furious labour by our staff: installing water (yeah!!!) for our house (where I’ve lived since the beginning of February), painting the walls, building furniture (I built an entertainment unit), and hiring a caterer. We invited the whole community to come for the ceremony, and almost 100 people showed up. It was not what I expected, as it became much more of a formal ceremony than an open house, but it was a good thing. The pastor of our local church came to give a blessing, the village leaders extended an open door policy to me and the staff, and the women of the community welcomed my female staff in a way I could never impact them. Paul was able to share the vision of SP here, and we committed to working together with our community to impact the greater community of Nias. Paul brought us a digital camera, so I have no excuse for not providing pictures.

Returning to Nias after the meeting motivated me, but also disheartened me as well – the houses are really moving along, but not all of them are started. We are finishing the 20 timber houses we started, and then starting over with the block houses. However, I can’t wait for all the timber ones to finish before we start the next phase. We have got a place for our block factory, and are working on staffing it. The problem is the delay in getting the presses from Jakarta. So, we started to make blocks with wooden molds. The construction of the molds and the preparation of the site was undertaken by our warehouse staff, which took them from their work planing all of the siding for our timber houses. Then, we had some generator problems and our planer had an electrical surge. Fortunately it’s under warranty, so we couriered it back to Medan, and now we wait for parts from Jakarta! The NGO we have contracted to build our windows and doors is moving their workshop, so will not be ready until next month, and we have to find a substitute supplier, or make them ourselves. Also, the timber supply on Nias is already so low, that we will order 100 planks and receive two, and the rest are on standby. The UNHCR first shipment should arrive at the end of the week.

March 14

Also during my trip to Medan, I ended my relationship with Dian. It has been two months, during which time we have seen each other four times, and telephone communication is very difficult. I have made the decision to return to Canada at the end of my contract, July 5, and we will likely only be able to see each other four more times before then. We remain friends, and send text messages when possible, and I still visit with her father and nephews here on Nias. As is typical of me, I mourned her loss by impulse shopping, and bought a laptop. For those computer nerds out there, check out the specs on the Acer Ferrari 4000, which I acquired for less than retail, of course. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1827539,00.asp

March - In like a Lion

Dear All,

It has been so long, and I think the best way for me to catch up is several short posts from where I last left off, nearing the end of February. Tumpal has indeed proven to be a real gift from God, and he shared with the staff one morning his call to work for SP, after a time of soul searching. He has successfully mobilized our beneficiaries to overcome the problem of finding carpenters. With the work of the logistics staff to procure enough materials, we finally got started in quickly constructing our first batch of houses. Tumpal is an engineer, which has proved helpful in modifying our house design to suit individual land issues, etc. For example, one house is wall-to-wall with the neighbours, and another is on a 15 degree grade. The big adaptation in March has been the realization that even if the UNHCR free wood does arrive, it will not be of sufficient quantity in time to keep on target. Rather than waiting longer, we have met with beneficiaries about building houses from cinder blocks. We then visited the shelter project in Meulaboh, Aceh, where SP is building 80 houses per month out of blocks that we make ourselves. I have ordered the block press machines, and we will start a similar production to build our own materials. This has the exciting ability to turn into a microfinance project, where we do a rent-to-own program with the presses, so that the staff we train can start their own business.

The middle of March came all too soon, and with it the monthly meeting in Medan. This meeting was really full, as we have several new staff. Doug Wilson, the manager for our shelter project in Meulaboh is leaving in April. Doug has been very busy lately, as our second shelter project in Panga is also managed by him, and he was the ad hoc base manager there as well. Finally, in February our base manager Meulaboh, Larry Vaughan, had heart surgery and returned to the US for convalescence. Doug is being replaced by three people! My good friend Duncan, who has been building schools in Panga, will manage the housing project as well, and take care of base management. Tim Hereford, a young newlywed, has arrived with his wife Abbey to manage the Meulaboh shelter project. Eric, a long time resident of Indonesia, will take over the base manager responsibilities in Meulaboh, and finally Steven, an MK who grew up in Indonesia will be moving to Nias in April, to help me with the base management responsibilities, freeing me to concentrate on building houses. I am really excited about this change, and the possibilities it brings for catching up in our project here. In short, Steven will be responsible for the staff house, warehouse, vehicles, and administration, while I will be responsible for the materials and construction of the houses.

Information left unsaid - my girlfriend

On January 9, I asked Mr. Ama Eka Gulo if I could visit his daughter. Dian and I met in Medan several months ago, through mutual friends, and have enjoyed getting to know each other. She is a medical school student in her last year. Originally from Nias, her father still leaves not to far from my work site, and I had an opportunity to meet the family when Dian went hone for the first time in almost a year, for Christmas. Here is a photo of Dian and my good friend Katharina, who went home to Germany at the end of February, after one year as our Finance Manager. Katharina and I worked together in Medan.

February in Review

February has been such a crazy month that I don’t even remember what the end of January was like. February 3 was Jacqueline’s last day, so her replacement Rani came down to Nias for three days to learn the job and see the project. Rani has been working for several months in another SP project, a woman’s vocational centre in Meulaboh, Aceh. This project is now being administered by a local charity foundation, and SP staff are being phased out of that operation. This presented a perfect transition for Rani and our Nias team. Shortly after Jacqueline and Rani left, I flew to Medan to help on a special logistics project. The head of Samaritan’s Purse, Frankln Graham, came to visit our projects after a festival in Manila, Phillipines. 125,000 people attended this festival, and approx. 7000 answered the altar call. As I am the only staff here from the last time Mr. Graham visited, shortly after the tsunami, I was asked to return to Medan for a few days and help with the logistic arrangements and coordination. The visit was short, but very successful. It was a great opportunity for our staff to meet the boss, and report on our projects successes. This story reminds me that in January we had a visitor from the US office as well. Ivan from the Communications Department came to do some follow up photos and stories. Immediately after Ivan’s visit to Nias (the next day) Katharina, our finance manager, came with Alcidea, her replacement starting in February, and stayed for the weekend.

February 13 was the time for the monthly manager’s meeting in Medan, so for the third weekend in row, I left Nias. This time, however, I stayed quite a bit longer. On the 14^th, Duncan and I traveled with Tarrigan, an Indonesian SP shelter staff from Banda Aceh office, to Timor Leste. This country was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, and after a long and costly struggle for freedom, gained its’ independence in 1999. We three, and shortly after that Paul, were sent to participate in the field trial of a new method of steel framed house construction that SP is investigating. The potential for quick-response emergency shelter is very exciting. Our time in Timor proved the product isn’t quite ready for the rigors of emergency response, but could possibly be modified to suit the need for rapid construction of thousands of temporary and then permanent houses. Also, it was a great introduction to Timor Leste, a small and very poor young country, with a lot of potential for greatness or failure. Further, I enjoyed getting to know Tarrigan, whom I had never met. This trip also included my first visit to Bali, although only for an overnight visit. It is indeed beautiful, famous for its beaches, surfing, and Hindu temples.

Meanwhile, back on Nias, Faisal, my shelter coordinator, will not be extending his contract, but will move into expanding his own construction company. Within a week of knowing this need, God provided through an incredibly qualified resume appearing in my inbox. After a very hasty plea to our HR Manager, I had this man interviewed and hired. Tumpal will be returning to Nias with me on the 24^th. Rossa has earned a week of R&R, and spent the 14^th to the 21^st visiting in our Banda Aceh office. She will return to Nias with Rani, just before I arrive. So, I will end the month with training two new staff. The most exciting thing for me is that both Rani and Tumpal speak excellent English, and I will have to rely less on my language deficiencies to get the job done. This should reduce stress moving into March.

Short and Sweet

This post is in response to reminders of my failure to communicate. It has been a long string of goings on, all of which meant putting off the post. I wish my thoughts were posted directly online (well not all of them). I will endeavour to update on the recent happenings here asap, please pray for me this month. I can't see a break on the horizon yet. Not even in March.

Going to the Beach!

Just a brief update - it's been a good week, we're ordering wood locally (at a high price to ensre legality) to start our project, and doing work around the office and finishing off the house. Today, Saturday, I'm treating the staff to a weekend at the beach, so we'll drive 3 hours south this afternoon to the southern tip of the island, where they have the 4th best surfing in the world, and we'll BBQ fish on the beach and come back tomorrow afternoon. Have a blessed weekend everyone!!

Happy New Year 2006!!!

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and I’m back in Indonesia. First, I had the best Christmas ever – simple, homely, snowy, and quiet…well quiet for my family anyways. Thanks to everyone who made a special effort during the holiday season to see me. I appreciated seeing so many people, even when it was also a great family time. In short, a time of refreshing - from the crisp Ontario air, from the social interactions with family and friends, and from the reconnection to the body of Christ as well.

The journey back to Indonesia was the longest so far. I left Toronto on the 2nd of January, a Monday, and arrived on Nias on Saturday afternoon local time, about 1 am EST on the 7th. On the way, I visited three US states, including Alaska, three Asian countries, 8 airports, and the longest leg was 16 hours.

I had the joy of meeting Lidia Guirguis and her friend Jinny in Penang Malaysia. They are on their way around Asia, currently in Thailand. I also went to a wedding for an Indonesian couple that both work for Samaritan’s Purse. They are both Chinese, and were married in the Wesleyan church I have attended in Medan. It was a good time, with a beautiful service and a fun reception. Indonesian weddings require the guest to sing for the bride and groom, and I was dragged onto the stage repeatedly to make other voice sound so much better. Also, Chinese weddings require the bride to change repeatedly during the day. As it was a Christian wedding, this meant a white wedding dress for the ceremony, a red gown for visiting the grooms and brides family homes for tea in the afternoon, and a red wedding dress (stunning) for the reception. The wedding photos are all done before the wedding, and the poor groom had to change into different coloured tuxedos to match (for the photo shoot there were at least 10 colour changes).

Note to self: traditional Chinese brides are out! Although the bride was very beautiful – I had previously only seen her at work in Aceh in the heat, and without a high standard of grooming necessary ;) I left my camera in Medan after taking pictures at the wedding, so I (as usual) will only promise to post them now.

Arrival in Nias revealed our much anticipated order of wood is still not here – we are relying on a partner agency to provide free of charge, but on their timing. As this agreement will save us almost a half million dollars, it is worth the wait, but frustrating. I was pleasantly surprised to see my warehouse and office very near completion, including the security post, and my house up to the rafters! Now if only we could get the power utility to connect us, or the water…. Until then, we have rooms in the hotel, and we borrow power and water from our neighbour for the office.

The weather is settling down, with rain more often t night, and the heat returning – it cleared 35 Celsius today. Today is another of the 15 national holidays in Indonesia, this being the last feast of the Muslim calendar. They actually have 4 New Year’s Days here – Chinese, Muslim, Hindu and January 1. Canadian staff are allowed ten, so it’s a work day for me today, and I’m pleasantly surprised to find several of my salaried staff are in as well, with nothing to do at home.

Regarding staff, the big news on my return is that the staffing issue which I shared as causing me the most stress will be resolved soon. In other news, a good friend of mine here lost her mother over the holidays. They were all together for Christmas dinner on December 26, and shortly after dinner she had chest pains. She died on the way to the hospital from a severe heart attack at age 58. I went to visit the family after I arrived, and the father, a retired pastor, is beside himself. My friend is the youngest, with the older siblings moved away, and she worries about being able to continue med school, care for her father, and keep her mother’s store, the family business. Please pray for Dian and her family.

Of interest to some, I will be starting another blog, with a greater discussion orientation. It will be a place for me to post thoughts and questions for debate, from things I have seen. I hope some will enjoy the postings there and the follow up from friends around the world. The new blog site is at http://chrisasks.blogspot.com