Goodbye for a Time from Cyprus …
This last number of months has been a true adventure for Marian and myself as we have had the privilege of exploring this culture and island! We have come to love what it has to offer! But as with all things in life, there are beginnings and there are endings and it is to the latter that we have come.
Here we have had the privilege of meeting so many new friends - Cypriots, Australians, Serbians, Armenians, British, Welsh, German, Russian, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Sri Lankan, … each has touched our lives and made us richer for the experience. As exciting as it is to meet new people whom we quickly classify as friends, there comes a time to say goodbye and that is the difficult juncture at which we find ourselves this week.
Ours has been the privilege to serve colleagues at the academy and to find in them the opportunity to instill confidence, hope and a future! How confirming to see staff, students and parents look with satisfaction on new hope that is placed within the educational environment! Staff have come to see their profession in a new light where the dreams of being valuable and influencing the lives of the youth with whom we work have become a little more of reality! May this journey continue for them as they continue to work here and instill the knowledge which is so important in life today. I am convinced more than ever that the balance needs to be kept between knowledge in the broader sense and knowledge of character in the narrower sense which finds its roots in the unchanging Word of God! It is here that the principles which guide a life of fulfillment are found and what a treasure to be able to deposit these foundational concepts in our students!
So, as we come to the last days, we bid adieux to those we leave in a physical sense - they will remain part of our lives as along as life lasts! But we are not finished, there is more to come, DV, and it is to that which we look as we leave. Where is God going to open another door of service? When he closes one, I believe He opens another for continuing service to the Kingdom of God.
Thank you all for joining us on this journey and we trust that it has been more than just informative, but has allowed you to grow and see that wherever you are, you can still be active and learning and being of serivce to God. Continue to invest in the things which outlast this life because there is a life to come!
David and Marian
Cyprus - Canada - Cyprus
Clicking on the image opens it in larger form.
Yes, that little bundle in the middle of the picture in the pink blanket is the reason Marian returned to Canada in March and is still there as of this writing. Ava Elisabeth Olivier arrived a little early but Jennifer and daughter are doing well under the watchful care of Grandma! Dad is learning to cope with interrupted sleep and the diaper routine so all seems well for getting things cared for!
I returned to Canada on March 30 to join the family for the Easter break of two weeks here in Cyprus. I have returned on April 13 to the warm, 20º C sunshine and blossoms which are almost overwhelming as you walk the streets - the citrus trees still have oranges and lemons hanging high on the trees and now the blossoms are out exuding their intoxicating perfume which I have to stop and enjoy! The olive trees are shwoing the small clusters of buds which will become this year's crop for oil and eating. Yet the old leaves are still on the trees!
It was good to see family, as always, but also to be at Bethel for Easter and to share in the celebration of our risen Lord. Today I learned that in Cyprus when you meet a believer for 40 days after Easter you greet them with “He is Risen” to which they respond, “Truly He is Risen indeed!” Hallelujah for the cross but more importanatly for the uniqueness of the resurrection. No other faith or religion can make such a claim as the historicly authenticated resurrection of Jesus Christ!
I took a walk to the monastery this late afternoon spending some time walking and then reading inpreparation for a course I will be teaching in September/October for Toronto Baptist Seminary on NT Survey. As I get my mind re-oriented to this course, I find it exciting to explore the wonderful revelation which God has given us in HIs Word. Classes will be held at the Carey offices in Guelph so students are welcome to sign up either for credit or audit (really inexpensive) and I think it is over 8 Saturdays. One thing I am contemplating is that there will be no test or exams in this course. I know the details of who wrote what book and when was it written are important but not nearly as important as coming to understand the ways in which our revelation is so consistently coherent.
I want students to write a paper per week with a longer one at the end. How would you write a paper on this topic:
Background: “Matthew 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” ”
Write a paper of 3-5 pages on how all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Make sure to include Scripture references and note the word 'ALL' so make sure you answer that aspect of the question!
To me, the process which a student has to go through in answering that question will stay with them long after they have forgotten whether Mark was written before Matthew or after! Every time they read or thinkof those two commands they will rethink the way they answered that question in the paper for the course! By the way, if you want to try answering that question I will be happy to read it and give some comments - remember in auditing you do not receive a mark!
Marian returns to Cyprus on the 22nd and I will be happy to have her here with me again. Being separated is not good for long!
Blessings to all who read! There is a place below where you can click and then leave a comment if you wish!
David
