Skip to main content

The joys of technology 2

Today in church at home in Winnipeg, we connected via Skype to a family from our congregation who moved to South Africa in August to serve a 5-year term there with MCC. Between the sound delay and the logistics of using a headset alongside a microphone, it was slightly awkward, of course, so we didn't broadcast the whole service, but we shared announcements, prayer requests, prayer, and a song with them.

I was thrilled when I heard what we were going to do. It's a huge blessing to worship with brothers and sisters from another culture, but after a while, a certain loneliness creeps in, and one longs for the familiar. I'm so grateful that technology made it possible for us to provide a taste of the familiar for this beloved family.

Comments

Tracey Craigon said…
Thanks for sharing your blog, Karla!
I could relate to this line: "...It's a huge blessing to worship with brothers and sisters from another culture, but after a while, a certain loneliness creeps in, and one longs for the familiar..." from when I was living in Japan. Love your writing! Looking forward to reading more and working with you in 2009! :)

Popular posts from this blog

It's a girl!

I awoke this morning to the sound of my phone ringing. It wasn't the first time the bells and whistles had attempted to pull me from my slumber so I knew it meant one of two things: either I'd overslept and my boss was calling to find out where I was, or the much anticipated baby had announced her intention to make an entrance. Felicitously, it was the latter. After a lightning fast labour lasting a mere 2 hours, Mai-Anh Esther made her entry into the world at 8:35 am (the preferred interval for Braun babies. Jon, Rebecca, and I were all born between 8 and 8:30 in the morning while Lien was born around 8 in the evening.) She is a hearty 9 lbs 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. "She's already got more hair than Lien does!" was the first comment made by both Jon and me. She's a perfectly contented, sleepy little girl who's hardly opened her eyes once, even to let mommy see them, and she had no objection to being passed from person to person all evening, nor to Li...

entering the blog world

I've finally given in to the lure of blogging. Actually, if it weren't for Cameroon, I probably wouldn't be doing this; my excuse for succumbing to the pull of popular culture is that a blog is a very pragmatic way to keep in touch with people at home while I'm gone. Thus the title -- the focus is on my journey to and experience in Cameroon. So you likely shan't see much here till things heat up a bit more.

Deep breaths, just relax

I am immensely relieved to have my visa application in the mail...except I won't be free of trepidation until I have my passport back, visa approved. Sending my visa makes me realize it's actually going to happen -- sooner rather than later. Just one more day of work at the newspaper, 2 1/2 more shifts at the bookstore. Training the new guy today went well for me; I hope it went well for him as well! Thankfully, I have news that I will not be wandering around Douala by myself upon my arrival in Cameroon. (Okay, not that that was going to be the case, but it sounds more dramatic.) The original plan was that I'd meet Dan and Lisa at Charles de Gaulle and continue with them from there in on. Just the way I like it -- being "adventurous" within the safe parameters of responsible and experienced oversight. However, the U.S. government got in the way of those plans with delay after delay with Joshua's paperwork. To say I was worried about arriving in Douala all alo...