::Leading With A Limp::

Windstorm vs. Comcast

And the winner is...THE WIND STORM!

Last night Portland had wind gusts of up to 100 mph.  Needless to say it causes some problems.  Trees fell, hundreds of thousands of people around the state were without power, and infrastructure was disturbed.

At Sunset we lost our internet connection for most of the day.  In the afternoon it finally came back on!  Hurray!  If you tried to send email to somebody at the church during that time and it got bounced back...try again.  It will go through.

Thanks to our web team for posting up a status report on our web site!

El Domingo Tuve Demasiado Lluvia

I'm glad that we decided to come down here starting last week, not this week.  It rained like crazy today and the pronostico de la clima says that it's going to rain for the next several days as well.

This is Portland style rain for sure...a lot of it.  It was much warmer than Portland though so it was bearable.  Since Jen and I haven't really done any exercises save a couple of brief trips to the gym here, we decided to go walk in spite of the rain.

We walked down the main highway for a couple of miles and got to a little shopping spot.  We bought some cheap Mexican wares and then turned around.  It was REALLY raining on the way back.  I have some nice video of a bus driving through the water trying to splash us, I'll post it up on YouTube when I have a faster connection.

We said goodbye to Jeremiah and Sara after a nice lunch.  We took a little pic in front of the Christmas tree lobby and off they went. (Side-note:  Attention Seattle airport...the whole flippin' country of Mexico has Christmas trees...everywhere...get over yourselves and put your trees back up.  Idiots.)

So Jen and I had our last dinner at Oceana tonight (our favorite restaurant here), called the kids via Skype and now being the party animals that we are, we're probably going to go watch a movie in the room and go to sleep.

We'll be traveling for most of the day tomorrow so we won't be posting anything new.  Overall we had a great trip.  I'll probably post a after-the-trip-wrap-up down the road a bit.

El Sabado Estaba Divertido

Yesterday the sun started to go away from Cancun...or at least be quite obstructed by some rather ominous looking storm clouds.  We saw Jeremiah and Sara in the morning, along with Jeff and Heather.  The latter couple left yesterday to return home, so we hit the beach with the former for the rest of the day.

Just around lunch time the skies really opened up.  This was rain of epic proportion, Portland style!  We ran for cover.  After a quick lunch for Nachos Machos the rain went away and we went back to the beach even though it was still pretty overcast.

We spent the rest of the day talking with our two new friends.  We had a great time! It's interesting how four people with rather different lives can get together and enjoy each other's company so much.  To be sure, socially we can be quite different.  Sara is open about being extremely liberal, I am open about being extremely conservative (we are talking about social issues here).  She went so far as to "confess" (her words not mine) that she worked at Planned Parenthood earlier in her career.  Was it a show stopper?  Certainly not.  We all had plenty to talk about and we really enjoyed getting to know them...they're great people!

So we discussed politics (only briefly), taxes, dogs, cats, animals of all sorts (she doesn't like the fact that I shoot blue jays in my back yard, Jeremiah is all for it), Scientology, Christianity, the weather in North Carolina, the ideal place to live (we all agree on Arizona), what it is like to move across the country, leaving your home behind, what a mortgage broker does, what a minister of operations does...and everything in between.

Twelve hours later we ended the day in the Lobby Bar so we could Skype Chloe and Jack over at the Clayvilles.  It was a shaky connection so we didn't talk to long, but it was great to see them.  I really miss them and love them.  I hope they don't forget! I will remind them when I get home.

Jeremiah and I capped our night with a Bolivar Royal Corona...my favorite of all the Cuban cigars.  It has been a good number of years since I have regularly enjoyed the Cubans, and although I warned Jeremiah how strong this particular tabac was, I had also forgotten.  What a powerhouse!  But very flavorful.  We had some great conversation and then all retired early.  In bed before 10pm.

Today we woke up to the sound of rain beating on our window.  Sure enough...it's been pouring ever since.  I'm really glad that we got some nice days of sun for most of our trip, it appears that the finish will be rather soggy.  Our plans today?  Finish off some reading and then have a little Scrabble tournament.  Jen and I are tied at one game each, so it will be cut-throat competition today.

I'm anxious to have an opportunity to post my thoughts about what I have been reading in "Mere Christianity".  It's such a fascinating book.  Clive Staples Lewis takes the most complicated of subjects (How can God hear all of our prayers at once? What about evil?  Why is Christianity the only correct belief?) and puts them into easy-to-understand illustrations and explanations.  His humility is quite refreshing compared to many of the Christians authors I have been reading recently, and his intellect is stunning.  More to come on that for sure.

Back to the rain for me.  I am still loving this 100%.

Fotos de Jueves

Just so you can put some things into context from the last post, I wanted to put up a few pictures.  The first picture is (left to right) The Singleys, The soon-to-be-married-in-a-pirate-ceremony Jeremiah and Sara (aka Saramiah), and the best-mate and best-wench Jeff and Heather.

The next picture is of Tim, one of the guys here that found out I was a "preacher man" and proceeded to jab at us at dinner.  I laughed a lot and just called him a sinner.  So what does he do?  Devil horns. Nice pictures Tim.

The final picture is on the wedding  dock, just after the pirate ceremony.  This is Heather and Jen who, for unknown reasons, actually went out onto a little tiny raft thing at my prompting for a photo op.  It was very windy and water was splashing everywhere.

We had fun...

El Viernes

God has opened the floodgates of Heaven...as I type this it is raining sideways outside.  I'm glad we got a good day of sun yesterday!  I'm planning a dive today but I'm wondering if the sea will be calm enough for us to get out in the boat.  I'll go check in with the dive master in about 1/2 hour.

Yesterday was pretty interesting.  Jen and I had a very entertaining anniversary...we laid out at the beach pretty much the entire day and were blessed with sun for the majority of our time.  Only very briefly would cloud cover move in.  We pretty much baked ourselves to a nice crispy red.

Let me go back to two nights ago...we were sitting in the swings of the BARaccuda (our favorite beach side social gathering) and struck up a conversation with Jim and Carol, a boyfriend/girlfriend couple in their 70s.  They were very nice...although both were just downing the booze like they were getting paid to.  We started talking to them and Jim was telling me all about his decades of service to the insurance industry when Carol asked me what I did for a living.  I told her that I was the Minister of Operations at a medium sized church in Portland...that I run the business side of the church.  Jim heard this and became quite concerned.  He switched seats with Carol so he could sit next to me and talk to me in confidence.  It went something like this:

"Well Matt, you've probably heard me say a couple of bad words...and for that I'm real sorry.  Real sorry.  I also probably have had a little too much to drink.  I just want you to know that I try not to swear, but it happens.  And I don't drink at home!  I might have two drinks in a months time.  But that's it!  The good Lord has taken care of me and I don't think that I always respond well.  So I'm sorry if my behavior is offensive to you.  You're a good man, Matt..."  and on it went like this for a while.  I tried to explain to Jim that I wasn't judging him in any way, that I have done far worse things and that I was enjoying our time together.  But it was too late.  He was nervous.  He cut out early and went to bed.  When Jen saw Jim the next morning (I was off getting some coffee, I didn't see him) he told her that he was leaving town and kept saying over and over "God bless you, God bless you and your family".  Hehe..kind of a strange reaction.

So then last night it continues!

We somehow connected with a group of people from Fidelity Mortgage Group (an East Cost firm) that are down here as a sales reward from their company.  100 people swarmed the resort yesterday!  You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a mortgage broker.  So we hooked up with Heather and Jeff and spent most of our time on the beach with them.  We had a nice time talking with them.

Then Jeremiah and Sara showed up from the same group, we met them and started hanging out with them too.  By the time the sun was going down Jen and I went to change out of our bathing suits and went back to the BARaccuda to meet up with them.  They came back after a while and we spent time swinging (yes...real swings at the bar) and talking.  We had fun!  Then the question came to Jen, "so what does Matt do for work?"  Here we go again.

To make a very long story somewhat short...several people around the bar got nervous (a weird reaction) but our mortgage homies stayed with us.  We all had dinner together (every once in a while somebody else would come up to the table and say "hello preacher" or something like that) at Oceana and while there Heather decided that it was about time for Sara and Jeremiah to get hitched.  Although I assured her I had no authority to do so she said, "oh that's okay...let's just see if they will go through with it".

They did!  Although I again assured both of them that I had no actual authority to marry them.  They had fun with it anyway so we walked to the end of a long pier during the middle of the night while waves came crashing all around us and had a "pirate" wedding.  Yes...a pirate wedding.  Heather and Sara liberated some cloth napkins from the Oceana and made everybody put them on their heads like bandannas.  Apparently this is quite pirate-y.  So I unofficially hitched them in my best pirate voice and then we took pictures on the pier.  Weird?  Ummmm...yeah.

Oh...and important note.  Although Jen and I spend most of our time either on the beach or at the BARaccuda, we just don't drink a whole lot.  But we talk to people who do!  I would like to think that as a result of last night there are a few more people in the world that feel comfortable with a "preacher man" and his wife.  See...Christians really can be "normal".  Even fun!  All the while not doing anything to compromise our faith or morals...

Aaaargh.  Shiver me timbers. 

El Jueves

We woke up to sun this morning...hallelujah!  It's been warm but slightly overcast a lot of our time here, so that was a pleasant surprise.   I did have a two tank dive planned for 10am this morning (15 minutes from now as I type this) but I am going to be a land lubber instead.  As Jen and I were eating breakfast this morning we realized that today is the official day...10 years of marriage!  So I'm going to stay on shore with her today.

I'm glad it's sunny for the big day, Jen is seriously digging the rays.  She looked like a lobster last night but she's normally colored today.  I'm absorbing the sun pretty well save a pink nose and some pink cheeks.  So today we will relax on the beach, read and go for a swim or two in the ocean.

I'm going to resume diving tomorrow and probably grab another two tanks on Saturday as well.  I wish I had an underwater digital camera...I'm impatient and want to see my pictures now.  I want to post them!

But we have a regular digital camera so we'll take pictures throughout the day today and post those up.  It sounds like everything is going well back home, especially with the kids (Thanks Clayvilles and Carsons!) so knowing all of that makes it much easier to relax down here.

I'm out...gotta go claim a patch of sand now...

El Miercoles

I woke up this morning with a dull ache in my right hip...the result of not really exercising to the capacity that I do at home.  If I don't run and swim aggressively then my AS starts to affect me.  I'm going to have to go for a jog today.  Swimming around here is challenging...you would think with the ocean and a big pool it would not be a problem.  The pool here is somewhat shallow (probably averages 3.5 feet or so) and talk about being full of Titanic victims...people just bob up and down in it all day.  That's what they are supposed to do though, right?  They're on vacation.

The swimming area that is roped off in the ocean is quite shallow also.  I don't know how much swimming I could manage in there.  I need a big open space!  I don't think the resort people would let me get away with going for a swim in the open ocean...something about liability...bah!

I got my morning blog reading in after a nice breakfast at the World Cafe here, so after I type this out I'm going to go lay on the beach with Jen and read.  She has a couple of nice books that her friend Chelsea loaned her.  I picked some light reading also...I'm re-reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis.  I haven't read it for several years and it is a possible book of topic for our Caregroup at the turn of the year.  I thought I would re-read it...it's pretty tough to fully concentrate on whilst tanning on the beach.  This is the kind of book that you need to sit in a room by yourself and have total silence...but I'll get through it!  The first few chapters are intriguing, I love how Lewis builds up to his point over several pages.

That's my big report from Cancun today...more later.

El Tecero Dia En Cancun

Today was a rough day, we had a lot of tough decisions to make.  For example, when we got out to the beach we couldn't decide if we should sit on the lounge chairs close to the bar or the ones that were closer to the dock.  After much discussion we settled pretty much in the middle.

Then of course there is the ol' Pina Colada vs. Mango Margarita decision.  Jen flipped a coin and then ordered both.

Hey hotshot, pop quiz.  The picture to the right is:

a) Rocky Mountain Oysters

b) A mysterious Japanese fruit served as a dessert

c) Stuff we pulled out of our shower drain

If you answered "b" then you are correct.  The problem is it looked more like a or c...and the scary part of this story is that we ate it.  Only one bite though, you just can't be too careful.

The weather here is a trip...it was totally sunny for a couple of hours, then it rained like the earth was being flooded again...then nice weather again.  Weird.  We made the most of it and pretty much just cooked ourselves like little langostinos and read books.  When it got raining too hard we came into our favorite haunt, the lobby bar, and played a mean game of Scrabble.  I took the first game handily, Jen skunked me in the second game.  We both hate losing so we decided to end it as a draw.

Then we went to dinner...at the WINDIEST PLACE ON EARTH.  We went to one of the five on-site restaurants...this one is open air and a little nicer than the rest.  I ordered surf and turf, Jen had salmon with shrimp.  The dinner was great, but it was a little distracting to have dinner roles flying by our head, kind of like the cows in that movie "Twister".  See the video below. We got through it then ditched...

Now we are sitting in the lobby again, hoping to get a call from the Clayvilles with Chloe on the other line.  That's it folks!  More tough decisions ahead of us...like do we order room service tonight or not?  Only time will tell...

Something I Failed to Mention...

I talked about my upchucking experience under the sea, but I failed to wax philosophical on the reason I really love diving.

Our dives yesterday were only medium depth...we didn't break 60 feet down.  However, when I am under water I feel totally at peace and I really marvel at all of creation.  God's creation.  It is stunning. That is why I like to dive...it's the world in fully three dimensions.  Yes, walking around on land is three dimensional also, but you can't move as freely as you can if you are diving. Up, down, left, right, forward, backward...and everywhere is God's creation.  Swimming through a coral reef, surrounding by angel fish and beautiful unknown creatures is just amazing to me.  For 45 minutes I am at peace, hearing only the sound of my own bubbles pouring past my ears, enthralled by the animals and plants around me.

While getting sick yesterday was unpleasant, it is nowhere near enough to deter me from going again tomorrow.  And Friday.  It's beautiful. When I am under water I understand what has been made and I experience God.  I worship and praise him the entire time I dive!

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Chumming the Fishies

Today was a decent day.  It started off with my usual inability to sleep...I bolted upright in bed at 4am (Cancun time...2am in Portland) and was awake until 6am local time.  Somehow I fell back asleep...only to be awakened by the hotel phone.

"Hello, Mr. Singley?  You called to report broken glass?"

What the...was I dreaming?  What are these people talking about?

"No...I don't know what you are talking about..."

"Sorry to disturb you Mr. Singley" *click*

That was weird.  But we were up.  Room service ordered...soon Jen and I were digging into fruit, pastry, eggs and chorizo.  I ate a lot of chorizo.  But I had to scarf it down because today was my first dive!  So Jen escorted me to the docks, dropped me off (much like I imagine her doing with the kids at school) and then went off to tan herself for the next several hours.

I got onto the diving boat with 8 other people, two dive master and a videographer.  Off we went into the VERY CHOPPY ocean, around Punta Cancun toward Isla de Mujeres (sounds like an interesting place).  I was noticing on the way out that the ocean was moving A LOT and I was starting to burp up chorizo.  Hmmmm...not good.

This was to be a two tank dive (each tank lasting about 45 minutes) so we suited up and hopped in with no cares.  The first dive was okay...everybody else saw a sweet turtle and a big moray eel, I missed those.  I DID see a lot of beautiful fish and some amazing coral (both living and dead).  It was a neat dive.  On our ascent we stopped at 25 feet to stabilize for a few minutes...and I noticed that the ocean was quite wavy again.  At 25 feet down you are subject to the waves...rolling back and forth, back and forth.  It wasn't too long (about a minute into our stabilization) that I started to taste chorizo again.

Up came the fish chum.  If you have never puked under the ocean's surface let me tell you...it's not entirely pleasant.  You have to choose between breathing and throwing up.  Tough decision, huh?  I chose to throw up.  Five times before we even surfaced.  Another couple of times on the surface and the chorizo was no longer in my tummy.  I was surrounded by a little cloud of pink.  Really nice.

We got into the boat.  Carlo from Sweden asked me, "how are you feeling"?  "I puked", was my reply.  "Yeah, I noticed".  So then we sat on the boat for another half of an hour, tossing and tossing waiting for the blood levels to return to normal.  Off to dive number two!  And I managed to NOT puke on the boat.

The second dive was spectacular!  I've been wanting to swim with the sharks and I got my wish!  Two nurse sharks.  Not the most fearsome of creature, but very nice.  Then I saw a HUGE sting ray, it was almost three feet across.  Very beautiful.  No, I didn't get close enough to be in danger, it swam away too quickly.  Nobody else saw it, so I felt somewhat vindicated from my lack of turtle sightings.

Back into the boat after another timed ascent (without producing chum this time) and we headed back to shore...under the sun!  I knew Jen would be happy since she has been worried about cloud cover so when I got back I found her right where I thought I would...under a grass hut of some variety, sipping a corona and reading a book...red as a little lobster.

So now it is night time, we just got done talking to Chloe and Jack and the Clayville via Skype and we're about to head to bed because we're both exhausted.  Chloe and Jack were a little more responsive tonight which is nice.  It's good to see them!  It sounds like Brian and Jenni are keeping their heads above water (minus the massive head wound that Jen reported on her blog tonight). 

We're enjoying ourselves...100%.  More later.