Mín Englisc Blog

Today I have done rather little. After sleeping until 9:30 (about a record for me) I went with my parents to town, where we ate lunch. I still need to call plenty of people for Scouting merit badges and to work on cleaning my room.
Hudson/St. Lazare is a reformation of the old Lochiel congregation. Pastor Courtney Miller has served this, the only RP church in Québec, since 2001. The congregation is currenly Belle Center's current assigned mission.
I thought that (since others are doing so) I might as well show my own blog ranking. Blogs considered are all that I link to, along with all that they link to. Eliminated from consideration were Allen Blackwood, Ellen Edwards, and Eleni Elder because they have not posted in over a month.
Since so many of these bloggers attended Calvin (and many of those biked there) I included the bike trip and Calvin as part of the rankings. Here they are, together with links:
1. Brian: Posts:6,3pictures Bike trip:Y Bike trip posts:4 Calvin:Y Calvin posts:1 Since Calvin:0 Short posts explain his personal situation. All photos are from the bike trip.
2. Daniel: Posts:14,4pictures Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA Multiple short posts per day, but twice has not posted for several days. All posts are political.
3. David: Posts:10 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA Good long posts, mostly one daily; gap over last weekend due to vacation, and just one post since Tuesday.
4. Josh: Posts:8 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:0 Since Calvin:5 Long, informative posts with plenty of personal information. No posts for six straight days.
5. Joseph: Posts:12 Bike trip:Y Bike trip posts:0 Calvin:Y Calvin posts:4 Since Calvin:1 Short posts, two of which are parts of a story and only one of which has anything personal.
6. Rebekah: Posts:14,9pictures Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:1 Since Calvin:0 Various length posts. Rather random often and poor spelling; posts nearly every day until Calvin.
7. Anna: Posts:7,4pictures Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA Short posts; one per day but nothing several days. Rather random.
8. Nathan: Posts:5,3audio Bike trip:Y Bike trip posts:0 Calvin:Y Calvin posts:1 Since Calvin:1 The two written posts are long and informative; very organized yet humorous.
9. Jeremiah: Posts:6 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA Good long posts, though subject to randomness.
10. Patrick: Posts:3 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts: NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:N Since Calvin: Y Nice long posts, posting every other day.
11. Grace: Posts:3 Bike trip:Y Bike trip posts:0 Calvin:Y Calvin posts:2 Since Calvin:0 Resumed posting after 2½ week break. Posts are short but informative.
12. Katie: Posts:3 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:0 Since Calvin:0 Varying lengths, but give personal information. There would be more posts, but she's been gone.
13. Mia: Posts:3 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA Rather random but explains reasons for posting so little.
14. Luke: Posts:3 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:0 Since Calvin:1 Rather random; one post is pointless and the other contains nothing at all.
15. Stacey: Posts:2 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:1 Since Calvin:0 Two posts are informative, but simply needs to post more.
16. Mary: Posts:2 Bike trip:Y Bike trip posts:0 Calvin:Y Calvin posts:0 Since Calvin:1 Long posts; somewhat random but rather informative.
17. Brad: Posts:1 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA No more posts since Internet connection has failed. He will post once Internet is restored.
18. Charity: Posts:1 Bike trip:Y Bike trip posts:0 Calvin:Y Calvin posts:0 Since Calvin:0 Long post explains her personal situation well. Post is ugly due to use of many colors.
19. Abby: Posts:1 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:0 Since Calvin:1 Single post is a link to an interesting site.
20. Ashley: Posts:1 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA Rather pointless post.
21. Shannon: Posts:0 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA No posts since 12 July.
22. Rebekah: Posts:0 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:Y Calvin posts:0 Since Calvin:0 No posts since 11 July.
23. Hannah: Posts:0 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA No posts since 10 July.
24. Ashley: Posts:0 Bike trip:N Bike trip posts:NA Calvin:N Calvin posts:NA Since Calvin:NA No posts since 8 July.

I received a nice present from my counsellor: a head cold. We'll see how long it lasts; I feel better than late last night. Or should I say early this morning; I was up until 3:45 or later. As a result I'm tired and lazy and don't feel like posting. Tomorrow resumes normal schedule of mowing, etc, and (hopefully) of blogging.
In the meantime, check out the two new blogs: Nathan Hart and Grace. I also deleted Eleni's because she spoke this morning of posting no more and deleting it.

Calvin 2004 is officially over. We go home tomorrow morning. Praise the LORD that we had such a wonderful time! More details will follow; in the meantime, I have to get things packed.

Well, we lost in the Quiz Bowl to the Columbus team. They, in turn, lost to another Southside team who are now in the finals against a Winchester team. On the plus side, Great Lakes-Gulf won the synod-wide presbytery softball tournament by beating first Midwest (A) and then Alleghenies.

Because so many of us were using the computers in my dorm, we're not allowed to use them anymore. Good thing that it's not that way in my parents' dorm 8^D
Really very little has happened since yesterday. Since the Quiz Bowl team from Bloomington had only three players, I was allowed to join it; however, it wasn't until while we were waiting that I found that I'd be allowed by the staff to compete. But we won our first-round cometition! Tomorrow morning are the second- and third-round contests, and tomorrow evening is the final. I will update if they don't close these computers too.

Well, the bike trip went well: 295 miles in four days. We stayed at churches; they are (respectively) Sycamore RP (Kokomo IN), Nappannee Missionary (Nappannee IN), Faith Reformed Church (Kalamazoo MI).
The Covenettes, my singing group, performed tonight before all 1500 conferees. What a grand time! No mistakes, everything going perfectly, over a years' worth of work rewarded. As we did, I say now: Hallelu Yah!

I am currently at the Hansons' house in Fairland, Indiana. We plan to leave for Southside RP at around 6:00 tomorrow morning.
Fulton RP in New York is a relatively young congregation. Pastor Nick Iamaio has served there for several years.

Must be quick because I have to prepare for leaving. See you at Calvin!

Tomorrow I leave for Indianapolis for the bike trip. This meant more training today, my hardest day yet. 55 miles of riding and one lawn mown means that I didn't do much else today.
The government of the Philippines is withdrawing its 51-soldier contingent from Iraq in an attempt to save a Filipino civilian kidnapped by rebels. I can see the emotional reasons for doing so, but it's stupid in the long run — even if they do release the civilian. If a nation encourage terrorists by giving in, the terrorists logically will make more demands like this. Bulgaria is doing the right thing in its captured-civilian situation: asking for the man's release but yielding no ground to the terrorists.
Some unknown guy won the British Open yesterday, beating Ernie Els in a four-hole playoff. Last year's winner Ben Curtis, who has relatives in Bellefontaine, didn't make the cut this year.
Crown & Covenant RP in Owego NY is served by Arthur Fawthrop. One of their elders, Harold Harrington, is a man my parents know well, as he was pastor at Rose Point for something like ten years.

I repeat: Does anyone know what major event happened on 17 July 1968?
Dad's morning sermon covered the most text I can remember him ever using: chapters 25-31 and 35-40 of Exodus. He looked at all of them together because they cover the details of the planning and of the construction of the Tabernacle, along with things like the priestly garments.
Tomorrow I prepare for the bike trip and for Calvin. Since I'll leave on Tuesday, I'll be away from home for 11 days, from the 20th until the 30th. At least I don't have to wonder where I stay or whether I'll be late to Southside to leave, since I'm staying overnight in the Indianapolis area.

Christ Church in New Hartford, New York is a new congregation. Pastor Aaron Goerner serves about 40 people in this growing church.

AAAAAGH! I can't believe I didn't post yesterday. Oh well; I rode over fifty miles yesterday with some problems. Mom drove me down to Quincy, a village in the southwest corner of the county, for me to ride 25 miles home. The stupid bike computer I use to record speed wasn't working from the start. I stopped about eight miles from home for a break and the kickstand promptly broke off — a fracture in the metal itself. On the other hand, the computer began to work and recorded data from that point. Could be worse.
Almost as soon as I got back from my last ride, we left for Camp Berry for Family Night for Isaac. I saw more familiar people again; too bad I can't go back this year.

Ahmed Qureia, Arafat's puppet "prime minister", quit yesterday. Not sure about the reasons, but anything to weaken Arafat is good I suppose.
Oh, anyone remember what happened in the Middle East on today's date in 1968?

Almonte RP is (if I remember rightly) a growing congregation with something like 70-80 people. Pastor Matthew Dyck serves this church in eastern Ontario slightly southwest of Ottawa.

Sorry but no time to post tonight. I rode 46 miles today and mowed a yard; tomorrow, with no yards to do, I hope to go over 50 miles. Pray for safety!

I wish I didn't have to do as much training as I have to do. Some bike riding is nice, but I don't care for going by myself for 30, 40, 50 miles in one day. Today was "just" thirty, but I also had two lawns to mow. THat's also why I'm not posting until now.
Mom and I are the only ones here. Isaac of course is at Scout camp until Saturday morning, and Dad left this morning to stay with the troop until Friday morning. When he gets back, I must ask him what he does all day. Read theology? Walk around watching various classes? Complete paperwork? Sleep? Kill mosquitos? Oops, I already know he does the last one 8^D
In the Senate, Democrats and a few Republicans shot down the promarriage amendment today, 50-48. The vote was officially a cloture vote, not one to pass the amendment to the House, but the purpose of the ongoing "debate" was obvious. At least both of the Ohio senators voted for the amendment.
Since we're done with Pacific Coast Presbytery, no church today. Tomorrow is the start of St. Lawrence Presbytery.

Preparation for riding is what I need to do. I want to be out of here by 8:30, heading over to Rushsylvania for my normal fifteen-mile morning trip.
With Isaac at summer camp and the rest of us here, very little is happening for me except for two things: bicycling and mowing. This week, I have (I think) eight lawns to work with, because Isaac can't mow his while he's nearly an hour away. I suppose it's only fair, because he helped with mine last week.
Last night we visited the Reameses (from church), who are getting their house completely redone. The front part of their house, a cabin from the 1820s or earlier, is having a basement dug under it, and the whole first floor has practically no floor. Currently, all seven of them are living in a (very nice) three-room apartment on their property and will do so until the house is ready in a few months.
Seattle RP, of all of our churches, is the most isolated from others; the nearest church (Fresno) is over 900 miles away. Pastor Don Piper serves here. With over eighty people, the congregation is the largest in Pacific Coast Presbytery. The whole presbytery has fewer members and fewer ministers than there are at Second Indianapolis!

I wanna go back, I gotta go back, to B-err-y. B-err-y, B-err-y. The hills and woods call me, BER! To do or die's the key, RY! B-err-y, B-err-y.
Besides this parody of an Ohio State song, I do wish I could have stayed at Camp Berry when Dad and I went up there this morning. Most of the rest of the troop is there, I saw some counsellors I liked, and I could do more merit badges. Oh well, wait for next year.
So far, I've ridden 10 miles today. Before the day is out, I must mow a lawn and ride another 15 miles. I would have had an easier time if my best riding time had not been taken up by going to Berry, but I'm still glad I went.
San Diego RP is a small congregation; fewer than thirty people attend worship on an average week. Pastor Mark England is new there, having arrived in the last couple of years. One newly married couple from our church, Kavan and Shana Reames, are (I trust) attending there, as Kavan is stationed there with the Navy.

I have removed Allen from my links because he hasn't updated since the end of April. I'll reinstate him if he show signs of life 8^D

My brother and Matthew Bump from church are completing final preparations today to leave for Scout camp tomorrow; meanwhile, Sean Griffin from church and the rest of the troop are leaving as I type. I will be going up with them early tomorrow, but only for a short time. Since I'm effectively the troop librarian, I will need to distribute merit badge books tomorrow. I'll also go up on Friday evening for Family Night.
Dad preached today from Exodus 32-4, the golden calf. It just strikes me how the Israelites spoke to Aaron: "As for this fellow Moses, we don't know what's happened to him." What a way to speak to his brother!

Phoenix RP is our only church in Arizona. Pastor Jon Maginn serves this tiny group of twenty-five people in Pacific Coast Presbytery. The congregation formerly was much larger, but a split some years ago reduced the church to its current status.

I'm back from Camp Berry. I had a great time: met a bunch of nice people, earned four merit badges, one of which is required for Eagle Scout and all of which would be hard to earn except at camp. The only bad parts were: (1) in my Pioneering class, most of the other kids used horrible language because no adults were around, and (2) in Rowing, Archery, and Pioneering, the counsellors interpreted the requirements very loosely and had us do less than required. Still, without a doubt, I'm glad I went. I hope to get back onto the normal routine of posting tomorrow. Of course, that can only go for about ten days — before I leave for the bike trip to Calvin.

Time to pack for camp tomorrow. I leave at 6:30 AM. Goodbye until Saturday!

Fireworks last night were, as always, a very good display for such a small town. The show, which went for nearly thirty minutes, included everything from large palms to low-to-ground miniature fireworks that we can't see very well from our back yard.
Bike riding yesterday was a bit more subdued for me: I rode but seven miles - and that was a useful trip, not a training ride. I took a bunch of things over to my Scoutmaster's house to prepare for summer camp. Most of Troop 182 is going this afternoon, and I'll join them early tomorrow morning. My own troop goes next week.

Because I'll be gone all this week, no more posts after (hopefully) one later today. In the meantime, I'll be doing environmental experiments, rowing and shooting arrows, and building pioneering structures.

Los Angeles RP is another older congregation in California. Pastor Ken Orr serves this congregation of sixty-something people.

Parades are fun. I led our troop's participation in the Village's Independence Day parade. Only four other boys were there, but that's more than last time — on Memorial Day, we only had four total. Before the 11:00 parade, I was at the village fire station, serving at a pancake breakfast.
Really very little has happened since yesterday evening. Isaac had his best friend, Matthew Bump, over to spend the night in a tent in our side yard. Tonight are fireworks, and I'll have to pack tonight as well. The troop I'm going with to summer camp leaves tomorrow afternoon, and I join them early Monday morning. While I'm gone I won't be able to post at all, so expect another week-long hiatus.

Fresno RP in California is the largest congregation in Pacific Presbytery with almost ninety members, even though only about sixty attend on an average week. Pastor Tim McCracken is part of the McCracken family that is so prominent in the RPCNA; his family includes a man many of us know, his brother Andy.

Fifty-one miles on a bicycle in 8½ hours makes me tired. Even though I was only riding for four hours 8^D I finished riding shortly after 4:30. What a day!
As well, I got my ECHO photos back from Wal-Mart today. They're mostly good, although several are dark. Among the best shots is the group photo on the steps of Selma RP. I'll see what I can do about posting a sample few, but first I'll have to get the stupid scanner to work.

More bicycling. I've already done 25 miles today, and I plan to go for another 25 in just a little bit. In the meantime, I'm finishing my lunch break.
The Navy is sending seven aircraft carrier battle groups to the Taiwan Straits in an obvious show of force to the Communists. The force will be participating with the Republican Chinese military in summer manœvers. Such a large force has never been used except in time of a major war — even for Iraq, we only used three or four!
It's too bad that most of you reading this are too far away for carryout pizza from here. We had for supper last night a pizza from Michael Angelo's Pizza (yes, three words!) in nearby Rushsylvania. It was absolutely superb, even though it was somewhat greasy. The odd part was that it was cut into normal slices, but there were 11. I've never seen a pizza in 11 slices before. The owner/operator of the restaurant is good. He recently placed highly in world championship pizza-making.
Tomorrow we start with churches from Pacific Presbytery. In the meantime, no church today.

Quick. I need to get off here fast and get mowing. Since I posted yesterday, I've ridden over fifty-five miles on my bike and mown two lawns. Fifteen to twenty more miles and another lawn await me today.
Saddam had his first public hearing in court this morning. He was mad because he didn't have a lawyer. How many, I wonder, of his victims got lawyers?
I am snowed under with stamps. In the last month, four different people have given me their old collections. As I'm about to be gone for another week, HOW can I get it all done?

Westminster RP in that Colorado city is a group of nearly 100 people served by Pastor Bob Hemphill. The congregation recently lost almost fifty members because of the establishment of the Longmont, CO, congregation; all those people became members at Longmont.