On Liberty

"Liberty, Sancho, my friend, is one of the most precious gifts that Heaven has bestowed on mankind; all the treasures the earth contains within its bosom or the ocean within its depths cannot be compared with it. For liberty, as well as for honor, man ought to risk even his life, and he should reckon captivity the greatest evil life can bring."
Don Quixote de La Mancha

5642 meters -- Mt. Elbrus from the Baksan Valley

Nothing like celebrating a nice cold 5642!?!

Yep, that's the name of the beer, celebrating the height of the tallest mountain in Europe, Mt. Elbrus, lying just north of the main Caucasus ridge, towering above the plains to its north in the fertile region tucked between the Black and Caspian Seas.

Without sounding too glorious, weather kept us from the top on this same morning. It was bitterly cold, with high winds that drain the energy from you like sap from a tree.

As you can see it only dampened our spirits until beer could brighten it back up again.

From Russia with Love

From the bridge over the Moscow River looking north towards Red Square, one can catch a glimpse of the splendor of the Medieval Russian Empire lasting through the ages.
St. Basil's Cathedral on the right
Kremlin Clock Tower to the left
The 'Gum' just in the center.

Cardinals Stadium -- St. Louis, MO

Love the smell of the fresh cut grass with wide open spaces.

Cristos! Mosaic in Israel

TTh

A Memorable Hike

4500 Meters and then some....summer snow atop the range. A memorable day's hike in the Paghman mountains...just outside of Kabul, Aghanistan

Miracle baby...

Hello Layton! Welcome to the Family.

Trujillo Sand Slide

While working for a few weeks in Trujillo, Peru, at a health clinic we had an afternoon of diversion to climb a mountain close to the ruins of the Temple of the Moon and Sun. Here a friend is sand-sliding which allows someone who spent one hour climbing the mountain to descend in less than a minute.

Coconuts in Belize

The last gasp prior to residency: a friend and I travel to Belize to learn scuba diving and experience the paradisal islands only a short boat ride from Placencia. I like coconuts...

Counting the cost.

Each should count the cost prior to building his tower or going to war. So also for the Christian who must forsake all in order to be a true disciple of Christ. Luke 14:25-33. But what fools are we to hold on to that which is transient and perishable instead of looking toward that which is eternal and imperishable.

And [Jesus] said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." Luke 18:29-30

My nieces

My three nieces, each different in appearance, but all uniquely beautiful. May the Lord bless them and keep them. The Lord make his face to shine upon them, and be gracious unto them. Make he lift up his countenance upon them and give them peace.

Zambia! The Joy of meeting Bina Ezra

I do hope that the lovely Bina Ezra might forgive me for placing her picture on the internet, yet I wish to show the world the loveliness of her countenance, the quintessence of joy found in Christ. That March of 2000, while traveling in rural Zambia outside the small town of Macha, I was able to experience communal praise and worship with Bina Ezra and her family.

On Liberty

"Liberty, Sancho, my friend, is one of the most precious gifts that Heaven has bestowed on mankind; all the treasures the earth contains within its bosom or the ocean within its depths cannot be compared with it. For liberty, as well as for honor, man ought to risk even his life, and he should reckon captivity the greatest evil life can bring."
Don Quixote de La Mancha

What is love?

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.
-- Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Me and the parents 

The Candle 

Victory Flower