Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Europe Visitation 2013

Finally home after my longest trip of the year to Europe over November. Great time with our northern Spain CS contacts in Gijon, visiting Shane and Ruth Sparks and Hiucif and family, and some sweet waves! I then passed through Barcelona and got to catch up with CS Spain director Marc for the first time there. What a challenge for him stepping out full time. Then onto the CS Holland national conference with Kock and the team where I was joined by CS Europe RC Phil Williams. It was my first time in Holland and great to see and share with some 40 key contacts and appreciate the dedication of Dutch surfers in howling onshore, cold, dribbly beachbreaks. Their enthusiasm was unfazed. Flying then to Casablanca, Morocco I had my first experience in this Islamic nation and the 5:30am call to prayer outside my bedroom window. Our contact there has great connections in surfing and wants a stronger affiliation with CS that I was able to help negotiate. Flying back to the UK it was onto a CSI fundraiser in Wales with Johnny Hillman and some quality time with Phil Williams, our UK director and European RC. I was glad to be home after a 16 day tour and will not travel again till 2014. God is on the move in Europe with new models of mission as they are well into their post-Christian era.



























Monday, September 30, 2013

Pacific Leaders Forum

After a quick 3-day turnaround from Japan, I was suddenly in Fiji for the first time for our Pacific Leadership Forum. Gordy Webb, our Pacific Regional Coordinator, had organised for each national leader plus their key potential successor to be at the meeting. We had wonderful people from Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, NZ and Fiji present. A great time was spent meeting one another and sharing story, doing a solid day on the CS Foundations Training and surfing at Cloudbreak and Hideaway. Special thanks to Kris Stice who hosted us; his godly example and generosity was amazing.

I personally preached at Kris' church, led some Foundations Training, shared the big picture of CSI and fulfilled a surfer's dream of surfing Cloudbreak (even if it was only 1-3'). I was struck with how different surfing is in these far flung Pacific Islands. This is certainly our most remote surfing region and whilst there are plenty of waves, the cost of a surfboard and accessing the surf is the challenge. Surf coaching and sharing in the development of the sport is a real priority. Christian Surfers can be in early on the ground floor of development and shape the culture before foreign tourists do!

Kris is a great example of this in serving the Fiji Surfing Association where CS Fiji have been able to partner in various events and meetings, even acting as team manager at a recent contest. 

Thanks to those CSI partners who made this meeting possible.


















Thursday, September 19, 2013

Typhoon! Sushi! Conference!

Typhoon, conference, sushi, surf and green tea kit-kats - Japan 2013

Richo and myself joined Shin and the CS Japan team for their 12th annual national conference. What an encouragement for this small group seeking to make a difference in the worlds largest unreached surfing population of around 1.5 million surfers! We also got to see the 'naked festival' (don't worry, it was G-rated), ate sushi, got caught up in a typhoon and shared in the onsen Japanese bathhouse...another naked festival! 

See video and pics below...no there is no-one in the onsen!