New Blog About Down Syndrome

I've just started a new blog called "The Deal With Downs". I invite you to check it out and subscribe if you like.

Thanks.

And so it ends....

This post is notify my blog readers (assuming there are at least a few), that this particular blog will come to an end as of today. As the title indicates, I originally started it to document the experiences and musings of what life was like for me in Taiwan. Last week my wife and I submitted our resignation to our sending mission, and so we will not be returning to life and ministry in Taiwan. The reasons for this decision are entirely personal and family related. We leave our mission on good terms. We may yet visit Taiwan in the future, or even serve there on a short term basis, but for the next foreseeable season of our lives, there is something different in store.

I would like to start another blog in time, as I do enjoy the creative writing outlet. If nothing else, it may just consist of my ongoing musings of life in general, and my faith in particular. I thought I might call it "Rod's Ramblings", but apparently there already is a blog by that title. If you have any suggestions about what I should blog about, or suggestions for a name/title, please let me know.

By the way, I will keep this blog up (even though I won't be posting), but if and when I start a new blog, I will announce it here, so if you stay subscribed, you'll hear about it that way.

Take care. Love you all.

Proud of My Wife

This is "old news" in the sense that the half marathon my wife (pictured on right) ran with a friend/neighbor was already a month ago, but I am still proud of her accomplishment. She trained with her friend for months running up to the marathon, which was held to help raise funds for Retina Research. I could only watch in wonder and admiration as my wife never flagged in her discipline to train, running in even the nastiest of Canadian winter weather.

She completed the 21 km. run in 2 hours, 26 min. Not a blistering speed (as far as seasoned marathon runners go), but the feat itself was far beyond anything I could even attempt. I was, and am, impressed, and one proud husband!

Songs I've Written & Recorded - Provided For Me

Years ago (1990 to be exact) I recorded a tape (yes it was cassette tapes back then) of many of the songs I had written over the previous years. The name of my album was "Provided For Me", which was also the title track. Click a listen to the song here, "Provided For Me". I'll let the words speak for themselves. I think the song was written in May 1983, just after finishing second semester at Winnipeg Bible College (now Providence), and I had recently moved back to my parents' home for the summer. I remember it was one of the first really beautiful days of Spring that year.

I will probably post more songs from that album in the coming weeks. If you would like a copy of the full album (11 higher quality mp3 files, or a CD quality disc), let me know. I am not charging a price, but being a missionary, I will take donations. Cheques can be made payable to "Rod Seib". (I'm serious, I'm not joking. I put a lot of time into writing, recording, and now digitizing the songs).

NOTE: A few more words about the recording itself: The songs were recorded on a Fostex 4 track recorder, which allowed me to multi-track, blend harmonies, add a lead guitar part in addition to the rhythm, etc. The songs were recorded in a basement room in my parent's farmhouse. The bottom halves of empty egg shell containers were taped over the walls to give an acoustically "dead" recording studio feel to it. The artist's performance is not perfect. I sing off key in a couple of places, and hit a sour note or two on the guitar, but hey, it's pretty darn good given what I had to work with.

What's New?

This is one of those "catch up" posts to a) let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, and b), "catch you up" on what's been happening, and what God is doing in my life the past couple months. So, let's dive right in, shall we?

1. Christmas holidays were good in some ways, not so good in others. It was interesting to see our oldest (Erin) be kind of out of sorts for the first few days of the holidays, as expectable routine is very important for her, and she loves her school situation so much she definitely hates not being able to go.

2. I'd just like to forget most of the month of January if possible. Depressing, lifeless, dark, and frosty, in more ways than one.

3. On Jan 26 I flew to Vancouver for Missionfest weekend. Besides representing SEND International at the conference, and having a great time doing a program with 70 kids one night, I had an awesome time reconnecting with old friends and some family. When I get together with my sisters (my two older ones in this case) we talk, laugh, eat, laugh, talk, eat, try not to choke while we laugh and talk while we eat, and of course there's talking. Did I mention talking? Thanks, Karen, and Sandy, for a great visit I will always remember.

4. From Vancouver I went to Winnipeg, to represent SEND at Manitoba Missionfest. Talk about arriving on a different planet, meteorologically speaking. Driving out to Providence College one day, the blowing, drifting snow and sub-arctic temps made it seem like I was driving across the surface of Pluto. How did I ever live in this place for 5 years??!! Anyway, the coldness of the Manitoba winter is often quickly melted by the warm fellowship of friends I have had there seemingly for a lifetime (and in some cases that's true). Thanks to all friends there that I had the chance to reconnect with. And thanks, cousin Roy, for the use of your house and your truck. I missed not seeing you and Anne, however, and I am very jealous that you were in Hawaii while I was in "Winterpeg".

5. Had a very warm welcome from my wife and kidlets when I returned to London on Feb. 8. It's great to be missed. And it's always fun to dispense with gifts I collect along the way for them when I go on a trip like this. I am so thankful for each of my children, and that I have a close, affectionate relationship with each of them, even my "going on 13 years old" son.

6. As I spend time in God's word, and am fed with the teaching and fellowship at our church, I am gaining a new understanding of who Jesus is (cf. John, 1 John, Colossians, Hebrews). His pre-existence means that when the universe was created, he was there. Think of what that means, and now this same Jesus loves me more than any other ever can, and he will never leave me or forsake me. I can have peace in the storm, and fear nothing, as I know he is always with me and in control.

7. I'll finish this list with a "Biblical #7", just by saying that God is doing some wonderful things in my life. Yes, I'm getting old (I will turn 50 this July), and I'm overweight and out of shape, and I have chronic hip pain that makes me think I might be better off in a home commiserating with a generation older than me. But, in my spirit, I have hope. God has blessed me with so much, and I recognize maybe only a tenth of the grace He has poured upon me, and even just that much overwhelms my soul to sing.

A Weekend To Remember

My wife and I participated in a marriage enrichment retreat this past weekend. It was put on by Family Life Canada, a ministry under the "Power To Change" umbrella organization. We had previously attended a marriage weekend through the same organization about 7 years ago. That one was held in Niagara Falls, ON. This last one was at the Blue Mountain Resort & Conference Center near Collingwood, ON. Family Life Canada typically hosts about 8 or 9 such weekend marriage conferences a year, in various cities and places across Canada. They even have one in Chinese (Mandarin) next spring in Ottawa.

Just as it was 7 years ago, this past weekend was an incredible opportunity for Eileen and I to reconnect, apart from the distractions of life and parenting, and focus on the current health, and hopes, of our marriage. One of the statements from the facilitators was that "The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. It is greener where you water it.", and this past weekend, we were able to do a lot of watering, cultivating, and even routing out some "weeds" that had started to grow in our relationship.

Eileen and I firmly believe in the value of these marriage retreat weekends. Family Life Canada is a top notch organization, with excellent, experienced, and transparent facilitators. Couples at any stage of their marriage can benefit from the excellent teaching, challenges, and encouragement available through this marriage conference. We would highly recommend this to anyone who is committed to making their marriage more fulfilling and satisfying, living out the purposes God designed for this wonderful, unique, and foundational human relationship. Eileen and I are even praying that God might help us in a financial way to give the gift of "A Weekend To Remember" for other couples we know.

For more information on Family Life Canada's ministries, check out their website here. A schedule of upcoming marriage retreats can be found here.

What Now?

Now that my family has settled into basic life routines back in Canada, and we're all feeling relatively well-adjusted, I have asked myself, "What should I blog about now?" I started the blog, and intended it to be, personal thoughts on life as a missionary in Taiwan. Well, right now, I'm not in Taiwan. For the next nine months we will (Lord willing), continue to make our home in Canada, following which (Lord willing), we will return to ministry in Taiwan. So, not having been overly motivated to blog about much of anything the past four months, I wonder what the focus should be for the immediate future....

In talking about this with a friend the other day, she suggested I write about "transitions". A good idea, since that has been the experience of our family this year. I also thought about writing about cultural comparisons between Taiwan and Canada. I have had a Twitter account for almost 3 years now (visit @tairod to follow me), and most of what I "tweet" about there has to do with either Taiwan or Canada, so the cultural comparison theme might be a natural expansion on that.

In any case, I don't plan to change the name of the blog. Being temporarily away from Taiwan does not equal absence from Taiwan, if you know what I mean, and as long as we plan to return, that will be our focus. There are a lot of exciting things God is doing in Taiwan, and still a lot of needs and work to be done, so if you follow along, you'll be hearing more about that in the weeks and months to come.