Monday, August 25, 2008

Announcing official charity number 843182197RR0001 !!!

That's right folks - 614 church is now an official registered charity with number 843182197RR0001

This is good news because we can now save some trees and process donations online!! Before we were only able to deal with cheques in the mail but now just click on the links below for one-time, monthly or automatic withdrawl:

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Direct link: http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s96592

There's alot of work and responsibility that comes along with being a charity and we thank God for the way this country is set up to benefit those who give. Thanks to all who continue to donate to keep us going - we couldn't do it without you!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Hamas Leader's son converts to Christianity

Very interesting article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402483,00.html
Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family.

Now, at 30 years old, he attends an evangelical Christian church, Barabbas Road in San Diego, Calif. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and is seeking asylum in the United States.

The story of how his life unfolded is truly amazing, whether you agree or disagree with his views. Below is a transcript on an exclusive FOX News interview with Hassan as he tells firsthand how a West Bank Muslim became a West Coast Christian
Click here for the full article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402483,00.html

Monday, August 11, 2008

Closing out 4 years of blogging

Today is a special day in my life and I'd like to take the last hour of it to share a few thoughts that have been brewing for many months. Last night I watched the mens swimming 4x100 relay and the excitement of the Olympics moved me to blogging. Now it might take a few posts to really lay out what I want to say but I wanted to make sure I at least started today. There is significance in todays date and therefore I make the following announcement.

This blog was started exactly 4 years ago during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic games. In August 2004, we trekked across Europe with a group of friends to the summer Olympics to give out as many Bibles as we could to as many people as we could. That was an amazing trip and it's with fond memories I write this. We started this blog to update the many people donated money for the project and were praying that God would take those Bibles and impact peoples lives.

I'm very thankful for many of you who have trekked with us since then. Many of you continue to donate for our personal support and check in here to see how we're doing. The comments and prayers for us continued through the different stages of our life and ministry. You are the reason this blog exists. We made it to update you on what God was doing in our lives.

Now I feel the time has come to pay a little tribute to this blog before it ultimately fades into the past. The era of blogging I feel is coming to an end. The reality is blogs are a thing of the past. In 2008 information is shared quicker than it was back in 2004 when there was yet no YouTube or Facebook! In Cyber years this blog is a dinosaur! Factors in my own life have also changed dramatically since August of 04 and to continue a blog who's time had come just didn't seem right.

Don't worry though, I'm not going to shut this blog down completely. I'll let it die gracefully as I keep updating less frequently, but before I did let it die I just thought it was the right thing to do to mark this date and bid it farewell. It will still be here for a while, but slowly and surely it will fade into the past.

What will not fade into the past however are the many wonderful 'real-world' relationships that this blog has helped maintain. Our ability to update you on our lives will only improve with new technologies. We simply feel at this time that this blog is not the best way to keep in touch.

So, dear athensBLOG (and you the faithful readers) here's to you! It's been a great 4 years.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Thorncliffe - Toronto's goat consumption capital!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080802.INSATIABLE02/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Ontario/
Although thousands of people will devour curried goat rotis at the Caribana Parade later today, goat is not a big seller in Toronto, at least not outside meat counters catering to new Canadian palates, such as Iqbal Halal Foods in Thorncliffe Park (where at $7.99 a leg, it is one of the most expensive meats on offer) or Kabul Farm on Parliament Street, operated by an Afghan family who raise a flock of goats outside Milton.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

My new favorite song - When I ruled the world!!

I've had a hankerin for Coldplay ever since I heard their latest song Viva La Vida on our vacation:
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on what this song is about. One possible interpretation is that it's about George Bush and the USA, others say it's England or the Crusades or the Roman Empire. Any ideas?