Seoul, South Korea

With a little sadness, but absolutely no regret, I boarded the plane to leave Sakhalin this morning... this Great Adventure is finally coming to a close. As I sit here now in Incheon International Airport (for the last time?) waiting for my flight to the US (6 more hrs!), my mind and heart are flooded with memories of the past 3 years – most very good / positive, others not quite so. But the good, by far, out weigh the not so good. Last night, my colleagues took me out for a farewell party at the newest / nicest hotel in Yuzhno. I had the best steak of my entire stay in Russia (perhaps because it was my last?)! It was a very enjoyable evening and a great send off from the people I toiled with for the past 33 months. Not one True Believer in the bunch, but each one I count as a friend. So, what is the biggest / best thing that happened while here? Without out a doubt, one thing stands out... LOVE. I guess the title (banner) of my Xanga site was somewhat prophetic, although I didn't have a clue when I wrote it. I thought it was just a witty / sexy 007 Russian Spy thing... but over the past 6 months, it has become very apparent that indeed LOVE is what He had in mind for me from the very beginning. Seeing more of His Love... experiencing more of His Love... understanding more of His Love... having more of His Love... giving more of His Love.

I can honestly now say that I am coming back home From Russia with (His) Love... hope to see you soon!

In the mean time, here are just a few of my favorite (cold weather) pics from my Great Adventure... will post more (diversity) later -enjoy!

The Sakhalin Express

I rode the “Sakhakin Express” for the last time last evening… after leaving the offshore platform at 9am on a 6-hour crew boat ride in to port (no heli flights right now), I got just a bit seasick. The seas weren’t too big (only ~ 6'), but I should have taken the Dramamine earlier (I’m very susceptible to motion sickness)… I started feeling a bit queasy about 15 minutes into the trip. Ate a few cookies and popped another Dram-tab and soon I’m feeling better and fall asleep… before I know it we’re there. Had to wait a few hours in the transit camp in Nogliki, also “affectionately” known as Camp No – btw: Pres Bush was gonna shut down GITMO and send the detainees to Camp No, but the Supreme Court overruled because that would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, so it remains our transit camp… ! I finally boarded the train at 7pm and settled in for the 15-hour ride on the “Sakhakin Express” (top speed 35 mph!). Conveniently, there were only a handful of passengers, so we each had a cabin to ourselves. It had rained most of the day, but the rain had now given way to a thick, heavy fog – strange weather here in Sakhalin. As we pulled out of the station, I knew there would be no dramatic sunset this time around. I was a bit disappointed since this was to be my last ride down the island and I was looking forward to hearing (seeing) Him “speak” to me as he has on previous train rides… just as it was getting fully dark, I wrote in my journal “maybe He will speak some other way”, then rolled over and went to sleep. I awoke at 6am to a blue sky with only a few clouds and full of promise for a gorgeous day. I got cleaned up, had some coffee, biscuits and yogurt then sat back for the remaining hours of the trip. It appeared quite suddenly. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of it. But when I turned my head and looked full on, it took my breath away… I was looking at the biggest, most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen! It was really very strange, not the kind of weather to expect a rainbow, but there it was, in radiant glory! I started laughing and said “I hear You, loud and clear!”. I watched for several minutes as the train slowly rocked down the tracks. Then, a second bow appeared, not quite as brilliant as the first, but there none-the-less! I just continued to marvel at His artwork. The second bow was only there a short while then slowly faded away. But the first bow remained just as it had from the beginning. Gradually, the tracks curved putting the train on a path that looked like it would pass right underneath the rainbow. I quickly stepped out of my cabin and peered out the corridor window and sure enough, the other end of the bow was on that side of the train. Soon the tracks curved the opposite direction and put the full rainbow back on my cabin side of the train. I continued to enjoy this display for about 15 minutes then, with a smile on my face, decided to jot down in my journal how He did speak to me after all. As I wrote the part about “looked like the train would pass right underneath” immediately HE spoke to my heart and said “this rainbow is My banner, and My banner over you is LOVE !”... good thing I was in a cabin alone, because I totally lost it! I felt HIS love. I knew HIS love. I was overwhelmed by HIS LOVE!

How many hundreds of times have I heard and sang that old song “His Banner Over Me Is Love”…? A simple song from the days of “Jesus People” and Coffee Houses, and now mostly relegated to Children’s Church for the hand motions. But the words to that simple old song now have powerful meaning – well, they always did, I guess I just didn’t really get it…

Its finally official…  I got a job transfer back to Houston!

Its been in the works for a quite a while – I applied for the job back in mid-May, had an interview in early June, was offered the job in early July, but not until few days ago were all the details worked out and formal announcement was made… I was sworn to secrecy till then (although word did leak out somehow…?). I’ll be working for my previous Pipelines Manager who is now the Global VP for HSE – I’m really looking forward to a new challenge, but more so to being back at home with a little international travel rather than the other way around!!!  My start date is 17 Sep but my last day in Russia is 1 Sep… will be home Labor Day weekend!

I figured this posting was a good way to end my three-month long Xanga posting-sabbatical (which by the way, was not planned, it just kinda happened…).

Tuesday I have to go offshore for a week or so, will post more when I’m back…

till then, Much Love !!

I was supposed to be in Geoje, South Korea by now. After a few days of meetings there, I would be on my way home on 10 May... but a few days ago, my boss suggested I go home early. He said he'd attend the meetings for me. What? Are you kidding?  I didn't argue - just quickly got busy rearranging my flights! The earliest available flight was on the 7th due to this weekend being the finish of a holiday week throughout much of Asia (May Day, Golden Week, etc). But I'll be home Monday afternoon... hooray!!!

So, this is my last day in Singapore - I'm really gonna miss this place... and the food. Especially the chili crab. Went to my favorite chili crab restaurant last nite, to partake one more (last?) time... so good! Tried to get the chef to divulge his recipe, but to no avail. Oh well, some things are best kept secret... that ensures it remains unique.

Looking forward to seeing you - will be home til 30 May when I return to Sakhalin. So give me a call, let's get together... !

I got back into S'pore from Perth, Australia on Wednesday - was there for five days. It was really kind of a blah trip... started felling ill on the flight over to Oz and for two days just stayed close to "the facilities", if you know what I mean. Must have picked some kind of bug... on Monday I went to inspect the diving vessel we will use this year - had to catch a 5:30am flight to Karratha. Perth is on southwest corner of the continent and Karratha is on the northwest corner. Flying over the "Outback", I think I kow what it would look like if you landed on Mars. Red rock everywhere. No grass, no trees, just red rock... along the coast there was some greenery but as you can see in the pic,not much -

It looks like giant ants or eathworms tunneled through here and left big piles of rocks in their wake!

It was only a day trip, so I was back in Perth late Monday night... on Tuesday, I had a walk around the area and found myself in King's Park. I discovered a small island in the midlle of a lake - it was very inviting...

I like the reflection of the duck as he swam away...

but this was the highlight of the trip - a nice secluded waterfall...

a great place to sit. and relax. and think. and pray...