George Martzen "georgos"

We returned from a fellowship with about 40 other United Methodist missionaries from the Asia/Pacific region during a conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sponsored by GBGM, we gathered at the Goldiana Hotel from Thursday to Sunday (20-24 November 2008). Besides hearing from all the different countries and projects from Tonga to Mongolia and Japan to Thailand, we shared worship together, visited several project sites in Phnom Penh, and worshipped at the Tuol Kauk Methodist Church and school, an initiative of The Methodist Church in Singapore. Like so many developing countries, the mission effort in Cambodia has been divided between different international and sectarian interests. Missionaries from different agencies (UMC, Korean Methodist, Chinese Federation Methodist, and Singapore Methodist, had been working separately in Cambodia, often to the confusion of the local populace. At least now the Methodist mission has been coordinated into a single national effort - the Methodist Mis...

There is more than one way to study for a biology test – try dance. That was the humorous conclusion of a problem on a recent Hannah Montana show I watched with my son. Hannah Montana, for those who don’t have teenage children, is a clever sit-com about a young woman who lives a double life. When she puts on a wig she become a singing teen idol. When she takes it she returns to a normal life as Miley Cyrus. In this episode Miley Cyrus was struggling with grades at school, especially in biology. If she didn’t pass an upcoming anatomy test, she was going to fail the class. After trying to get one of her brainy classmates to help her she came upon a unique idea. She incorporated the names of the bones into a song and dance routine. When the biology teacher saw her going through strange physical contortions during the exam, she sends Miley to the principal’s office. But Miley turns around and begins dancing through her exam preparation. The teacher was so impressed she wanted Mil...

I'm not paranoid, but I do notice surveillance cameras wherever I go. I did so even more today when I walked out of the theatre after watching "Eagle Eye," an action packed thriller directed by D. J. Caruso. It's about a defense department super computer gone haywire. After a questionable military action against suspected terrorist targets, two complete strangers start receiving anonymous phone calls that seem to turn them into terrorists also. Some fast-paced chase scenes left my jaw dragging the floor, not because I like chase scenes, but because of the near bloodless mayhem depicted. Hey, this was a PG movie (Singapore rating), so they can't show body parts flying all over the place, but I can't help but imagine that if this really happened then real people and real families would have been destroyed. Anyway, two things struck me about the film. First, we live in a societies where electronic surveillance and communications devices are endemic, and we ...

My, how time flies. Since my last blog China hosted its first Olympics, some medals were won, some public apologies were made, some US banks went belly up and The Methodist Church in Singapore held its 9th General Conference. I sat through much of the GC session since I was in charge of worship. Three conferences gathered again, gave reports, voted in leaders and attempted to elected the Bishop. That latter did not happen, but after more than 20 inconclusive ballots the members decided to continue the balloting at the concluding session on 3-4 December. Stay tuned... Time flies. We are approached the end of our second GBGM term in Singapore. For that reason, we are making preliminary plans for a study leave in June 2009, partly so I can start a D.Min. in Liturgical Spirituality. More on that later. Time flies like the butterflies I used the try and catch as they flitted from flower to flower in Dinuba. According to some reports we may have fewer Swallowtail butterflies, as mig...

I finally posted photos of the Yunnan trip to Flickr (and just about maxed out my free account). The images were shot on my 7-year-old Olympus Camedia (4Mpixel) - with the exception of a few images shot with my mobile phone camera and the group photos at Trinity Church. It's amazing how consumer digital hardward has advanced in the last decade. In film photography the hardware technology remained fairly stable for years, significant advances being made in film - speed and grain structure. So even a cheap camera could take ok pics with a roll of good film . One of the features of Yunnan that attracted me was the agriculture. Folks have probably been farming these parts of centuries. But it looked to me that farming was pretty much diversified with crops from other lands, like potatoes, corn, tobacco and many tree fruits, in addition to the more typical rice and leafy vegetables. In fact, potatoes, in some form, were common in most of our restaurant meals. I have always been ...

During our recent trip to Yunnan we were invited to visit one of the largest Protestant churches in Kunming, Trinity Church, which has a membership in the thousands, including many from the nearby university. The church has its roots in the missionary work of Hudson Taylor. It is part of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. I shared with the choir on Saturday morning regarding using the psalms in worship. Yunnan borders Sichuan, which had a terrible earthquake in May. Chin Cheak translated for me. As we read the psalms of lament and sang related songs, they acknowledge their grief at the loss of lives, including relatives and friends. Chin Cheak preached on Sunday morning to a congregation of about 4,000, after which we were taken by van to the mountains were we visited a local tribal church, which sang some of the most beautiful music I had heard on our trip. Again, we were asked to share with them God's Word. One of the things that struck us is how people came early for wor...

We just returned early this morning from a 12-day trip to Yunnan province, China. It was partly a tour and partly a chance to visit some Christian churches in and around Kunming, the provincial capital. Several students at Trinity Theological College are from Kunming, so my wife and I were invited to visit and share with them. Yunnan is a beautiful region, both in terms of the breath-taking landscapes and the many tribal cultures of the region. Of the over 50 cultures in China, most are present in Yunnan, including Tibetan, Yi and Naxi. There are some very interesting societal patterns, including the matriarchal, communal society of Mugu lake. It is also a place of many diverse religious traditions, from Tibetan Buddhism to animism and, of course, ancestor veneration. It is common in the middle of rich agricultural fields to see prominent ancestor graves. I understand that also assured continued ownership of the land. I will say more about Yunnan in coming days. --georgos