****Blessed are the cracked: for it is they who let in the light*****

The Bigness of Jesus

This is a story that I've had on the back burner for a while. It was told to me by a friend of mine whose grandfather is the one who experienced it. It goes like this...

My friend's grandparetns were Baptist missionaries in Nepal in the early part of the 20th century. When they arrived, they were placed in a small village that had never seen a white person before. It took quite a while for the them to be accepted and somewhat understood by the native Nepalese, but after a while, the missionaries bacame a normal part of village life.
One of the stories that circulated in the village was that of a "witch woman" that haunted the forest nearby. Children were told that they needed to be good or "the witch woman would get them". No one in the village ventured out alone for fear of an attack. And there was physical evidence that she existed. Hunters would come across a fire that had recently ben put out. Footprints were found. That was enough to keep the local rumour mill going strong.
The missionary heard these stories, and was curious as to what their origin was. He began to inquire and found out that, many years before, a young woman of the town had been caught in some sort of indescretion and was sent into the forest to die. The only problem was that she hadn't died, but managed to eak out an existance with no other human contact.
One particular day there was a stir amoung the people. A lone figure was slowly making it's way down the road to the vliiage limits. It was soon recognized as the woman who had been banished. She crossed the threshold of the town and collapsed. The native people ran from her, as they were fearfull of the curse put on her. The missionary and his wife, having nothing to lose, helped her to her feet and took her to their home. It was obvious she was dying, so they made her as comfortable as possible. They asked her why she had come back, and she responded that it was her last wish to die in the town where she was born.
Being a good Baptist missionary, the man sat by her bed and began to tell her about Jesus. He spoke of His love for her, and that he had died for her and wanted her to be with Him when she died. As he spoke, a warmness and "glow" came over her, and she would nod periodically to the truths of the story being told. When the man had finished, she looked at him and smiled. "That's the Buddha I've known all along", she said. "I just didn't know his name".

As the missionary retold the story to his family, including my friend, he knew that there was no reason to have her say a prayer or anything of that sort. She was already there.

Local Film Shoot

I didn't realize it's been this long since I've written here, so it's about time...
I'm sitting in the Broadway Roastery watching part of the making of a film called "The Philosophy of Some of my Friends". A guy that I kinda know, Tim Hildebrand, is in it. It's a 14 minute film diercted by Dave Turcotte, whom I don't know at all. I'd like to see the completed version, and I'll post information about it here for those of you in Saskatoon who may be interested in seeing it.