Mioshay Goa(Konkani for Goodbye)

Posted by Wayne (Melbourne, Australia) on 8 February 2007 in Cityscape & Urban and Portfolio.

Well I'm leaving on a jetplane bound for Singapore and then to Melbourne and my kitchen =D WOOHOO! My time here's been instructive and I leave feeling like the work I've been doing here has been of some use - something for which I thank God for and also for the very privilege of being able to contribute at all. Beyond the work I came here to do, I managed to share my faith with one of my co-workers. He hasn't accepted Christ yet but he's currently using one of my wallpapers which has the inscription of Psalm 62:7!

On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

Which I also think is a very apt verse for my time here. He has kept me safe from harm...He has healed me when I fell sick with Giardiasis (caused by a waterborne parasite..its common in developing nations)...and sustained me through the occasional bouts of loneliness that strike me when I'm the last one to leave the office at 12 in the night (I'm a terrible workaholic). He is truly the rock of my strength upon whom my salvation and glory rests. The verse always gives me such incredible peace.

The photo's one of Nebs taken at a famous church in Panjim city...its the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It was built in 1619. See...Panjim used to be the first port of call for all ships hailing from Lisbon (Goa was a Portuguese colony back then) and sailors would stop by to give thanks. So I find the photo incredibly apt in light of the verse and my experiences here.

I'd like to take the time to also thank you guys - the aminus3 crowd - for all your wonderful comments and photos. I was a new user (still am) but you've all responded so supportively to the photos I've put up. It's always so amazing to see such great beauty even from the most ordinary of things and to hear about the interesting and varied lives you all lead =D. Thank you!

In other news...I can't wait to get back to school and to my church, Planetshakers!...I've the honor of being asked to do the meal planning for the PlanetUni (the church's university ministry) Leaders' Retreat! I promise I'll take snapshots and post the recipes up if everyone survives =D.

Here's a clip that shows you what PlanetShakers is all about - we were featured on ABC =D which is a national free-to-air station in Australia.

For those interested, Konkani is the state language of Goa. Hindi is the national language of India. So children here learn Konkani, Hindi and English. That is way beyond the ken of the somewhat mono-lingual me (technically I speak a bit of chinese...but most people find it painful to listen to =D)

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