Last week...was spent in Toronto...well not exactly in Toronto...somewhere on the outskirts... near Markham, Richmond Hill... It is one of the ironies of my job that the time we spend in Toronto I could be in any light industrial area in Canada...and the week is so jam packed that there is little time to see what everyone is talking about...when they talk about Toronto.

However...this summer Tage and I will go with a team from our church to work with youth in three inner city churches there. It will be fun...I am a chaperone...a chaperone...what a crazy mid-victorian word. I am excited...I think we will have a great time. I am a chaperone...yikes! I am sure we will see more of TO than I have on my previous trips. God said to Jonah, "Shall I not be concerned for this great city?"

During my last trip there it was great to connect with some great people. A very memorable sushi night. The cool thing about this job is you get to know people from all over North America...it is definately a perk! The conversation went on and on...and there was depth and insight as well as some great laughs.

Then there was an unbelievable encounter with Thai Food. It's not that the Thai food was great...it was just...um...unusual. The adventurers with me wanted to order something different, so we ordered "Pompano with Papaya Sauce". We did not know what a Pompano was, but we were quite sure that if there was enough Papaya Sauce, we could handle anything!

It turns out that Pompanos are...big round, flat fish...and they are served whole, with heads and tails and we are pretty sure, entrails! We ate it. It turns out they look a lot better in the ocean than on a plate. It turns out that they are...those shiny fish that show up in every show about coral reefs...they are not beautiful but they are plentiful.

Strange thing about strange food. It goes in and just sits in your stomach. You know the feeling. It just sits there...waiting. For me it waited until I got to the airport...and then it got angry and wanted out...WHAM!

After my last trip home from Toronto...this one was uneventful. It was great to get home and be greeted by a good friend.

Coming home always is a bit of a decompression as compared to sales conferences...there are chores to do, a back-yard to clean up, kids with questions and work to do.