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Help Get Me and Cooper Out Of The Country
April 26, 2012 – 6:26 am
With all the craziness this year, our summer mission trip to Brazil has kinda completely sneaked up on me. Cooper smoked me this year getting his support letter out.
Cooper hit all the basics in his. I’ll add a couple of details.
First, we will again be taking a group of teenagers to Porto Alegra, Brazil to partner with Thomas and Agnes Schneider and the Word of Life crew. Last year was the first time we tried this kind of a trip and in July. It’s cold, wet and none of us – Brazilians or Americans – had a clue if this would even work. The idea was to promote a spiritual getaway weekend with Americans. We had local churches come as well as a winter retreat.
Word of Life would not only bring in students but youth workers, pastors, and church leaders for the weekend to get some spiritual training and refreshment. I’d also have the opportunity to do some discipleship training with the missionary staff. It was a lot to do in a short amount of time. We had no idea it could even work.
It was a huge success. Again, because we are Americans and speak English (most of us), we are a huge commodity for them. We gain Word of Life access to schools they would have no chance of getting into, allowing them to reach even more kids with the story of Jesus. We saw many kids come to Christ. You can read about last year’s trip here.
Second, after this year, this will become an every-other year mission trip. It’s an expensive trip but we’ve been able to partner with another US church who will go in our off years. So they will go in 2013, we will go in 2014.
Third, like last year while the kids are playing soccer and hanging out with other teens, I’ll be working. Seriously, I’ll be teaching some discipleship courses to college-age kids as well as giving some theological training to some national youth pastors who would never be able to afford seminary or college classes.
It’s a huge honor for me. I think I end up learning more than they do but their eagerness to learn, their hunger for the Word of God, their desire to be closer to Christ is just infectious. I wish you all could go with us just once to experience it.
How can you help?
First, you can follow me on twitter (@thegsides) and follow me on this blog. It will keep you updated on the trip and you’ll have a better idea exactly how to pray for us. Plus, I’ll post pics when I can and tell you all kinds of funny stories along the way.
In a country where Spiritism is the leading religion, it is NOT cliche’ for me at all. I will need a huge amount of prayer support. We all will. Every year this trip is awesome, every year I see or experience something that reminds me how real spiritual warfare is.
Obviously, you can support us by sending us money for the trip. The trip is $2,000 and anything you give is tax-deductible. You can donate online by going here. There are instructions to guide you through it. That is a secure server so it’s a safe place.
You can also mail me a check. Make it out to Western Hills Baptist Church. NO WHERE ON THE CHECK CAN IT HAVE MY NAME ON IT! You can put “Brazil” in memo. You can either direct message on Twitter, leave a comment, or fill out my contact page for my address. I try not to post it online.
This year, Cooper is going with me. 14 years went by very, very fast. I’d never thought back then that one day I’d be going on a mission trip with my son going as a worker as well. I can’t put into words what that is like – serving alongside your kid and watching them grow a heart for Jesus and other people. All of my kids are so much further down the road than I was at their age. I’m a proud dad.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about our trip – just leave a comment or DM me on twitter. I love talking about Brazil!
Thanks for your support.
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- Fun way to end trip.
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- Coop on a log
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- Coop on a wire
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- Taylor, Jessa, Cullen, Cooper, Laura
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- They are everywhere….somewhere our students are in there.
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- Thomas and I look in awe at how students swarm us.
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- This is ridiculous good. Shouldn’t be legal.
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- You can’t even begin to know how good this is.
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- We got dad duty.
Cooper’s Brazil Mission Trip Letter
April 25, 2012 – 7:35 pm
The following is the letter Cooper wrote and sent out to get support for the upcoming Brazil Mission trip. I’m going with him (yes, you can support me as well. My plug and plea for money is comin later on this blog on on twitter).
I’m just kinda…no, I’m a whole lot of proud of Cooper. All of our kids really. They are developing a hear for missions, for serving others. They are so much further down the road spiritually than I was at their age and it’s one of the best things in my life to be able to do ministry WITH them.
Here’s Cooper’s letter.
Dear friend,
I get to go to Porto Alegre Brazil again! We are going to work at a camp for Brazilian kids where they can have fun and learn about God and having a faith in a place where its not so easy. Camps take place on the weekend. When we are not at camps, during the week, we are speaking at schools. We talk about our daily lives here in the states and then at the end we share the gospel! It is a blast!
In Brazil, being an American is like having an all-access pass to anywhere. We are invited to speak at all kinds of schools. Public, Private, Secular, Religious, you name it. They love it if we talk about life in the states. Thomas acts as our translator. We talk and then, after we have shared the gospel, we either go to another classroom or we play sports and talk to the kids. This will be the second time I get to go to brazil.
One of the things I am especially excited to do is to play soccer with the other kids. The kids there are so good at soccer, a pick-up team of them could probably beat a school team here. Soccer in Brazil is basically a religion.
I am also excited to go and see all of the missionaries! When I got there last time, I knew that I had never seen any of these people before in my life, but it felt like I was their family. They just welcomed us in.
Another reason I am excited this year is because I can’t wait to tell the story of Christ to a bunch of kids. The two weeks is kind of like cinderella. Famous in the day, doing dishes and cleaning toilets at night.
You can support me in three ways.
The most important way is prayer. This trip is so amazing and God has to prepare me for the challenges and experiences I will go through. The power of prayer is never to be underestimated.
Second, follow me, stay up to date (as best as I can) and even encourage me via twitter. My name is @buckshot643.
The third option is financial. The entire trip costs $2,000. Anything you give is tax-deductible. You can donate online at http://www.whillschurch.org/2012/03/2012-brazil-mission-trip. It’s a secure server login from there.
Or you can write a check to Western Hills Baptist Church, put Brazil in the memo and mail it to me. [If you are interested in supporting him or me - contact me, leave a comment. I'll send you our address.] NO WHERE ON THE CHECK CAN IT HAVE MY NAME ON IT!
This is going to be a life-changing trip and I thank you for you time and prayers.
Sincerely,
Cooper
Coop on a wire
Coop on a log
Fun way to end trip.
My Visit to Sterling College
April 19, 2012 – 9:00 pm
I spoke yesterday at Sterling College in Sterling, KS. It’s a 3 hour drive from Topeka. It sounds worse than what it really is.
The official by-line of Sterling College is a Christ-centered college with a mission “to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith.” Having been on my fair share of Christian college campuses – I was dubious. Most campuses that I have experienced had great intentions of being a Christ-centered college but ended up morphing into yet another Christian sub-culture “ghetto” of rules, simple answers, head-in-the-sand understanding of culture.
Through a friend of a friend (Jim Turner) I had already met Dr. Dewey, a Vice President of the college. I’d been impressed. Articulate. Heart for culture. Desire to impact world – through business, art, science – with Christ. BUT one adminstrator a college does not make. Or something like that. It was going to be nice to actually be on campus.
Met the president the moment we got on campus. Dr. Paul Maurer. I don’t have a lot of experience meeting college presidents – only have met two…well, three counting Dr. “Please call me Paul” Maurer. So I don’t know if this is a normal experience or not. I could have sat and talked with him all day. Sports, academics, theology, art, current events – the exact opposite of the stereotypical college president – or at least what I was expecting a college president to be like. I liked him. Engaging, thoughtful, articulate – I could go on. The point is – I can see this man speaking just as easily to a 19 year old freshman from Hays, Kansas as the governor of the state. Both would feel like they are his honored guest.
His only fault? He’s a Cincinnati Bearcat fan. For the life of me, I can’t figure that out. I’d like to at some point in the future dig deeper into his psyche to see what’s up with that. Hard to believe that he is a fan of Thug University. Hopefully his time in Kansas will convert him to the real basketball university. Rock Chalk.
Spoke at chapel. It’s hard to tell how that went. I was told that it went well but then again, they have to say that. Hard to tell with the whole required chapel thing. Let me just say this – God has an incredible sense of humor. I spent most of my college career trying to get out of chapel only to now be the speaker at a required chapel.
After chapel, got to hang with a group of students along with the president, and Dr. Dewey and Dr. Kerr – he is the Director of Academic Affairs. In other words, he hires faculty. But, his second claim to fame is the flower-cutting coach. It’s a long story that I don’t think I can really explain to its full potential. If you ever get to Sterling, ask for Dr. Kerr and ask him about it. Besides a good laugh, I’m fairly positive he’d tell you the rest of the story.
I think I loved the student interaction the most. Wish we would have had more time with the students. Even in an informal arena. Good to hear their perspective of the campus.
Lunch with the staff and faculty. I realize that on trips like this, the college makes sure they put their best foot forward – playing to their strengths. What Sterling lacks in campus resources such as buildings and eye candy, they seem to more than make up for with their faculty and staff. Not just incredibly smart and articulate, but humorous and insightful. They aren’t locked in their ‘ivory towers’ but seem very aware of the culture around them. More on this later.
Quick Observations and Impressions:
The Good
Had more than one student use this phrase – “It’s a Christ-centered college…not a Bible College.” When pushed to explain what that meant, he said “I’m given information with multiple viewpoints, one of which is a Christ-centered worldview. It’s then up to me what I want to do with that information.”
Nice distinction. And one I appreciate. This kind of education actually prepares students for life after college, not just brainwashes them to one certain point of view.
The college has a 94% medical school acceptance rate of their pre-med majors. That’s ridiculous and unexpected. Their debate team ended the season ranked 12th in the nation. That’s alongside every university – D1 or otherwise – in the nation. That further proves my point above.
The Not So Good
It’s a private school so you can figure that it’s a bit more expensive that KU or K-State. I didn’t get the stats on how many of the students get scholarships. I’m guessing it’s fairly high as most small private colleges try to help out as much as they can to get students on campus.
I’m not going to lie to you – it’s a small campus. Very small. Around 700 students. It’s in Sterling, Kansas – 30 minutes from anywhere. Coming from Denver – it’s a shock to the system to realize how small it is. I don’t think that affects the quality of the staff or education these students are receiving.
The Surprise
There appeared to be the absence of a Christian bubble/sub-culture. Again – I was on campus for less than 8 hours. So my perception may not be reality. But the people and staff that I met would be people that I’d hang out with. And I’m definitely NOT the bubble.
Maybe they were just being nice and kind but maybe they weren’t either. Maybe that’s just who they are. There seemed to be a freedom for the students to deconstruct their faith, ask questions and explore truth without the harsh judgement that normally comes within certain Christian circles.
One more thing about the faculty and staff – and I’m not naive enough to think that they all are this way – but they seem to really enjoy students. There is nothing worse than a prof that is more in love with the subject than they are people. I didn’t get that impression with this crew. Granted – I didn’t meet them all.
Overall, I had a great time on campus. I regret that I was so caught up in the visit, I didn’t take pictures. Hopefully, I’ll be invited again and I’ll take pictures then.
20 Years and some Disney Magic
December 23, 2011 – 5:10 pm
This year was our 20-year anniversary. Now this is a significant date for me for a couple of reasons. First, I’m one of the only family members (that married) that hasn’t been divorced. Second, we spent the first 17 years of our marriage in student ministry. That means that while everyone else was on vacation or break, we weren’t. Summers and Winters are prime camp and retreat times.
Our first 17 anniversaries were spent with students at conferences or camps. To Amy’s credit – she never complained about that. So I absolutely wanted this 20-year marker be something very special. Since we honeymooned at Disney World, what better place to celebrate the anniversary?
We stayed at the Port Orleans: French Quarter Resort on the Disney property. I also got us reservations for dinner at the California Grill on top of the Contemporary Hotel – so I thought. You can see Magic Kingdom from there and the plan was to eat dessert, see the fireworks, have the romantic music playing…you get the picture.
As I’m getting ready to leave for Florida, I realize that I never got a confirmation email from Disney about the dinner reservation. I call and it’s not there. They don’t have any record of it at all. We’ve got the room at Port Orleans, just no dinner at the California Grill.
The lady was very nice – gave me a couple of other locations to see the fireworks – but I was pretty upset at myself.
We get off the plane in Orlando and I have a voicemail. It’s Guest Services at Disney. The lady that was helping me was calling me back but we missed each other. Her voicemail said she’d be out of the office until next week sometime.
Next day we get to Port Orleans and it is gorgeous. We got a touch of Mickey in the room and it felt like we were in New Orleans. The streets, the look and the beignets! Oh yeah.
I finally get dinner reservations at another restaurant. It wasn’t California Grill but it was still nice and we could head over to the Polynesian for the fireworks afterward. That’s when the craziness started. I get a phone call from Jennifer at the California Grill. She saw it was our anniversary and while she didn’t have a 9pm spot, she had an 8pm, would I be interested. I said – yes but it’s already 5ish now and we’ve got reservations that I’m not sure I can get out of this late. I really appreciate the effort and the thought. So I hang up.
My phone rings 10 minutes later. It’s Jennifer from the California Grill again. “Mr. English, this is your 20 year anniversary, right? I mean, you really need to have this dinner at the California Grill. So I’ve taken care of those other reservations for you. We are covering the fee for them. See you at 8, okay?”
Needless to say, I was floored. What kind of incredible service is that?
So what do you do to kill time at Disney before 8pm dinner reservations? You check out the other hotels on the monorail. Here are some pics…
We check in on the 2nd floor of the Contemporary Hotel for the California Grill. At check in, we’re told that they are running about 15 to 20 minutes behind on their reservations but to go on upstairs and enjoy the view and the lounge. We are escorted on the express elevator to the 15th floor. At the main reception desk upstairs, I notice the manager, his name is Gary. I asked him about Jennifer, she got off earlier in the night but I made sure he knew about what she did for us. He smiled and said — oh, that’s not all she arranged for you.
Instead of being 15 minutes behind, right at 8pm we were taken to our table. Not just any table but a small table for two located in a cozy corner with an incredible view of Cinderella’s Castle and all of Magic Kingdom. Our table was sprinkled with Mickey Confetti as well.
Bill would be our waiter for the evening. By the way – every staff that we ran into wished us a Happy Anniversary. Very nice touch. The view and the service were outstanding, the food was even better. Bill walked us through the menu. We did a Sushi starter platter. I ordered the Beef Filet, Amy took on the Pork Tenderloin.
I wouldn’t order the sushi platter again. The shrimp, tuna, and salmon were outstanding. So was the white nut shrimp roll. There was another fish on it that was good but the other rolls and mackerel were not to our liking. But it sure did look pretty.
The entrees were the best. The steak was probably the best I’ve ever eaten. All of the food was incredible.
We were really taking our time with the meal. We thought if we were slow enough, we could be finishing up dessert right as the fireworks started. The waiter had already cleared a couple of other tables in his section. We really shouldn’t have worried about it.
As he cleared our plates, he said ‘Alright guys, want you to take a little break. I’ll be back here in about 10 minutes with dessert menus that way you guys will be eating dessert while watching the fireworks! And only order one dessert. I’ve got something special for you.”
Here’s what he ended up bringing us along with free glasses of champagne to celebrate our anniversary. That is peppermint ice cream with a chocolate cake with a hot fudge cream middle. Bill also brought us a piece of chocolate mousse cake. Complete with the “Happy Anniversary” chocolate placards.
And the fireworks were incredible with the soundtrack from Magic Kingdom being piped into the restaurant. Overall, the BEST anniversary ever. What a great experience and I’m blown away by how the Disney staff just took care of us and once again used a little magic to make it happen!
Here are some more pics!
Open Letter To Our Mission Trip Takers
December 13, 2011 – 11:16 am
Once again we have a solid group of students – both high school and college who have already committed to doing a mission project in the summer of 2012. This is such a huge highlight for me because I know these are life-changing opportunities for both the students as well as the place they go. The big one for Western Hills is of course our partnership with Word of Life in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
This is the letter I wrote the team this week…
An open letter to our students going on a mission trip this summer,
From your favorite pastor. (Okay – I’m your only one. Just humor me for a moment.)I don’t want to sound over-dramatic but there two things that I think the Lord is pressing on me to say to you.
First – thank you. For the last 4 years, the only international mission trips that Western Hills has been a part of has been with students. It should NOT be this way – we grown ups should be modeling for you what the Great Commission and Great Commandment look like. But it is. You are showing us.
You are showing us to be obedient to the command of Jesus – to go into ALL the world to tell ALL people about Jesus. We need this. I need this. Without this model – we’ll never grow into the church we need to be. You are the church of the NOW.
Second – hang in there and get wet.
What the heck is that supposed to mean?
Here’s what it means – Joshua 3 – God has given this ridiculous sized mission to a young leader named Joshua who has never led before. The mission was to occupy the land that God had been promising Israel for hundred of years. It would be a mission of incredible importance and supreme danger.
The biggest obstacle? The first 50 feet in front of them. The Jordan River. In flood stage.
In order to get to the land, they had to cross the river and it just looked insurmountable. Joshua was thinking about giving up before they ever got started.
Look at how many times God says to Joshua “Do not be afraid, have courage” in the first 3 chapters. It’s ridiculous. It’s beyond ridiculous. It makes you wonder if Joshua was really just a big baby and God was having to babysit him. Why does God take so much time at the start to “talk Joshua up?”
Because the biggest obstacle to completing the mission of God will always be the first 50 steps. ALWAYS!
The enemy knows that if he can get you to quit early, it’s done. People who have seen God work and have a taste of God coming through at the last minute – they don’t quit. They know better. So the pressure to quit is ALWAYS at the start, near the beginning.
And again at the very end.
Back to Joshua 3 – get wet. God is going to give Joshua a glimpse of what He can do if he will just obey. A glimpse enough to get him moving and obeying. God tells Joshua and the leaders to go stand in the Jordan river as if they are going to cross it.
When they do this — the river stops flowing. It becomes a dry river bed. Easy to cross. And they cross it. And hence a pattern is started for God’s people. You start the journey, you be obedient, you get wet. Then I’ll show up. But you are going to have to get wet first.
So my friends, here is what I’m telling you…
GET WET, PEOPLE!!!!!!
And let the rest of us watch God work in you and through you.
It’s my honor to be your pastor and friend.
Topeka Eats: Flying Monkey
December 6, 2011 – 6:21 pm
Location: corner of 17th & Washburn Road.
Kind of Food: coffees and light lunch – salad, sandwiches, quiche (maybe)
Date visited: Tuesday, December 6 at lunch
Here is the review from Food & Flicks. I had a very different experience.
First, it’s a cool looking, modern-minimalist place. No clutter, just a place that you would expect to have in a metropolitan area like Denver or the Plaza even. So – kudos for that.
Staff was friendly and engaging.
Food:
I ordered the quiche…and they didn’t have it. I then ordered their salad with hummus. And they didn’t have that. So I’ll go with the Turkey Club and they didn’t have that.
I quote my conversation with the cashier at this point.
Me: Okay…so why don’t you tell me what you do have on this menu.
Guy: Pretty much anything you see on the menu.
Me: I’m 0 for 3 ordering off the menu. Help me out a bit.
Guy: We have a soup.
Me: Great, what is it?
Guy: It’s the Soup de Jour.
Me: LONG PAUSE. So you’re telling me that the soup of the day is the soup of the day?
(To be fair, he could have trying to be funny and it just didn’t work. I couldn’t really tell.)
The other guy finally tells me it is a Cheese Ale soup. I order it. My buddy (who invited me to the place) ordered a Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwich. We both ordered the Ecuadorian coffee. It was the best thing of the whole experience. The coffee was outstanding…a bit expensive…but outstanding.
The soup was good but tiny. Very tiny. Think small coffee cup size. My friend said his sandwich tasted great as well. But…
Price:
There is no way around this – it’s expensive. 7 to 9 dollars for a salad or a sandwiches that are medium to small portion sizes, with no chips or side or drink is a bit much. It’s like tourist prices….but without the view or travel.
What made it all the more disappointing was just yards away stood my favorite place to eat – The Burger Stand – where I could have gotten a huge hamburger, whole side of fries and a drink for the same price as my cup of coffee and cup of soup.
Overall Experience:
It’s a nice place. It is a quiet, comfortable place to meet and talk over coffee.
But don’t go there hungry. While the food quality is outstanding, the portion sizes versus pricing is considerably out of kilter.
UPDATE: Just learned that today was the first day they were serving food. A ‘soft open’ I believe is what they call it in the Biz. That may explain not having the full menu available.
KC-135 Stratotanker Refueling Mission
November 16, 2011 – 5:16 pm
Chris Gnagi invited me on a “Civic Leader” flight out at Forbes Field today. (Why he thinks I’m a civic leader is a whole other discussion.) Got to the gate at 7:30, inside the auditorium by 7:45. At 8 am, the briefing started. After some time on the history of the National Guard, the actual flight crew walked us through the mission.
We were going to fly down to Springfield then over to Oklahoma City then back to refuel and do training runs with a B-52 out of Barksdale AFB (LA). The KC-135 that we were using today was built in 1957 and can fly halfway around the world before needing to refuel. They can refuel anything military and NATO. No helicopters and no commercial airlines.
Chris got me in the cockpit for takeoff. Lots of communication between pilots, cargo crew, ground crew, and tower. Lots of knob twisting and checklists. Found out there is triple redundancy on the engines and power generators. That’s good to know.
Each engine has to be spun by air pressure first. As they gain speed, fuel is pumped to them and is ignited. Each engine does this independently. I feel the plane pop a bit with each engine coming up to speed. Those quick take-offs in the movies that let the good guy get away? I don’t think that is happening with this plane.
Pilot is getting last minute instructions as to what runaway to use for takeoff, what elevation and climb he needs to take. Then he has to report who is on board. “18 souls onboard.” 14 passengers, 4 crew but they still say – “souls” when reporting how many people. I like that.
Wylie 31 Heavy is our call sign. Rogue 07 (Zero-Seven) is the B-52 we are refueling. As we taxi to takeoff we got confirmation that Rogue 07 is airborne.
The first overwhelming feeling is takeoff. 4 huge engines just lifting this beast off the ground. All the while there is constant conversation on the radio – altitude, tower control, bearing information. It’s multitasking on steroids. It feels much like a commercial airline take off except for one major difference – the noise. It’s loud and I’m thankful for the headset.
About 10 seconds after lifting off there is a glitch. The landing gear. There was the big bright light on the lever that indicated that not all the wheels were up. Pilot calls back to cargo for visual inspection. Cargo tells us that he can see the wheels and that they are in retracted but we have no confirmation that the they are locked in place.
During this whole time, the tower is giving instructions as to heading and altitude and speed and climb rate. There is quite a bit of chatter. We are told the nearest plane to us is a Cessna about 6 miles away at 6500 feet.
We get to 4,000 ft and the pilot goes “around the horn” on recycling the landing gear. This means every crew member says yes/no on whether to re-engage the landing gear then pulling it back up. All say yes. The pilot tells tower what is going on. The landing gear lever is dropped and I can feel the plane start dragging. It’s like someone has hit the brakes. The wait a few seconds then pop the lever back up. All lights go dark. In this case that is a good thing because that means the gear is up and locked in place. All good, off to refuel.
We are at 6k ft and are clear to go to 23,000. It’s pretty foggy. Heavy cloud cover. Can’t see anything. Until we get to 23,000. Then the sun pokes thru and you can literally feel it warm the plane.
On radar we can see these white dots with numbers on it. +7 means that plane is 7, 000 feet higher than we are. -4 means 4,000 feet lower.
We get a call – Rogue 07 is inbound, 1 mile away. They will be coming up on our right wing. Gnagi gives me a nod to head back to the boom. I drop my headset off and am immediately overwhelmed by the noise. It is loud. The only way to really communicate with one another is screaming.
I make my way down the cargo bay, grab an airmask to wear in case the cabin loses air pressure and some much needed ear plugs. You can see here that they come with simple instructions. This mask comes with 5 minutes of oxygen. (That’s what the label says.) I guess that means if the pressure goes, they’ve got 5 minutes to get to a lower altitude.
I can see the B-52 off our wing and it doesn’t look that big. In the galley pics below, if you look closely it’s just underneath the wing. Of course…that is one mile away. He’s about to get a lot closer.
The boom operator lays down on this couch and has both feet and hand controls over the boom. There is an extension that comes out and actually connects with the plane. There is also some play with the boom – up/down and right/left.
There is close to 80,000 lbs of fuel in this bird. (I think that is the number…it was pretty loud in the plane so don’t quote me on that.) It’s located in the wings and under the fuselage where most aircraft put luggage. Gravity does most of the work moving the fuel around. Less mechanical dependency, less mechanical failure. Chris tells me that it’s possible to send fuel from the receiver plane to the KC-135 but not preferred. In fact, he said only in extreme emergencies would they even attempt it.
It’s hard to describe the feeling laying down watching a B-52 fly right up underneath you. So I shot some footage with my iPhone instead. What a ride!!!
NOTE: The footage is in HD and looks incredible but is taking a ridiculous long time to upload. So I’m working on a faster process but the video is coming. And it’s pretty incredible. I’ll update it again on Twitter when it’s finished. In the meantime, enjoy the pics.
Video is done and here it is. Be sure to watch it in HD. Pretty awesome.
Topeka Food: Toucan Express
October 21, 2011 – 10:13 am
Image is from Food&Flicks.
Toucan Express
1003 S.E. Quincy
Topeka, KS 66612
(785) 233-5900
Grabbed lunch with my good friend Gary Manford yesterday and we decided to try the Toucan Express – Brazilian Buffet. After 10 years of visiting Brazil, my family has a love for the Brazilian food and culture.
Let me get the most annoying thing about this place out of the way right now. Parking. I realize that really isn’t the Toucan Express’s fault but this location has seen something like 37 dinner restaurants come and go. I think the biggest reason is parking. There is nowhere to park and the 4 places you can park is going to cost you about a $1 an hour – in coins.
START OF MINI-RANT: I wonder if the city of Topeka really wants the downtown area to thrive or not. They seem to do everything in their power to make life difficult for the customer. It’s a shame because I can count 6 places that I think are superior places to eat but are absolutely ridiculous to get to because of parking and parking meters. END OF RANT.
I didn’t have any coins. So I walk in and ask Gary if he’s got any coins and he doesn’t. The waiter reaches in his pocket and pulls out 3 quarters and gives them to me. That has got to be the best service I’ve had in a long time. (And you can bet I rewarded him greatly with my tip after the meal.)
The decor is sparse. I wanted there to be this overwhelming sense of smells and sights that took me back to Brazil. The smells were there. The sights were not. Of course, they are still in their soft opening phase. If you aren’t familiar with what a soft opening is – see Oceans 13.
Toucan Express only serves lunch as of right now and every day is a different menu. Today being Thursday meant we got the Brazilian Roast Beef and Chicken Stroganoff. Of course, there were the usual rice, beans, yuka – potato like root from Brazil (very good), and their cornbread. Two kinds of cornbread – the regular and coconut. I’m not a fan of coconut but Gary is. I lost track of how many pieces he ate. I assume that means he thought it was very, very, good. Rice pudding was also served as a dessert.
The food was very good and hearty…and plenty of it. The beef skewers were outstanding. Thin pieces of beef wrapped and marinated — good night, it was good. I’m not really doing it justice. The cook came out and spent some time talking to us. She asked about our food and the conversation turned to her home in Rio de Janeiro.
Overall: Good place to eat. 10 bucks gets you all-you-can-eat buffet and a drink. Pretty reasonable.
Parking is a nightmare, I hope they can overcome that.
Future Plans: Chef said that the hope is to have a churrascaria on the weekend. That’s the swords full of meat for those of you wondering.
Topeka Eats: The Burger Stand
September 16, 2011 – 9:26 am
The Burger Stand is located in the College Hill section of Topeka (16th & Lane, across from Washburn U). I took the fam this past Wednesday night as sort of treat and an apology from me for being absolutely crazy busy since Labor Day.
Loved the atmosphere. With a Fat Tire bicycle over the bar along with the O’Dell posters on the wall, it felt like I’d just been dropped into Fort Collins. I will say that those who have smaller kids – toddler and younger – this could be a pretty overwhelming experience. You order at the bar, the menu is in chalk, there really isn’t a kid menu. So folks with little families – might not be the best experience for you. We had our 3 kiddos with us but they are older.
Here’s what we ordered:
The Classic – white cheddar cheese burger with greens. This was probably the best burger I’ve had in a long, long time. Just a good ole, thick, juicy burger and the white cheddar was perfect. Every one of ours was cooked to perfection.
Corn Dawg – one of the kids ordered this. You know those frozen corn dogs that you get at a fair? This was nothing like it. This was the Cadillac of Corn Dogs. Think of a great big foot-long Nathan’s hotdog dipped in a special beer-batter, fried to perfection.
The Fry menu took a little explaining. They’ve got regular fries, sweet potato, duck fat, truffle, and onion rings. Duck Fat Fries are fried in duck fat, then tossed in some seasoned salt and some chives. I REALLY wanted to try these and one day I will go back and get them. But after dropping all this weight – I just could not bring myself to even say the words Duck Fat, let alone order something and put it in my mouth. But I will…
Truffle Fries – from what I could get gather from the cashier, is basically fries tossed in some truffle oil. I will admit that I am no food snob so I can’t really tell you if this is at all a good thing or not. I know that truffles are expensive and they are this “amazing, wonderful” ingredient that you can only get if you are cooking on some chef elimination tv show like Chopped, Masterchef, or Next Food Network Star.
We ordered:
Regular Fries: Pretty regular. Nothing to write home about.
Onion Rings: The beer-battered rings have a distinct taste. First, you can taste the beer in the batter – which is unusual in most places. Second, it’s not the sweet batter that most use but has a little bitter to it. We had mixed reviews at our table. Some liked them, some hated them. I think I would have liked them but I had ordered something else and after tasting them – nothing else was going to taste good. What was that?
Sweet Potato Fries: Oh. My. Gosh. I have a love/hate relationship with sweet potato fires. There are some places that use so much cinnamon and carmel and sugar that I just can’t eat them. It’s like eating fried sugar. These were cooked perfectly. Not artificially sweet, just fried perfectly with a little salt and let the sweet potato stand on its own. PERFECTION. These were the hit of the night as I had to fight off Amy from eating them.
Sauces: The Burger Stand really stands out as a Gourmet Burger place with their sauces. They don’t just have ketchup or mustard or if your my daughter – mayonnaise. (Why would you put mayo on a burger??? Ughhhh…) Each sauce has a twist to it. The ketchup has some heat to it along with a hint of cherry. Mustard has some heat as well but I didn’t taste it so I can’t really attest to it. It may sound weird, but they all got great reviews from our table. Except from my youngest kid – she wanted normal ketchup for that corn dog. Oh well…she survived.
Other Menu Items:
They’ve got a vegetarian menu (why???) that seems to be pretty good. Sun-dried and truffle and all those other key vegetarian words were used on the menu so I guess that is good.
They also have a variety of “Dawgs” and Brats on the menu. They look pretty amazing but I just have a hard time ordering a hot dog anywhere except at a ballpark. There other burgers are going to be on my menu the next time I go. A Kobe burger, a Black & Blue Burger, Fire, and Smoke are also on the menu.
$$$ - Our bill came in under $50. For a family of 5, that’s not ridiculously expensive but it was a bit more than just fast food. We didn’t order drinks either – waters for everybody. For the quality of food we got – I feel like it was a great price. Amy and I will absolutely come back by ourselves. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been out and wanted just a good ole burger in a local joint without having to go through the ‘sit down, wait, order, get, shove it down because they are waiting on that table’ experience.
In hindsight, we could have saved a few pennies by just ordering a couple of large baskets of fries instead of each of us getting a half basket. We had plenty of fries – except for the sweet potato ones. Every crumb of those were licked up. Neither one of our older kids finished their burgers completely. That’s how big and thick those puppies are. So we probably could have split a burger between them.
Overall Experience:
Outstanding. Folks were friendly, food was great. I have a feeling that this will become one of our favorite ‘splurge’ places to eat.
My Labor Day Weekend
September 6, 2011 – 10:58 am
Friday Night – Wedding at Lake Shawnee. Really enjoy this couple. Looking forward to getting to know them better. I prefer Friday night weddings over Saturday afternoon.
Saturday
11 AM – funeral for Robin Sadler. Western Hills was packed. We got a little late start on the funeral to make sure everyone was situated and ready. I don’t think anyone minded at all. Funerals are never fun but this one was good. Good in that – we miss Robin but her life and testimony give such hope and joy. Lots of tears and laughter.
1 PM – get home from funeral to head out to Lake Wabaunsee. We were invited by some friends to spend the weekend but obviously couldn’t. Instead, we came out for Saturday afternoon. Rain came rolling in at the same time we were getting ready to leave. We were tempted to just stay home. I was tired, drained from the funeral/wedding but…we decided to go anyway.
So glad we did. I caught one fish in the middle of the day. Not bad at all considering the conditions. The company and food were outstanding. We looked up and it was already 8 pm. Time flies. Headed home for church.
Sunday
9 & 10.30 AM
It’s Labor Day weekend and I’m learning in Kansas that means days at the lake. Plus our weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous. I know other pastors will never admit this but it’s true – I was preparing for a ‘low’ Sunday. I get it. I understand. I don’t harbor ill-well to those families who take off on a long weekend to spend with their family. It’s just a reality that the church has to deal with.
We were pretty packed on Sunday morning. Never would have guess it was a holiday weekend.
We had a great service as well – dealing with the issue of eternity, heaven and hell. Here are the two big nuggets I hope people walked away with…
I was sold “Heaven” as a kid like a time-share condo. If they had told me that the only way to get to heaven was to do cartwheels with animal crackers in my mouth, I’d have done that. I wanted no part of Hell.
Truth is there is no heaven without Jesus. Where ever Jesus is, Heaven is. The real question of eternity isn’t about heaven and/or hell. It’s about Jesus. Do you love and want to be with Jesus?
1 pm
We leave church and head to Kansas City to drop kids off at Nana’s and Poppy’s house. They will celebrate Cayden’s birthday yet so more. (It felt like birthday week, not birthday day this year…) Amy and I grab a room on the Plaza.
We get a 3 mile walk in before dinner and rent a couple of movies at redbox.
Monday
We get another over 3 mile walk in, then coffee at Starbucks. A visit to the Apple Store then some BBQ for lunch. We wanted Oklahoma Joe’s but they were closed for Labor Day. Rosedale BBQ instead. It was a mixed bag. The sausage and corn fritters were the best ever. The pork and fries were average/below average.
5pm
Head over to some friends house in Topeka for grilling.
8pm
Home and kids in bed but allergies decided to kick me in the face pretty good. I spend the next hour just sneezing and basically miserable.
Ready for the week? Ready or not…
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