Sunday, December 31, 2006

Here is a ninja picture for all you ninjas...



We be trained in many different arts...
My crazy family and other animals.....











Saturday, December 30, 2006

Well i am back...

I have returned form a three week holiday in Cyprus. I was given the opportunity to work for a friends dad's company, which was really good, as you all already know. But what some don't know is that i got to spend time with my family, in the SNOW. I have some friends saying that they haven't had much snow, but in Cyprus, good old cyprus we have had snow, up in the mountains, bu it snowed when my family and i was there...
It was great to reconnect with my family and to spend time with them again, unfortunately it was only for a week that i got to see them, but i am greatful about that. I was also able to see all my friends there, which was a blessing.
Now that i am back, thoughts of the next six months are becoming reality. Please pray for me that i will not get scared by all the new things that i will be doing and just curl up, but that i will be able to try and see everything from a point of view of, how can i experience God in this new situation, and how can i be a witness....
Well guys the year is coming to a close... just one more day in the year 2006. That is kinda scary in a way, another year gone and another is coming, thoughts of have i done well this year, what will i do next year, fill my head when i think about it... But you can also think about it form the view of, okay, one more year has gone now lets tackle the next one that is coming and pursue God even more whole heartedly than last year...
take care guys
Alex

Monday, December 18, 2006

Yo Ninjas...

Chuck Norris knows what Willis is talking about...

Friday, December 15, 2006

Pride...

The great hunter, pride, lerks in the shadows and comes out whenever you feel you are on top. It searches and targets your weakest points, making you think that you are strong...

Have you ever puffed yourself up so much that a simple smile from a complete stranger can bring you down like a bag of bricks. It happened to me the other day. I was feeling really good and big with myself as i had a job that i was enjoying and i am growing up and doing new things and not fully realying on my parentals. That day i was heading back to the office with the cypriot, and we were in a hurry. We stopped off at the main shop in town to pick something up. We parked and ran in, picked up what we needed and ran out. There was a person in a car that was blocking our way out. With him was a female in the front seat and they were both looking at what seemed to be their daughter, who was outside the car. The daughter was unloading some bags with things that seemed to be newly bought. She was really excited and happy to be showing her parentals her new things. I got even more frustrated with the innocence of the little girl. Her father started to move the car and she realised that she had to move. she turned around to see why she had to move and looked straight at me (or at least it seemed to be straight at me) with a great big smile and just a lot of happyness to be with her parents... It completely broke me...

No matter how big we think we are, we are still so small and are nothing without love and for that moment in time i was without love and full of pride...
Take care
Alex

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Work...

For those of you who don't know, i am in Cyprus, where i will be spending christmas with my family and friends here. Also i would like you to note that i have a job for two out of the three weeks of my stay in Cyprus. This way i will be able to raise some money for my next six months. Oh by the way my next six months will be spent in Wales. Some may know that at some point i was not sure where i should be spending my six months, but the decision was made and i will be staying in Wales, which i think is great for several reasons. One i get to learn some really cool things, eg climbing, kayaking, youth work, communication ect. Two the people there are excellent and so i know that i will learn so much...
However, this post is not about what i will be doing in the next six months but about my job. This job is a blessing. It is the first job which i have kept for longer than 24hrs. I have had two previous jobs, that within the first 24hrs i have quit. Now for me to stay in this job, says that i am enjoying it. And i am. Today is the end of the first week of work, one left and then holiday with my family...
Yesterday i went to Ayia Napa and Paralimny, where i helped install an electric lock and five hanging signs, and took a safe and a mini-bar. It took us all day to do all of this, which was really nice, i really enjoyed it. Apart from enjoying the work i also enjoyed the long ride as i was able to think about my future a bit and what i want to do. Life is so confussing...
Today unfortunately was not as interesting as yesterday. I helped set up an electric telescope automatic door, and well it still doesn't work. The person i was helping called and asked for a manual from the door suppliers, and the person at the other end was having a good laugh as he had stopped selling this particular module 10 years ago, and yet the door that we were working on was brand new, two years old, but not used...
At the office there is a selection of people from different countries. The big boss is a Cypriot. Then in the department that i am working in, there is a Lebanese man, a German and a Cypriot. These guys are excellent. Heka funny. I can't really explain it, it is just heka funny. The german is trying to fix up his newly aquired apartment and is always coming in with new problems or successess. The Cypriot loves to find the best deals around and to make fun of the German, while the Lebanese man keeps the order really... It is a pretty cool atmosphere, which is the main reason that i have really enjoyed staying and working with them.
Well have a great day and hope to see you soon, where ever you are...
Alex

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

These are the two who brought on the damage...



It was great getting to know you two... Helen and Erika... Ninjas... Alwayz Dat...
Time to show you what the girls did to our dorm...




There was more but we don't have the photographic evidence...

Friday, December 01, 2006

Just wanted to share some really cool pictures form the last week of the course...

Well guys you know how i have just told you about hitting the gilrs dorm, well here is a couple of pictures to show you what we did...


The reason for these tow boys coming to life is in the next picture but also toilet paper drapted all around the room, unfortunately we did not take a picture of it...

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

We have about 30 mins before our good bye party, and i have about 7 dvds to copy and then more tomorrow and i need to get ready for the party and here i am writing on my blog...
well to redeem myself, i am at the other end of the building all alone and burning dvds...
there is a lot to write about soon. i just need things to die down a little more. But just for a taster, ther have been certain wars between the dorms, wars as in things appearing, such as toilet paper everywhere, or rubber cloved/yellow bag head men, and such other things. I need to get the pictures and show you exactly what i mean...
well for now i will see you...
take care
Alex

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Hey, this is a big thank you...



Thank you so much...
Alex
New look with a view of my bed in the left at the back of the room... Always the best bed in the room, far left...

Alex
Two more pictures that i really like...




Alex
Bling Bling...

Oh happy day, i have decided for my placement that i will be staying in Wales. It is really cool here, i really like it here and there are some really cool people that i would get to be working with. The more that i think about it the more it makes sense for me to stay here. I will be hanging out with youth, which is what i love to do, plus kayaking, climbing, mountainerring and all that good stuff along with meetings about stuff i don't know about and student promotions and really fun things, with a bit of travelling thrown into that.

Please pray for me that i will be able to get along well with all the people that i will be working with and hanging around. Also please pray that i will find a job during christmas in scotland because it would be good to have one to gain a wee bit of money for the rest of my year.

Also please pray for the end of these three months. Some really good friendships have been made here and it is harder every time to say goodbye. It never gets easier, never. There are some really stinking cool people here who i can really just talk to and enjoying talking to and using their phrases and all, so please pray that the goodbyes will be done well and that we will all really feel that we were able to say our goodbyes. Some of the people will still be here when i get back but others will have left...

Well thanks again for listening to my messages


Take care
Alex

Monday, November 20, 2006

A few India shots that friends took...




India Pictures...

Friends, Foes and Contrymen/women...

Well let me tell you some more of my thoughts...
Main struggle at the moment is where to go for my placement. I am looking at staying in Wales and doing a variation of things, or going to a different country... My fear is that i will not grow... I wanted this year to be a time of growth, and so far i know that i have grown, how, well that will take me a while to say and i don't have my trusty yellow note book with me, which is where i try to keep track of the rampage of thoughts that i have each day.

This morning i was reading my bible, the gospel of John, and i had the same feeling that i had, had yesterday when reading John. This feeling was so warm and just releaving to know that Jesus was truth and still is. That Jesus is the way and the only way. Just how incredibly amazing it would have been to see Him and to witness His attractiveness even though we are told that He did not have anything which would catch people's eyes, but that it was what He taught about and talked about. It was the way He was real with the people. So sincere and loving and calm and wow. It really made me feel peaceful inside...

Enough thinking
Time for more pictures...
Take care
Alex
My new look... What do you think???

Friday, November 17, 2006

TROUBLE SLEEPING...

Back form India... and I am awake. That is not right. India is five hours behind us and travelling back took about 27 hrs form hotel to home, and i have only slepted about 9 30 hrs, and i am awake and kicking. Oh well it fits perfectly with my original theme...

Well it is really good to be back. For the past three days, in my mind, it was all about travelling to get back. We went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and for that we had to travel to get there and then we had to get to Delhi, more travelling and then there was the flight, well that took a long time. So being at my final destination is really good.

India... well how can i put it simply. For those of you who have been to Egypt or live there, it is very similar i feel. The traffic, the look of the locals and then all the craziness and madness that surrounds you when you are out of the comfort of your building. Going back into a culture like that was hard for me. Also the people there are really friendly, a little overly friendly at some times. They see a foreigner and they think, great time to practise my english. That is a much better view to have than most westerners about foreigners, but still, by the end of about 2 weeks i was ready for a bit of coldness towards me.

India is huge, and so to get anywhere, you have to spend a long time travelling. We took the overnight train to Lucknow, which took about 12 hrs. In Lucknow we got to go to a college that one of our leaders had been working as a volleyball coach for about a year i think. It was really good and a lot of fun. I think that out of the entire trip the following time was my favourite. We were about to travel to Agra to see the Taj, but we missed our train, not by 5 minutes or 10 or even 30, but by a whole 24 hrs. The ticket was wrong. That day i was really ready to leave Lucknow, but that extra day there was really needed, personally. We got to go back to the college and play more volleyball. After the games, just like before we went to one of the players dorms and had chia (the indian version of tea, which grew on me). This time was different than the last time. I felt more comfortable with the guys and i think that they felt more comfortable with us. I really enjoyed their company and the next day i felt really relaxed about leaving.

Did i enjoy myself? On the whole i was struggling with not wanting to be there and the fear of maybe going back for 6 months. So on the whole no, i did not enjoy myself.
Where there good times? Absolutely. The best was descibed above. I also got to meet one of the language students in Dehra Dun and spent the day with him and his three friends on the back of a mototrbike. We went up into the mountains to see a Hindu temple, which was not my idea of fun, but i could not say no to them as they had planed the whole day. We then went to a restaurant and then to each one of their homes. That was fun. I enjoyed that part, of talking to them and jsut getting to know them. It made me a little homesick... but all is well.

A lot has happened in the past two weeks, but for now i will leave it for another troubled sleeping time...
Take care
Alex

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Hey guys just a very quick post...

I would like to ask for your prayers. At the moment i am struggling wiht one other person on the course here. He is a great leader and more vocal than i am. Unity is something that is very important, because with unity we can prevent the devil entering in and attacking us. Also i think that by this guy being such a good leader and more vocal than i am, my pride is being challenged. Please pray that God will help me not to be so proud, as this produces divitions and again provides the devil opportunities to attack. Also please pray that God will give me the words to talk to this guys. I know that i have to talk to him, because unity is something that is very important and if i cannot be honest with the people around me then how will i be united with them.

Thank you for your prayers
Take care
Alex
Here are some pictures of different outings of mine. the first two are of me kiteboarding, of trying to. the others are of our climbing outing yesterday...



Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Hey guys...

Well i thought that this post would be something that i have learnt over the entire time that i have been here. it is about spending time with God personally. it is something that everyone should be doing. it is somehting that is really important for personal spiritual growth. now you may say "yeah i know". but jsut to emphasis it i want to share with you what it has really ment to me.

At the moment i find it hard to spend time with God by myself. when things kick off here, they really kick off and i struggle to get away. i enjoy peoples company and so when others are around i want to be with them. however i have started to feel that i don't spend enough time with Him. actually i have felt that for a considerable amount of time.

Before God would reveal small things to me that i thought nothing of really at the time, they just bothered me. later on i would find out, if i had not said anything, that what i had seen played a vital part in whatever was happening. now, i haven't noticed anything for a while. at the time it frustrated me cos i would have to step out of my comfort zone and speak up, but now i really feel that something is missing...

well that's all folks...
Alex
HEY, HEY, look what Faraz sent me... this picture is about 3-4 years old. This jsut made my day that much better...
Alex

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Week in Southall...

It has been a while since I have updated my blog, the reason being that I have had one week in London and then another week doing crazy outdoor stuff. I will write about both but first I want to share about my week in London...

The trip to London was an educational trip. The aim was for us to learn about different religions, specifically Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism. During the week we had classes in the morning about these religions and then in the afternoon we would be taken to one of the temples to have one of the leaders of the specific religion tell us about it.

Day one was Islam. I chose not to go in; it scared me a little bit. I felt more peaceful when I stayed outside. I was very disappointed about not hearing the imam speak about Islam. I felt oppressed and I now have a real desire to learn more about it, and to really look at what they believe. A friend of mine was given a koran, and because it was a little too big for him to carry with him, he has given it to me, which I will read and look at.

Day two was Sikhism. I felt a little better about going into the temple, but I also felt scared because I knew even less than what I did the day before. However, I decided to go in as a step of faith that I felt I had to take. The temple was big and impressive, but it felt sort of empty. After listening to the guide talk to us I was a little bit confused about Sikhism.

Day three was Hinduism. I was pretty sure that I was going to enter the temple. We were told that the Hindus have about 33 million gods. When we got to the temple I took my shoes off and went up to the gold doors to enter, but I found that I felt really uncomfortable and was not able to walk through the doors. Two other friends came out just as I was putting my shoes back on. One of them told me that the person who would be leading them round told them that the deities were sleeping, which really scared me.

That week was really beneficial to be able to see which religion I am most interested in learning more about. I have realised that I am really interested in Islam and would really like to learn more about it. It was a tiring week, mentally, physically but also spiritually. I was continually trying to be aware of what God may be telling me and wanting to follow Him. I really enjoyed it but I was really glad to get back home to base.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Some more THOUGHTS...

Dear readers, friends and family, today we went to a church, as it is sunday, and this was like no other church service that i have been to before. it was in a small room with leather sofas and stuff. there was a drum set and a bass and a guitar or three. it was really small quarters, which made me feel uncomfartable, as well it didn't seem to fit, i am not sure why really, but it was another experience. in about 3 weeks, the church will be moving back into their chapel which they are renovating.

However, something that i realised today in the service was something that i realised that i need prayer about. being a leader. i am finding it really hard cos there is someone else here with us who is also a leader, and is louder than i am. last year i think or at some point in time i went through a book about leadership and it was talking about being a dispencable leader. someone who trains others to become leaders, so that the "followers " will not be dependable on that one leader. so please pray, thanks

Well...
Take care
Alex
A few pictures of our trip to London Southall...



















Saturday, October 07, 2006

A picture to sum up our experiences so far...


Take care...
Alex
The Girls...

I thought that i would put some pictures up of the gilrs so that you could see some of the other people that i am with for the next few months. From the left it is Rosie, Erika, Helen and Hannah, hannah has already done the training and now is jsut working in Llanelli and hanging out with us



The picture on the right is of (from left) Karen, Jemima, Rosie and at the top is Rachel.

Ninjas




Ninjas are everywhere. You can see these two fine ninjas trying on new outfits. From the left it is Jon and then me. If you have any ninja photos of yourself por of friends send them in to alex.santamas@gmail.com and possibly you may see it posted.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

The Great Unknown...

Being out in the world by yourself, you soon find out that you do not have your parents to stand by you, to tell you what to do, to do your washing for you and all that other good stuff. However, now that i have been out for about a full two weeks i think that i am very knowledgeable about what to do...

During the service on one Friday in Cairo, we were singing Surrender. Pastor Dave, i think it was, told us all not to sing the words unless we really ment it. After that i found it really hard to sing that song, because i wasn't sure that i really surrendered all. However, when we first sang this song here, i found that i could sing it and not only that but that i really wanted to sing it. I wanted to surrender all to God, to the God that holds my future in His hands, to the God that loves me unconditionally and knows what is best for me and takes care of me. I thought that there was nothing else for me to do but surrender all.

I just want to share with you a couple of verses that we have been meditating on and what they have ment to me. the first one is Exodus 3:14. This verse is where God tells Moses that "I AM WHO I AM". That to me really just says it all about God. It is as if God is saying I AM all-powerful, I AM all-knowing, I AM your God, I AM the only true God... It is just sort of all God needs to say, I AM that I AM.

Also today i was reading Deuteronomy 30 in verses 11 and onwards where it says that He has not made it impossible for the Israelites to follow His commands. This made me think also just how He does not set us impossible challenges.

Well i think that this is enough deep thinking for one night, i hope you all sleep well...
Alex

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Being a Stranger...

Hey guys and girls, how are you all. Well don't worry about answering. The internet has been down here in Wales, as some of you may already know, but what you do not know is that now i have to quickly look through a lot of emails.
Well i just wanted to write you all something to let you know how i am feeling. Well to be honest i am really enjoying my time a lot, but i think that today and yesterday i have felt a bit home sick, or at least sick of being around strangers 24/7. Everyone here is pretty much on a one week basis. It is not too hard to be with the people here, because we are all here to get to know God more and get deeper in our faith, but me being me, am wanting to see some familiar faces and have a coffee with a friend that i know for more than a week.

On another note, the place is great, with the town a 5 minute walk away. The weather has been great, with the only time that it really has rained and has not been at night, being today, when i went to town.

we have had a few sessions, actually we have had a lot. For the past two days we have had 4 sessions on the biblical basis of missions and now we have to write a five hundred essay about why our God is a God of misions.

Well guys and girls i think that this is it from me, because i am really tired and i have probably talked too much already.

take care,
Alex

i thought that you would like to see of our, or at least my first time kayaking. since then i have been kayak surfing. same principles of surfing, but in a kayak.
and this is a picture that Jon took, which i thought descibed the way we are, rather random. i am happy to see this picture cos i have now found someone who also likes taking really random pictures