One affordable and fun alternative is called Ubuntu. With a name derived from the Bantu word for unity and togetherness, Ubuntu is a computing environment based upon the Linux operating system. Its development has been funded mostly as an act of charity by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth.

Aside from the cost, another benefit of Ubuntu is that it operates under the free software philosophy. This doesn’t mean “free” as in getting something for nothing, although that is usually the case. It means “free” as in you are free to modify and distribute it in any way that helps you or your organization. Almost all Linux source code is free to download.  This means the technically minded can completely reprogram, modify, or distribute the software. In Windows, the first that you do is click on a EULA (you know, that long scrolly text thing) saying that you won’t modify their software. Moreover, most non-Linux operating systems are licensed in such a way that you pay a per computer fee.  In Windows, if your computer breaks down and you replace it, you might have to buy the exact same version of Windows that you previously used. With Ubuntu, system administrators can install the software on as many computers as they need.

Using Ubuntu isn’t quite as easy as using Windows or Apple OSX.  When I use laptops I have experienced hardware compatibility issues, and I have had  to search for fixes.  For instance, early versions of Ubuntu required specialized software to make use or WiFi cards, and I’ve had slight issues with graphics cards. Fortunately, there are thousands of other Ubuntu users that participate in forum discussions and have many of the same problems in the Ubuntu Forums.  After a day or two, there has never been a problem that I haven’t been able to fix.

Ubuntu comes bundled with all of the software that you’ll need for day-to-day tasks. Open Office is a replacement for Microsoft Office. It’s not quite as slick as Office 2007; but if you’re still using Office 2003 or Office XP, you might even like Open Office better. Banshee and Rhythmbox work in the same way that Windows Media Player and iTunes work.  Moreover, the Ubuntu media players won’t install digital rights management on your movies and songs.  This means there will be no limit on the devices that you can use and the number of back-ups that you can make. Due to some patent issues, installing DVD playback requires a few extra steps, but it is an easy process.

In a school environment, the Edubuntu add-on disc can be installed and you’ll have a full featured array of educational software to use. There are games for kids as young as three, educational networking features, research tools, music composition software, as well as mind mapping and note taking tools.

Similar to Mac OSX, the one thing that you can’t do with Ubuntu is play the latest 3D games. You also can’t use certain proprietary programs such as iTunes. However, in a school setting that is a benefit and not a detriment.

The best way experience Ubuntu is to try it yourself.  In order to start using Ubuntu, you can go to the official site and download a CD image.  This comes in a special file called an .iso which you burn to a disc.  You can then stick it in your CD/DVD slot and reboot your computer. Having the disc in the drive will “boot to CD.”  From this point it will load a version of Ubuntu directly from the CD. If you like the environment and it seems to work on your computer, you can follow the menus and install.  If you select the dual boot option, you can select from either your original operating system or Ubuntu each time you boot your computer.

If you become a Ubuntu wiz, your entire computing experience will change. You’ll feel liberated from using Microsoft, the setup process will help you learn about your computer in new ways, and you will have the option to use a greater variety of software that is more flexible than what is offered for Windows and Apple OSX.

Visit the official website, and give Ubuntu a try.

Download Ubuntu

]]> http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/07/ubuntu-the-best-operating-system-for-educators/feed/ 0 http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/07/basic-sentence-diagramming-quick-reference/ http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/07/basic-sentence-diagramming-quick-reference/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:03:09 +0000 cullenhartley http://www.cullenhartley.com/?p=507

Sentence diagramming is a valuable tool to help students visually represent the structures of sentences. It’s true that it is not essential. There are many people who comprehend the deep structures of the English language that do not know how to diagram, but everyone who understands diagramming understands basic grammar.

However, one road that I’ve crossed in my instruction is how to grade diagrams. Often time students understand the grammar, but they forget the diagramming technique.  As a teacher, I had to ask myself whether to deduct points for small mistakes.  The conclusion that I’ve reached is that when presenting tests containing diagrams, I should allow my students to utilize a reference guide that reminds them of the sentence diagramming forms.  This allows me to use diagramming as a way to determine if the students are understanding grammar, and I don’t have to deduct points for mistakes in diagramming technique.

This chart uses the Reed-Kellogg system.

I’ve created a basic sentence diagramming chart. In the coming weeks, I’ll make one for advanced concepts.

I’ve uploaded the chart in both OpenOffice.org 3.0 and PDF formats. Feel free to modify and distribute this material.

Basic Sentence Diagramming Chart (PDF)

Basic Sentence Diagramming Chart (OpenOffice.org 3.0)

At the school where I teach, one of the reoccurring questions in the English department is whether a teacher should deduct points when students use British spelling in essays. For me, the answer is absolutely not! Students in international schools are shuffled from school to school and system to system; it is wrong to penalize students for doing what they’ve been taught.

As a teacher, I do sometimes have difficulty remembering the differences between British and American spelling. In a red-eyed marathon though a stack of essays, I have accidentally deducted points for students that use an opposite-side-of-the-Atlantic spelling technique.

Recently I came across a fantastic chart by Susan Jones that outlines the differences between American and British spelling. I asked the site administrator, Georgia State University Professor H. Patricia Byrd, for permission to adapt the chart to my website. She responded, “Of course.”

Perhaps this will help me make fewer mistakes. I hope that it helps other English teachers as well.

I’ve uploaded the chart in both Word 2007 and PDF versions.

American vs. British Spelling (Word 2007)

American vs. British Spelling (PDF)

Explore the beautiful coastline and sprawling shop houses of Malacca.

When you mention the word “Singapore” to your typical, C-in-Geography American, images of 1970s National Geographic photos of Asians on bikes, easy going, arts-and-crafts peddlers in colonial shop houses, and old aunties serving head-intact duck specialties flood their mind.  The real Singapore is a modern, pan-island megapolis where you’re more likely to see a Starbucks patron with a laptop than any of these anachronisms. Fortunately, Malacca, Malaysia, is just a short bus ride from Singapore and a place where the old world dreams of misguided Americans can be realized.

Beautiful Chinese sculptures line the streets of Malacca.

Getting There

The most inexpensive way to get to Malacca is to take a bus.  Even though I was going on the busiest possible holiday, I was able to stop by the Queen Street Bus Terminal near Bugis and purchase a ticket for less than thirty dollars. Unfortunately you can’t buy a round-trip ticket, but I’m assured that return tickets to Singapore are typically plentiful and affordable.  However, because my trip was during the last day of the Chinese New Year public holiday, I had to scrounge for a return ticket.  I eventually found a pricey one ($48) through Luxury Tours and Travels.

Accomodation

My accommodations were right in the middle of Malacca’s historic district at the family-owned Tang House. The facilities were quaint and affordable.  For only RM35 (S$15) I got a one night’s stay, internet access, and a toast-and-egg breakfast.  My tiny room did have an aircon, and the sheets and floor were fairly clean. (Even people traveling with a family can get cheap rates at this place; a triple room costs only RM 70 a night.)

The Shop Houses

I didn’t have to worry about being bored in Malacca. Getting lost among the shop houses and talking to all of the eccentric artists provided hours of interesting entertainment. Hillary took us to her friend’s new art and t-shirt shop, the Baboon House. Located on Heeren Street, the Baboon House has a cafe and showcases art by Malaysian artist Ro Ger.

Eccentric artists like Stanley Ho will greet you as you meander the streets.

Along Jalan Tan Cheng Lock, I chanced upon the art gallery of Jehan Chan, one of Malaysia’s national artists. Mr. Chan, an artist for over 30 years, paints two different types of subjects: seascapes and koi. The koi are drawn in a realistic and colorful perspectives; the seascapes tend to be cubist renditions of Malacca’s shoreline.

At night many venues offer live music in both Malay and English.

The friendliest artist that I met was named Stanley Ho. An aging vegetarian that watercolors in his rundown shop, Mr. Ho will stop and talk to you for hours.  He’ll tell stories and share how Malacca has changed.  An inquisitive person, he’s not shy about asking you the details of your own life.

Jesuit Priest St. Francis Xavier left a legacy in Malacca.

Another reason to visit Malacca is its rich religious history.  A Jesuit priest names Francis Xavier is a legend in the community.  A statue of him sits next to the ruins of a church that he founded, and few things will give you a better sense of history than gazing upon the tombstones of the early colonists.  If you ask locals, you can hear far fetched tales about St. Francis. My friend Hillary told me a story about a ship that was once caught in a tumultuous storm.  Rather than panicking like the sailors, Father Xavier prayed for the sea to calm.  Sometime during the night, he dropped a cross into the ocean. After safely landing ashore, Francis saw a crab carrying his cross. In turn he blessed the crab and released it to the sea.  To this day, apparently, the crabs in Malacca have crosses on their back.In addition to Catholicism, Malacca has Christ Church, a century’s old Protestant church still in operation, and I also visited an interesting museum about how the area obtained its Islamic heritage.

Before you leave Malacca, there are certain dishes that you must try.  Along Jonker Street just a stone’s throw from the Tang House, is an unnamed restaurant that serves the most savory bowl of laksa. The flavors are stronger and the vegetables are fresher than anything you will be served in Singapore.  I was also very fond of the chicken rice balls, a dish exclusive to the area but available at many restaurants.

Chicken Rice Balls- a Malacca Specialty

I was able to visit Malacca after Hillary, the gal who blogs at Precious Living.com, invited me to her family’s Chinese New Year party. I felt that it was an honor to be invited because in many families only relatives attend these reunions. Hillary’s family was open and hospitable; Hillary’s friend Nadia and her boyfriend Nic Khoo were there as well.  It was a thrill to see Malacca and spend the holiday with them.

Additional Resources

A Tourist Map of Malacca

If you’re a soon-to-be expatriate planning a move to Singapore, you have  undoubtedly heard of Singlish, the peculiar creole English spoken by most native Singaporeans.  It is a mix of Malay, Chinese dialects, and English.  Most people who bother to write about Singlish know it well, and they produce in-depth dictionaries cataloging the dialect’s nuances.  These books are an ever-present facet of every Singaporean bookstore, and if you want to learn more the material is definitely out there.

However, I feel the end result for most foreigners that pick up Singlish dictionaries is terminal information overload.  People just don’t learn much from picking up a dictionary.  Even-tempered expats become overwhelmed and give up and the more adventurous look silly as they misuse and mispronounce words. (Excuse me, did you see that ang kat makaning char siew cheem bye? Lah-lor.)

I don’t claim to be an expert on Singlish, but I will share ten words that I guarantee that you’ll hear in Singapore.

1. Angmoh

This is a racial label for white people. It literally means “red hair.” If you’re white you’ll be called an angmog. Don’t get offended; just get over it.  Singaporeans might also use this word as an adjective.  There are angmoh countries (USA, Britain, New Zealand, etc.), angmoh food, and angmoh movies.

2. On/Off

The words on and off are used as verbs in Singlish. Don’t correct someone when you hear them say “on the lights” or “off the lights.”  It is a common expression.  Who needs the word turn anyway?

3. Paiseh

This word is frequently used because there’s not really a direct, English translation.  A paiseh person is shy, humiliated, and embarrassed, or any combination of the three, at the same time. You might hear a sentence similar to the following: “The new employee doesn’t want to correct his boss because he is paiseh.”

4. Aircon

Singlish is a very efficient language.  In America we tend to say “air conditioned.”  In Singapore they just say aircon. You have an aircon in your house.  Singapore is loaded with aircon theaters and aircon shopping centers.  I’m lucky enough to teach in an aircon classroom.

5. Makan

Makan is the Malay word for eat.  Singaporeans will frequently say, “Let’s go makan.”  They also might invite you to a makan session.

Eating is, perhaps, the most important thing in Singaporean culture.  On many occasions I’ve been greeted the phrase “have you eaten,” instead of “hello” or “how are you?”

6. Recce

This isn’t a Singlish word, but it is used uniquely in Singapore.  Recce (pronounced reki) is short for reconnaissance.  If you’re in a planning or business situation you might hear someone ask, “Should we go recce the venue to make sure that it is right for our presentation?”   Its wide usage probably stems from the fact that every Singaporean male has served in the nation’s military.

7. Can/Cannot

These words are common English words, but in Singlish they tend to be used in place of yes and no. The reason for this stems from the use of the phrases ke yi (can) and bu ke yi (cannot) in Mandarin.

You might hear a dialog like this:

“Will you donate to help the Little Sisters of the Poor?”

“No money. Cannot.”

8. Shiok

When something is incredible or desirable, Singaporeans often describe it as shiok.  Food can be shiok, fashion can be shiok, and sports cars can be shiok.  Some people may use this word with a sexual connotation, but it is not a common usage.

9. Cheem

Cheem is another word where there is no exact English translation.  To be cheem is to be intellectual in a profound, yet stuffy, sort of way.  I’ve heard of some university professors and pastors being described as cheem.

10. Lah!

Lah is the grandaddy of all Singlish words, and you’ve reached the upper levels of Singlish when you can use this term authentically (I can’t).  Just as the subtle nuanced usage of like defines stereotypical valley girl slang, lah defines Singlish as a dialect.  Lah is used to emphasize certain words and make sentences more emphatic.  You may hear Singaporeans say, “Cannot, lah” or “Don’t hurry, lah.”

You also shouldn’t confuse lah with le or lor. Le is commonly tacked onto questions asked in Chinese, and this grammatical quirk has slipped its way into Singlish. I still can’t quite figure out lor; to me its usage is the same as lah, but I am assured that it is different.

I could go on and on about Singlish, but the purpose of this post is simply to reveal a list of words that you’re guaranteed to hear if you move to Singapore.  The good news if you’re a Caucasian expat is that no one really expects you to learn Singlish.  Each year the government launches its “Speak Good English” campaign, and many locals are quite sheepish about their use of Singlish around foreigners.  If you do muster the effort to master true Singlish, the benefits will be there (especially in comprehension); but some Singaporeans may view you as an oddity. Imagine a Chinaman that speaks speaks perfect Appalachian-American (Hillybilly) English or a man in a British bolo speaking African-American vernacular English. In case you’re wondering, the angmohs that I’ve met that have truly mastered Singlish are French and Germans that had poor English skills when they arrived in Singapore.

The web has a variety of sources to learn about Singlish.

I fact checked this article using The Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English.

In print, the Coxford Singlish Dictionary is a comprehensive source on the subject.

Leap into Telunas Beach!

After you live in Singapore for more than a few weeks, you’ll become irked by the incessant and omnipresent city noise. Speeding diesel taxis, aircon hums, kitchen pans clanging, and blasting jackhammers will become the soundtrack of your life. Just like the air pollution that accompanies it, you’ll eventually become so used to the noise pollution that you will barely notice its presence. That is, you won’t notice it until you get a chance to escape it; and, in my opinion, a trip to Telunas Beach, Indonesia, is the best way to escape Singapore’s noise pollution and smog and reconnect with God’s marvelous, peaceful creation.

Nestled within Indonesia’s Riau Islands, Telunas Beach provides a no-frills escape to serenity.  The structures of the resort are situated on an eighth-mile boardwalk above the sea that is supported by wooden and concrete pylons.  The dining room and bunks have large windows to capture the sea breeze. And the beach at the end of the boardwalk is lined with hammocks and sand volleyball courts.

Telunas Beach is one of the most idyllic locations on the planet.

At Telunas you’ll be served the perfect combination of Asian-American fusion food.  In their hearth fire, they can cook pizza to order. If you prefer traditional Asian food, you can get freshly caught seafood with head intact.  Their pastas and soups are unforgettable.  The culinary triumph of Telunas is their signature banana crepe, a melt-in-your-mouth dessert that is the perfect combination of sweet and sticky.

For recreation you can explore the shoreline in a rented kayak, compete in sports on the beach, read books in one of the many hammocks, leap off the dock into the ocean, or play a few of their board games. If you come with a large enough group, you can opt for nature hikes, team challenge courses, Indonesian village home stays, or a trek through the mangroves to a breath-taking waterfall.

For what you get, Telunas is a bargain.  Three days and two nights costs roughly two hundred Singapore dollars ($160US), and that price includes the food.

You'll pass small Indonesian fishing villages in this boat before you arrive at Telunas Beach.

The only trouble that you might have is getting to the location. You’ll need to take a ferry from Singapore to Sekupang terminal in Batam.  From there the Telunas staff will pick you up and whisk you away in a small boat equipped only with an outboard motor for another ninety minute trip to the resort.  If I remember correctly, if you go with a small group, they charge an arm-and-a-leg for that second ferry ride; but if you go with a large enough group then the fee is waived.  (Three years ago I took my family and we were able to piggy-back with another retreat to avoid the fee.) I strongly recommend this place for church youth group and cell group outings.

Hopefully, I’ve piqued your interested in this picturesque place.  If you’re considering making the journey, contact Brad, Mike, or Eric through Island Connections official website.

Telunas Beach – Island Connections

Jesus Christ has been depicted in more varied an absurd ways than any other historical figure.  It seems one minute he can be portrayed by a twelve year old in a church skit, next bigots can label him an anti-Semite with whip, and after that pastors can portray him as a jive-talking black man or a down-to-earth Southerner dispensing platitudes of wisdom.

At first glance, the Manga Messiah comic book appears to be just another far-fetched depiction of Christ designed to make Jesus palatable to another segment of society, the Japanese comic book loving segment.  For those not in the know, Japan has a distinctive form of artwork called manga.  In a practice dating back nearly 500 years, the Japanese elite would dispense wisdom, tell legends, and even share cooking recipes via manga comic books.  (On my last trip to Japan, I was able to see some of this artwork on display the Tokyo National Museum.) Today, with the global saturation of Guttenberg’s innovation, everyone in Japan enjoys manga.  In Japan you can’t get on a train or walk into a restaurant without spotting someone reading a manga book; there are even commercial, open-all-night manga libraries. Slowly but surely, and with the help of the internet, the appetite for manga is speading to other Asian countries and throughout the world.

Acknowledging this cultural trend, it is my conclusion that the Manga Messiah is not merely some cultural caricature, but a sincere attempt to work within a genre to explain the gospel.  In a world where the most revered depictions of Jesus, a Middle Easterner, portray him as a blond haired, blue eyed Italian, the transition to an olive-skinned, brown-eyed Jesus should be a welcome change for the twenty-first century.

Moreover, in a Christian culture where Jesus tends to be presented either in hokey Sunday School terms or elitist seminary language, the Manga Messiah presents the gospel in a way that is relevant to youth.  I first learned about the book from a parent who had a son that couldn’t stop reading it.  During the same week that I was reading this hefty 288-page volume, I noticed a sixth grade girl also reading it in the school lunch room.  I ask her if she liked the book, and her affection for the book was obvious: she revealed to me that she was on her sixth reading.

Despite the appeal to youth, Manga Messiah does have some limitations. Matthew J. Brady, a serious Manga fan and reviewer has criticized the background drawings claiming that they’re plain, un-sophisticated, and computer-generated.  The book’s Wikipedia article reveals that some reviewers find depictions of the Pharisees at simplistic and anti-Semitic, a charge that I half agree with.  While the depiction of Jesus is quite complex and historically-believable, the secondary characters are hit and miss. The disciples are often presented as quite childish; the women have fair skin and don’t quite fit with their Arab-esque counterparts; the demons and angels, as in most manga, are drawn in truly bizarre fashions; and, yes, the Jewish Pharisees are quite sinister.

Yet anyone that advocates present-day persecution for the actions of Jewish zealots that lived over 2,000 years ago, totally missed the point of Jesus’ message anyway. If you actually believe the Bible, you’ll realize the Pharisees schemes weren’t even successful. Remember, we now supposedly have a risen, living savior that reigns as the Prince of Peace.  The Manga Messiah, I believe, is a serious attempt to tell this important story and its unique depictions will make the events in Jesus’ life as well as his parables more memorable in the mind of the reader.

Help me maintain this website by purchasing this book through my Amazon Associates link.

]]> http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/05/book-review-manga-messiah/feed/ 0 http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/05/5-bible-verse-posters/ http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/05/5-bible-verse-posters/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 10:32:18 +0000 cullenhartley http://www.cullenhartley.com/?p=309 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. -Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NIV).

In the Old Testament time period, talking about scripture and displaying it in the home was a command to be followed. Like much of Old Testament law, today Christians interpret that ancient command as a suggestion and the burden of displaying scripture has been relegated to Sunday school classes and Christian schools.

When I see these types of posters in classrooms and churches across the world, I always wonder about the story behind the photo. I often wonder if the posters were created with an intention of artistry or if they were designed by some hack that has access to stock photos and wants to make a buck. In order to answer that curiosity, I’ve explained the origin of the photos for each of these five posters.

For the past year, I’ve been a fairly active photographer, and I decided to contribute to the Bible verse poster genre. These posters are designed to fit best on A3 international paper. Clicking on the photo will take you to my SmugMug site, and you can order the poster from there. Alternatively, you can download low quality files or pay for the full version.

The picture of this dog was taken in a park during Spring Break in Ueno, Japan. I had no idea I would be using the photo on a poster, but the bright sunny day sharpened the dog’s features through the lens of my camera. I rapidly clicked my camera to get a quick photo, and as I reviewed the pictures I realized I had captured the bulldog licking his chops. Proverbs 26:11 seemed like the perfect fit for this poster.

The photo for the Matthew 5:16 poster was taken during a retreat at Telunas Beach, Indonesia. During the nightly campfires the staff sets up torches along the beach. To take the photo, I made the aperture of my camera very small and did a long term exposure. The bright flare of the torch reminded me of how our Christian walk is supposed to look to non-believers. The succession of torches in the background reminded me of the legacy that each Christian should leave behind.

[Temporarily Removed]

The photo was taken at a park dedicated to the Japanese surrender in Tokyo. We should follow Psalms 90:12 and realize that our days on this earth are limited, and that success during the short time requires walking with wisdom. Astute readers will notice that I did change the pronouns in the Bible verse. Most translations say, “Teach us to number our ways…” Since there is only one bird in the photo and the message stayed the same, I thought the change was appropriate.

This photo was taken at the International Flower Festival at Sentosa Island in Singapore. When we look at any aspect of creation, especially the aesthetically pleasing ones, we should remember that God created and designed them for His purposes. Proverbs 3:20 reminds us that just as God knows our every thought, he also knows every drop of water he created from the vast oceans to the tiniest drops.

This photo was taken at the Stone Forest near Kunming, China. Jeremiah 51:15 tells use that God established every detail according to his purposes. Undoubtedly God has a special purpose for this unique region of China.

This stone forest photo is my first attempt at a high dynamic range photo; I combined photos with three different exposure contrasts to create one picture.

Extreme caution must be levied anytime we first-world Christians discuss the persecution of the church.  On one hand, we might not only declare that we not only have our rights, but we might also declare that any locale that persecutes Christians, or any other religion for that matter, is barbaric and inferior.  On the other hand, we must admit that many of us are soft and have never truly felt the flames of religious adversity, had our faith tempted by physical trials of the flesh, or lived in an environment where criticism of outsiders, coupled with skepticism, represents a way of life.

When considering a similar matter, Jesus presents a stern warning during his rebuke of the Pharisees:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

-Matthew 23:29-32

While perhaps the modern church isn’t building tombs for Biblical prophets, I believe the modern church has a tendency to construct ideological alters and laud people who once would have been on the fringe, to hagiographize people that might be rejected or marginalized if they walked through our own Protestant church doors.  Some Catholic thinkers, charismatic healers, and fringe evangelists come to mind.

Nevertheless, scripture is filled with stories of those that have been persecuted for their faith, and it was written to provide encouragement for all who believe.  Reading narratives of persecuted contemporaries that reinforce this legacy should provide that same sense of inspiration.  It should also challenge the reader to examine how he might react under the same pressures and consider the outcome of our own faith should it too be challenged with pain, physical torture, or even the brink of death.

And no modern book will challenge the reader more to consider these horrendous outcomes and possibilities than Brother Yun’s The Heavenly Man. Translated by Paul Hattaway, the book chronicles decades of persecution that Brother Yun endured under China’s Communist regime and the remarkable ways that the Lord consistently rescued his ministry and preserved his life.

Brother Yun’s story begins in China in the year 1974, a time when the Cultural Revolution was still destroying the old ways and ripping a red streak across the land.  Yun’s father, a former Nationalist military leader, was teetering on the brink of death with lung cancer.  Without proper treatment, he would die.  Miraculously,  Yun’s mother’s prayerful cries to the Lord for healing were answered and it sparked a revival and awakening within the small family.

As Yun grew older he developed a ravenous spiritual hunger that could only be filled with a Bible, something a poor, government-monitored family in Red China would have little access to receiving. Again, miraculously, Yun’s prayers were answered, and this would serve as an encouragement that would spur him to a hazardous life of ministry.

God intervened again and provided Yun a wife, a woman named Deling who courageously agreed to answer God’s call to marry an impoverished, house-church pastor. Eventually Yun’s preaching grew bolder and the Communist government’s suspicion of Yun’s activities would grow greater. Many times Yun would go to prison, endure torture, and be offered only scant food. In one particularly graphic passage, Yun shares his pain and hardship:

The guards electrocuted me again and again, and forced me to crawl like a dog through human feces. They kicked me with steel-capped boots, forcing me to roll over into the excrement.  They even used their electric batons to stab me inside my mouth. I cannot easily describe the pain this caused. I thought my brain was going to explode.

The Heavenly Man is not for the feint of heart, and it is literally filled with dozens of accounts such as this.  The process of reading this book would be quite masochistic if Yun did not also describe how the Lord would give him strength to endure each and every trial.  Once Yun completed a 74 day fast; several times, like Joseph of Genesis, he would earn the favor of prison guards; other times Yun would receive solace and consolation from other Christian prisoners, usually people he converted; and, most miraculously, he would simply walk out of a maximum security prison.

But Yun’s point in the volume is not to talk about himself; all of Yun’s stories of hardship and triumph are designed to give glory to the One that gave him the strength to endure. He ends this book with a call for all churches to support missions.  Yun believes that the Western churches, if given the proper direction and a unified spirit, can spur and finance the believers of the developing world to evangelize Muslims and Buddhists in nations that still have little or no exposure to the Good News of Christ. Eventually, Yun claims, a westward expansion of the gospel will continue until the Christian movement evangelizes every tongue, tribe, and nation- finally returning back to where it started, the city of Jerusalem.

More information about Brother Yun and the way he sees God’s vision for world evangelism can be found at the Back to Jerusalem website (www.backtojerusalem.com).

You can support this website by purchasing this book through my Amazon Associate’s link.  Please remember, you must click the link for this website to benefit.

]]> http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/04/the-heavenly-man/feed/ 0 http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/03/50-middle-school-standardized-test-questions/ http://www.cullenhartley.com/2009/03/50-middle-school-standardized-test-questions/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:59:16 +0000 cullenhartley http://www.cullenhartley.com/?p=182

At my school the students are preparing to take the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10), and I believe that succeeding on standardized tests is as much about test taking skills as it is content knowledge.  In order to help prepare students for the test, I always spend a few class periods talking students through sample test questions and explaining the thinking processes that are required to be successful.

Here are two versions of the same document:

50 Middle School English and Spelling Standardized Test Questions (PDF)

SAT-10 Practice (Word 2007)

The questions are in no way endorsed or approved by Harcourt Assessment, the publisher of the SAT-10.

The questions are free for everyone.  However, if you need the answer key, please send me an e-mail to the following address:

Teachers that are not NICS missionaries will be asked to make a three dollar donation for access to the answer key.