Common Grace

Changes

2012-01-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

A lot has changed since my last post. For one thing, the weather! It's now into some freezing temperatures here in mid-January - but no snow yet. Ted has been working now with the Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia for a few months, and as part of the support-raising process I have started a new blog, one that highlights little aspects of our life and ministry involvement here in Philly. It's a way to provide some clearer snapshots of what we're doing here. This blog remains my place to share more of my reflections and thoughts - what I'm thinking about, but with interesting stories woven in from time to time I hope. I've always been a little sporadic with this, but thanks for staying tuned and reading up on my life once in awhile ;)

soooo hot

2011-07-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how hard it is to feel motivated to do anything in this heat! So tiring, even moving about the hot house. Going to work is not easy, getting in and out of the car. And then feeling cooped up inside isn't much fun. Bleh. Where are the summer storms and at least some cool evenings to offer respite??

the latest

2011-06-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I'm starting to think that the answer to many of my ponderings and queries about calling and place and timing and purpose is:

"Just trust. Wait and see."

missions: back to the point

2011-06-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

(This ties back to my post on 6/16)

There seems to be something missing, or shifting – at least in my world but maybe in some larger sense too. I’ve wondered recently where the push for missions has gone? The drive towards inner-city missions seemed to steadily increase towards the end of my college years. I remember Claiborne’s entrance into the evangelical scene with “The Irresistible Revolution” opening many suburban-raised Christians like myself to the mission fields close by, right in our cities – and it was a field that promised transformation for ourselves as well as our new neighbors.

In my masters program at Eastern, so many questions were raised – and I believe this reflects a heightened awareness among many church groups or para-church groups about the ineffectual strategies of some development work, and even the troublesome nature of some missionary work. “Development as missions” is a concept and a calling that felt dear to many who entered our program I think – for that is what Eastern offered us that was unique.

Now, I hardly hear about the missionaries, about their mission, except through a couple prayer letters and e-mail chains from friends and distant acquaintances. I am at a church right now that has a huge focus on urban missions, and that is where we are located, right in the inner city. We’re in this mission field. Our church is open to overseas missions and we financially support some missionaries, but why is it that I don’t have a sense of feeling “sent” by our church? We are missional; our church loves mission – yet, I don’t feel any personal encouragement to be a missionary, to be an ambassador – overseas – for the Gospel.

Now I know there is much work to be done right here, all around us, but what if international missions is the focus we (Ted and I) have had? What if that’s what we’ve felt as our heartbeat before? I’m not sure I’m even reading this the right way, because the core of my values that I believe God has placed on my heart are for LOVE and JUSTICE. And those are in need EVERYWHERE.

So, does international missions even make sense anymore? It must, but what I’m trying to read is what this current wave in missions-thinking is saying – what are Christians really thinking about missions – urban versus international? Is one locale being preferred over another?

Help me.

weekends...

2011-06-19T19:32:00.001-07:00

I did this once before, sometime in 2007, where I had a particularly full, unique weekend and just felt like sharing it with everyone :) I suppose if I'm to get the full scope of things I should actually start things last Wednesday evening... when the real fun got started.

5pm & dinner with Deborah. In our two years of being here I hadn't walked to this particular corner of HP, to discover a beautiful corner garden outside of our friend's home. A beautifully fresh meal surrounded by conversations of Sudan, missions & culture.

11:20pm & I leave to pick up 3 weary travelers at the Chinatown bus stop who don't really arrive until about 12:20 am. I had been awaiting word of their flight/travel plans all day as they were trekking across the U.S. on standby from SF, to attend an event called PapaFest in the Pennsylvania farm country. My friend friend Renata was amidst the bunch! We came home, slept, and then they head off early with Ted to the airport/train station, on their way to the Papa gathering

Thurs.

10:00 am & my first Kindergarten graduation. A serious affair with song performances, slide shows, and tassle-shifting, reception, and lots & lots of pictures and excited parents

Evening & nothing, except for Little Caeser's pizza and a movie with my man. Loved it. Precluded by a phone catch-up with my dear friend Katie.

Friday.

10:30 am & 8th grade graduation. Very moving. Saying good-bye to our thirteen 8th grade graduates. I come home at noon to rest & prep for more goodness.

5pm & church cleaning with cell group, yippee! Nah, the work's not so bad when you get to scrub toilets with Wendy Hilemen by your side, haha. Home to change, cook dinner, and make calls before
7pm & last youth group meeting for the spring. Pizza, birthday cakes, games, rug burns and reminiscing. Not too shabby. Then,
9pm & good-bye party for friends Andy and Jodie around the corner from the church, but what? They had already left the party just 4 minutes before we got there! We stayed to chat with the others for 20 minutes... which really turned into 1.5 hours. Whoops, when Hannah starts texting wondering where we are...
11pm & late-comers to the "game night" at Josh and Hannah's house, partly in honor of our visiting friend Chris who moved out to Wisconsin to join InterVarsity staff a year ago. Looked like people were going to bed, but they stayed up and chatted with us for another hour or so anyways -- no games, but good times nonetheless.

Saturday.

12pm & Farmer's Market in HP and then scooting off to Burlington, New Jersey for what? A 40-minute meet-up with Gina which includes going to a Victoria's Secret in a ghetto mall and then picking Yuan and her boyfriend up just in time (or late, whichever) to head off to Flushing, Queens. Wawa stop, Tom Tom directions, and then about 3 hours of halted progress...

6pm & wedding and banquet reception at the Linden Place Chinese banquet hall. Incredible. Yes, there was glitter and lights, beautiful wedding party and service, and food; yes, there was food. 13 courses: eel, jellyfish, seaweed, fish, lobster, shrimp, shark fin soup, octopus, abalone, chicken, steak... and at that point it was 11pm, and we decided to leave, after some dancing of course. The 4 hours of traffic on the way home was a blast ;)

Sunday.

10am & church, sigh. Some Sabbath rest and corn on the cob, and then, a drive to the airport for a 2-hour chat with Renata outside of security before she headed out on her stand-by flight, back to SF. Wonderful time.

2011-06-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ted and I are facing a decision: well, I don't feel like it's a real decision we can make.

We got turned down for a position that seemed like a great fit in Haiti. If we had been selected, that would have meant us relocating to Port-Au-Prince for at least 3 years. To be geared up for accepting the position, and then to not receive it, was a let down for sure -- they had told us we had a good chance of getting the job.

Not getting this job, mixed with a variety of other reasons, has led us both to wonder whether Haiti is indeed meant to fall in our immediate future. I personally do not know the answer to that question, but it's a question that has been surfacing ever so subtly for some time.

When I have had moments of feeling drawn towards the potential of relationships and ministry here in Philadelphia, I have wondered about the passion we have both felt at differing times about returning to Haiti. When that passion has felt dull, I attribute it mostly to distance and the fact that I have not been immersed with the Haitian population in Philadelphia in order to keep Haiti close.

I have also been reflecting on a tension I feel between the local and international. While my heart has been drawn overseas - "to the nations" - on and off for some time, I feel that we're in a place right now where the emphasis is on local expressions of mission - urban missions, in particular. A spirit of being "sent" overseas has not been fostered here in the same ways I felt it fostered in college -- through programs like Perspectives and missionaries' presentations at church. This has me wondering: how much does place matter?

People seem to de-emphasize the importance of place now, saying that it doesn't matter so much where we are situated, but how we are living out the Gospel wherever we are. Now, I do feel the importance of that sentiment, and I think it encourages good perspective, especially for those in my generation who may fret excessively over finding the perfect "direction" and "meaning" for our lives. But, what about calling? What role can and should that play ... how does calling enter into and alter our lives (by, say, a major move to a foreign country -- something longer than a mission trip) ? And, how is calling to be fostered in the longer-term if, for some reason, it's not meant to be acted upon right away ?

While I could feel like we're at at a fork in the road right now where one direction needs to be chosen over another (Haiti or Philadelphia), I instead am trying not to see two divergent paths. A friend helped by saying recently: "God does not call us to opposing things." So, while our hearts may flutter and dream when thinking of Haiti, we may also see some of the good here: maybe things that we need that we are only vaguely aware of ourselves, things God knows of that we don't.

So I guess what I'm saying here is what if both those things were on our one path? God knows, not us, the proper order of things. The real decision here seems to be whether we will wait and really trust in Him even if that means we feel like we might feel like we're skipping by an important dream. God will fulfill all, and maybe our dreams need to be more fully His -- submitted to Him.

Now it's this step-by-step -- wanting to get back into the Lord's presence to present our hearts to Him and seek direction, and counsel. We'll see.

saintly sayings

2011-06-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

In a book I'm reading, The Cloister Walk, I pulled out these two quotes from a 13th century saint:

Of the heavenly things God has shown me, I can speak but a little word, no more than a honeybee can carry away on its foot from an overflowing jar.

What we know is as nothing, if we do not love God properly in all things.

--Mechtild of Madgeburg

As to the second quote, I am so not there yet Mechtild, but I love it. Yes.

thoughts, they scatter

2011-06-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

I had a great conversation with a friend this afternoon. I can often spill out what is on my heart with this friend and she catches each thought mid-air and receives it, adding dashes of clarity and wisdom as she recounts what I've said.

I just felt like putting a picture of a dandelion here. I think the spinning seeds drifting off the plant gave me an image I was looking for. I can have a whirl of heavy thoughts impressing upon me all at once, but even as they stir unsettled in my mind, I can see feel some peace and assurance knowing that each means something and each will go somewhere. Even if the process looks confusing, it's not ultimately.

change is happening right here

2011-05-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

I now work at Hunting Park Christian Academy. It is a private school right in my neighborhood, staffed by committed individuals with a heart for seeing positive change in the lives of Philadelphian youth. The school started taking shape over 12 years ago, and it now serves 200 kids with a quality education. More than that, the youth at HPCA benefit from a close-knit network of caring relationships - with the staff, with each other, as well as their wider community. I love being a part of this ministry. I love that God is doing all of this right here.

on the line

2011-03-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

I think yesterday I started to understand something about the ministries I'm involved in and how I view life and the Gospel. For a time, I have been drawn to certain activities because I recognize something uniquely heavenly about them. Values that I know belong to God's Kingdom:

Community

Diversity

Simplicity.... downward mobility

I see, and I want to be involved. With my gradual involvement though comes something unwelcome-- that is, anxiety. I'm out of my element. What do I do, amidst diversity - in a space that is really not my own?

Christ.

Then I see someone without my outward markings, my visual statements of movement... I see them love. They touch, transform, genuinely... And I am confounded. Why? How?

Out of the fullness that is within them!

What if I just take me, as I am, and care only for the Gospel? Then what will happen... I will love Christ's beauty and be drawn towards His heart. I will adore Him in praise and worship, and the world will love and see.

That is a bold statement for me. But I think I know that all that is worth having and knowing is found in Him - not separate from it but within. I must look to the Maker for all. I cannot pick the pieces out.

2011-02-22T06:08:00.000-08:00

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord

O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,

O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is [forgiveness];

therefore you are feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is [unfailing love]

and with him is [full redemption.]

He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Lamentations 3:22-3

It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness we are not consumed,

because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

great and abundant is your stability and faithfulness.

first, second...

2011-01-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Sitting on a sofa in a cozy, ecclectic cafe in Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood. This is a good place to be. Sipping chai, with husband in tow. Yes, this is good. Though, there are many things in my life that are not sorted and situated right now, I can say that I like this. I appreciate these moments.

I don't know why coffee shops have always been a comforting, sought after space for me. E Street in Encinitas, Chamonix or Mishka's in Davis, Higher Grounds in Northern Liberties - they have been good "third places" for some deep reflection, soothing drinks, and great conversations and connection.

The idea of a "third place" has been floating around in our dialogue these past couple of months - as discussion of opening a coffee shop in Philly has blossomed and our much bemoaned lack of a "third place" in Port-au-Prince kept us pining for any place to get away.

One such place inspired me even more. Our holiday visit to the greater Seattle area led us to this establishment one day: Third Place Books is home to not only a new and used bookstore, but multiple food vendors, a print shop, and a stage for community productions and a play area for kids. Very cool: a place with the mission of not only giving people a space to 'get away' but also to foster conversation and community. Mwen renmen li anpil.

So, here's to our "third places," treasures wherever they can be found. (I will note, it'd be nice if the drinks at my third places weren't so darned expensive though. Ted would probably appreciate that too.)

Coming back and going to ... ?

2010-12-26T23:23:00.001-08:00

There is a stillness and encroaching sadness in me. As our days since being in Haiti increase in number, I feel further from our friends, further from those experiences, and it has only been a little over a week.

Part of this is compounded by the fact that we're 3,000 miles away from our home base of Philly for the holiday, which is also that many miles further from Haiti and some of the reminders of our time there. Computer access is more spotty, and my cell access is limited now that my charger is resting in our old room in Port-Au-Prince. ;) There is also a general malaise of the day, another factor in my mood perhaps.

How to make Haiti feel close - and with this, how to look forward in tangible ways to what God is moving in us and drawing us towards. I don't even know why I ask "how" anymore. Because I don't think it's a very good question when it comes to matters like these ... Yes Ted and I like to think about ways to continue to be connected to our life in Haiti, but whatever connections remain, wherever growth occurs and new life is born will be a gift of the Spirit. Am I being passive? Am I being pessimistic about what is here because of the tinges of melancholy I am feeling? I don't think so ... I just want to remain in Him. John 15.

Let that continue to be in my eyes and heart the most worthwhile endeavor.

Evelyn.

2010-03-05T17:09:00.001-08:00

We all need our heroes, right? I've never felt that I had one or two particular heroes per se - that always seemed like such a loaded title - but, I do think that the church is an amazing source of role models and great inspirations in the faith. I was a given book several years ago called From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya. It is basically a history of missions, a book of role models - hundreds of pages filled with great men and women who served God boldly.

One of my recent role models is a woman at our church, Evelyn. Evelyn is in her eighties, and she has probably lived in this neighborhood the longest of anyone. Hunting Park was originally a German community, which is not surprising because we are direct neighbors to the old city of Germantown. Evelyn is one of the few remaining of the original German population; she is certainly a minority in this predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood. She has stayed all these years, despite the changes that have taken place.

Evelyn walks with the support of a cane. Just a few days after the earthquake in Haiti, she came knocking on our door. We probably live about 5 or 6 blocks from her house, yet she had made it to our street on a cold wintry day, and it turns out she was going door-to-door, collecting donations for Haiti. She came inside, complaining of how tired she felt and how all of this walking made her feel like she was fighting in the Vietnam War (ha :), yet so resolute in the work she was doing. She continued on her way after only a minute or two of reprieve.

Evelyn is amazing. What an inspiration and a challenge.

Neighborhood Clinic.

2010-03-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm not sure where to start with this one. Some of you know that I was experiencing some chest pains these past few weeks. The pain increased on Monday, so I hurried to make a doctor's appointment as soon as I could. I finally found an appointment for today (Thursday) at a clinic that happens to be right in my neighborhood...

The Hunting Park medical clinic is right on the edge of the park itself. I arrived 15 minutes early for my appointment and approached the heavily graffitied building. Strange sign #1 (SS1). After walking through the caged door (SS2) and then the normal door, I found myself in a waiting room. The "pharmacy" was a window on the left, and the patient check-in was about fifty feet in front of me, beyond the seating area. I quickly noticed that the pharmacy, while stocked with some basic over-the-counter drugs, mostly contained corner store items such as soda, a variety of potato chips, and candy (SS3,4,5!) The women at the front counter were nice, though I was a bit alarmed to see the other front office workers eating their lunch of Wendys hamburgers and giant Wendys soft drinks. Is health a real value among the clinical staff here? (SS6)

Because I had never met with this doctor, or been to this clinic, I had the standard patient profile forms to fill out before I could see the PA. I began filling in the blanks and applying my signature where needed - a fairly easy process - when I came to a series of new and unusual questions. Examples:

Do you wear your seat belt while driving?

Do you keep a gun in your home, and if so does it have a safety lock, and is

it out of your children's reach?

Are you in a relationship where your partner hits you?

Are you afraid of your partner?

Do you have a living will? (SS7)

The questions went on, but I am currently forgetting most of them. The clinical staff were certainly surprised to see me there. One of the women at the front desk was having a hard time verifying my insurance by phone - which is not unusual because my insurance provider is fickle and confusing, and fickle (boo). After establishing that I went to school way out in the suburbs, and probably noticing that I didn't quite "belong," she asked "just what part of Philadelphia are you from?" She seemed to perk up when she found out that I live right around the corner on Franklin St.

My insurance provider ended up telling the front desk employee information about my coverage that contradicted the information they gave me on Monday; therefore, I was thoroughly frustrated by the time I entered the examine room. Was this appointment going to be a total wash; on top of that, is it going to cost me way more than my $20 co-pay? The staff worker who escorted me to my room remained in a corner of the hallway for about 10 minutes, playing on her iPhone (SS8).

Alas, the amazing part is that the PA was so incredibly kind and attentive. She was the nicest, sweetest woman ever (whose husband is also studying for his masters in International Development), and she made sure to charge me the lowest fee when I shared with her my concerns regarding my health insurance, even though appointments for chest problems are usually charged the highest rate. "I'll do anything for students," she said. She encouraged me to come see her anytime, and was more than helpful. She also agreed that my chest pains are muscular in nature and not heart-related; she listened to my heart and said that it sounds great.

So, that was my 1 hr. 45 min experience at the neighborhood medical clinic. Granted, the Wendys may have not stuck out to me so much if I hadn't just seen the state of the pharmacy, and if Ted and I had not watched the first half of Food, Inc. last night. But still, that's a lot of SSs, so many that I couldn't not share with you all. Sigh.

Snow Dates & Smoothies

2010-03-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

Despite the cold, stormy weather these past few weeks, Mr. Ted and I have still managed to have some creative fun :) Two weeks ago, in order to commemorate our 6 month anniversary , we used a gift card at a great asian fusion restaurant downtown, followed by an excellent afternoon movie. On another morning, after our second huge snow, we shuffled to the Dunkin' Donuts on Fifth Street in our heavy coats and used the last of his gift card to get some tasty, cheap breakfast. (Notice the theme of gift cards. ha!)

So, Dunkin' claims that "America Runs on Dunkin'. However, the OSWALD home now runs on Ted's newest mocha creations and drum roll... smoothies! Yep - we thought we'd give them a try in order to add some fruit to our diet. Turns out that I hate them, and Ted loves them! Hooray for nutrients. Meanwhile, I'm heating a chicken pot pie in the oven... Nutrients can wait till tomorrow :)

Lesson from the Locals

2010-02-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

This past week Ted and I had the opportunity to learn something delightful about Philadelphia; and by delightful I mean extremely annoying...

Last Saturday we had the second greatest snowstorm in Philly's history. Yep, twenty-plus inches of snow and it was madness. Yesterday, we got another eighteen inches. In our neighborhood, the row homes are tightly packed (there are sixty-six homes on our one block), and since no one has garage space, parking spots are often hard to find on a day-to-day basis. Well, since digging one's car out of two to three feet of snow is such a chore, people here feel entitled to leave a lawn chair or orange cone in their spot, in order to keep their spot 'reserved' until they return home.

This may not sound so ridiculous, but I came home a few nights ago to find seven empty spots on our street, each with a cone or lawn chair situated right spack-dab in the middle! Seven empty spots, and I couldn't park in any of them. These spots don't actually belong to anyone, so I don't know where the fantasy comes from that you can claim spots that aren't yours! Hmph, it had me in a tizzy for about - 5 minutes. But, I suppose I have no choice except to obey the cones and chairs... :)

Baloney.

2010-02-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

A friend in my program is from Burma. He has worked in the development field for at least twenty years, and he is now pursuing his MBA in the U.S. to enhance his skills and better equip himself for starting his own NGO in Burma. His name is Myo.

Myo is very quiet. We had the opportunity to enjoy Thanksgiving Day with him, at the home of my academic advisor Connie. He has a wife and two children back in Burma, and I think the separation, plus the language and cultural barriers here in the U.S., must be difficult for him. But he is such a kind-spirited person.

One day during our three-day residency for our Applied Research course (Jan 14 - 16), I was complaining of being hungry to the classmates at my table. I had packed an unusually light lunch that day and chose to eat it all during morning session (because my breakfast cereal didn't hold me over too well.) Myo must have heard me, because when I turned around to say "hi" to him about five minutes later, he insisted that I take one of his three baloney and cheese sandwiches.

I politely and appreciatively declined, but finally gave in to his persistence. It was a baloney sandwich on white bread, with random dots of cheese. I don't know how the dots got there. I was thinking "wow, poor Myo, unable to find his usual Burmese cuisine here in this foreign land and he must succumb to the worst of processed American food products" or, perhaps this is what happens when a married man is separated from his lovely, capable wife and thrown into a bachelor's lifestyle once again :)

Ted and I tried to get together with Myo for dinner back in December, but the timing didn't work out quite right. We hope to get together with him soon.

On Home.

2010-01-30T15:59:00.001-08:00

I really like this city. Will it ever feel like home? I'm not sure. There's always something new and undiscovered, which keeps life here exciting and stimulating - but sometimes exciting is not what you want. Sometimes you just want home. I have Ted, and he feels like home - he is my home. I am so thankful for him. :)

This morning we walked to church in the freezing weather, a thin layer of snow on the ground. I wore my ankle length, pouffy winter coat, and Ted was insulated by about six layers of sweaters, coats, and t-shirts. It was nice, shuffling along while holding Ted's hand and feeling so happy.

So, is there home here? Yes. Though not home in the comfortable, familiar, free, refreshing sense - the sense that I get from that yellow flower on my blog. But, it is good here. And there are the friends and family that God gives us to really support us and remind us of who we are. They give us grounding and so much love, even from afar.

A Sweet Saga of our Most Momentous Transition from Singleness to Marriage

2009-09-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Before more time passes, I want to document what were, undoubtedly, the two best weeks of my life.

August 6 - August 22.

I started as Miss Katharine Daulton and ended as Mrs. Katharine Oswald, flew from Philadelphia to Sacramento, San Diego to Cancun and then to a new home with Mr. Ted Oswald, my husband.

Thursday, August 6: Swine Flu Doozy
Ted and I arrive in Sacramento at around 6:30PM. We had to wait at the curb for a few minutes, but the Oswald gang arrived and everyone jumped out of the car to greet us many hugs, squeals (from the ladies) and congratulations. SAM's was closed in Davis, so we ate at In N Out instead. Erica had been at Cheer Camp all week, and she got word that two of the girls were diagnosed with swine flu, so she had to spend dinner and much of the rest of the evening calling parents of girls on her squad, raising the alert. Thankfully, everyone was fine in the end!

Friday, Aug 7: Shopping and Socializing

Erica and I went to the mall with Lee Ann while Ted and Phil met PJ during his lunch. Lee Ann found a(nother) dress to wear for the wedding, and we stopped by the chair rental facility to confirm Sunday's order. We ate at the Ebenezer's house that evening - indian food! The Ebenezers are a family from Sun Grove, the church that Ted grew up attending. They are really astounding, gracious people.

Saturday, Aug 8: Bachelor Party, Ladies Move Out (Sort of)!

Ted's bachelor party began at about 10AM - rafting on the American River. Ted, PJ and others headed out with snacks (mmm those red vines were good) and sunscreen, and Lee Ann and I shopped for flowers! We bought loads of them and came back to the house to arrange three large bouquets and four smaller ones. Lee Ann, Erica and I went out to dinner (Mediterranean) and then Lee Ann snuck back in the house while Erica and I opted for a sleep over at Nicole's place. Mango margaritas, "Yes Man" and a shared bed -what fun :)

Sunday, Aug 9: The Big Day, Part I

The Faux Wedding, the event of all faux events, at Elk Grove Park. One hundred and fifty people, bows, ribbon, cupcakes and handshakes - it was quite a day! Renata surprised us by showing up; Joy, Jenn Whited, Briggs and Caroline came too. My parents flew up for the occasion and even stood up as the Best Man and Maid of Honor. There were pictures, lots of laughter and a priceless afternoon overall. Add some Chinese food in for dinner, and we're done :)

Monday, Aug 10: The Bridal Arrival

A 9AM flight lands me in San Diego by 10:15. Mom, Dad, Sister, Steve - wahoo! Meetings with Dixie, Chef Ed, and then Shari at the church, with a stop at Francos and some napping in the car. Dinner with family on the patio and *lots* of laughter. (My dad verifying the fact that he is indeed "nice looking!")

Tuesday, Aug 11: The Dress

Hair trial at Nancy's, Thai food and David's Bridal. The dress fit just right! Way to go for gaining those 4-5 pounds. Thanks to mom for the milkshake fund :) Packing going through all the stuff in my room.

Wednesday, Aug 12: The Oswalds are Coming; the Oswalds are Coming!

The Oswalds arrived! And the company of family now complete! The fathers had not previously met each other, and neither had the siblings-in-law. A delicious hamburger BBQ was had around a long banquet table in the backyard, and many good conversations abounded. Having everyone together was like a dream!

Thursday, Aug 13: Love and Bachelorette Madness

An all-family breakfast with egg enchiladas and some last minute planning. We got just a little stressed, but help arrived in the form of FRIENDS, and lots of laughter well into the night. North County scavenger hunt, delicious Chinese food on Encinitas Blvd, straaange characters along Highway 101, and then ice cream sundaes, cocktails, mad lib and presents into the evening!

Friday, Aug 14: Rehearsal - It's All Becoming Real

Guestbook preparation, seating arrangements, more planning, and practicing our first dance in the Kinkos parking lot. Meeting with the photographer for the first time and eating a rushed lunch from the food court at UTC. I didn't know so much could be packed into one day. Good friends came for the actual rehearsal; we discovered that our musicians are amazing, and my mother-in-law even more amazing with all the rehearsal dinner preparations! We had Juanitas burritos, strawberries, and delicious pie for dessert, all presented on brightly colored table cloth to the sound of marriachi tunes. The Philly girls all finally made it, as well as twenty other dear, dear friends. Yes, this was the fun, intimate gathering we had hoped for!

Saturday, Aug 15: The REAL Big Day!

You really had to be there. Everything went perfectly (except for the last-minute absence of our incredibly special sister-in-law.) The flowers, the friends, Phil's message, and the whole fantastic rockin' reception. We loved every moment, from the food and speeches, to our first dance and our triumphant exit running through a flurry of rose petals. Thank you to EVERYONE that made our day so out-of-this-world amazing.

Sunday, Aug 16: Crossing Borders

From a beach house in Oceanside to a lone highway in the Yucatan, we traveled great distance by plane and rental car, finally making it to Valladolid, just 30 minutes east of the famous Chichen Itza ruins in Mexico. The next five days will have to be chronicalled at a later time, but we thoroughly enjoyed beaches, food, snorkeling, cenote exploring, motorbike riding, and lots of Mayan ruins under the hot hot sun, hardly checking our watches the whole time.

*Sigh*

We are so thankful for those two weeks that meant the world to us. So many sweet memories and foundational life changes. We returned home late on a Friday evening, Aug 22, and moved all our belongings in a hurry, getting ready for life in North Philly and graduate school to begin the following Monday. It was a semester of true adventure! And we are full of anticipation for this next one ahead :)

Still in the states, but ...

2008-09-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

It’s about time I wrote an update – and it’s kind of a strange position I’m in because I get to announce what many of you don’t know yet … I have moved to Philadelphia. Yes, I returned from Africa June 15. I didn’t gather any moss and rolled on over across the country to Pennsylvania.

It may sound random or shocking to some, but the decision was a long one in the making –one of the many things I was considering and processing during my 7 months in Africa. I was pretty set on applying for a graduate program in community development at Eastern University here in Philly. Though I leaned away from that while in Sierra Leone, Philly still felt like the ticket. East coast, urban area, history, diversity, and boyfriend ;)

Yes, Ted is now a first year law student at Drexel University, which is in Philly. I live in a bright pink house in West Philly, an area known as University City – very funky, colorful, filled with yummy ethnic food and parks. My three housemates are wonderful; we’re all about the same age, and two of them are even West African. Just a park with a bi-weekly Farmer’s Market separates my house from Ted’s studio apartment.

While looking into some graduate programs in the area, I’ve found a full-time job working in academic affairs at Penn Engineering. It’s about a 45 minute walk from my house, or a 10 minute trolley ride, and it’s a lovely location (crazily enough, it’s just two blocks from Ted’s law school.) My co-worker is very involved in the African Diaspora community in Philly; she is a wealth of knowledge. Apparently she knows some Sierra Leoneans in town – can’t wait to revive some of my Krio for those encounters!

I’ve been here for 6 weeks now. I am still moving in – it can be a little tricky to acquire what you need without a car – and I’m really enjoying my neighborhood and the city of Philadelphia as a whole. I have pictures of the Lighthouse kids pinned on my cubicle wall –still think about them often and hope the best for them. I found out a couple weeks ago that some of the kids I met in Chennai, India in 2006 are now benefitting from World Vision’s work. Wonderful news, as we’ve prayed for a long time for Christian aid to come to the bus park where several of them live.

As always, if you would like to know how you can support the Lighthouse kids in Freetown, Sierra Leone, or any child in the grip of poverty's destructive elements, you can always ask me about child sponsorship. :)

Reverse culture shock? Ya...

2008-08-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

About the reverse culture-shock. It was not as shocking as when I returned from India two years ago. I think I was bracing myself for it this time, expecting to feel really out-of-sorts when I got home.

I did abhor my cell phone for the first few days. I just wanted to take life slow, and not feel barraged with lots of noise and busy-ness. After seven months of having a phone that only a few people called me on, and not having easy access to the internet, I didn't feel the need to be constantly in touch with 50 people at once.

I also thought it would be important to take things a little slow, allowing myself to realize where I had just been, and not cut myself off from Africa by plunging into my old daily routine. I'm glad I did that.

The supermarkets were a tad overwhelming. I couldn't bring myself to look above the bottom shelf in the store aisles, afraid that the rows of options and bright packaging would be too much to handle in once glance.

At the same time, I experienced going from the equivalent of Walmart in Kenya to the Kibera slums in just a five-minute walk. So there was shock there also, and it made returning to the U.S., land of consumer abundance, less disorienting.

It's also been so nice having great friends to share about Africa with, and I am still in the process of this! In the process of working on sharing a few pictures with you all, and thanking my very generous financial and prayer supporters for all the faith and excitement you had in my trip.

It's an ongoing process that I can't let distractions snatch away! I have heard some updates from Freetown recently. Mainly, that all the Lighthouse kids went on a week-long retreat and had meaningful reflection and fellowship time. Several of the Lighthouse youth are currently enrolled in a summer school where, the staff reports, the instructors actually TEACH. Hippee! Santigie and Papanie are among the students doing that right now ;) I have a feeling Victoria and Veronica (her twin sister) are not doing as well, so they are in need on continued prayer.

More soon ... hopefully some pictures to share this week! And if you're still reading ... you're awesome! Thanks for being a cool friend :)

Being back from Africa...

2008-08-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

Arriving home felt strangely normal. I stumbled into my parents' house in Carlsbad, stomach a little weak from the 4 different brands of medication I was on, and all of a sudden, it felt like no time had passed since leaving for Africa.

But time had passed. Seven long months in East Africa, the Middle East and then West Africa did happen. Those experiences molded me and changed me, and yet, like the kids walking through the wardrobe returning from Narnia, it felt like no time had really gone by.

I forced myself to take it easy those first few weeks at home, and I'm glad I did. Otherwise, the "reverse culture shock" might have been worse, and I may have rushed back into busy American life without taking time to consider all the places I had come from, and the beautiful people I had met.

The past 6 weeks have been filled with incredible blessings. I was reunited with my family and with Ted. I spent a week in Sacramento with Ted's wonderful family and meet many important people in his life. I also had opportunities to see several good friends. I went to a couple weddings, had a huge 60th birthday party for my mom, and introduced Ted to lots of people.

And the whole time I had Africa on my mind. Before coming back, our team leader Stephanie asked us what we would do to keep our Sierra Leone experience alive. Who would we tell about it? How would we remember and not let the memories become buried? Cami, the field director in Freetown, asked us more pointedly, "How are you going to be true to this place? To the kids we all got to know?" Santigie, Victoria, Papanie - how will I be true them in how I tell their stories, and how I choose to live.

I think those are important questions to be asking myself. About one month ago, I printed all the pictures I had taken with the Lighthouse kids and wrote personalized notes for each of them. Cami asked us to please send pictures that we took of the kids back to Freetown, so that the youth could own more pictures of themselves. I wanted to do that as quickly as I could, and it ended up being such a joy, a special opportunity to let them know I remember them, and I value each of them so highly.

I don't like thinking about not seeing the people in Freetown again. I suppose that's hard with any place you visit. I just feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to go, and I continue to hope that my experience there will be integrated into where I am now.

I know God is the perfect Author who can weave all of these strands into something excellent for His glory.

It's noisy outside

2008-06-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

It's noisy on the streets outside. But, then, it's always noisy on the streets of Freetown. Except for the cool, dark nights passing by the lonely cemetery in Murray Town. Or when you climb the windy hills and sit amongst the gray and green cotton trees in Wilberforce and Hill Cott. Old, clapboard houses and long stone walls splashed with bright, advertising colors.
But the noises aren't all bad. Mangoes for sale. Sheeptoe, guinea, red cherry. Oh my mouth is watering; I will miss that sweet, juicy taste available morning, noon and night. Cold water, peanut cakes, pineapple, biscuits. All fresh produce! Everything you need so easy to pick up on the side of the road, just picked from fields in the provinces.
The sound of hard-working individuals. Men balancing twenty foot boards on their heads, weaving in and out of taxi and pedestrian traffic, women toting baskets of coal, two, three, four... no, seven baskets high! So graceful as they take care not to fall through the cracks in the cement slab sidewalk, into the running sewage below.
The splatter of rain. It rained today. The sound muffles the blare of honking horns and vendors announcing their goods. Soft blankets of water left us scurrying for shelter: a wooden bench offered by a crew of firemen seeming anxious for distraction. They ushered us to the junction, securing a taxi with a "fine price" for our desired destination. So willing to help; always a kind smile on the streets here, in response to our attempted Krio greetings.
A walk through Kroo Bay leaves a trail of squealing kids, all crying "Aporto! Aporto!" the Temini word for white person. If not "Aporto!" then "white man! white man!" Won't be hearing that sound again for awhile...

I love this city. I love its character. It is a part of me now, and I will never forget this town, nor this beautiful continent.

Our last weeks were awesome. For our final week of tutoring we gathered all the kids in the staff house on Dillet Street and showed them 6 episodes of the BBC series "Planet Earth." The films are stunning and it was so fun to see the kids' eyes widen in amazement at the totally unbelievable animals and insects and landscapes. They often shouted "Eh!" in unison as they saw clips of how big and diverse and stunning this world is. It was so cool.

And then, last week, the Servant Team took our debriefing retreat "upcountry." We went to a National Park called Outamba-Kilimi, past Kamakwie village on the Guinea border. It took about 10 hours and 3 modes of transport to get us there. We were IN THE JUNGLE. With white monkeys on our campsite, hippopotami, big crazy bugs straight from outer-space, and yes, MAMBA snakes (we just saw one). But it was awesome. We got the real upcountry experience, had good time to reflect on our four months here, and came home with literally hundreds of bites on our legs. ;)

And last night, we said good-bye at Lighthouse. The kids gathered round and took pictures with us, prayed for us, and said "thank you" in various ways. It's so difficult saying good-bye. I didn't really know what to say, because I don't really know if I believe that I won't be seeing them again.

Now, I'm about to fly off! I must go, but I am so glad that my leaving won't mean I am cut off from Freetown. I have friends here now, and there's no way I can forget this place, because it has blessed me and, I hope, changed me!

Love, Katharine

Burray Town Beach

2008-05-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

The beauties of this country, and the beauty of the relationships built here.

On Sunday, WMF celebrated "Princess Day" with five of the Lighthouse girls. The title sounded silly to some of us, that is, until our team leader reminded us that "girls are never [normally] treated nice here." A sobering reminder!

The teenage Lighthouse girls, for the second year in a row, were treated to a wonderful full-day beach outing. Eleven of us hopped in a chartered poda-poda at 8:30am and headed to Burray Town, a beach further town on the Freetown peninsula, about 2 hours away. The luxory of a paved road made the ride smooth(er) and problem-free. (Well, there were those two times our driver almost rammed into oncoming traffic and some people's hearts jumped into their throats, but whatever! ;)

At the beach, Cami shared the Bible story of Hagar, Abraham and Sarah's Egyptian slave, reminding us of God's ever-present love for us. He is the God who sees us (Genesis 16).

Then, we played some beach games, coordinated by the U.S. Servant Team ladies - one game I learned in the comfy and laughter-filled environs of my college apartment (the clapping animal game!) and the other I played once at my Trinity youth group. It involved human pyramids and making shapes in the sand with our bodies. Lots of laughter and squealing involved!

Florence (the girls' Bible study leader) coordinated the food - we ate shwarmas and pepper chicken for "snack" and then soda, juice, water and *delicious* couscous and vegetable salad and more chicken for lunch. We played in the ocean, helping the girls stay afloat and dive under waves and splashed around in the river. We did live like royalty for the day!

It all culminated in the "dressing of the princesses." Each girl modeled their new African dresses that the Lighthouse tailors had sown for them, and jewelry purchased with Florence. They looked so beautiful and were having so much fun.

Again, elements of this may sound cheesy, but it really is true - how often are girls appreciated here? Told that they're beautiful and valued and given a chance to just enjoy a full day like this? Even as the day was closing some grown men were hanging around our post and asking if they could "take" one of the girls as a wife. I was so disgusted I wanted to scream.

But they were given a day to be appreciated and loved. And I loved that WMF's heart and mission is to pour into these girls' lives; to encourage and love them despite all they have been through.

On the streets

2008-05-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, Word Made Flesh hosted a seminar entitled "Children in Crisis." A man from Britain delivered the 5-day conference, and WMF invited the parents or guardians of each of the Lightouse kids to attend, creating an opportunity to give them tools for raising their own kids who have lived through traumatic experiences and also allowing WMF to deepen their relationships with the Lighthouse kids' families. It was a good, enriching week.

Sitting on hard wooden benches at Robert Street Baptist Church from 8am to 4:30pm, serving tea and coffee, and mingling with Lighthouse parents, I was able to learn about the fragility of children, how formative their first years are, and the immense impact and power each adult in their life holds over them.

Two boys, both entering the Lighthouse program but without sponsors from America, were on my heart and mind. Best friends, they attended the seminar together, as they had no guardian willing or able to come on their behalf. One of them, I learned, still sleeps on the street; the other just came off the streets as his father invited him to live with him again. Neither are in school

I won't share too much about the boys right here, but I've known them since my first week in Freetown, and only during the seminar did I learn of their current situation. Through the seminar's content I began to understand how a life of poverty weighs on a child's mind and soul, subconciously feeding them all kinds of lies about their value and worth as dearly loved human beings.

All of the Lighthouse youth, except for these boys, have monthly sponsors. The sponsors' contributions to WMF enable the staff here to enroll the kids in school, pay for their lunches for the week, and organize meaningful outings, opportunities to have fun and grow, and to feel affirmed by WMF mentors.

One of these boys gives me joy from his bright smile, the other has quite a tough exterior from all he's gone through and reminds me of the sorrow and hardships in this place - both weigh on my heart and I hope some people some potential sponsors will soon show interest in them.

Another WARM Freetown day - gray clouds announce the enroaching rainy season. I've heard that Sierra Leone gets the most rainfall of any place in the world. Their rainy season lasts from May to October. Sierra Leone also has some of the most nutrient-rich soil on earth. And it's also the poorest, or perhaps second-poorest, country there is. It doesn't make sense does it? No; and it is tragic.

More from me later - just about one month to go before we leave; wow! Much love to you all!

Receiving a piece of bread

2008-04-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

The foundational "lifestyle celebration" in the Word Made Flesh community is intimacy. Intimacy with God. We recognize this as our highest and deepest calling, the reason we were created, to know Christ and thus worship Him. I realize that may sound a little sentimental to some, but over and again during my time in Africa this draw towards intimacy with Jesus has been a continuous, underlying theme of each day.

One Sunday in Nairobi, the lyrics of a worship song from church stuck in my head and resonated within me: "My Comfort, my Shelter, Tower of refuge and strength, Let every breath, all that I have, never cease to worship You...My Saviour, my closest Friend, I will worship You until the very end.

As I left church, I asked myself if that is really true in my life. Do I truly consider Jesus my One and only Saviour, and my closest, most treasured Friend? I want to. I want Him to be my All.

And here in Freetown, at our Monday meetings we have been looking at Scripture and sharing about whole-hearted devotion, having an undivided heart. It has been so good for my soul to reflect on how deep God's love is, and challenging to consider that He alone is worthy of my praise.

A few weeks ago at First Presbyterian Church we took communion. At this church, the whole congregation walks forward, is handed a wafer and cup of grape juice and then remains standing by the stage, waiting for everyone to join the group and partake in communion together.

As I came forward, Pastor Zizer (my host dad) took a wafer in his hand, made the sign of the cross with it, and held it out for me. I reached forward to take it, but he pulled it back. Confused, I tried to take it from his hand again, but he subtly shook his head, motioned for me to stand still and hold out my hand so that he could hand me the waver, placing it in my open palm.

I started to cry a little as I thought about the picture I was just given of God's love. He gives it freely. It is not something I need to snatch or reach out and grab for myself. God comes down and lavishes His grace upon us (1 John 3:1) though we have hang-ups and make mistakes and can never really get our act together. And that's the point - that we cannot clean ourselves up before coming to God. He is the one that washes us clean, and pours His love and saving grace upon us.

Salone update: Am loving Freetown. Today we return to our "regular" schedule. I have tutoring and my weekly visit to Kroo Bay with Erin to do medical check-ups. We are visiting one woman who had a serious stroke but is walking with a cane now that Erin has been working with her, and a little boy named Ibrahim who has cerebral palsy. And then, I shall return home to do some serious laundry! :) More on last week's "Children in Crisis" conference later...

Embroidered African elephants

2008-04-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Oh, Freetown! This morning my team returned from Banana Island where we spent 3 days of relaxation and reflection. This mini-retreat was planned to mark the 2 month anniversary of our trip; we are now officially half way done with our Servant Team. Banana Island is not far; it took us a one and a half hour car ride to get to the wharf at Kent beach, and a 20 minute boat ride to reach the island shore. We stayed at Dalton's Banana Guest House (pretty neat huh??). It rained the first night, and the roofs leaked :) But the beach was beautiful and Dalton and his wife and kids treated us so kindly. Being on an island, they catch a fair amount of seafood every day. So yes, yours truly tried for the first time and truly enjoyed lobster, crab and barracuda! I could barely believe it myself!

Monday morning, the poda-podas went on strike in Freetown(podas are the main mode of transport, exactly like the matatus in Nairobi, for those of you that have been faithfully reading this blog of mine!) Steph, Chris and I go into town for a Monday morning all-staff meeting and breakfast, and yesterday was our turn to get there early and buy bread, fruit, oats, sardines (I admit they're not that bad) and boiled eggs for everyone, but because of the strike, we walked a full hour from Murray Town to downtown, with guitar in tow!

But what was really neat is that everyone was walking. The various crowds of school kids - distinguishable by their different bright uniform styles and patterns - fruit sellers and bread sellers, carpenters and tailors, everyone on their way to work. It kind of felt like a community event! It's typical for people to yell "white man! white girl!" or make "Sssss" noises with their teeth until we look their way, but yesterday morning we were also approached by friendly faces, some friends of ours and some new acquaintances.

Memories of the war are never far from what you see day to day. Though it has been easy to forget the war, for me, as a visitor. Meaning, it's not on my mind all the time. Yet, you do wonder with each Sierra Leonean that you meet where they were and how they fared during the war. Just today our Krio teacher shared some of her war experiences with us. The bullets firing, homes and people burning, it's too much to imagine living through. (Read "A Long Way Gone" for a boy's retelling of his life during the civil war). Even with the youth I tutor, as I meet with Papane, Santigie and Victoria during the week, I cannot assume anything about their current and past situations - whether their parents and siblings are alive or the degree of harmony in their home lives. All I know is that the war has left deep scars inside each of them, and I am thankful we get to see each other on such a regular basis. I am trying still to be as effective a teacher I can be. Please keep praying for us in this endeavor!

One of the Lighthouse boys, Sheku, is a tailor and loves to make bags. I asked him to repair my Indian elephant bag a few weeks ago, and he came up with an amazing creation - a new bag with a whole new elephant etched into it, using African colors and patterns to fill in the body of the elephant. I could tell he was very pleased with the work he did. I love having this memento of how WMF (Word Made Flesh) has helped these kids through vocational training, allowing them to make a living and do work they enjoy and can take pride in.

Returning to the bustle of the city definitely left an impression this morning. The loud music, traffic, wheelbarrows tumbling along the uneven roads coming straight for you every other second... It felt like our first couple days here in Freetown! We haven't gone back to the Zizers yet, but please keep praying for us, for peace and strength coming from the Lord every part of every day.

Thank you all ~ "We go see back!" (See you later! in Krio) :)

Freetown

"Kol wata de!"

2008-03-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

That's just one of the phrases I hear being called out on the streets of Freetown each and every day. Little kids with buckets of cold water pouches yell "Kol wata de," which means "cold water is here!" repeatedly until people buy.

It's now been 6 whole weeks since I landed in Sierra Leone. My team celebrated our one month "anniversary" by eating pizza - something we didn't know existed here until our team leader surprised us for lunch. :)

Our schedules are now pretty much set here. No week is ever fully predictable, but we have our tutoring and Lighthouse schedules, and we now all know when and where our group meetings and Bible studies fall.

I tutor three youth here. They are *drum roll please* - Papane: Papane is about 18 years old. He attends a Christian school and aspires to be a missionary one day. With Papane I try to work on reading, writing, geography (which I get most excited about, pouring over the world map and listening to his questions about different countries and their histories -so fun!). He just had exams these past 2 weeks so we spent a lot of our time cram studying for those too.

Victoria: I would guess Victoria is 16 or so. She attends a catering school, so we work on practical math, reading, grammar, etc. Finding somewhat creative ways to present these lessons is something I'm working on and want to do well. I meet her, and Papane, at the home of Auntie P, a friend of WMF who provides lunches for the kids and runs a catering business. Needless to say, I eat a lot of her yummy home-cooked food throughout the week - a whole plate of food (which is so big that I split it with Stephenie) costs us 2,500 Leons ... that's about 80 cents!

Lastly, Santigie: Santigie is the most advanced of the three, a really bright, friendly guy who has a knack for showing up late and says "ya man" a lot. He also likes looking at the world map, and he posed the very complicated and confusing question last week, "Katharine, how many races are there in the world?" Hm, no easy answer to that one! (As I'm thinking about my freshman year cultural anthro class where we spent 4 weeks asking "what is race really?") But it'll give us a lot to talk about!

I meet with each of these guys for 3 hours a week, one hour a day. Last week I also got my first opportunity to visit a medical clinic in Kroo Bay with a staff worker Erin. Erin is a Physical Therapist, and she is going to meet patients at the clinic weekly. I'd love to observe and learn from her - I did her note-taking last week and learned some new Krio phrases like "squeeze your leg tight," "don't drop your foot down" and "stand up" and "sit down." :) It was so sad to see these elderly people that have been living with body pains for years without anyone to get professional advice from.

Easter weekend! Easter weekend was wonderful - restful and fun, with so much to think about and be deeply grateful for. On Friday we watched The Passion movie. On Saturday the team celebrated by birthday with some yummy chocolate cake and a meal at Basha's - our favorite Lebanese restaurant, and I heard from some wonderful family and friends back home. Sunday morning we had a sunrise service at Aberdeen beach with all the Lighthouse youth. It was a new concept for them all, but I think they really had a good time. Our service wrapped up with a meal of "snapper" and bread -fish, just like Jesus cooked fish on the Galilee for his disciples, after his resurrection, ha! A bunch of the kids jumped in the water after that, or buried each other in the sand which was hilarious to watch.

And yesterday was a national holiday - Easter Monday - which everyone got off work and school. On that day we did something awesome. We climbed, with twenty of the Lighthouse kids, the highest peak on the Freetown peninsula - SugarLoaf Mountain! Haha, the climb was steep, and rocky and slippery with leaves and crazy branches hindering your sight half the way. At the very top two of the staff had hidden candy sweets for all the kids and everyone got to search for seven of them. And then we just enjoyed the amazing, green, mountainous, view from the top. Some kids climbed trees, others just sat and talked ... it was lovely! The day ended with a lunch of beans (which sounds like "bench" when Sierra Leoneans say it, causing some confusion for me) and bread (made by Auntie P) at the staff's house in town.

During this last week I've been very grateful for my team, for such interesting and fun and easy-to-be-around people. My birthday felt very special, and together we spent the last week focusing on the sacrifice and suffering of Christ. Christ, who makes all things new, in us and in this world. The cross somehow embodies that newness and I don't want to lose sight of that being the center of my salvation - what defines me and has given me life!

Thank you all so much for reading and for praying. I'll keep writing as life moves along here. Please pray for my team's relationship with our host family, the Zizers. And for time to process and live out what God's showing me here. Peace!

The group on Aberdeen beach for our Easter sunrise service

Kroo Bay and Tutoring

2008-03-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Freetown, a city of beautiful colors, chipped paint, beggars in wheelchairs, smooth reggae and hip hop, and awesome hair doos. Of little, smiling children, yelling "white man!" and spicy, peanut stew, and fried plantains (yum!) Bustling streets ... and more and more familiar faces as my time here continues!

We began volunteering this past week, and our days definitely felt more hectic! I will be tutoring two of the Lighthouse youth - Papanie and Victoria. I meet with them M, T, W - one hour each day, to review math, english, geography, and whatever else feels relevant. I'm excited for my time with each student, though I've never formally taught or tutored before. Papanie is going to read "Horse and His Boy" from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia as one of his assignments! And we're going to have a little geography/culture lesson each week, seeing as how he wants to be a missionary someday!

As for the rest of my time - I will be around Kroo Bay and City of Rest. My official schedule won't be hammered out for another week or two. Thank you all for your prayers for me during this time. My team is doing well. We're all feeling strong and healthy, and enjoying each other very much.

Please check out this awesome link to see more of Kroo Bay! Explore Kroo Bay: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/kroobay/

A hog in Kroo Bay

"Aw da bodi" everyone?

2008-02-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Week one has officially passed here in Freetown. I'm still feeling fine, though this is still definitely a foreign place for me!

Homestay: The Zizers continue to be very gracious and accomodating hosts. The 11-year-old, Marvin, is always anxious to know what we're up to, or to help us bruk (wash our clothes) in the bathtub. The arrangement is that Auntie Marvel cooks for us Sunday lunch, Monday and Thursday evening, and her meals are delicious. My main problems have been with the spiciness and fishiness of Sierra Leonean food. But I've found that I can close off my nasal passage while eating, scarf down the slimy fish & greens sauce and then stick a piece of gum in my mouth to erase the memory of the taste from my mouth!

Team time: We had some great team time to start our Servant Team off. Word Made Flesh (now WMF) is really intentional about the quality time we spend with each other, and the quality down time we each have to spend with God. This is great, because our team leader, Stephanie (different from my roommate Stephenie!), tried hard to not overwhelm us with activities right away. The six of us (our team plus Stephanie) meet every morning but Sunday for breakfast, and then devotional or Krio lesson (which is 3 x per week). We will alternate who provides the food and who leads the devotionals, but on Wednesdays we will all discuss the "Lifestyle Celebrations" of WMF, focusing on each one for 2 weeks at a time. The first celebration we are meditating on is intimacy with Christ, as this is our highest calling.

Retreat: Last friday night, we all drove up (in an old station wagon taxi) to Mount Leicester. the highest hill in Freetown. We spent the night there at this pretty retreat center. From there we were able to spend lots of time together. We began our discussion on "what is poverty?" and learned more about the Servant Team and our own leader, Stephanie. And then we stayed up late swapping hilarious and embarassing stories - my teammates are FUN and funny and I had a great time laughing with the group. On Saturday morning, we had our first book discussion. We are currently reading through Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger a few chapters at a time. The conversation was really good (as this is a dense book that is hard to read without sharing reactions and thoughts with others), and it looks like we'll continue our weekly dicussions every Saturday.

Walking tour and Lighthouse: As part of our orientation last week, we each went on a 2-hour walking tour of, really, the most impoverished parts of Freetown. What made this tour so unique is that we were split into groups of 2 or 3, and led around by one of the Lighthouse boys. Lighthouse is a youth discipleship and vocational training center run by WMF here in Freetown. The youth involved come from really troubled circumstances. Some were forced to fight in the war, others still live in refugee camps or lived on the streets for many years. Every Thursday night we will attend their youth program, and each of us will tutor some of the kids regularly.

So, back to that walking tour. Our guide and friend took us to 3 different wharfs, leading us through the dilapadated, smelly and wet slum housing. Trash covered the wharfs and drifted in and out of the water. Something about these conditions were way worse than Kibera in Nairobi. Stopping at the first "government wharf," our guide told me the story about this being the point where thousands of slaves were chained and forced aboard slaving ships bound for Europe and the Americas. This is also the place, he said, where the freed slaves returned to settle Freetown in the 19th century. As I looked around at the suffering in that place, and then reflected even for one second on the incredible history of suffering in that one place. it overwhelmed me.

After lunch our guide also took us to the Sierra Leone museum were there was an impressive Amistad exhibit lent out by the U.S. The Amistad was a slaving ship that left from Sierra Leone and was bound for Cuba, but a man on board overthrew the captain on the ship and attempted to steer everyone back to West Africa. That failed, and they ended up in New England, where a prison sentence and trial awaited them. I didn't realize when I saw the movie Amistad that the soon-to-be slaves on board were Sierra Leonean!

Okay, enough of my history enthusiasm for now...

Heart: At our all WMF Monday morning meetings we have been reading scripture relating to the heart. We are doing a similar program Thursday nights at Lighthouse. I really appreciate this exercise of reading and thinking about scripture and hearing each other's reflections. Again, I am thankful for WMF's emphasis on recognizing our relationship with Christ as number one importance. From there, our service to each other and the community will flow. And it can only flow from there.

Service: After all, this is the Servant Team! Our service here is meant to be relational at the core. Like I mentioned above, we will each tutor some amount per week with the same kids. I would also like to shadow/assist one of the staff here, Erin, on her medical checkup rounds in Kroo Bay (another slum area where WMF runs a Saturday afternoon kid program). As for my "main" activity, I am considering volunteering at City of Rest. City of Rest is a home for mentally challenged adults, as well as recovering drug addicts. The conditions are far from adequate, but they would love for some people to come and interact with the guests. I'm feeling a little unsure because I don't have creative ideas for what to do with the guests (like some of my teammates do), but I also know that that isn't the main point. The main point is just spending time with the people, and Ben and Kristina have this cool mural project idea that I think would be fun to be a part of.

We will all hammer out our "schedules" this week. :)

So, I appreciate so much knowing that you people support me and care about what's going on here. I continue to want your prayers -for my team and our relationships here (Oh, we are also all attempting to learn Krio, and I'm slow to catch on so far!) I love and miss you all. ~ Katharine

(By the way, the title of my post is the typical greeting here, and it is pronounced "How da bOdy?" It's great.)

I'm in Sierra Leone!

2008-02-16T03:29:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to write a journal post, saying that I made it to Freetown!! All my flight connections were smooth-- everything passed with no problem, and my teammates and I did indeed take a HELICOPTER ride late last night to get into the city!! It was pretty darn cool, and *interesting* as it was clearly an old military helicopter from somewhere. Our "flight attendant" had a lovely little speech for us which started with, "Hello gentlepeople, welcome to the helicopter." :)

My teammates are all great people - the married couple, Ben and Kristina, are from Indiapolis, but just got back from teaching in Korea for 6 months. They're young too, both are missionary kids and they are intentionally looking into full-time missions. My roommate, Stephenie, is super sweet and tons of fun to talk to and listen to! She is 29, getting married in September, and is an elementary school teacher. Get this, she just moved to Oceanside 6 months ago! And that's where she met her fiance and everything. So crazy! And then there's Chris. Chris just graduated from college in Tennessee, and he's from Virginia. He's taught in Vietnam and spent 8 weeks in northern Kenya before. He's also interested in long term missions.

Stephenie and I are staying with a Pastor Victor Zizer and his family. He and his wife, Auntie Marvel, have 3 children. Their names are Marvick, Marvin and Marvina! All combinations of the parents' names! :) The kids are really sweet and helpful and everyone is very gracious to us. Stephanie and I are sharing a room - there is a HUGE KING size bed, and then a twin, and we don't even need a sheet to sleep under cause it's so hot and humid and here!

Today we have just had a brief introduction to Freetown. We ate lunch and are about to visit the Kroo Bay children's center - a ministry that WMF works closely with. There are something like 300 children there. Tomorrow we will have our first team meeting to really start to get to know each other and discuss the plan for this first week... more later! God has really gotten me here safely, and our team is filled with really neat people. More later!

The two Stephanies outside of the Zizer's home, the place I will be staying!

The team! (Taken our last week in Freetown). It goes: Katharine, Stephanie, Ben, Kristina, Stephenie, Chris

East Africa travels: Kenya - Kampala - Kigali!

2008-01-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Dec 19th to Jan 11th

Three countries in three weeks – tons of new sites, new friends and glorious new vistas, hopping between three distinct cultures in such a short time. Each day brought new delights and challenges, and it was so fun to experience it all with my newly-acquired traveling companion, Ted!

We enjoyed four days in Nairobi, during which I showed Ted my most common Nairobi stomping grounds. We met with Ruth and Pastor Josphat at Word Fellowship Centre in the Kibera slums; we walked through Arboretum park, enjoyed some yummy Kenyan and Ethiopian food, and met with two of Ted's American friends who are currently living in Kenya. One of them is in Peace Corps. She spent a couple days with us at Lisa's flat, hanging around Nairobi (we did some epic walking, let me tell you!) and doing some much-missed American activities like drinking Dr. Pepper and watching a movie! Oh it was so good to be in the company of friends. Ted and I also visited Eastleigh, a section of Nairobi that is home to many Somalis, most of them refugees. It felt like stepping into a completely different country – most everyone was foreign! With Pastor Josphat's help, we ate lunch with and interviewed a Somali man.

Christmas Eve was our chosen departure date for Kampala, Uganda. After a 15 hour, indescribably beautiful bus ride via Kisumu, we arrived at approximately 10pm. Our hosts were the Olukas, the family of one of Ted's classmates in Cairo. They were wonderful to us. We enjoyed their home and fellowship for nearly 10 nights. Their daughter Faythe was our immediate friend and tour guide, showing us the ways of Ugandan taxis and my beloved motorcycle taxis (boda-bodas)! (I first rode one of these in Ruth's village, while balancing two wedding cakes on my lap, you may remember!) It is hard to describe Mr. Oluka's brilliant sense of humor and the total warmth and thoughtfulness of the entire family; God was very good to us through that family's kindness.

Kampala was much more laid back and safer than Nairobi. We explored parts of downtown, attended the Oluka's church on Christmas Day, attended a show at the National Theatre, and visited the Compassion Uganda country office (where I ran into a Ugandan man that I had actually met in San Diego this last summer! Small world!) Ted and I took a one day, one night excursion to Jinja, a town famous for being at the source of the Nile River! Ted's good friend, John, was honeymooning in Jinja and invited us to come visit (their "honeymoon" is going to be 8 months long, so we didn't feel too intrusive.) John and his new wife, Regina, are from southern Uganda. It was so fun to spend time fellowshipping with them. We took a boat to see where the Nile flows from Lake Victoria, and paddled across Bujagali Falls and, of course, enjoyed some traditional Ugandan dishes (Perhaps I am biased, but I still believe that nothing beats Kenyan cuisine!)

On New Years Day, we traveled south, crossing into Rwanda – the country of a thousand hills. Oh, Rwanda. Rwanda, Rwanda, Rwanda. How can I express how it was to be in that tremendous place for five days? Another of Ted's friends (these are all friends he met in Cairo during his studies this year) picked us up at the International Bus Park in Kigali Town. He found very reasonably-priced lodging for us in city centre, where we stayed for 5 nights. My goodness – the country itself is more beautiful than I imagined any place could be. The city is built into huge, rolling, green hills. The streets are clean and safe (polar opposite of Nairobi, and much cleaner even than Kampala). The country has flipped completely around since the 1994 genocide, though the effects of it are permanently etched into the conscious of every Rwandan. Walking the streets of Kigali, the mental images were inescapable- I imagined dead, bodies, cut by machete and half-eaten by dogs filling the road, knowing that that was once the reality in every corner of this country. For the past 13 years, Rwandans have been working hard at reconciliation, letting their open wounds gradually heal instead of sloppily covering up the mess and destruction by ignoring the genocide and trying to "move on." They are striving to remember, so that they can be a sign to the rest of the world and a lead educator on what genocide means. Ted and I visited the Genocide Memorial in Kigali twice, the second time to hear a survivor's testimony and watched a film titled "Shooting Dogs." I highly recommend it.

One day in Rwanda we traveled to a village one hour away to meet Ted's Compassion child, Mukama. Another day, we took our African Safari! I still hadn't gone yet, and as it is the signature thing to do in East Africa, my parents treated me to an early birthday gift. We enjoyed a full 5 hours driving around Akagere National Park along the Rwandan-Tanzanian border. It was beautiful, and full of zebras, impalas, giraffes, baboons, hippos and all sorts of strange and colorful birds.

So yes, I loved Rwanda. I got to speak French (as that is one of the national languages), enjoy many long boda-boda rides, dramatic views and sweet cups of tea. It was somber and deeply beautiful at the same time.

(picture: me in Kigali, Rwanda)
We had intended to stop in southern Uganda on our return to Kampala. Our time, though was cut short by the fuel crisis in the country, due to the eruption of post-election violence in Kenya and the still uncontrolled Ebola situation in the south. Ted and I returned to the Oluka's home in Kampala. From there, we made alternate travel arrangements back to Nairobi (where we were catching our flight to Cairo on Jan. 11th). Our 7 hour layover in Nairobi was without problem. I met with Lisa and Virginia and Bella one last time, to collect my luggage and say "farewell" to East Africa. It was so strange saying goodbye, and I am still missing the people and experiences God gave me there. I am so, so grateful to God for all He did in that time, and all I hope He will do through those relationships in the future.

Bless you, and please, please pray for Kenya. You'll hear from me again soon!

Upheaval in Kenya

2008-01-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

It makes me so sad to report that the elections in Kenya went so horribly. I knew the race was going to be close; I knew nearly everyone in the country had a strong opinion and that those opinions were usually drawn along tribal lines; I knew people were worried about rigging at the polls and sabotage; but, I also knew that…

-Kenyan Christians had been praying for months for peaceful elections
-Good Luou and Luya friends of mine, and good Kikuyu friends of mine were casting their votes for opposing candidates, but they were all praying and hoping for a peaceful election
-In my mind, Kenyans had a maturity about them that not all African countries currently demonstrate – Though tribalism is a tangible issue, I never imagined it would be cause for violence and murder here
My assumption that the election would pass smoothly was probably the result of some naiveté, partly because I was only in Kenya for seven weeks, and partly because I spent almost all that time in a large city, and large cities are known for blurring the lines a little between tribal classifications and prejudices; urban life usually gets people to mesh a little, to live life in closer proximity and so dislike each other a little less.

It is a little unreal to read the names of places that I have been in the newspaper, to hear that horrible things have taken place there – Kibera, Mathare, Kisumu, Eldoret, and rallies at Uhuru Park. I am upset about the current state of things, praying for resolution, and frankly was feeling anger at both Raila and Kibaki. It is pretty evident that both men sabotaged the polls, and they are refusing to cease their stubbornness for the sake of saving their countrymen’s lives. A little less power tripping, and a little more love for the Kenyan people would be a brilliant way, a necessary step, towards resolution.

Praise God that all my friends are safe. Pastor Josphat and his church are really struggling financially. Their church was not burned, but the Pastor has welcomed many congregants fleeing the violence into his home, which is outside Kibera, and his family is struggling to cover these costs. My main concern right now is that I have no word about the girl I sponsor, Purity. Purity is a Kikuyu and she lives in Mathare slums, the worst hotbed of violence against Kikuyus in Nairobi. I am hoping and praying that she does not live in a particularly harsh neighborhood in Mathare.

God's goodness through a medley of experiences!

2007-12-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

What a mixture of experiences this past week has brought! And I must first thank you all for your prayers as I traveled to Bungomo district, Western province last weekend.

My friend, Ruth, and I left on Thursday, taking a 9-hour bumpy bus ride (and when I say bumpy, I mean, throwing you around the seat row, causing you to involuntarily jump up and down every couple minutes kind of bumpy!) to her home district. Her mother and 6 siblings and uncle and neighbors gave me a royal welcome. It was dark by the time we arrived, but we ate and sang by kerosene lamp.

Her village is called Napara. Grass roof huts are scattered across the farm fields - maize, tomatoes, cassava, and sunflowers everywhere and such friendly, welcoming people. There definitely were no other muzungus in sight!

I had the opportunity to attend a wedding in Malaba (near the Ugandan border), where I met a Rwandan pastor that Ted and I may meet up with in Kigali. I rode on motorcycles (as a passenger, not a driver!), bicycle taxis, and even milked a cow.

Ruth's family was so generous. Her mother is such a strong, God-fearing woman. Maktilda is her name, and she ensured that we got home safely on the night bus, by her persistent prayers and by helping us onto the motor-taxi.

That evening alone was a string of answered prayers! We had a tricky time getting to the bus stage in Bungomo, and we really believed we had missed the only shuttle back - but God had one waiting right there for us; and the fare was cheaper than ever, and Ruth's pastor had even sent a friend to make sure we got on the bus safely! Oh, it was so good.

And now, I am in my last 2 days of being in Kenya. Wow This time has been so rich. It has gone by much faster than I anticipated. Ted has now arrived (sweeet). It is great, and so different to have a familiar face around consistently! I am so thankful for his safe arrival, and for the great 3 days we've had so far, visiting his peace corps friend from Davis, Rachel, visiting the Somalian refugee neighborhood in Nairobi (it really felt like we had traveled out of country!), and exploring new parts of Kibera and it's bordering posh neighborhoods.

The second phase of my time in Africa has officially begun! I thank God, and am thankful for you all too! :)

Much love,
Katharine

* The Sierra Leone Servant Team is approaching as well ... I am excited, and keeping certain issues in prayer, such as Visa applications, etc. I am anxious to share more of what I'm learning about our team's mission and goal there. I just finished reading "Blood Diamonds" for our pre-trip assignments, and I highly recommend it, for a picture of the horrific civil war and what caused it in Sierra Leone.
* I'll write again soon; g'night to you all!
(picture: me and my friend Ruth)

chattin' with god

2007-12-12T04:27:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for wanting to know what's going on in my life here, and for praying for me. I would appreciate your prayers in the following ways:

* I am traveling to a village in Western province tomorrow. I will be on the road for 8 hours with my friend Ruth. It is her home that I will be visiting for a couple days. Please pray for safety, and that I will return to Nairobi BY Sunday evening!

* For Ted's safe arrival in Nairobi on Wed, 12/19/07 at 4:00 am. We will have 5 days in Kenya before taking a long bus ride to Kampala on Christmas Eve.

* Support-raising, Sierra Leone. My deadlines are coming up fast. I have just raised 49.63% for financial support.

* Visa issues, Sierra Leone. The saga continues ... if my team doesn't raise sufficient funds soon, our plane tickets won't be purchased until January, at which point it will be too late for my parents to apply for a SL Visa in the States. This means I will need to pay an additional $250 to get an in-country visa. Please pray that God will continue guiding the visa process until it is secured.

Thank you all - also, Praise God for the friends He has given me here, and for His protection of me and His great love.

a little bit of me

2007-12-10T05:26:00.000-08:00

I simply cannot write. There is much to express, but I cannot do it. Maybe after having the regular company of Ted (who arrives in just 8 days!) I will have experience at expressing myself again and be able to better share with you all. In many ways, this is like my road trip. I am so disconnected from everything familiar, a lot of my false securities are stripped away, and here I am. It's just me, with no fancy masks or decorations. I haven't even been writing in my personal journal much.

kajiado: a breath of fresh air (literally!)

2007-12-02T04:33:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, I hopped on a psuedo matatu and headed south of Nairobi to Maasai land, just a few kilometres north of Tanzania!

I stayed at Kajiado Children's Home for five nights. This was my first out-of-Nairobi experience, and it was a culture shock indeed! The pace of life - much slower; the car exhaust and air pollution - there isn't any!

Eighty-five children live at Kajiado Children's Home, a project begun by British and American donors ten years ago. The kids range in age from 5 to 18. A few have now left the Home for college and university.

From the moment I arrived, I sensed this was going to be a very different experience for me. A children's home is a far cry from a Compassion project, where the children visit on the weekends but then live with their families or relatives. The Home, on the other hand, replaces the family unit. Each child there has eighty-four siblings, and they all do chores, pick fights with each other and also look after one another, just like kids in a natural family.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do while there, but I also realized that the point of the week wasn't necessarily to do. No, what I needed was to slow down, pray more, and try being a part of this Kajiado family however I could. So, I met many of the children, played games with them, learned how to do laundry from them, cleaned and ate with them, and did a bit of exploring in town and the surrounding acacia forests.

Thankfully there were also tangible ways I could contribute. I became a personal secretary of sorts to the project managerfor the week. A donor from England visited the project during my first two days there. He brought excel spreadsheets that the project manager would need to start using, in order to beef up accountability and detail exactly how all donor money was being spent. The manager isn't too computer literate, so I was able to create and fill in many of the forms for him.

I loved the kids and teenagers I met at Kajiado. They clearly had come from difficult places, and many are currently struggling with being teenagers on top of that. Agnes, Sylvia, Eunice, Grace, Jedidah, Mary - all girls that I will not forget. If you're reading this now, perhaps you can pray for them, and the Kajiado family as a whole. This is a Christian home, but many of the teenagers there need to know that the Gospel is personally for them. Meeting with the British donor also gave me some insights into the specific challengers of running a home like this.

The little kids, like kids anywhere, were so full of energy and just loved any bit of attention given to them. They also were fascinated by my white skin. Even by the end of the week, a few of the kids would still shout "WOOOOWW!" whenever I walked into the room. One morning, I had eight of them crowding around the outdoor sink to watch me brush my teeth! They often had me laughing. :)

By the time the week ended, I was starting to grow accustomed to the slow pace of life in Kajiado. Thankfully, some of the calmness and quietness of that place stayed with me as I re-entered the bustling capitol.

(By the way, I cannot overstate how closely God has been protecting and providing for me. Even on the way back from Kajiado - he used a kind Muslim woman to both save me from getting cheated out of a lot of money and from being stranded in a bad part of town. She walked with me for 40 minutes once we reached Nairobi until she got me to where I needed to go!)

(Picture: here's me at Kajiado with some of the kids. These were the real characters. Asha, Elizabeth, Helen and Esther... And you'll have to excuse my scruffy experience. Though it did feel nice to rough it for a week! A new experience for me was "showering" with just a bucket of water.)

World Aids Day - Dec 1st 2007

2007-12-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

Today I had the joy of returning to Waithaka, Compassion project KE 370 for World Aids Day ceremonies. Children and families from four surrounding child development centres joined the Waithaka project for a commemorative walk and a day full of song, dance, acrobatics and testimonies at the church. After my week in Kajiado, visiting Jipe Moyo one last time was like a family reunion. I saw all the staff again, as well as many of the Waithaka project students. I also was so excited to get to perform a poem recitation with six of the Compassion teenagers. We had been memorizing a poem called “CRUEL AIDS” for a week or two prior to this day, and it was great to recite it with them, with Kenyan accents and all! :)

A really sweet 19-year-old girl who is HIV+ shared a bit of her story in front of the whole church; this was a room packed with about four hundred people. She did a Q & A session with the teens. A mother of one of the Compassion students also shared her story, revealing to the public for the first time that she has AIDS. A lot of prayer and consideration went into deciding whether or not this woman should share, as she would be irreversibly exposing herself to the social stigma that openly HIV+ people face. In the end, this courageous woman decided to share, focusing on the long-term impact her testimony may have by eroding the stigma associated with AIDS and increasing people’s concern and compassion for those affected.

It was a rainy, muddy, wonderful day. I am going to miss my good friends here in Waithaka.

connecting with Compassion

2007-11-26T03:12:00.000-08:00

What a joyful, wonderful week! From Saturday, the 17th to Saturday the 24th, I had the real treat of shadowing the staff at a Compassion International project in Waithaka, a “suburb” of Nairobi (and when I use the word “suburb,” don’t picture anything like the suburbs in America).

The project, Jipe Moyo (Take Heart, in swahili) is located at a church in Waithaka and hosts 313 children through their programs. Through the week, I was exposed to the real nitty-gritty inner-workings of a Compassion child development centre. The four-person staff really took me in as one of their own and gladly introduced me to the multi-faceted field work of Compassion.

I first visited the project on a Saturday, when all the children came from 8am -5pm. I sat in on their worship and devotions, and part of their health lessons. I was allowed to take several of the update photos that are going to be sent to the children’s sponsors and briefly meet the teenager’s class.

Each morning was a one hour journey to reach Waithaka. A 20-minute walk to my bus stage, where I catch a matatu to Nakumatt. There, I head south on a different matatu, all the way to Waithaka. On Monday and Friday, the staff does morning devotions, which were very special to share in. Wednesday and Thursday gave me to opportunity to do ten home visits. Among the most notable was a home way up in the green farm fields where the sponsored child had just undergone tonsil surgery. His is happy and fully-recovered. Compassion covers full medical expenses for their sponsored children.

Another home visit was to a boy that recently lost his mother, leaving him an orphan. He now lives with his grandparents, in a small room with no adequate lighting or study space. He is 16 years old, and the project health worker took me on this visit to assess how they can best help this boy in his current situation. The last home belonged to a widower who has six children. His wife died suddenly eight years earlier, while he was doing night shift at his job. He has no job now, and struggles to earn money to support his family, which now includes four grandchildren. The father just graduated this weekend from a cookery class at the Compassion project. He now knows how to make multi-purpose soap, juice, shampoo and cakes, and he believes this will be a great asset to him as he tries to provide for his family. The health worker came here to look at the family’s garden and water supply, so that he can assist them in efficient farming which will hopefully give them surplus to sell.

Compassion offers a variety of courses for the sponsored children’s parents, including: sewing, cookery and beading and assistance in starting their own businesses.

I also went with the social worker to purchase some children’s birthday gifts, and sat in on a women’s HIV support group. I took a bookkeeping lesson from the project accountant and an overview of the health programs from the health worker there. And throughout the week I met many children and parents. It’s awesome how excited kids can be about meeting a muzungu. On Saturday, the last day of my involvement at the project, I briefly addressed an assembly of all the Compassion parents on the issue of sponsorship. And after that I rehearsed a poem with the teenagers – a poem we will present on World Aids Day next weekend, December 1st. Five Compassion projects are gathering at Jipe Moyo for a full day of events, and I am happy to have one last chance to see my Compassion friends!

I also met a British neighbor in Lisa’s apartment complex. We’ve enjoyed dinner and tea together three times, and she even gave me a lift to my bus stage a couple mornings. And now, the depressing news of the week … on Friday, while shopping for the birthday gifts at the Kawangware market, my digital camera was stolen out of my backpack. I took wonderful pictures this week that I was excited to use both to tell my stories and to further promote Compassion’s work (as well as the ministries at the Word Fellowship Centre) – but they’re all gone, never to be seen! I was, and still am, truly upset about that. Maybe the only plus about this experience is that it made me put my guard up again. It served as a reminder that this is not a safe city, and I need to be smart and aware of that.

But to end on a better note - I really learned a lot this past week. I am now in Kajiado - a town near the Tanzania border in Masai land, at a children's home. I hopped in a volvo/taxi and came down here yesterday. This is a definite change of pace from Nairobi, and I think it'll take some adjusting to get used to it. More coming soon!

... new experiences ...

2007-11-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

* On Sunday I walked an hour and a half to Word Fellowship Centre in Kibera, in gum boots! Gum boots are what we call rain boots, and they are essential here as the mud is sooo sloppy and sticky after rain. However, it was not raining that morning. It's usually muddy in Kibera anyways, so that's why I wore them ... however, I will not do that again.

(Oh, and the reason I walked ... I didn't have any change for a matatu!)

* I love Kenyan food. I haven't had so much as a stomach ache since I've been here. I even feel better than I usually do in the States because of all the fresh vegetables (and perhaps lack of dairy and lots of meat) in the Kenyan diet. YUM. I honestly never knew veggies could be so delicious.

* My favorite swahili word = skumaweekee. It is this spinach-like plant that is super popular and was grown all over Waithaka.

* I learned my first day here that "kiswahili" is simply the word for swahili in kiswahili! Ok, I know I'm not the only one that was ignorant of this, because I asked many of you if you knew the difference between the two before I left! ;)

* Taking a shower/bath with just a bucket of water is kinda fun! Well, at least when the climate, and bucket of water, is warm. Some of you that did the slums track at Urbana may have had a more rustic experience.

* I am called muzungu wherever I go – usually by little children. On my way to the Kibera church on Sunday morning, 5 children literally flew out of their home and ran towards the street, jumping up and down and exclaiming, “Muzungu! Muzungu!” Very cute! haha. I'm glad I can add something interesting to their day without actually doing anything spectacular. :)

computer training program: kibera

2007-11-19T03:11:00.000-08:00

Kibera, as I've mentioned before, is home to one million people - Kenyans from all over the country, seeking work and the sustenance that their home villages could no longer provide. Each day this week - after learning how to hop on and off the wild and dingy matatus - an escort from Word Fellowship Centre would meet me at Nakumatt Prestige, the shopping center near an entrance to Kibera.

It would never be wise for a muzungu like myself to venture into Kibera (or particularly Mathare - a smaller, yet reputably more dangerous slum in East Nairobi) alone. Besides, I would never know the way to Word Fellowship Centre without an escort, the windy dirty alleyways in Kibera are tricky to navigate!

This week, my days were filled with bright, new encounters. I taught some basics of Microsoft Word to a handful of students at Word Fellowship Centre's one-year-old computer training program. The church has five, pretty ancient computers tucked into a small room, with one small window, and a small glowing lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. It's a bit dim, and hot, as the metal roofs in Kibera soak in all the sunshine and start to cook the people inside!

Here I met Vincent, Wycliffe, Richard, Ruth, Peter and Daniel. Richard was my first student - a man of 28 years or so who is eager to learn all about computers in order to secure a steady job. He was most excited to change fonts, toy with different alignments, and splash his document with an exciting variety of colors. For his first practice document, he wrote something like this: (keep in mind that English is his third language)
"Katharine from U.S. has met Richard from Nairobi. They are currently enjoying Microsoft Word. Thereafter, they will go on a picnic. In the evening, Katharine and Richard will attend a prayer meeting with the pastor and bishop. Katharine will be asked to introduce herself, and she will comply."
Then I met Vincent. Vincent is 21 years old. He is a super bright boy who hails from a town nearly 8 hours away, close to Kisumu. Vincent goes to church every day of the week, whether for youth group or drama club or prayer meetings. His love for God shines through. When I asked Vincent where he would choose to live - anywhere else besides the slums of Kibera - his reply was this, "I dream of going back to my home village and bringing the word of God to them, to especially the youth there. We may have a hard time here in Kibera, but at least we know Jesus here. People in my home village don't know Jesus like we do here in Kibera." His village is poor, and ministering there for life would bring him no money, no renown, but Vincent's heart is truly burdened for the youth near Kisumu. WOW. His parent's are not believers, and so they do not know of his deep passions to be in full-time ministry. He knows they would not approve of his desire to study theology at university, but I can't help wondering if their minds would change, were he to receive a scholarship from some theological institution either in Kenya or the U.S. His faith would also bless whichever Christian university accepted him.

Wycliffe had never used a keyboard before. The space bar, return key and delete button were all fascinating and sometimes discouraging frontiers for him. I think he enjoyed the opportunity to type whatever he wished on a fresh Word document. Here is what he wrote:
"I like worshipping God. My father is Karoli Shivachi and he is a small scale farmer. How can a young man make his way pure? It is by doing according to the word of God. During my free time I like visiting the sick also helping my grandmother do her work.

Daniel is the computer teacher for the several boys here. He was my escort most days from Nakumatt to the interior of the slums. And Ruth is a college student who attends Word Fellowship Centre. She embraced me as a friend from the first time we met. She also lives in Kibera and is so grounded. Like all the students I've met here, their raw, firm faith in God and Jesus Christ astounds me and teaches me too about God's unshakeable faithfulness.

The words with which Richard ended his practice document are true: ”Katharine was amazed at the strong faith of those in Kibera, despite their small amount of resources.”

Karibu Kenya!

2007-11-12T06:17:00.000-08:00

I ... am ... in ... Africa!! Can you believe it? I can't quite. I've been here for almost a week now, but it still doesn't sink in all the time. I stepped onto Africa soil just last Thursday morning, received a taxi ride from a funny man named Paul, and was welcomed to apartment 16 at Kolobot Gardens by Virginia, Lisa and her three-year-old daughter Bella.

Lisa lives in a lovely, green part of Nairobi, just down the street from the President's residence. We are also just up the street from University of Nairobi and the YMCA (which has good internet service, yay!)

It's only been 6 days, but I want to share with you what those days have contained. I have done a lot of walking ... :)

After that first Thursday of rest and a walk in the nearby Arboretum (just like Davis!) I visited a home for abandoned babies in Nairobi called New Life Charity Trust. The home houses about 45 babies at the moment, and most of them are taken for adoption - praise the Lord! Many of the babies enter the home severely malnourished or abused, some in need of surgery. Several are also HIV+. They have round the clock caretakers that look after the children, but they take drop-in volunteers all the time to hold and feed the infants and play with the toddlers out on the lawn. They are SO precious and beautiful. It's amazing to hold them and know that God's hand is working in their lives and, I pray, preparing a promising future for them.

I also visited Lisa's work at the Save the Children South Sudan office. Lisa actually works for S.T.C. USA, but uses the South Sudan division's office space.

The weekend was great, visiting Lisa's church called Mamlaka Hill Chapel, which is part of Nairobi Chapel. What's neat about this, is that the original pastor of Nairobi Chapel (Pastor Oscar) gave one of the most striking addresses at Urbana 2007 - one of those speeches that no one in the audience likely forgot! Church was amazingly good - super inspiring and uplifting worship and a teaching that I really needed to hear. I went back to New Life after church.

And this week I have had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Josphat, a man who works at Nairobi Chapel and has planted a church of his own in the Kibera slums. Yesterday and today I visited the Kibera church, which is called Word Fellowship Centre. They have asked my help in organizing a plan for them to fund raise for a new building. It would be difficult to describe the current building to you here. It is typical of all housing in Kibera ... mud and plaster walls, metal roofing, no real wiring, but they have one luxory - toilets! And by "toilets" I mean two deep holes in the ground and a bit of toilet paper. Many in Kibera do not have that luxory; they simply relieve themselves on the muddy road.

I could not imagine a filthier place. One million people live in Kibera, which is government-owned land. The largest slum in Africa, the people there are literally living in trash. I have only spent two blocks of time there, so I'm not qualified to say much more - but it is also there that I have met people with the most shining, extraordinary faith. People my age, who declare praises to God and cite scripture in their normal conversation.

Yesterday, a 13-year old girl named Maureen walked up to me in Kibera with a huge smile. She greeted me, and we chatted, and then she proceeded to share her favorite verse, John 3:16 with me. Wow, I was not so strong in my faith at just thirteen.

Now, if I were to unpack all my thought processes thus far in this blog entry, it would surely go on forever, and people might not want to go on reading. Perhaps I will get better at being concise as these entries continue!

I will share that I've had rough moments in the past 6 days. I've struggled with feeling very lonely and insecure and giving in to doubts. Notes from friends back home were super encouraging to me. I'm feeling much better now, but I need to continue to set my eyes on the beauty of God, which is far greater than my own deficiencies. In fact, those do not matter anymore but should draw me closer to Christ.

Prayer requests are as follows:
* For me to feel confident of who I am in Christ - that I would turn to Him alone for strength and affirmation.
* For safety, continued divine appointments, and for friends
* For the babies at New Life - that they would have abundant and hope-filled futures. (Some names are: Dwight, Harrison, Helen, Nakia, David, Kathleen, Andrew)
* That God would give me clarity about my role at the church in Kibera and bless my involvement there.
* That God would do great things during this time in Nairobi.
* For the financial support I need for my Word Made Flesh team to come in

Love you all!

Ph: (254) 726 767 537. I am 11 hours ahead of PST right now.

Peace and assurance, and obedience

2007-10-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." - Isaiah 26:3-4

Sermon notes: In it's highest form, Peace is equal to the Hebrew concept of shalom--wellbeing, wholeness, integration, reconciliation. Peace is everything existing at its higher purpose ...

At the moment, these verses spoke against the general confusion and tiredness I was feeling. This peace is what Christ offers, always, no matter our circumstances and despite our sinful nature, because He is our Rescuer and changes all of that...

Psalm 37, The words COMMIT and TRUST stood out to me while reading this, and the bolded portion too. Wow. I feel like these verses just speak volumes.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this; He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still for the Lord and wait for Him patiently. - Psalm 37: 3-7

Daydreaming ...

2007-09-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with it? I do it way too often; it just comes so naturally to me. But I do feel like it can be damaging. Whether it's a case of simply wasting time, or not having my mind on "whatever is pure ... noble ... true ... right ... lovely ... admirable ... excellent or praiseworthy." It is often very clear what thoughts are damaging, but when I have so much time alone (especially now that my two main buddies down here are either gone or otherwise occupied) my mind can come up with all sorts of stuff - thoughts or scenarios that transport me to another place.

Something subtle that I have noticed is that too much daydreaming about possible future events can leave me with a false sense of security, or, rather, a presumption about the yet-to-come that makes me feel like I'm totally aware of what the future holds. It's hard not to do this while I'm sitting around making plans for my Africa trip and researching graduate schools for next year. I start to see myself in those places, interacting with people that I don't yet know and imagining what I will learn and what I will do. Really, this has nothing to do with reality, what the future actually will bring.

So these thoughts are something to be brushed aside. I just wonder... if I don't intentionally extract them, or push them away, will they leave a residue, enough of a presumption that will surprise me while I'm actually in Africa, or perhaps studying for a Masters next year, so that when I'm met with new circumstances I will say, Wait, this isn't what was supposed to happen! Will my building of expectations now make me less ready to take on the twists and surprises that life does bring and will bring each day of my trip and beyond?

I don't want my ability to respond on the spot to be deadened by these mental journeys of mine. I am harkening back to last summer, when I went to Chennai for my first missions trip. I thought that I left California with no set expectations - that I was a clean slate so to speak, but was I wrong! I was paralyzed most of the time because I had imagined such different things from myself and the people our team served.

Maybe this has to do with truly relying on God, instead of relying on the weak plans and ideas I come up with. Daydreaming to an extent seems inescapable, but the underlying issue is this: Am I fostering in my relationship with Christ a deep, unshakable trust in His will, in His plans.

A message from Purity

2007-09-24T13:48:00.001-07:00

I received this note in the mail today, from the little girl I sponsor in Kenya. These are exerpts:

I know it has been long since I wrote you a letter. How is your family? Are they okay? My family and I are happy too. Is your family happy?
My school has many pupils and teachers. I love my school. In our school we are given lunch that is beans mixed with maize and the mixture is known as githeri. In our class I was number one and my teachers congratulated me.
In the Compassion project we learn how HIV spread and the types of soils in our country. In the project, we praise God, We love God and we pray for our sponsors every saturday. I know you are my sponsor and I love you so much and I always pray God to protect you always. My family was very happy when I received letters from you and the map you send.
I want to tell you a memory verse: Psalm 105:1 it says, "give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his greatness, tell the nations what he has done." If you read psalm 105:1 your heart will be blessed. God will be with you.
I go to church every sunday. In our church we pray we sing and we jump for the Lord.
It is cold here in Kenya. What about your country? Thank you for your help. God bless you.

How amazing is that?? I would not exchange this experience for ANYTHING. I am so blessed!

Common grace

2007-09-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

In church, we've been dwelling on the word "grace," and it takes a long time for things to hit me, but tonight Pastor Mark mentioned three forms of grace: saving grace, gifting grace, and common grace. Common grace is something that we all experience but we can live in such a way to not recognize it at all. For example, it is grace that we wake up in the morning, grace that we regain consciousness, our lungs fill with air and we know a new day, grace that we witness a beautiful sunset or walk along the beach, dipping our toes in the cool, clear water. It is grace that we have friends and family who love and care for us, and on and on and on.

God's fingerprints are all around us, but how often do we see them? I like how Pastor Mark says it, that "the pixie dust is sprinkled throughout every day of our lives." Ha, we just often don't see it that way. So, common grace ... and we experience it by not just admiring life from a distance, like we would survey a painting and say, Oh, isn't that a beautiful painting? but we enter into the painting. We chase that sunset, jump in that water, talk to that stranger. We delve in and live life.

Ah, so awesome. I forget how good life is sometimes. I mean, God's grace just pours out, never ceasing, until we're all bathing in it. Even if circumstances are bad, there is still much to rejoice over. Our God, is amazing. And that is what common grace reminded me of.

Boundaries

2007-04-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

An interesting issue in life, that I'm not really equipped to talk about right now. But I've been struggling with boundaries, especially this past week. And now that I've started this blog entry, I'm realizing that I should probably stop, and go pray. More on that later?

I love my friends ...

2007-03-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I felt so much love on my birthday. My parents were in town, and other people came in to celebrate with me. The Hamptons threw me an awesome party and I got phone calls and e-mails from all these amazing people. And people just got along ... *sigh* ...

This weekend was crazy and I must tell someone

2007-03-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

The days can be long and full when you wake up at 8am and don't go to bed until 3 or 3:30 in the morning. That is what I learned this weekend, and I can't believe I have such cool friends that actually want to hang out with me that much.

At church on Sunday morning, Jamie talked about the "unexamined life" being prone to forgetfulness and repeating similiar sins over and again. And sometimes, my head and heart feel so full of emotions, ideas and thoughts that I just have to spill it out. Otherwise, I don't know what happens -- something like stagnation, and then a forgetfullness about how amazing God is and how beautiful life is...

I have this week "off" from my mothering duties, and my lack of curfew beginning on friday night was certainly not taken for granted. First, I had the privelege of making some yummy stir fry with friends and learning even more about Iranian culture. (I saw a "tar" for the first time and heard it played by my friend's roommate and looked through this insanely beautiful book of farsi poetry). Then we watched the film "BABEL" and wow, that was a trip ...two of the most moving scenes in a film. The fun continued as Leslie and I stayed and chatted with Matin for awhile, eating some delicious Persian sweets and learning how to drink tea the "Persian way." And then Matin kicked us out ;)

The five minute car ride back to Leslie turned into a two hour event as we talked and talked in my car outside of her house. Gosh, God really did create humans for relationship didn't He? I mean, why else would we have the desire and experience something so good through fellowship like this?

Saturday morning began with some gracious family friends knocking on the door to fix our computer and sweep the living room floor. Hallelujah for no more dirt and balls of cat hair on the floor! After attending the free car wash at my church, and having a profound interaction with Erica over some Crystal Light, it was off to an afternoon of babysitting.

Now, I should stop and comment about why this interaction was profound. It had been awhile since Erica and I had chatted, and even just hearing about what is going on in her life feels like a glimpse into a brilliant light, of some much deeper calling/ purpose/ adventure that I have felt called to as well ... but being around her was a flash of light, a much needed illumination and reminder of what God has spoken to me about before ...

The afternoon with Miriam and Locksley's children was absolutely delightful. We played Candyland, ate cookies, and had a "fruit picnic" on the lawn by the greenbelt. We took an adventuresome walk down the bike path, where Jeremy (age 4) "caught us a fish for dinner" with only a crooked stick that he found along the path :) They all took turns being dragged across the grass in the sleeping bag that also served as our picnic blanket, and Karyzma and I collected dandelions and made all the wishes we could think of while the boys tried to catch butterflies.

All of us went to Borders and Jamba with Miriam and then I had to figure out my "game plan" for the evening... I was immoblized with indecision for about 45 minutes, spent way too much time picking out a birthday card at Albertsons, and could not find the party directions anywhere (even though they were tucked nicely inside my planner). I called Jessica Moon and was so thrilled to find a buddy for the evening's adventures!

Together, we made it to Oak Park for an awesome party, which involved hot dogs, foosball, DDR, air hockey, basketball, nachos (not that we participated in all those activities, but all of that was going on!) and ate some yummy cake. Dave and I just barely scored some foosball goals on Jessica. Really, two against one ... we should have done better! And we heard some miraculous stories about God's insane working in peoples' lives.

Next stop - 50 street. And yes, I got us lost again. Thankfully, I was with Jessica Moon, and getting lost with her is far from negative because it just means that you get to spend more time with her!

We picked up Ted and did some grocery shopping, which involved a controversial purchase of a Texas-sized bottle of Ranch dressing. No comment - no one is allowed to talk about it anymore! haha. And it's always nice to see Ted.

Although we got back to Davis at midnight - did I go to bed? No! Did I even go home? Nope. Instead, I dropped by Lonna's house because I was originally wanting to do that earlier in the evening. And sure enough, her light was on! So we proceeded to chat for the next 2 and a half hours. Went home, read 3 chapters of "Mere Christianity" and then ...

I can't believe I've only covered Friday and Saturday so far. This weekend truly was crazy. Sunday especially so, because I began the day discussing C.S. Lewis and God's Kingdom with Brittany outside in a beautiful East Davis park, and the night ended on a swingset in Dolores Park in San Francisco with Hilary and her law school friend Brighton. Everything in between? Wow ... I'm not sure what all is key, but Church was a blessing to see so many lovely faces; I had coffee and walked around downtown, "window shopping" with Jen, and got to talk to Noemma during my drive. The SF swingsset was a total accident - just a lovely unplanned evening in a city that we didn't even plan on being in. But I got a fuller taste of Berkeley and SF than I have before ... Oh my gosh, and we met the best dog in the world at Maxfield's coffee shop, living PROOF that God has a sense of humor, oh my goodness ...

Nothing like another 3:30am night, talking with Hilary for hours about so much ...Future, Service, Poverty, Selfishness, our American Christianity, God's Calling on our Lives. I realized once again how I have slipped into selfishness regarding my relationship to God. And realizing this as I was specifically complaining about others' tendencies to do so. Yikes. It was a frustrating and strange and delightful night all in one.

The next morning - like any day - could be described in very normal terms. I got coffee with Hilary and then drove back to Davis. But no -- walking down the streets of Berkeley are rarely uneventful ... maybe they become that way after time, but not yet for me (and hopefully not ever). On the ride home, I got to talk to Grace Han - it was the first time in almost 9 months! And it was a long, just amazing conversation... and not amazing because of it being some extraordinarily prophetic, heart-piercing talk, but it was just an encounter that lifted me up so much

I can't stop talking! I think I've still only told the mere surface of the story, the basics of "what happened" this weekend - but the deeper meaning of it all - that is what needs processing and I'm afraid I may explode if it doesn't come out! Explode or start rolling backwards inside ... I can't believe everything that has happened the last few days; I am still clueless what my heart is telling me in a lot of ways, and I'm thankful that God is always with me through every adventure. I don't need to run around trying to find Him, but He has His arms open to me here, in the confusion and overwhelmingness of it all.

I love the "reality checks" that friends provide, and I love that life is not bound by the limitations I sometimes put on it. God I don't know what You're doing or where it will lead, but I just want to serve You joyfully in the moment. Let me act more than think and plan.

And I didn't even touch on Monday night ...

I officially fail at this

2007-01-09T23:28:00.000-08:00

Who am I kidding? I'm no blogger, I'm no bonafide Myspace regular. There are things I would like to say on here - but the motivation usually passes before I sit down to the computer. Well ... I will share some photos from my month with the Hampton family because that wonderful 3-week period cannot go undocumented. But hey, it's getting late, and I just realized that all my pictures would have to first be resized before I can post them on here. Ridiculous, let me tell ya.

So my mom may go on an African safari. I think that'd be pretty sweet - but I'd be kinda concerned that she'd get trampled by a rhino or something. I guess I would get a taste of what my parents go through whenever I'm traveling.

So my ex-roommate and one of my best friends is getting MARRIED this summer. She is home from China for about a month, and her boyfriend decided to pop the Q. Congrats Keiz and Aaron! Keiz will be coming up to Davis next week, when we will attempt a roommate reunion of sorts (sans Rystrom, who is currently in Thailand ... which is quite far from Davis). I realized today that I've been naively assuming that I magically won't have work or nanny duties to tend to next monday, tuesday and wednesday. Um, hello Katharine.

I went to this absolutely amazing conference called Urbana last week by the way. It ROCKED my world. There were over 22,000 missions-minded college students in attendance, in St. Louis, MO. We went to seminars, worshiped with amazing cross-cultural flare and celebrated the global church, the true body of Christ that spans language and country and cultural barriers. It was challenging and humbling and uplifting and overwhelming ... so much goes into that conference and in turn it plays a big role in inspiring and convicting an entire generation about God's powerful, unconditional heart that seeks to heal and restore the world.

This world is hurting. It is broken and in pain, but there is hope because God works His plan of redemption in mysterious ways. And Christ came to heal and serve others, and to give that hope to the lowly, the outcastes of society. So I am encouraged by that. And we should all be moved by that.

A friend said something really profound, I think, tonight. He said that "a lot of people don't think." They don't think about issues, about worldviews, about why they do what they do -- they don't even think about what they believe. And it's because we don't have to. In this society we have the choice of distraction. We have so many things to distract us from having to think. And that's not good, to put it simply. I think it puts us in a rut, and we're missing out on the world, and what's real and what God's doing in the world, what God thinks and feels about us and the world. When we're not thinking, we're letting others think for us. We're subconsciously adopting some opinion that's being fed to us by the general society (how does that happen? i don't know) - and it's probably usually crap. This friend really made me think about this, about thinking.

Good night and good luck (I have yet to see that movie, it's been on my list for over a year now). Bon voyage if you're going on an African cruise like my mother, and I should stop now ;)

And probably no one is going to read this because it's too long. But that's okay.

Weird Al, Wayne's World, Saving the World

2006-12-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

What my life has been like with the Hamptons these past two, glorious weeks. I just love this family. We live right on the greenbelt in Davis, their house backs up to miles of parks and bike paths. Their home feels a little like a Hobbiton residence, tucked beneath flower vines and reachable only by a couple stone pathways. Each room is sponge-painted in warm, inviting colors, and they have a a Christmas tree that looks like it's straight from Narnia.

The kids and I love to laugh and joke around. Steve is always bringing some world issue to light ... whether it's endangered birds in California, the plight of immigrants, economic injustice in India or crazy anti-Muslim propoganda in the U.S. And Lonna and I just love to talk. I could listen to her stories and her thoughts for hours, whether we're baking the kitchen or eating around the table.

This place is definitely my home away from home.