Faking out the flowers

Its a little known secret that Denver has the best weather ever. We have seasons, but our winter is relatively dry. People think that since people come here to ski, we must have heaps of snow all winter long. The truth is that the snow lives in the mountains...and Denver only gets some. So most weeks look like a day or two of chilly weather, maybe some snow. Then, the sky clears, the sun comes out and the snow melts! Then, we see a few days of temperatures as high as 70 degrees F! That's right, we have 300 sunshiny days a year on average. That's one reason I like it here so much. This past week we had days from the mid-50s to mid-70s. And of course, the flowers are getting very confused in the middle of February:

Birthday festivities

I asked my one of my co-workers, who is in high school, how old he thought I was turning...he said 23! :) That made me happy. Actually, I've hit the year of 29. Here are some pictures from the past weekend of fun...

On Friday night I went out with the girls for some yummy desserts...

Natalie & I

Nicole (one of my new roommates) & I

Tif & I

Then on Saturday night, I invited people over for a 70s & 80s themed dance party! It was quite the partay!

A bit more about me

Im never sure how much i should reveal through this blog, as its not just my close friends who will see it. Anyway, i think there is some stuff that i should say, especially my interest in going overseas and my future work with Medair

A quote from Steve Chalk inspired me to share a bit more. He said 'My aim is not to impress people with what i do - but to train and inspire them to do better themselves'.

I first became awar of Medair when i was living in London back in the day. There was a girl from my church who went to work in Afghanistan as a nurse. I remember hearing her speak and thinking wow, im interested in that! My fascination with the organisation and humanitarian aid work in particular has never faded, infact i would say its grown stronger and stronger.

Hopefully since then i've matured in my faith. I am tuly convinced that Jesus holds the key it is only him who is able to transform people, communites and indeed entire nations. I have all the practical skills to build a successful career in this line of work, but without Jesus at the heart of it whats the point, wheres it all leading!

Owen Timothy and Cooper James Feldman

Last April, while in Uganda, I received news that my friend Ali & her husband had given birth to their first child, Emmalee Ann Pearl Feldman. She had already been diagnosed in the womb with a certain heart defect that would require surgery soon after her birth & so we were all ready for a long haul of health needs surrounding this little one. Unfortunately - understatement of the year - she developed some blood clots during a surgery and passed on after 13 days here. Her story and the journey Jon & Ali have been on since can be read about here. They are strong, courageous, and faith-full people.

When I heard this past fall that they were expecting again, this time twins, I was again thrilled for them. Because of the complications with Emmalee, they were visiting their hospital weekly for awhile and all was looking so healthy and great for the babies. But at 21 weeks, Ali went into labor and after breathing air for 19 minutes each, they passed on as well.

My heart is grieving deeply for my friends. A line from this popular song on the radio keeps coming into my head: "How many times can I break til I'm shattered..." I don't know if I could do it, I don't know that I could handle that much loss. And yet, the everlasting arms of our Father are beneath us, carrying us through the loneliest of all places, the darkest of all valleys, the most sorrow-filled experiences. That is my friend Ali's testimony and I wanted to honor these beautiful boys and their amazing parents by sharing this with you. Here is the story, and Ali will continue to update as she has for Emmalee's blog as well. There is beauty from ashes in these stories...even though we may not always recognize it at the time, I believe it.

Please pray with me for my friends as they grieve their children's loss and seek daily the way forward.

Medair

Well i've been accepted on Medair's training programme. You may ask who are Medair? well they are a Christian relief organisation. They work in some of the poorest countries on earth. I will be going to Amsterdam on 21 March for a week of training, and to see if they are the right fit for me. If all goes well, I may have a new job, or it could just be another step on the learning curve for me

A bit more about Medair....www.medair.org

Medair responds to natural disasters, conflicts that uproot communities, and crises such as drought or disease. Our core competencies are emergency relief – responding rapidly to save lives in a crisis – and rehabilitation – restoring vulnerable communities in the wake of a crisis. Our ability to provide life-saving care is enhanced by flexible multisectoral expertise including health services, water and sanitation, and shelter and infrastructure.

Medair serves the world’s most vulnerable people, who are identified by the seriousness of their needs. For Medair, this often means traveling to remote and hard-to-reach locations to assist the most underserved populations.

All of our activities are bolstered by a persistent focus on training and capacity building that stimulates self-sufficiency and nurtures independence. Being accountable to our beneficiaries is a vital component of our programme design and implementation. We do not travel to distant countries to impose our will; we come to compassionately serve the most vulnerable, to listen to their needs, and work alongside them to find the best solutions.

Birthday celebration

Friday night I celebrated my friend Jen's birthday! Here's a picture of her & I. She & I used to work together a Chinese Children Adoption International. We've both moved on from there, but have remained friends. I'm so thankful to be back in Denver to celebrate with her this year!