My advent conspiracy

As some saw a few posts ago, I support this cause called Advent Conspiracy. Its a campaign to remove our values and priorities surrounding Christmas from the consumerism it has become and to restore the meaning of Christmas through giving back to others in time, service, and compassion. I long for this to be a value of mine all year long & not just at Christmastime. And this year I didn't have much choice when it came to giving gifts - my empty pockets made it very easy to choose the giving of 'presence' instead of 'presents'.

Did I say easy? In reality it wasn't. Even though in my heart I value quality time with my family and friends, though I know that a gift given just because its 'that time of year' isn't worth the giving, I found it difficult. When I knew each member of my family would be handing me a gift they bought or put money towards, I struggled with not reciprocating. What would they think? How would they feel? Am I being selfish? Those were the conflicts happening in my mind as I pondered this conspiracy in the midst of our culture and society.

Its not that I gave up giving all gifts this year, but that I decided to spend time & energy on something that would be for my whole family rather than buying individual gifts. See we've had these 8mm home videos that have been gathering dust for years - always there to be watched, yet ignored and overlooked due to the tiresome duty of having to search through hours to find what you're looking for. That's where the glory of the DVD comes in - yes, it was time to copy them & make them accessible to all! So, that's what I spent the last month working on - copying all our old home videos to DVD.

And last night it was all worth it. We sat down as a family, watching our lives pass by as we grew...laughing heartily at our hair styles, clothing, comments...pondering the people in our lives that have passed on...being thankful for where we are now in life. It was a really fantastic time, sharing memories together as a family again - my mom, dad, 2 brothers & I.



I love you all - mom, dad, Greg & Dave. Here's to lots of old memories and many more to come!

A summary of my life in Ohio...

It's been a lot of fun!!!!

The Places We Live

The Places We Live (Aperture, 2008)
Photographs © Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos

My friend Scott sent this link to me, www.theplaceswelive.com It's an amazing interactive website, kind of like a choose your own destination online documentary. Here's some info I took from the Aperture Foundation website:

The Places We Live
Photographs by Jonas Bendiksen

Exhibition

Exhibition on View:
Friday, June 6, 2008—Saturday, January 31, 2009

Nobel Peace Center
Radhusplassen
Oslo, Norway

In 2008 more people live in cities than in rural areas. One third of city dwellers, more than a billion people, live in slums. In The Places We Live, Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen presents sixteen homes in four different slum areas: Caracas, Venezuela; Mumbai, India; Nairobi, Kenya; and Jakarta, Indonesia.

The exhibition, a unique multimedia installation, challenges viewers to reflect on what it means to live in a city in the 21st century. Bendiksen has visited four slums selected according to geographical spread and variation. He depicts various aspects of slum life, from worst-offs to slum chiefs.

The accompanying book, published by Aperture, includes twenty double-gatefold images, each representing an individual home and its denizen’s story. Through its innovative design and experiential approach, The Places We Live brings the modern-day Dickensian reality of these individuals into sharp focus.

A member of Magnum Photos, Jonas Beniksen (born in Tønsberg, Norway, 1977) has received numerous awards, including the 2003 Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography, and first prize in the Pictures of the Year International Awards. His photographs have appeared in National Geographic, GEO, Newsweek, and the Sunday Times Magazine, among other publications. His bestselling first book, Satellites: Photographs from the Fringes of the Former Soviet Union, was published in 2006 by Aperture. In 2007, the Paris Review received a National Magazine Award for Bendiksen’s project The Places We Live. He is the most recent winner of the National Geographic Photography Grant, and is the first Norwegian photographer to become a member of MAGNUM Photos.

Introduction text © Philip Gourevitch

The photographs are amazing & the information is worth engaging. Let me know what you think!

Unique gifts...

I have to give a plug for 2 friends & their innovative designs.

First, is Lisa Larson - friend of mine since 2002 when I moved out to Denver. Lisa & her husband now live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lisa is very creative & is busy making these fun & beautiful pendants. She takes old buttons and button covers & creates some unique designs! The website for her shop is: Etsy - green squirrel Here are some of my favs from her inventory:




















The next is a friend, Shauna Lott, who lived in my hall at college. She is now living in Boulder, Colorado and has created this lovely coffee sleeve, or as she & her co-creator call it: coffeecover. This is a great option for those who take daily trips to the local coffee shop and don't take their own insulated cup with them. Less waste, folks, plus some beauty to boot. Her store is here: Etsy - coffeecover A glimpse of my favorite:

The world of entitlement

We do take a lot for granted here, don't we? A friend posted the following clip on his blog & I couldn't help but put it here as well. Above any other season, let's stop & remember how blessed we are - how much we have and how far we've come. Is there wonder left in the world? What do you think?

Advent Conspiracy

College girlfriends' weekend

I spent a weekend in October with my great friends Karen, Danielle, Ali & Kelli. We've tried to get together each year since college, and it is always guaranteed to be a fantastic time! Lots of laughs, tears, stories, memories, and catching up. Shopping, talking, yummy food, and more talking...

Where all of our friendships began!

the beautiful prayer chapel on IWU campus

Rebekah Diener - such a sweetie!

I miss you ladies already!

pictures sent from Uganda with love

I just received these pictures from Amber in Uganda, who took the pictures for Stella. She wanted to send them to me so I could see how big Joanna is getting!!! So, of course I wanted to share that with all the world as well. She's so big! 4 1/2 months right now - yet it already seems like years away since I'm a world away.


I'm missing my Kaabong friends. This weekend I get to share about my experience with my church in Elmore, so I'm spending lots of time this week looking through pictures and deciding what to share. Though its great to honor my friends by sharing about them, it makes me miss them deeply. Its nice to know they are still thinking of me as I'm thinking of them!



This is Kristine - she wanted Amber to send this picture out to her friends. I gave her the beads that she is wearing...a friend had sent me a string of large beads, like garland, just for fun and when I was trying to figure out what to do with it before leaving, Kristine said she'd love to have them. She wanted to make necklaces out of them! I told her she had to send me a picture when she did, so here it is! And her skirt is exactly like the one Timat made for me before I left. I hope someday I can wear my skirt & dance alongside my friend, Kristine again!

Oh yeah...

and I dyed my hair, just because!

First few weeks in Ohio

I've been having a blast with my niece & nephew - from soccor & football games to baking pies and playing the Wii, lots of quality time that I'm loving! They don't seem to mind too much either! :)

Maddy & I baking in the kitchen

After a marathon of games

Autumn is here! (actually its almost over, but hey...)

my family's house - lived here since I was born!

the corn field in front of my house - the corn seemed to be mutant this year...


for Maddy's 9th birthday my mom & I took her & some friends for an afternoon of fun!

Home

I left Kaabong on a Wednesday morning about a month ago. I waved goodbye to my friends and a land I called home for more than a year…then sailed away on the hopper plane, watching the beauty of Karamoja and its people fade in the distance. My heart was pretty heavy that morning, hence the ‘romantic’ lense I saw those last few moments through. I cried my way back to Kampala. I don’t know when I’ll ever make the trek back to that remote area of the world again. Not Uganda – I can get to Kampala quite easily (aside from funds), but back to Kaabong. It’s isolation makes it difficult to return to, therefore the faces of those I have come to love and know are already fading in my heart and mind.

The following Sunday I stepped onto my flight back to the US. I am happy to report a smooth journey, as my previous international flights were quite the stressful times for me. I found my heart being ever lighter as I flew toward ‘home’. The anticipation of seeing friends and family after 13 months of being on a whole other continent was thrilling. As I walked through the London airport, I kept saying to myself “I lived in Africa for a year!” Was that really my life that just happened? Did I truly just finish a time in my life that I’d been driving towards since college? Whoa, now what do I do? :)

Home is such a loaded word. Sometimes it refers to a house, sometimes to an area or land, but I think most of us, when we really hone it down, are talking about people when we think about home. Being ‘home’ now, I feel at a loss because part of my home is now in Uganda. The people who have played significant roles in my life, who have loved me and supported me through this past year, who have taught me how to live and laugh in the midst of trial are my home. I felt this while in Uganda, this longing for ‘home’ which at its essence was referring to my family, my friends, my community. Home is where the heart is – I believe that fully! And my heart is torn in two…

Brandi & Natalie picked me up at the Denver airport – after 36 hours without sleep it was necessary to keep me up a few more hours to adjust to the time. We had planned to eat at Jerusalem – my favorite Lebanese restaurant – that night, which we did. So great to see good friends & just bask in the physical presence of these people I love dearly!

The next two weeks were full of walks, coffee, great food, long conversations, and beautiful Colorado nature!

my first snow in 18 months!

Following

God spoke to me a lot when i was out in Africa, about pushing forward and really trying to seek out Gods best for my life. I think I've been trying to understand what that means in the 3 weeks ive been back in the UK. Obviously, i feel my future involves mission and possibly Africa. My future will probably also involve doing some theoloigal training, some study of missiology and i still feel called to the practical side of mission, not just the spiritual side of things

But more than anything, i think this means following Jesus. That doesn't mean just in terms of mission and disappearing off to Africa, but also in terms of how i live out my faith here in the UK. Its easy to pick and choose the bits of the Chrisitan faith you want to follow, but to really follow what Jesus said...to be a true disciple..now that is a challenge! Thats really what I feel is going on with me at the moment

I am part of a strong church yes this is true. There are smaller communties within any church though, and i want to be part of a community that is really following Jesus in everything they do. I think i have found common ground in this already, there are poeple i know who are moving in the same direction and are thinking the same things. Where this will all lead i don't know....its dangerous asking God for certain things sometimes. Asking for help to be a true disciple, a follower, is one of those dangerous questions I think..the way the early church operated, an Acts style church, was far from how i live out my faith here. They shared their possesions, their wealth, all with the Kingdom in mind. Im not saying im at point yet but who knows in the future....im in the mood to be a bit radical and try to follow Jesus in everything!

Back Home

I arrived into Denver about 2 weeks ago. I’ve had two full weeks of reconnecting with friends here. I just wanted to check in to say I’m alive, kickin’ & enjoying the comforts of the familiar. I miss my friends in Uganda dearly.

I leave Wednesday to see my family & more friends in Ohio – looking forward to that!

No huge culture shock yet – that’s usually the biggest question I get. More than anything I’m continually amazed at the convenience of life here: electricity, hot running water showers, restaurants of amazing food at every turn, microwaves, and really, really, REALLY fast internet! If anything, some days I just get overstimulated by the quick pace.

I promise to post more soon.

Isn't it great to be back home ???

It actually is good to be back in Manchester. Seeing family and friends, catching up with people and being able to share whats happened in the last few weeks has been great fun

Some things though, do make you scratch your head a little bit in bewilderment!

I've been back at work 3 days. The credit crunch is hogging all the headlines. Ive been working in London today. I shared my flight back with a girl who works for my company and has just been made redundant. She has worked for the company for over 8 years , won't get much in terms of a payoff and to be honest, was in a bit of a state this evening. Where do i want to put my own security, in a multinational corporation or something with much more permanence,. Yes im talking about the creator of heaven and earth, God himself. I know where my loyalties lie!!! I've also been watching with interest the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the struggles of AIG and Merill Lynch amongst countless others this week. Listening to the doom and gloom merchants in the media, the world as we know it is about to end . Once again, Im grateful for being able to put my faith in a God who does not change and remains a constant in my life throughout everything!

Tonight, i went out to catch up with a good friend. We visited a fairly well known bar in South Manchester to have a chat and watch some footy. We must have been there 30 minutes when the guy next to us interrupted to ask why we were talking so much and would we shut up so he could watch the football in peace. Not surprisingly, this moron was sitting by himself. I was quite proud of myself for ignoring this idiot, walking off and finding somewhere else to sit. I was tempted to respond, but he was probably just looking to light up his pathetic little life with a fight. Im sure you can find people like that anywhere in the world, but its a bit depressing...i've only been back in the UK 3 days and have to put up with that rubbish. I'll pray for that guy anyway!!!

Chariots of Fire

I made it home this afternoon...finally. My journey home was not without its problems unfortunately. I actually landed at Heathrow yesterday evening, but because British Airways took over an hour to deliver my bags i missed my train to Manchester. Not the end of the world, I guess I should be thankful they at least managed to get all my luggage delivered to the right place!!!

On the flight home, I watched the film Chariots of Fire. Its a great film - the story of Eric Liddle is very inspiring. A devout Christian, he remained loyal and faithful to God, even when it looked like observing the Sabbath would make him miss his event, the 100 metres at the Olympics. Of course, he ended up winning the 400 metres and went to China to complete his calling as a missionary soon after.

His kind of unwavering commitment, complete faith in God makes a remarkable story. Its something I really need to think about now Im back home in Manchester. What has the last 6 weeks been all aboout? Where is it leading to? It would be easy just to settle back into things here, where everything is clean and comfortable, but its really important now that i don't just settle for a life that is second best, that i really push on and try to see everything that God has for me. The last 6 weeks has been an amazing experience, but i don't want it to just stop there. At least i don't think i do!! Please feel free to challenge me if you see me around in 2/3 months and see that im falling into this trap. For me, its quite an easy thing to do!!!

Anyway, im going for a hot bath, putting some clean clohtes on and heading out to catch up with a few friends. Speak soon!!!

Rwenzori Mountains

In July I took a few day trip with some other Medair workers, Jonelle & Claire, to Fort Portal and the Rwenzori Mountains in Western Uganda. It was a five hour bus journey from Kampala that began our trip with 2 of our 3 backpacks stolen off the bus! After a trip to the supermarket and to the local market, we had found enough second-hand clothes and new soap to get us through.

We stayed just outside of the national park in a community-run camp and took a hike with a local guide. The 'hill' we climbed was quite steep, as you see below. But the views were spectacular! At the top we should have seen the snowy peaks of the Rwenzoris, but it was too cloudy.

Aside from the loss of peronal items, it was a lovely trip away from the norm.

We saw three different kinds of chameleon's on our hike.

The steep incline...

Can you find the chameleon?

As the sign says, we are 'At the Bottom"

And here we are at 'The Top'

On the way down...wishing there were signs to point out where the trail went...

Claire & Jonelle at a resting point.

Botswana

On Sunday we crossed the border into Botswana. As i've ventured further and further south, its just got hotter and hotter. Yesterday we measured 42 degrees at about 2pm. Sitting in our 4 wheel drive was hard work

So we crossed the border at a place called Kasangula. A ferry takes you over the Chobe river into Zambia! It was the usual story as far as Africa is concerned - people trying to get bribes out of you for everything...one guy for getting us to the front of the queue, one guy for showing us where to park on the ferry. Im sure you can imagine what its like, complete chaos!

The next challange was getting the accommodation sorted. Having just come from Zambia, where you can pretty much walk into any lodge, hotel or campsite and get a room for that night, we thought we'd find a similar situation in Botswana. Boy how wrong were we!!

You see, Botswana is a lot more developed than Zambia. Its full of tourists from South Africa, Namibia, Europe and North America. It was a lot of hassle to get somewhere to sleep! Botswana, predicatably, has made its money from diamonds. They even have streetlights here - you don't get them in Zambia, even in Lusaka! Everything is bigger, more modern and better looked after, but you know what i miss Zambia! The people there are just so relaxed, chilled out - it doesn't seem to be the same here in Botswana

Anyway, we've spent the last 2 days in Chobe National Park. Last night was just one of those evenings that will stay with me forever. The game in Chobe is incredibe, i spotted most of the big 5, lion, buffalo, elephant, rhino plus hippo, zebra, sable, springbok etc etc! you get the picture - the park has everything! We camped in the reserve, in an official campsite. The offical campsites in the park offer you no protection though, not even a fence! So, last night as the sun came down i was looking out on the chobe river, at the crossroads of four countries - Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with the cries of all these animals in the background. There was a herd of elephant in the distance, monkeys and warthog all around us. I have to admit i didn't sleep much - i was too scared! What an experience though

We will leave Botswana for Livingstone tomorrow and i only have a few more days left in Africa. I fly back to Heathrow on Saturday!

Muchomo - continued

In Swahili, so I've been told, muchomo is what you call a celebration of finishing something & it always involved roasting meat. So my muchomo was a goat roast - the most common meat here in Kaabong! I got to choose the goat between the two pictured here - but I refused to be present for the slaughter.

Sneaking in for the kill...yeah right

Luka & Yusuf cooking the 'treasured' intestines.

baby Joanna in the front, singing in the back

This whole past weekend has been a celebration with various people. On Sunday we went to one of our co-workers, Timat's house and enjoyed the best chicken I've ever had in Uganda! I even ate the gizzard as the honored guest!

Livingstone

So, livingstone ....this is where i am now!

I left Chingola on Thursday and travelled to Lusaka. Yesterday i got on the bus to Livingstone. It was a bit nuts - it took 7 hours. It was hot, sweaty, african music blasting out of a very poor stereo system, and trying to get hold of a ticket was bonkers. I sat next to an amazing person on the bus though and we chatted for almost seven hours..most Zambians are very chilled out and relaxed they are so easy to get on with!

Today i've been exploring Livingstone. The undoubted highlights was the Victoria Falls - an absoloutely awesome experience and very cheap as well...30p to see one of the 7 wonders of the world..not bad at all. Trust me, i came back to livingstone and wasted a load of money on tacky African art. Livingstone has a very chilled out feel to it...lots of cool bars and safari lodges and not too many tourists! i could see the Zimabawe side i didn't try crossing lots of police everywhere and exorbitant visa charges. The Zimbabweans don't seem to like us Brits too much at the moment, at leat there government doesn't!

Anyway, im off to Botswana in the morning. to Chobe National Park. Can't wait

Muchomo

Me with my namesake, Adupa Jennie! She's very sweet...but quite malnourished, I think. She was born last December & still is about the size of a 6 month old. Her hair is getting to be a burnt orange color - that is a tell-tale sign of malnutrition.

We had a great dance fest after the feast - I'll post some videos once I return to internet that can actually handle that!

Me with Martha & her baby girl - Martha used to tutor me in Ngkaramajong.

The woman - so colorful & dressed up smartly for the occasion!

What cuties, eh?

The 'big men': Jakob - our present Project Manager, Phil - our soon-to-be Project Manager, and Tony - Prince of the office.

The goat being roasted

John Bosco cooking a huge saucepan of chips! (aka fries)

more pics & explanation to follow....