Vacation, Episode II

On to September: In an effort to reduce all the traveling I did last year, I split my month in Canada into three. Part one was Huntsville, my little hometown in the woods. Apparently I brought with me the best weather of the whole summer, and I capitalized with backyard BBQs and sunbathing by the river, just like the good ol' days. Part two was camping and then marrying off my best friend, Braden. It was a pleasure to spend a week with him and Melissa, and a great privilege to stand at his side as he took the plunge. Part three was all about family, and I had an amazing time staying with my sister, brother, and finally with my parents.

The whole family (minus Scott--missed you, Bro) even opted to have Thanksgiving a couple of weeks early on account of me. Man, I forgot how good turkey and cranberry is!

Seriously, though. I have SO much to be thankful for. Family and friends, health and strength, a job that's also a calling. There's only one word for it: I feel downright spoiled.

Thank you to everyone that dropped what you were doing to make time for me. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up. I miss you all so much through the year. Thanks for your gracious approach to adopting an hour-a-year friendship with me. Wish it were more. (Oh, and if you have photos of our time together, I don't -- send 'em over!)

Vacation, Episode I

Ok, here goes. So much to tell, so few photos to tell it with! Let's begin at the end of August, when I had a huge dream come true: I got to visit Gifty and her amazing family. Now, they had warned me that I wouldn't recognize my little monster -- but WOW, she is enormous. So big, so healthy -- so much like a child her age. When she left Liberia, she was a one-hander. She could balance quite happily with her giant belly, though she lacked the strength to sit up or crawl, let alone stand. Well, I arrived in her second week of walking, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see her screaming around, boss of the world. What a thrill.

It took me back to that first night with her in the hospital. Understand, I'm not a baby person. I wouldn't know if a diaper's inside out or not. So here's this eleven-and-a-half pound, 20-month-old girl, by all accounts just a few days from her end--not even enough strength to cry. No idea what to do--so I did what everyone does in a situation like that. I began bargaining with God. I paced the halls of the hospital for hours that night, singing to and praying over Gifty, promising God that if only He would heal her, deliver her, I would do anything.

Fast forward eight months, and there I am trying to lift a 27 pounder out of her crib. She's looking at me with a scrunched up nose, and I'm wondering if she remembers. She's experimenting with sounds, and she's fluent in all the sign language she needs. Most importantly, she's got a very loving extended family, and really the entire town -- anywhere I pushed her stroller, people would lean out of their cars to ask how she was doing. Amazing! Just look at her now:

Gettin' gone

I'm back!! My week -- or almost two -- in the monastery in Virginia was fantabulous. Absolutely amazing to live among such humble, hospitable people. Amazing to learn some classic disciplines in a very liberating environment, while also experiencing the structure (and the freedom therein) of liturgy, as we met three times a day as a community for prayer.

I had no idea what to expect, going in -- but it was exactly what I needed after eleven months in the field.

Last day in the office today. Leaving in the pre-dawn for Wisconsin -- I'll be visiting first with churches and friends in Wisconsin Rapids and Appleton and Madison, then spending a few days catching up with Gifty's family. (YESS!!!) Please pray for safe travels!

September I'll be all over Ontario--in Huntsville for Labor Day weekend, in Ottawa for my best friend's wedding, then in Toronto and London with as many of my awesome friends and family as I can pack in. (Here's to couchsurfing!)

October, I've pushed back my return to Liberia to allow me more time to travel and share the stories of all the craziness that God is doing through ORR. So in October I'll be in Georgia at first, then in Texas and Louisiana -- BUT I do have a couple more Sundays if anyone out there would like me to come and share!

It's been really fun being back, I have to say. Re-entry has been easier this time, and I'm told by close friends around me that I seem calmer and more at peace than on past returns. The thing I notice most is that I'm less anxious, especially about future stuff. I feel great; I feel free.

Hope with me

One last thing I forgot before I disappear. Please pray for Gifty's potential live donor; they're flying down for a big day of tests coming up next week. Gifty's healthy and happy and heavy, but she still needs this liver. Please pray that the tests would go well, that they would both be healthy and a great match. Just pray that God would throw down one last miracle in this crazy story. 

And with that, here's my girl...

Disappearing awhile

I'm leaving today for a week-long retreat in a monastery, a much-needed re-focusing exercise. Then, out of the blue, this poem landed in my inbox this morning. Enjoy, and see you later.

Flickering Mind

Denise Levertov

Not for one second
will my self hold still, but wanders
anywhere,
everywhere it can turn. Not you,
it is I am absent.
You are the stream, the fish, the light,
the pulsing shadow,
you the unchanging presence, in whom all
moves and changes.
How can I focus my flickering, perceive
at the fountain's heart
the sapphire I know is there?

On the road again

Eleven months is a strange stretch of time: long enough, apparently, that time no longer flies or drags, just is. Maybe that's a sign I'm feeling at home--when I stop thinking of seasons in Liberia as trips, but vice versa. It seems more like I'm leaving home to go on an extended trip.

I was chatting last night with another guy leaving today (he for good), and we found we've experienced the same progression: a month ago, we were both dying to go -- great food, summer weather (less rain, that is), and of course family and friends. But as the time has wound down, I've been given little treats of home so I'm less eager to leave. It's a conspiracy. To start, it's been the sunniest rainy season on record. The other day I had a real bona fide backyard BBQ. I even got to go hiking.

Well, I won't be dissuaded. Time for a break, and time for refilling my tank among loved ones. Maybe three months is a little longer than I'd like, but most importantly of all, I just want to be where I'm needed most. If that means bouncing around the US for an extra, sign me up.

Thank you and apologies to those of you waiting on me to announce when I'll be where; I'm sorry that my schedule is still so up in the air. Once I get back to Texas, the state of my car (and its response to repair and prayer) will be the first domino. After that, I'll let you know--but for now:

August: Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. September: Canadia. October: All. Over. :)

Kindergarten graduation

There are all sorts of things I get to do in Liberia that are totally ridiculous. Hilarity is a fact of life in Bizarro World. But one of my favourite times of year (and which I missed last year!) is Kindergarten graduation season. The pomp and ceremony that is rolled out for these kids is beyond funny, it's actually touching. They really make them feel like a million bucks.

Here's to you, graduating class of 2009: only 12 more to go!

(Yes, Moses just graduated from K-2 and is almost as tall as me.... *sigh*)