Same Me

Yesterday, Andy & I were looking through my childhood photo album. When he flipped the page to see this picture, he said: "Oh, I know that face!" I laughed, not sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. I can't decide what this face means.

But what I kept thinking on as the day went by was how amazing it is that I have a "look" that has been a part of my personality & person since I was that little. This picture was taken in 1979. I was three at the time. And I was expressing myself in a way that is still congruent with who I am today, 30 years later. How fascinating!

Ethiopia Invented Coffee

Ethiopians say that coffee was invented in their country. They are proud of coffee and brew it strong! Here is the process of making Ethiopian coffee (backwards, sorry the pics uploaded in reverse order). And fun fact: they serve fresh popcorn with their coffee.
After boiling the water & grinds they pour them into your cup. Then, as an American, you might fill at least half your cup with milk to cut the PUNCH Ethiopian coffee has.
Once you grind up the coffee beans, you add them to a pot of water and boil it.
After you roast the coffee beans, you them grind up by hand. They hold these sticks and smash them into the little wooden pot until the beans are just powder.
Once you pick the coffee beans from the tree, you roast them over a hot flame until they turn from light to dark brown.
This is a coffee tree. The red & yellow berries are the "beans". When they turn red they're ready to be picked and cooked.

Sudan in Pictures

A photo-blog from my trip to Southern Sudan for all you who think I am too wordy! :)
This is the border between Southern Sudan and Uganda. I had to go into the "immigration office" (4ft x 4ft room) to register my entry.
This man is a tailor in Kajo Keji. He hopes to apply for one of the small biz loans so that he can pay to be trained on a machine he already owns that makes patterned sweaters (like on the magazine covers).
This is one of the local brewers and her child. She hopes to get trained in another trade because she doesn't like the alcoholism that results from her biz. But for now, it's the only way she can make the money she needs to pay for her kids' school fees.
All the full time workers in Sudan this summer. Missy is working on the micro-loan biz & starting the internet cafe. John is starting a Sudanese "Celebrate Recovery." Will is digging wells. Heather is Missy & Dave's full time worker on the ground (the liason between the American side of the biz and the Sudanese side of the biz). Holly is working with the local women's minister and helping John with the women who attend Celebrate Recovery.
This is Cecilia. She makes soap. She hopes to get a micro-loan to buy a bicycle so she can make more deliveries to buyers in the village (right now she mostly walks door to door).
Some children ran to the road to greet us as we walked the village.
A UN Refugee Camp just north of the Sudanese-Ugandan border. When we drove by I could see them sorting bags of grain in a giant warehouse.
This is the UNHCR tents that are given to those repatriating back to Sudan from the refugee camps. When the refugees return home, they are given a tent and a bag of grain to help get them back on their feet.
While walking the village one day, I got to meet one of the Chiefs. I asked his name, but he said to just call him "Chief."
This is Rose, the women's minister. She travels through Kajo Keji and all the neighboring towns & villages on this motorbike meeting in the homes of all the women to pray with them & do Bible studies together.
When you walk from one home to another, you have to stay on the worn paths because they haven't finished clearing the fields of landmines.
The roads are still littered with gun shell casings from the war.
This is an example of an uncleared landmine. The people mark them with red sticks so that you know not to step there.
This is the family who's house I stayed at in Sudan. Gloria & her two children Tommy (girl), and Mike (boy). Her husband Kaya is on staff with e3 Partners.
These are typical homes in the area I was in. Called tookals (i made up the spelling).
This is the first class of tailors in the Vocational School. They are being trained for several months in how to sew and then hope to get micro-loans to start their own sewing businesses.
This is the sewing sample poster on the wall of the vocational school classroom.
These are the sewing machines in the vocational school classroom.
This is the local market in Kajo Keji, where Missy & Dave hope to meet future clients who need micro-loans to better their small businesses.
This was the market diagram that Missy made as she mapped out the various sellers and what they sell (market research).
Missy & Heather & Kenneth interview a candidate for the Internet Cafe Manager position. They hired him!
Missy checks the final product of the electrician installing the wiring at the internet cafe (which will all be run off of solar panels and generators-- no electrical grid in Kajo Keji).
Missy meeting with the carpenter who was contracted to make the desks/tables for the Internet Cafe.
Missy gets measurements for glass to finish the windows to the Micro-Loan Office.
Missy buying the paint for the Internet Cafe & Micro-Loan Office.
This is Kenneth. He is the Director of Micro-Finance for Missy & Dave in Sudan.
Here is the building that houses the Vocational School, the Internet Cafe, and the Micro-Loan Office. You can see the solar panels atop the roof, and the satelitte dish where we'll get internet from.

7 Churches of Revelation

(from the sights in Laodicea.)

I just returned home from sightseeing the Seven Churches from Revelation. The common theme was: they were all once a church and they are now all ruins. I must admit, it was a little upsetting to see nothing but broken pieces of rubble in places that once had a thriving church. Some were off in the fields, and others in the middle of modern city blocks. They are empty spaces that once were beacons of light. How sad.

But praise God that He is risen, and that the Word is living and active, even when human creation falls and human relations fail. We did a short Bible study of each site and what I realized is that all the problems Jesus addressed in His letters to these churches are, sadly, still things the modern church struggles with today.

The main street in Laodicea.

The library in Ephesus.

The cisterns of Smyrna.

The stadium in Pergamum.

The gymnasium of Sardis.

The ruins of Thyatira.

The remains of the church in Philadelphia.

Sudanese Refugee School in Pictures

(If you want to read stories from this day, on top of looking at the pictures, click HERE.)
Love was the universal language of our time with the Sudanese refugees.

Playing games with the kids... you can see "New Sudan" written on the wall of the school.

Teaching us some of their traditional Sudanese songs... precious!

One of the teachers at the school.

Having fun with a bouncy ball.

We delivered a donated drum set to the school which was an immediate HIT!

Two of the teenage girls that didn't really want to come out of the classroom to join the festivities.

The leader of the Mercy Team leads the kids in a highly energetic sermon-ette.

Young teen girls.

Me with my two little kids (on the right) who were my favorites... the teenage girl on the left is the older sister of the little boy.

The older girls liked to braid our hair the way they braid each others'.

Teenage boys.

Teenage girls.

This picture is great because you can see the backdrop of the big building going up next to the school, but in the reflection of her sunglasses you can also see the other tall buildings going up all around their refugee camp. When the government gave this land for the refugee camp it was empty desert.

This map, or one like it, was hanging in every classroom at the school, teaching the kids where Sudan (their home country) and where Egypt was (where they are living today).

This building is under construction next to the school and is being built very un-safely. A volunteer engineer came to evaluate the property for the staff and noted that it is twice as tall as the permit allowed and was in danger of collapsing because the structure is unsound. On top of which, the principal told us that the construction workers sometimes threw materials down from the high stories onto the children in the courtyard of the school.

The boys playing in three-legged races.

This little boy asked me to paint a cross on his forehead.

Two boys balloon-ed out.

This little boy just would not smile on camera, no matter how hard we tried to brighten him up.

The great corral of girls.

Not sure why the little kids would throw signs, but they liked to do this for pictures.

Just a display of the goatie face paint that the young boys kept asking me to paint on their faces.

The courtyard at the school during the chaos of our carnival stations.

Checking out the new drum set.

The kids broke from our play day to have breakfast (1 loaf of bread, a bottle of milk, and a hard-boiled egg)... some of whom this would be their only meal for the day.

One of the classrooms full of kids waiting to come out and play at our carnival of fun.

This picture and Scripture was painted on the wall of the courtyard.

The boys hanging out the window to get a chance to blow bubbles.

Cute little boys!

Waving for the camera.