Night for Africa

Kila mmoja na atumie kipawa alichopewa kuwahudumia wengine, kama mawakili waaminifu wa neema mbalimbali za Mungu.
~1 Petro 4:10 (Swahili)

Wow. It was awesome. I can't even describe how awesome it was. I will tell you in person if you ask. $50 well spent, and I hope every penny went to Kenya.

I told my Mom today to go ahead and start preparing herself mentally because I will be going to Africa on a mission trip when God orchestrates it. I'm ready to go tomorrow if I'm being honest. Check out some of the stuff we learned:

• Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS
• 50,000 children will die of AIDS this year
• 1,400 newborn Africans are infected with AIDS everyday
• There are 900,000 orphans in Nairobi, Kenya today, mainly due to AIDS
• More than 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $1 a day
• Every 3 seconds a child dies of nutrition deprivation/starvation
• More than 300 million people in Africa do not have access to clean water
• 1 million children die of malaria each year

The 410 Bridge was created to combat some of these problems by working alongside Kenyan communities as they seek to prevent and aid developing communities. It is very awesome to know that building awareness here can lead to lifelong changes for our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world by simply installing a water pump, sending a child to school, or helping to build a shelter for orphans. It was so exciting to be a part of this. From the choir, to Jeff Foxworthy's amusing "redneck" antics, we all had such a good time. Check out the 410 Bridge website for more info:

410 Bridge

Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. ~1 Peter 4:10

First Week Highlights

The first week of school is always filled with humor. I thought I'd share a few of our little stories here.

On Friday, two fifth grade girls in my classroom got all up in each other's faces and started screaming about the other one's mother.

On Wednesday, a first grader told our art teacher, "You look like art!" on his way into school.

And most amusingly, on TUESDAY, a little kindergarten girl was misbehaving and would not follow her teacher's directions. And so the school counselor came in to see if she could settle the little friend down. The girl promptly kicked and bit our counselor. Then our new principal came down. She took the little girl to her office and got down at eye level, just as the experts say you should. She said to her, "Do you know who I am?" The kindergartener nodded. Then she said, "Have you seen me on the TV each morning talking to you?" The girl nodded again. She continued, "What have I been telling the boys and girls every morning?" The girl paused and replied, through choked back tears, "To...listen...to...your....teacher." Betty said, "And have you been doing that this morning?" The girl looked her straight in the eye and said, "NO! I don't have to listen to anybody, bitch! My mom said so!"

My job is so full of adventure!

Back to School

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.
~From You’ve Got Mail

Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.
~John W. Gardner

He who opens a school door, closes a prison.
~Victor Hugo

An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't.
~Anatole France

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. ~Mark Twain

AND THE TRUEST OF ALL OF THESE:

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.
~Gail Godwin

It's Getting Hot out Therre...

Me, last summer in Oz: Temp was about 35 degrees and we were on a sheep farm. Sigh.

Step one foot outside of an air-conditioned building any day this week and you know exactly what I'm talking about.

If not, I'm talking about the weather in Hotlanta. Today, for example, it is 97 degrees outside, but with the heat index, the weather guys say it feels like 105.

Anyone who doesn't believe in global warming ought to visit our precious city for about five minutes. Or five seconds!

I'm not ashamed to admit that for the last several days, I have come straight home and ripped my clothes off, put on a bathing suit and lazed around my house. It's almost too hot to really go lay by the pool, so instead, I lay on the couch trying not to melt. Don't forget that it's important to keep hydrated in these extreme temperatures.

My Dad is so fortunate: he's down under, where it's winter! Who's ready to take a month-long vacation to Australia with me?

Families First

Today's message at church, part two of Voddie Baucham's Legacy series, really hit home with me on several levels. Voddie touched on ways we can make sure that God is head of our homes and families at all times. I was reminded all over again about how blessed I am to be a part of a church that truly values the family. Our church is designed with community in mind, and the three branches of children's ministry (not to mention the two teen ministries), further attest to this fact. Volunteering each week in Waumba Land is such a blessing; for the hour each week that we volunteer, we are easily blessed ten times over.

This evening, I had the privilege of watching a video created by my dear friends Mike & Julie Tiemann who recently returned from a mission trip to our partner church in the Dominican Republic. As I watched this six-minute clip, I could not help but have tears in my eyes as I witnessed couples celebrate God's faithfulness together at a Married Life Live conference, voices lifted while singing "How Great is Our God," in Spanish. This is one of many songs we celebrated with in Romania last summer, and it moves me to this day every time I hear it's melody. Isn't it just amazing to know that God receives praise in so many languages? If you have the time, please check out Mike & Julie's video:

http://www.arclight.net/~julieandmikemusic/D.R.%202007%20Stream.mov

Quote

I read the most beautiful quote today in a shop. I'm just going to post it here and marinate on it a bit. I hope you enjoy the quote, and all it implies.

Just when the caterpillar thought his world was over, he turned into a beautiful butterfly. ~Proverb

Beach Memory

Every once in a while, there is a taste or smell that just takes me back to another time or place. For example, whenever I use a particular shampoo, it reminds me of showering at my friends, the Atkins', house in London. I think it's because when I lived there for so long, I used this shampoo from Bath & Body Works. I identify that smell with my time spent there. Those were fun times, and even more fun when sharing one bathroom with about six or eight folks at any given time! Everyone knows there are smells of favorite foods prepared by a loved one that take you back to holiday meal...Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter.

Today I was caught by surprise as I bit into my Waldorf Chicken Salad at Flavor Cafe & Bakery. It took me back much further than my time in the UK. It took me to New Smyrna Beach, FL when I was six, seven, eight, nine, ten years old. We traveled there each summer when I was a child, staying several weeks in a condo by the sea. I can hear the waves crashing now, see my Dad and I creating drizzly tops to the sandcastles we'd build every morning. We stayed at a place called Colony Beach Club. Back in the mid-to-late 80s, this was a happening place. It was not a high-rise condo like so many that dot the same beach's shore today. It was a simple, two story sprawling complex complete with a boardwalk down to the beach and a pool.

It was at the Colony Beach Club that we met Mildred and Pop Taylor. I don't remember Pop's full name because to me he was always just Pop. That's what his grandchildren called him. The Taylors lived at Colony Beach Club, and over the years we became friends, exchanging Christmas cards and visiting every summer.
When I bit into that sandwich today I was transported back to Pop & Nan's beach condo where I would sit and talk to them for hours, a chatty little girl entertaining an elderly couple talking about who knows what. We had a good time together. Pop liked to fish, and Nan liked to talk. I didn't ever eat that chicken salad at their house, but something in the mayonnaise made me remember the smell and feel of their little beach side home.

Nan and Pop are gone now, passed away a few years back. I was sad when I found out; even as an adult it moved me. That little couple influenced me and created beautiful memories on the canvas of my mind. I'll never forget them.