tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88362248757516455692024-03-05T11:41:04.283-05:00Africa Again . . . Julie Must Be Crazy!Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-36360954381357543512013-02-04T14:48:00.000-05:002013-02-04T15:15:16.517-05:00No Means No<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the projects that I volunteer with is a teacher mentoring program. As a volunteer, I am paired up with one or two teachers and we arrange to meet one on one at least once a week. The goals for the mentoring is to build friendship, help improve English conversation and pronunciation, and for me to learn more about Rwandan culture. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I got paired with one of the most experienced teachers at the school. Esparanza (or Hope) has been teaching since the early 70’s. You’d never guess it by looking at her, but she has three grandchildren. I can’t believe that she has been teaching for over 40 years. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For our first meeting, I invited her over for tea. She unexpectedly brought one of her daughters - but I had guessed she might bring someone and had prepared extra tea and biscuits. We spent the hour getting to know each other and sharing our expectations for our meetings. As our time came to a close, we planned our next meeting for the following Sunday at 6pm. She had invited me to her home. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A week went by and the weekend predictably followed. I had planned my whole Sunday around meeting Esparanza that evening. That same day, both the Crowson’s and Miller’s had left for Kenya leaving behind their kids in my care. Meredith agreed to stay with the Miller kids during my meeting and we agreed that I would stop in and check on the Crowson kids on my way home after the meeting since it was close by. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I perfectly timed my walk and arrived at 6:00 on the dot at our designated meeting spot. I wasn’t at all surprised that Esparanza wasn’t there to meet me and show me the way to her home. Being on time isn’t a Rwandan characteristic. So, I called her to let her know that I was there and to see how long I would have to wait. “Hello, Juliette. I will leave here in a few minutes to come and meet you.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(A side note, I go by “Juliette” here as it is more familiar and easier to pronounce than Julie.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I take a deep breath and set my mind to waiting. Hoping rather than expecting that it will actually be just a few minutes. I am standing on a corner of an intersection several streets off the main road. A couple walks by with their two young kids who giggle when they see me. With a little push from their mom, the kids run up and give me a hug, still giggling. I greet them, hug them, then wave and greet their parents. After a while a young guy on a bicycle stops by to greet me in English. He wants to know exactly which house I live in and when he can come by to visit. I give a general wave in the air and explain that I live close by and he can greet me whenever he see me walking on the road or in town. Then he asks for my phone number, which I politely decline to give. He understands, says goodbye and rides on.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Several groups of teenagers walk by in whispers and muffled laughs. I’m glad that I can’t understand what they are saying. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Four older women have been walking my direction and finally stop close to me. Traditionally dressed, they are small with backs and shoulders rounded from a lifetime of carrying heavy loads. Two of the women clutch walking sticks as they peer up at me. “Muraho!” I greet each one with a hand shake while my left hand touches my right arm just below the elbow as a sign of respect. They all nod, return the greeting and keep peering up. The youngest one boldly demands in English. “What is your name?” In Kinyarwanda, I reply that my name is Juliette, then I ask each one for their name. After repeating my name several times followed by other kinyarwanda words beyond my limited vocabulary, they each introduce themselves. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having exhausted my kinyarwanda language skills, I stand and smile expecting them to say goodbye and move on their way. But they keep standing and peering and rapidly talking in Kinyarwanda. They start to close in on me and pat me on the hip and thighs. While surprising and totally inappropriate by western standards, this has happened many times. I only assume that the women are discussing how easy it must be for me to have babies with hips as wide as mine. But their touching doesn’t stop and suddenly one of the women pats me in my “no-no area”. I grab her hand and strongly say “Oya” (No). She laughs as another lady begins to pat my chest. I grab her hands and again say “Oya”. Unsure of what the women intended, I break away, smile and say goodbye as I quickly walk to the Crowson’s. The women seem disappointed, but my departure doesn’t interrupt what has become a lively conversation. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is about 6:45 when I arrive at the Crowson’s still shaken up by what just happened. I don’t think the women intended harm, but it is still very, very strange. Esparanza calls around 6:50 wondering where I am waiting. With apologies, I explain that I had to leave and reschedule our meeting. Pretending like nothing happened, I join the Crowson boys in an episode of Hogan’s Heroes. Thus ends the day that I had planned around meeting Esparanza. </span></span>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-68436358933866953392012-11-08T08:00:00.000-05:002012-11-08T08:00:15.556-05:00The Hike - Part One<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s Monday afternoon. Every muscle in my body moans in protest to any movement. Despite the pain, my sore muscles bring a smile and a proud sense of accomplishment.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I had no idea what I was saying “Yes” to. A few weeks ago I met Genevieve, who is a Peace Corp volunteer and has lived in a village about 30 minutes from Musanze for the past two years. “I am planning to do the Diane Fossey hike, anybody wanna go,” she asked the table of muzungu* girls. We had all randomly met each other around town and were now crowded around a table enjoying Saturday morning brunch on the porch of La Paillotte, Musanze’s version of Panera Bread. Most of the girls kept talking but I paused and for some unknown reason said, “That’s sound fun, I’d love to go.” Later I googled “Diane Fossey hike” and discovered that it was a semi-challenging 12 mile hike (round trip) to visit the grave and research center of Diane Fossey. “Mostly flat and sometimes muddy; Beautiful relaxing hike; Possibility of seeing monkeys and gorillas;” the reviews said. As I would later find out - these reviews were written by someone with with an entirely different understanding of the words ‘flat, muddy, and relaxing”.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On the morning of our hike, the hired car picked us up at 6:00 am and with uneasiness in my stomach, we set off for the “Volcanoes National Park” where we would pay the entrance fee and meet our guide. There were five of us Muzungu girls. My roommate Meredith, and Genevieve along with two friends who were teaching in Kigali, Ally and Sarah. Once in the park, we met up with six other very fit and seemingly expert outdoorsy muzungus who were eager to tackle the 12 mile hike. Trying not to feel intimated or judged for my overweight and obviously out-of-shape self, I put on a brave and friendly face and introduced myself to our hiking mates.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After a short “orientation” from our guide, Eleana (one of five female guides compared to the 30 plus male guides). We all piled back into our hired cars and drove thirty minutes farther down the road to the beginning of our trail. The drive would have taken only ten minutes, but most of the road was uneven volcanic rock. Our driver smiled and told us to enjoy the “African massage”. The constant and severe jolting from the absurd road can not be described by words. Truly, it can only be experienced. It reminded me of that game we used to play on the trampoline as kids. One brave kid locks his arms around his knees and tries with all his might not to break his “egg” while all the other kids are jumping around him seeing how high they can get the “egg” to bounce. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Fully and completely shaken up, we arrive at the base of our trail. I am amazed to discover our parking lot a total mud pit and the temperature to have dropped at least 10 degrees. Our group gathers and walking stick are distributed. Eleana approaches me with a man in a blue work-suit. He is a porter and Eleana encourages me to hire him. It is a short hike and I’m only carrying a small pack with lunch and water - but I agree to hire him and hand him my bag.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We start hiking up the road till we reach the Park sign. Then we hang a left and walk on a flat trail where the only obstacles are the occasional cow and lots of cow poo. I start regretting hiring the porter. “This is a breeze,” I think to myself! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Then Eleana stops our crew and asks for the slowest hikers to come to the front. She of course means me, so I make my way to the front of our group. Eleana smiles and gives some kind of speech about how we are all a team and we will complete the hike together or not at all. I try not to feel too self conscious. Then she turns and looks up at the volcano that we have be hiking beside and announces, “Now we go up to the Park wall.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Turns out, we aren’t even INSIDE the park yet. We still have another 40 minutes of hiking up before we make it to the park wall where we find half a dozen armed military soldiers who are there to protect us from the wild buffalo, elephants and gorillas that roam the park. But, considering we are sneezing distant from the D.R. Congo - I kind of think they are there to protect us from other things as well.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Finally we reach the park wall. We had been hiking through fields of cultivated agricultural vegetation. But, on the other side of the wall is pure, impenetrable jungle. The path becomes rockier, muddier, and steeper - so my hiking becomes even slower than before. I can just hear the line of expert outdoorsy adventurers behind me groan with frustration at my slow speed. But I take a deep breath and will myself forward.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">*muzungu - local term used to refer to white people</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vREkmz7cR4qUr17PaaHZgdTB77TqUsikQDLB6owZbRXr7MoGhQbth2NtnSapYHN0NMlz4RL5UGGcX8fHZEbcYv34s9PKktmiLeFwkvC5Um37FcHTDXe1bens5o92Fz8-CvjrXyfgLXI/s1600/CSC_4214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vREkmz7cR4qUr17PaaHZgdTB77TqUsikQDLB6owZbRXr7MoGhQbth2NtnSapYHN0NMlz4RL5UGGcX8fHZEbcYv34s9PKktmiLeFwkvC5Um37FcHTDXe1bens5o92Fz8-CvjrXyfgLXI/s320/CSC_4214.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Genevieve (mastermind of the whole hike) with Eleana, our guide, in the background.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road up the small hill from where our truck parked. That's me in the green shirt.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSUUxxo3l-1fJwCoTjbNLYDS8Zp-bimXxedn5dRUsm7xZ9jsyhN9kh3TGn9XAt3GbA7tm2E74hYzOSmTXiDKfeJWcp38jXvgJDThA04-aIE8xAxnj8sW4FU_DpykI0Q8t31AoIAwXdKU/s1600/DSC_3989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSUUxxo3l-1fJwCoTjbNLYDS8Zp-bimXxedn5dRUsm7xZ9jsyhN9kh3TGn9XAt3GbA7tm2E74hYzOSmTXiDKfeJWcp38jXvgJDThA04-aIE8xAxnj8sW4FU_DpykI0Q8t31AoIAwXdKU/s320/DSC_3989.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the "expert outdoorsy hikers" on our first small incline.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5EMmfRHNy0PxyedkA-eVHo2QbJx9vqJIwgws9Mz_b3wk_-Gzh0c8dNMRlh9qI-ZLJVZb863Akus3ba8H7y46L3eDlGhZgByTbS9cnFyxBC-Yhye2rcdi_yPCuZJwbSfsoWi53JUsggY/s1600/DSC_3998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5EMmfRHNy0PxyedkA-eVHo2QbJx9vqJIwgws9Mz_b3wk_-Gzh0c8dNMRlh9qI-ZLJVZb863Akus3ba8H7y46L3eDlGhZgByTbS9cnFyxBC-Yhye2rcdi_yPCuZJwbSfsoWi53JUsggY/s320/DSC_3998.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The five muzungu girls. Sarah, Genevieve, Meredith, Me, and Ally. We are trying to seem adventuresome! Despite what the sign says, this isn't close to where the parking lot was. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgLId5Z15h4JwymGs8kBsJFIScXeSH0cuFkzglHzUl8yaZ8H_o-aa_7NMewsrhWUC5wzcFlTrUfoS0oE7D1P2V0GUs6c_8MlvxQuAJgC7toSprkZzTICgU4LVxovnrjI9ay5K80pF5-k/s1600/DSC_4000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgLId5Z15h4JwymGs8kBsJFIScXeSH0cuFkzglHzUl8yaZ8H_o-aa_7NMewsrhWUC5wzcFlTrUfoS0oE7D1P2V0GUs6c_8MlvxQuAJgC7toSprkZzTICgU4LVxovnrjI9ay5K80pF5-k/s320/DSC_4000.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the sign, we turned left and enjoyed a nice flat hike! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxGjOahMqJe5YlITYj2Wt7YvJHc1-rl6X2cy9RiTrUAiTrvyDY2taKPkCyMUB2UGaB30gHgwzMkIdIHtOJtVJBMvQve5z08ab_ojKcmxMhRwjxckSVc6F_Q840EYjRRsQmHRXbPKFq_w/s1600/DSC_4015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxGjOahMqJe5YlITYj2Wt7YvJHc1-rl6X2cy9RiTrUAiTrvyDY2taKPkCyMUB2UGaB30gHgwzMkIdIHtOJtVJBMvQve5z08ab_ojKcmxMhRwjxckSVc6F_Q840EYjRRsQmHRXbPKFq_w/s320/DSC_4015.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then, we turned right and started hiking up. He a rock wall acts as a barrier to a nearby field where flowers used for insecticide are grown.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdAGl135QE9zkmUpLamUYRe6nzr4YbxJa56PuFp9fdY_xNAdpAChyphenhyphen9CUgXehzs_CQHCZDJpOEqMnh7i70b_Yu85g7K2RBq_z-vbZC-I3KAKYxstkn3evYWE43BGORc-As9r7-S2dPlME/s1600/DSC_4017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdAGl135QE9zkmUpLamUYRe6nzr4YbxJa56PuFp9fdY_xNAdpAChyphenhyphen9CUgXehzs_CQHCZDJpOEqMnh7i70b_Yu85g7K2RBq_z-vbZC-I3KAKYxstkn3evYWE43BGORc-As9r7-S2dPlME/s320/DSC_4017.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We keep heading up and up. You can see me in the foreground - I'm had started hiking in the front, but was quickly overtaken by the more exuberant hikers in our group.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9USDNWGQBhZGLYZDPIhOa5IibOWf3XlckcIPhlt5sroPchl4Nu60N_-EUXYRAEl_esX61efj2KQ64AkcVbjJvF5PhtwLdddYJOW2XbCzYJbxcskRxi5U8Z9CvXYdXkLRkyuSweJukYhI/s1600/DSC_4021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9USDNWGQBhZGLYZDPIhOa5IibOWf3XlckcIPhlt5sroPchl4Nu60N_-EUXYRAEl_esX61efj2KQ64AkcVbjJvF5PhtwLdddYJOW2XbCzYJbxcskRxi5U8Z9CvXYdXkLRkyuSweJukYhI/s320/DSC_4021.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break and looking back to see how far we have hiked. Those building in the distance on the left are where we parked our vehicles.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyJGFme7TIwcm9sHYCk4qsUS-7dR0t1-QnewpEeOvOtpmsRFIW2UszMg6I10ElphP_mWwGtyg4zvqlT8VU3WGhvixk7saqjuIaUdYprRx8MBq8x9kqCvgin4tRejqxEnDkk6QHNhQpgU/s1600/DSC_4041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyJGFme7TIwcm9sHYCk4qsUS-7dR0t1-QnewpEeOvOtpmsRFIW2UszMg6I10ElphP_mWwGtyg4zvqlT8VU3WGhvixk7saqjuIaUdYprRx8MBq8x9kqCvgin4tRejqxEnDkk6QHNhQpgU/s320/DSC_4041.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am back at the front of the line setting a slower pace.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHV4009M4H-cCMENMl4de51qQmQp0Z7dM47OrNMiaBlYp_hsXyZDBtsjWsC9WuZXo-PY2aTz0u-M8QCA-o_y5-f7bI1peO5o__4fOYdyKxtBj0Gan2lqsnmMzA8Kffg4T4XvCGJ_-cQDI/s1600/DSC_4028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHV4009M4H-cCMENMl4de51qQmQp0Z7dM47OrNMiaBlYp_hsXyZDBtsjWsC9WuZXo-PY2aTz0u-M8QCA-o_y5-f7bI1peO5o__4fOYdyKxtBj0Gan2lqsnmMzA8Kffg4T4XvCGJ_-cQDI/s320/DSC_4028.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are getting closer to the Park Wall, which is near the tree line.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPP-0LS2v39cB5oueZ2jbASSum6jFzLQX24zvwkD4K39GPhovjIla3G4tKO5AJkB_TsfVq17FUOwtHJAFH99_v5bK9EcN7wnsrCv1h2A_cguraltnjacBChLrv_Rj12wxpUjoe249DvGs/s1600/DSC_4053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPP-0LS2v39cB5oueZ2jbASSum6jFzLQX24zvwkD4K39GPhovjIla3G4tKO5AJkB_TsfVq17FUOwtHJAFH99_v5bK9EcN7wnsrCv1h2A_cguraltnjacBChLrv_Rj12wxpUjoe249DvGs/s320/DSC_4053.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The porters in blue help all of us navigate climbing over the wall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLTEAu-b927p1UIjuZaZPPJBB4SbxRkWYtPY0G8MMo3sZ9cx5GZvdL3zmLqddayWILOXTWY6T_QW-n-IMHLS4YOmE6CbXDPzybipdxz5sjRNPQLlm81tjwiYD7HDVYWJG2fLGfMC5ULQ/s1600/R0020654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLTEAu-b927p1UIjuZaZPPJBB4SbxRkWYtPY0G8MMo3sZ9cx5GZvdL3zmLqddayWILOXTWY6T_QW-n-IMHLS4YOmE6CbXDPzybipdxz5sjRNPQLlm81tjwiYD7HDVYWJG2fLGfMC5ULQ/s320/R0020654.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the hike - Ally and I pose.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcIQJXfjfEG1c91Ih0xW8EFM9fTHvla6FJEXXFMF5hBQeW34SEHBW4xLuPWieq38FDn_nBCQQj16jHitfgwIbRGPceW6XqgCZXfjlWjPSFcrjX8CsqR_IjXARhUxT0Z5fUiIBcxYqNcE/s1600/R0020666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcIQJXfjfEG1c91Ih0xW8EFM9fTHvla6FJEXXFMF5hBQeW34SEHBW4xLuPWieq38FDn_nBCQQj16jHitfgwIbRGPceW6XqgCZXfjlWjPSFcrjX8CsqR_IjXARhUxT0Z5fUiIBcxYqNcE/s320/R0020666.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still feeling confident before we start hiking up.</td></tr>
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Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-16813518253715111582012-08-22T09:04:00.000-04:002012-08-22T09:04:01.784-04:009 Easy Steps for a Happy Bucket Shower!<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was around 5:30 on the third day of camping. I was wiping down all my exposed skin with Insect Repellant wipes when I noticed how dirty the wipes were after I used them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Camping Lesson #1</b>: When using bug wipes doubles as bath time, it is time to brave the showers!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Taking a shower at camp was an interesting process. Process, being the key word! For those less experienced, I’ve developed a no fail, 9 step process to the camp-bucket-shower-system. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 1: Be prepared.</b> Gather everything you need for a shower and put it in something that can hang on a nail. Some of the things you might need include soap, razor, shampoo, conditioner, foot scrubber, towel, appropriate after shower clothes to walk back to your tent in, and most importantly, your water bucket. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 2: Claim your shower stall.</b> Cautiously knock on a shower door, keeping in mind that these doors don’t lock. Hang up shower gear in open stall on provided nails, making sure not to drag your dry towel in the pile of wet leaves on the ground. In the likely event that both showers are occupied, skip to step 3 and wait for an open stall.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 3: Fill your water bucket.</b> Walk up the hill from the showers with your empty water bucket. Approach the curious group of Rwandan kitchen workers with confidence and smiles. Fill your bucket 1/3 full with the steaming hot water which comes from the pipe running through the furnace. Ignore the brownish color of the water and fill up your bucket from the cold water tap. Test the water temperature and add more hot or cold water as needed. Now that your bucket is full, continue to ignore the brownish color of the water and do your best to carry the heavy bucket down the hill to your shower without spilling a precious drop. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 4: Fill your shower bucket.</b> Using the handy pulley system, lower your shower bucket. Transfer water from your water bucket into your shower bucket. Now that your shower bucket is full and heavy, heave it back up and secure at appropriate height with rope and nails. Tips: pull bucket up in gentle and smooth motion as to not slosh out any water; bucket height should be just high enough to stand up underneath while being able to reach the red handle which open and closes the shower spout; check to make sure shower spout is closed before filling shower bucket with water. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 5: Secure shower door.</b> Now that your shower bucket is filled with warm water and set at the appropriate height, turn around and do your best to securely close the shower door. Since this is nearly impossible, it is important to always be on the alert for approaching voices and foot steps so that you can quickly and loudly announce that your shower stall is occupied. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 6: Get naked.</b> Forget about the curious group of Rwandan kitchen workers at the top of the hill still staring in your direction. Forget about the unknown person on the other side of the brick wall also naked and showering. Forget about the monkeys jumping from limb to limb in the tree above your head. Forget about the leaves, and who knows what else dropping into your shower stall and water bucket from the trees and monkeys above. It is time to get naked! Gingerly step out of clothes while avoiding stepping into a pile of wet leaves or mud. Hang clothes on nail. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 7: Commence washing.</b> First, make a plan. Consider all that you want washed and the amount of water in your shower bucket. Then, decide what you really need washed. Stand under your shower and open the water valve with a twist of the red lever. Quickly get your whole body wet, using as little water as possible. Turn off water and lather up. Shampoo hair. Soap up your body, including feet. While balancing on one foot with shampoo still lathered up in your hair and your body all slippery with soap, use your foot scrubber to clean the rough and blackened bottoms of one foot. Put clean and soapy foot back into flip-flops, balance on clean foot without touching the slimy brick walls enclosing your small shower, and clean opposite foot. Before turning on water, lather your face up with face soap. Now, turn on water and rinse face, hair, body, and feet as quickly as possible. Once you are soap free, let shower bucket down and determine if remaining water is enough to condition hair. Continue to ignore the brownish color of the water. If enough water remains, lift bucket back up and secure with rope, add conditioner to hair and rinse. If not, make note of how you foolishly used up too much water and suffer the consequences of dry hair.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 8: Dry off and walk back to tent.</b> By now, there are several people talking on the other side of your shower door, patiently waiting their turn for the shower. Self consciously, pick off any leaves that have fallen from the trees above and are sticking to your naked body. Hurriedly dry off and put on decent after-shower clothes without letting clean, dry clothes drag on wet and muddy floor. Gather up shower gear and put into empty water bucket. Check to make sure underwear and other unmentionable garments are secure for the walk back to your tent and not still hanging on a nail in the stall. Bravely open shower door, comment on how clean you feel to those waiting and carefully walk up the hill in your slippery wet flip-flops while waving to the curious Rwandan kitchen workers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Step 9: Congratulate yourself on actually enjoying the camp shower and being clean!</b> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGKN4cKP5CmDRdnQZoReF-iLGBugN0koV3vbzEXciYqIi8qbfEo7o3d7CjrTeX4PS61OqRGpc72fhM2Z4OUQd8fSTXbKuVzylxmOT78MOW7Ac1Y_s_sBKBCyrghKLJfOOJUcKEMpOiVU/s1600/DSC_0101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGKN4cKP5CmDRdnQZoReF-iLGBugN0koV3vbzEXciYqIi8qbfEo7o3d7CjrTeX4PS61OqRGpc72fhM2Z4OUQd8fSTXbKuVzylxmOT78MOW7Ac1Y_s_sBKBCyrghKLJfOOJUcKEMpOiVU/s320/DSC_0101.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This are the two shower stalls. Looks inviting, right?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqafFKI88qZPvrsTeSdMhqzd-S82gW6JzTuL4SP10Xher6W2cZiZTAh00jv9zSixCYQBLMVl0pdXetyG0XTzvQSAhd_K8QDDaQXJNadzoIc2YP1S75xornXr7j47LMvdHo-Y9W5_C7WU/s1600/DSC_0103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqafFKI88qZPvrsTeSdMhqzd-S82gW6JzTuL4SP10Xher6W2cZiZTAh00jv9zSixCYQBLMVl0pdXetyG0XTzvQSAhd_K8QDDaQXJNadzoIc2YP1S75xornXr7j47LMvdHo-Y9W5_C7WU/s320/DSC_0103.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shower works on a bucket pulley system. Pull the rope down to hoist the bucket up and let the rope up to bring the bucket down . . . more easily said than done, especially with a full heavy bucket!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMDJhVtu7oQF_uqtFPfXgdV3H7ngDP-xWWNsZU0tnMCoolfdv9IZ8jnjA2rhAUhwZgN9gCzL8EcyifOuzx4Mke2U1AuEMV2Q-haotLZ-cUMnO-2HNg7olIFPJt3VlXfKSpcwrOtGG88Q/s1600/DSC_0104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMDJhVtu7oQF_uqtFPfXgdV3H7ngDP-xWWNsZU0tnMCoolfdv9IZ8jnjA2rhAUhwZgN9gCzL8EcyifOuzx4Mke2U1AuEMV2Q-haotLZ-cUMnO-2HNg7olIFPJt3VlXfKSpcwrOtGG88Q/s320/DSC_0104.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the bucket lowered all the way down.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVna15ScIsPyzxTxGjOVTMQZuowILllIJDBTy4eKiCc-K8EbD5TPiNK_rXlgp468jCXdZ_G7d2P1jlDfMeVd3bFMlrww4J37lk-hTLhDcxAx9f-NQDGDUHW-1TU81UPIvEocpMs_8qXS8/s1600/DSC_0105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVna15ScIsPyzxTxGjOVTMQZuowILllIJDBTy4eKiCc-K8EbD5TPiNK_rXlgp468jCXdZ_G7d2P1jlDfMeVd3bFMlrww4J37lk-hTLhDcxAx9f-NQDGDUHW-1TU81UPIvEocpMs_8qXS8/s320/DSC_0105.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close up of the bucket. The red lever kind-of blends in with the brick behind it. The red lever controls the flow of water through the shower head. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcxjoERemV6dvXILoQ9bytWxIMSasW3KbdxH1Po2_-ksYlNOwQIrJewXuBn_OICH_AV0paShsDskI_kPnnA-67inz0KLrpgveSOTXEzBGbGNNVe_drftfER4jzz3okNYCuAHlFOmAS6s/s1600/DSC_0106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcxjoERemV6dvXILoQ9bytWxIMSasW3KbdxH1Po2_-ksYlNOwQIrJewXuBn_OICH_AV0paShsDskI_kPnnA-67inz0KLrpgveSOTXEzBGbGNNVe_drftfER4jzz3okNYCuAHlFOmAS6s/s320/DSC_0106.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main meeting hall buildings. The kitchen is the building on the left and the showers are just down the hill on the far left. The hot water is located in the middle of the two buildings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWZMpsgXkHP4ArdAn5SwHLuV_Nfj8RFZNPrVCiQq7-F_PLMlW5TNRwCqD8hRe_Ec1buc6tlh8El2nvm9XK-l9gQZRAdu1byjP2d5TGcxpFTOn6wCEv4tER6jFMnXqQFdGNmryUG6Qwqk/s1600/DSC_0186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWZMpsgXkHP4ArdAn5SwHLuV_Nfj8RFZNPrVCiQq7-F_PLMlW5TNRwCqD8hRe_Ec1buc6tlh8El2nvm9XK-l9gQZRAdu1byjP2d5TGcxpFTOn6wCEv4tER6jFMnXqQFdGNmryUG6Qwqk/s320/DSC_0186.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kitchen building. Look for the green bucket to the right of the center of the picture. This is where the cold or normal water comes out. The two holes in the side of the building are part of the furnace over which all the food is cooked inside. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFCEOtDj1i8Dz6HnNHzeeasHr7ZGae_eq0MbZ_YrECnVFuZ3sdy-dMRsox9sIErK7PWbYR0BtQWIiAOBNYJR5SgP4_ehwz4Zys3I3D5S_A7atB2Cihpb8XxmTVdSn7264wgicWKqSyLY/s1600/DSC_0188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFCEOtDj1i8Dz6HnNHzeeasHr7ZGae_eq0MbZ_YrECnVFuZ3sdy-dMRsox9sIErK7PWbYR0BtQWIiAOBNYJR5SgP4_ehwz4Zys3I3D5S_A7atB2Cihpb8XxmTVdSn7264wgicWKqSyLY/s320/DSC_0188.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Between the two buildings is the other furnace. The hot water is located to the left of the furnace. Usually this is where all the curious Rwandan kitchen workers hang out...because that is the kitchen on the left.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEpy7ENkvBJg8tg5MuTh7KbO5jUyO1BfgW3Y-RKMuCN-hGnZbGW5uZW351YTQ9guzf0Z070wh7_V0uuAkXfQsg4GrvC7fqXB4eM_EhLMHDQU_PFSwtJzP76qPJrMo5pDfD81FG85VFek/s1600/DSC_0190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEpy7ENkvBJg8tg5MuTh7KbO5jUyO1BfgW3Y-RKMuCN-hGnZbGW5uZW351YTQ9guzf0Z070wh7_V0uuAkXfQsg4GrvC7fqXB4eM_EhLMHDQU_PFSwtJzP76qPJrMo5pDfD81FG85VFek/s320/DSC_0190.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close up for the hot water tap! Be sure you don't fill up too much on the hot water - cause it is really, really, really hot!</td></tr>
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Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-72087639015291040552012-08-03T18:38:00.001-04:002012-08-03T18:38:27.397-04:00Called Out to the Wilderness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wrote this on my first day of camping....</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What am I doing here at this camp? What made me or anyone else think that camping out in Africa for 9 days was a good way to relax? These are the types of questions going through my mind as I unroll my borrowed sleeping bag inside a borrowed tent. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I am out in the beautiful Rwandan wilderness. Rwandan wilderness is different from other African wilderness. This wilderness is green and wild instead of desolate and dry. There are curious monkeys to keep out of the food and unpredictable bats that peer at us through the night. There is a lake filled with volcanic gases where children boldly laugh and play. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is a cool brick meeting hall with exposed wooden beams that still resemble the trees that they once were. There are glass-less and screen-less windows all around the building to let the cool breeze pass through. At first glance, it seems like an historic building where Quakers once met. There should be bronze placards at the front describing how John and Abigail Adams met inside at a community dance. It is rustic except the florescent lights rigged to the beams and the tall metal water filter and tank that supplies clean drinking water. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At little ways down a path is a community of tents where some of us westerns are “roughing it”. Top of the line tents from Bass Pro Shop and R.E.I. filled with the latest camping gear to make this week of camping more comfortable. Even in our camping - we have more than those who live in the surrounding villages. Yet, I complain about the dirt and the bugs. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Lord called me out here to this Rwandan wilderness for a reason. It seems the Lord tends to call people out to the wilderness as a way of preparation for a future work. I think of David camping out as a young shepherd tending his sheep. I think of the Israelites being called out of Egypt. I think of Jesus being tempted in the desert. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I don’t know why God wants to call me out to a place so incredibly outside my comfort zone - but maybe this wilderness is in the center of His comfort zone. And I must be willing to meet Him anyplace that he calls me to.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Psalms 23:1-3 (The Message)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">"God</span>, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Psalm 55:6-7 (NLT)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="text Ps-55-6" id="en-NLT-14715" style="position: relative;">"Oh, that I had wings like a dove; </span><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-55-6" style="position: relative;">then I would fly away and rest!</span></span><br /><span class="text Ps-55-7" id="en-NLT-14716" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; line-height: normal; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">7 </sup>I would fly far away </span><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-55-7" style="position: relative;">to the quiet of the wilderness."</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORRVqYldf9T_gN2xVQ4QEgsnKo76-6smp_K9_eCIcFaU3qxWIXQrud6v13kjC51muuuC7xjO4htymXEk7Y11anIRcyLXvsN1swK8MgdkYtMsUmmYlWBWoPBF9jBFVaghnFKuVUZd1L-U/s1600/DSC_0077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2mqSwgSKwUgZOqeAEKPGG9gvLhmDA9zNEmQ2erGMUcVnLj-ijUhv1QKlL1_2X44Nqvxl37mVQ_4HgOVXNwXBaZDBM-K8_jQuRJtZq1mEps6nUfKKmUDm2gbR6aJe0lcjpit16e1CG4g/s1600/DSC_0124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2mqSwgSKwUgZOqeAEKPGG9gvLhmDA9zNEmQ2erGMUcVnLj-ijUhv1QKlL1_2X44Nqvxl37mVQ_4HgOVXNwXBaZDBM-K8_jQuRJtZq1mEps6nUfKKmUDm2gbR6aJe0lcjpit16e1CG4g/s320/DSC_0124.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My view while I am sitting by the lake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOjrkK4KDWehr6pJMRvSCN5rB4RKbBBxN_Qw-5j51XyRnKtMkX132zNx5D2cJGl6gcYAwqa90LU1VnTU2PAb6-stWMfQTJCFBxmm8uN1_24CnHIQC8bREHapDXpZhX1uztk_Kmv4-JUg/s1600/DSC_0166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOjrkK4KDWehr6pJMRvSCN5rB4RKbBBxN_Qw-5j51XyRnKtMkX132zNx5D2cJGl6gcYAwqa90LU1VnTU2PAb6-stWMfQTJCFBxmm8uN1_24CnHIQC8bREHapDXpZhX1uztk_Kmv4-JUg/s320/DSC_0166.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rwandan Wilderness</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORRVqYldf9T_gN2xVQ4QEgsnKo76-6smp_K9_eCIcFaU3qxWIXQrud6v13kjC51muuuC7xjO4htymXEk7Y11anIRcyLXvsN1swK8MgdkYtMsUmmYlWBWoPBF9jBFVaghnFKuVUZd1L-U/s320/DSC_0077.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rustic meeting hall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpk3FwWoOwQkkjUJcDafyyQLZ2ltjISeo73XzHzTfGpuY5d9o83Yr5nLDqp6RpRdzfCAuKPXl1jkrk35j6MADnugmCfUXVV7ClP4TM2Vz4ximniyj1XtsfCvK3guXKy0OWiXLGsEmzOI/s1600/DSC_0081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpk3FwWoOwQkkjUJcDafyyQLZ2ltjISeo73XzHzTfGpuY5d9o83Yr5nLDqp6RpRdzfCAuKPXl1jkrk35j6MADnugmCfUXVV7ClP4TM2Vz4ximniyj1XtsfCvK3guXKy0OWiXLGsEmzOI/s320/DSC_0081.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The building had a room on the left where we worshipped, this room where we ate meals and played games, as well as a large kitchen in the back.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-8fzfF3adxchHJjLtugDzToDiOdZ-g3HTQ-POoD2jTVd8IdzaQjeUkDgZsLKjEW25fydOBOXYGXTrGVYWRpeGiPf_KcC0nmJEh0l3_QdUK6SVoZgMCf-GP1VxKm4dqqgA4gzekQEicw/s1600/DSC_0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-8fzfF3adxchHJjLtugDzToDiOdZ-g3HTQ-POoD2jTVd8IdzaQjeUkDgZsLKjEW25fydOBOXYGXTrGVYWRpeGiPf_KcC0nmJEh0l3_QdUK6SVoZgMCf-GP1VxKm4dqqgA4gzekQEicw/s320/DSC_0070.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With the tents so close to each other, we could really hear everything. It was an interesting insight into family dynamics. I've never been more thankful to be single with no kids! Young boy named Cannon:"Dad, I dropped my toothbrush in the dirt!" Dad:"Cannon! (sigh) Honey, Cannon dropped his toothbrush." Mom:"Well, wash it off with some clean water. Look, it's not that bad. Cannon, you gotta be more careful. Who left this wet towel on my bed?" </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYB2xF5DZxPW8ElEdJIC7cG3L9Bz2MAc0JclZImwdiTXWqoxBxXbqjENyzsV4_5t_B0tqFph47L9BKUvJB3aQUQ0ITm_J7NSQ5kIyTa44c6M97p-Qxe_2B5gHr1Hl3jKRgc2_Jj09-H2o/s1600/DSC_0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYB2xF5DZxPW8ElEdJIC7cG3L9Bz2MAc0JclZImwdiTXWqoxBxXbqjENyzsV4_5t_B0tqFph47L9BKUvJB3aQUQ0ITm_J7NSQ5kIyTa44c6M97p-Qxe_2B5gHr1Hl3jKRgc2_Jj09-H2o/s320/DSC_0068.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was designed to be a four person tent, but I am so glad there were only two of us sharing the space. It was a bonding experience!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phillip and Amiee Woodard, our tent neighbors, were part of the visiting team from The Hills Church of Christ and were there with their three kids.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ8Mqq1i0SBrfn8kEsSr6YHhd3PGZuSC4VqiBe_nAfaJwa6w92wVMwPsV4Pi0lNF6B7hltK2-1xFrBemZTAsPjme_cX334Yi23E6KddyhyO69lsxkXcfVVI1LZg71yc8MH8rtWrqdviU/s1600/DSC_0100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ8Mqq1i0SBrfn8kEsSr6YHhd3PGZuSC4VqiBe_nAfaJwa6w92wVMwPsV4Pi0lNF6B7hltK2-1xFrBemZTAsPjme_cX334Yi23E6KddyhyO69lsxkXcfVVI1LZg71yc8MH8rtWrqdviU/s320/DSC_0100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Reeves, a family of 6, shared one tent. And, they were still speaking to each other by the end of week!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhASv7vl7odNqXilcAFzXOjhyphenhyphenlVPnHVnWc7TJZZ8F_a1eHjb3c3n__tO6wbqTKRZRGlwcBDN5TpTX1eD-uolvF_VQ_sxkdnawyiJBUGhi3x8E_uClvrk02THq4kzjt-clsDPjEKUkT2w/s1600/DSC_0118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhASv7vl7odNqXilcAFzXOjhyphenhyphenlVPnHVnWc7TJZZ8F_a1eHjb3c3n__tO6wbqTKRZRGlwcBDN5TpTX1eD-uolvF_VQ_sxkdnawyiJBUGhi3x8E_uClvrk02THq4kzjt-clsDPjEKUkT2w/s320/DSC_0118.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Kivu borders Rwanda on the west and the D.R. Congo on the east. Some of the kids line up to jump off a make-shift diving board.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw_kyvEBPV2D8yUTPSvHjBkArgHMYe74XGnNzy2wmfMWxtuWtz-6NaqOIadyDIXoGai3fZrCKoByJC8xQJk52vG3mfM66fol0LkS7e2Mo0a88AxgYEgTGBNcQRlUHS0niiCx5ZL0ISjA/s1600/DSC_0121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw_kyvEBPV2D8yUTPSvHjBkArgHMYe74XGnNzy2wmfMWxtuWtz-6NaqOIadyDIXoGai3fZrCKoByJC8xQJk52vG3mfM66fol0LkS7e2Mo0a88AxgYEgTGBNcQRlUHS0niiCx5ZL0ISjA/s320/DSC_0121.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lake was very clean! No leaches or snakes! And, only a really slim chance of catching that weird snail bacteria thing.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Ps-55-7" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></span></span></div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-2692407058457407212012-06-26T08:54:00.000-04:002012-06-26T08:54:06.582-04:00If you give a bug a bean . . .<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Matt and Andrea Miller have a beautiful woven straw living-room set. The coffee table is slightly concave in the middle with glass over the top, which leaves a nice, creative space between the coffee table and glass. A few weeks ago, in spite of Andrea’s hesitation, Matt bought 15 kilos of multicolored beans to fill the space and it looked great! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Unbeknownst to Matt, there were a few bugs hiding in those beans when he bought them at the local market. Over the course of a few weeks, those bugs multiplied and gorged themselves on the plentiful beans in the coffee table. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I arrived at the Miller house last week, the Miller’s and the Bean Bugs were engaged in an all out war. Matt had just gone on the offensive by spraying bug poison under the glass. As a result, the bean bugs were crawling out and dying in droves. It appeared that Matt was winning. However, the next day it became clear that Matt’s toxic assault didn’t totally wipe out the enemy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A Miller Family Summit was convened and all agreed that the only way to achieve complete victory was to radically dispose of all the beans, thus depriving the bean bugs of their food source. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So, all 15 kilos of beans along with hundreds of plump but defeated bean bugs were scooped out of the table and hauled away in paper sacks with the trash. As an act of ultimate dominance, Matt carried the once lush bean bug habitat outside and invaded every nook and cranny with a dust broom and poisonous spray. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I returned to the Miller house on Sunday to find only a few resolute and resourceful bean bugs that had survived Matt’s “search and destroy” mission. My response was swift and blunt. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today, the bean bugs only inhabit our memory while three, bug-free baskets inhabit the coffee table.</span> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAr3eLW1qj6XhgaN0AL51-J_jBQC76h8ZgehvkG2O_CkpQtY-6BOOo7oNf2cuGBuACpy0ZMNbDxmcy4ApSOAvhr_xVGFgZP8qitBk8F2rHhfogmW76bZp4InAvJSTfTczmqoMKQIaEhw/s320/DSC_0033.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bean bug free living room!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjwsfPOKeruimLIPFHAMCGAWl2j2ZeUxd9fHxIi1_SbGXC3woq1hImS5H3OKoyRGe0WlXbxNwLm2PcmUej9GNvp2tsiVP5W2HV3jtbqrv8ze5XnetpBjcOOUCAVP-l0xu6MXufvZw8ns/s1600/DSC_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjwsfPOKeruimLIPFHAMCGAWl2j2ZeUxd9fHxIi1_SbGXC3woq1hImS5H3OKoyRGe0WlXbxNwLm2PcmUej9GNvp2tsiVP5W2HV3jtbqrv8ze5XnetpBjcOOUCAVP-l0xu6MXufvZw8ns/s320/DSC_0032.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My room at the Miller's.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAr3eLW1qj6XhgaN0AL51-J_jBQC76h8ZgehvkG2O_CkpQtY-6BOOo7oNf2cuGBuACpy0ZMNbDxmcy4ApSOAvhr_xVGFgZP8qitBk8F2rHhfogmW76bZp4InAvJSTfTczmqoMKQIaEhw/s1600/DSC_0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"> </span></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHijsm5kNW0LUHoWzFSIGCdM6Xcllntk0eka3mGCC2ARRPsjmS-nKamwO6G6H-FqbHNGgZ8-eTWRKHGr2gQWO90HmoA_qVyZQy0Jm2_P61YxNZkFFrv-twv_uX2uiQ5o_U_NMfgftq4FQ/s320/DSC_0035.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aidan going out for a bike ride after school. The Miller's are renting a duplex, using one side as bedrooms and kitchen and the other side as an office, dining room, living room, guest room, and storage room. The "other side" is where I stay and where we have school.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfL8clkGcQ0324wQGBNTxWGxjwa92gsbysBUc0DwMb3X0cSHnEEkzpO3Nq4xfEzQZgRyUsnjBD6Jpnpp3roqxyPt_NauChSI8KYq5En3FH9gD26xT-5bnyYGnz4L0fYfABZaLqTjwTyo/s1600/DSC_0036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfL8clkGcQ0324wQGBNTxWGxjwa92gsbysBUc0DwMb3X0cSHnEEkzpO3Nq4xfEzQZgRyUsnjBD6Jpnpp3roqxyPt_NauChSI8KYq5En3FH9gD26xT-5bnyYGnz4L0fYfABZaLqTjwTyo/s320/DSC_0036.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asher doing school work at the dining room table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2oVlMHrVDzMOMoGtGu88eCNMw-F1uTuujbw3tOuF3Fk0YNvhcLdo0arzlp_aufcRAGLHVEDDRgCG4rDwP8hbi5khwNRTgqiJJpJQdbGbOgXYkR-3nhyphenhyphenvSUsDX6yOgItckAn0cwcwPhk/s1600/DSC_0037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2oVlMHrVDzMOMoGtGu88eCNMw-F1uTuujbw3tOuF3Fk0YNvhcLdo0arzlp_aufcRAGLHVEDDRgCG4rDwP8hbi5khwNRTgqiJJpJQdbGbOgXYkR-3nhyphenhyphenvSUsDX6yOgItckAn0cwcwPhk/s320/DSC_0037.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Miller house. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPT_w6zqjVbKFgI3apvF9ZbbSftxZ65rSZFDAxhL0p-F6WcC4b4xkndedL0YLuPiDuJvaZzLKUeB1Kxa1-zepLUJyuDxQQ86WGa_hTlFOAlSYvBDR_NZoxVwhtfo_EdMhkdH3toWC3u5U/s1600/DSC_0042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPT_w6zqjVbKFgI3apvF9ZbbSftxZ65rSZFDAxhL0p-F6WcC4b4xkndedL0YLuPiDuJvaZzLKUeB1Kxa1-zepLUJyuDxQQ86WGa_hTlFOAlSYvBDR_NZoxVwhtfo_EdMhkdH3toWC3u5U/s320/DSC_0042.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby is stringing beans while she skypes with a friend in Birmingham.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIfTLFWRuQvqs7_W194DqdGULtp-SOmE-LQrHPwSWfuzfhjesrGU0BKsy-MbIP9PLO-7nHb-SnFigYrp8-RQW5KCD0QDVrqfiMbmlp_d0-lzh97-v2tibJXJ3FxhDyrqt_bhvJsRMkMs/s1600/DSC_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIfTLFWRuQvqs7_W194DqdGULtp-SOmE-LQrHPwSWfuzfhjesrGU0BKsy-MbIP9PLO-7nHb-SnFigYrp8-RQW5KCD0QDVrqfiMbmlp_d0-lzh97-v2tibJXJ3FxhDyrqt_bhvJsRMkMs/s320/DSC_0046.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna Marie in her boots, ready to go on a walk.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrvHCbcOGuI57_f3dLQw_vsQViTmjNtFgNBf_y0YxIIjH8wHNfG1ifrtO8JnwatxYl8x_fORqH2LXVota0HueZxeRO7LAQpGxl7kqbee7tEuZJw2W72psuC691RZKpzW0kbmdxheRqc0o/s1600/DSC_0048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrvHCbcOGuI57_f3dLQw_vsQViTmjNtFgNBf_y0YxIIjH8wHNfG1ifrtO8JnwatxYl8x_fORqH2LXVota0HueZxeRO7LAQpGxl7kqbee7tEuZJw2W72psuC691RZKpzW0kbmdxheRqc0o/s320/DSC_0048.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The roof of the Miller house as seen from the road.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2IJWo-4kAeN03ARCCPyPRRqWsVoe1Sdu9GFy9DyqQEvVdsxKGHEBp4SVVeQ2uy554I7SBu1JJK3zYQLhlJzTdEbQV-XsX77FpYtbcW3S2DHWMGgkPg8h7DJPmZGVSOhjJZkkQ98fpqk/s1600/DSC_0055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2IJWo-4kAeN03ARCCPyPRRqWsVoe1Sdu9GFy9DyqQEvVdsxKGHEBp4SVVeQ2uy554I7SBu1JJK3zYQLhlJzTdEbQV-XsX77FpYtbcW3S2DHWMGgkPg8h7DJPmZGVSOhjJZkkQ98fpqk/s320/DSC_0055.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictures from my walk with Anna Marie. This boy and the one below were tending a small herd of goats.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckiI0TEjyFSCgJHdSqRpTuAHAJRFbYmoddXnHNLwDqLP0Gs9TOKCHYPFIykuTfnliXJv2Orx_bHi_EIfeUF8VPYgva_WikbED3g5vURej35aVFB0QacEP8SOoXO7f_kR9_NYTfis2vl4/s1600/DSC_0056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckiI0TEjyFSCgJHdSqRpTuAHAJRFbYmoddXnHNLwDqLP0Gs9TOKCHYPFIykuTfnliXJv2Orx_bHi_EIfeUF8VPYgva_WikbED3g5vURej35aVFB0QacEP8SOoXO7f_kR9_NYTfis2vl4/s320/DSC_0056.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDm07TLBFmntPojQEzk-iHs8fM32PV4JmCWk1FY4fgn0SnWyKScAytgPWnwYgJaJbLusFiD3yootwXZmxoaRJqXp2iHLOln18K_Z3tbIf-2b0jRnHIuKoftY7EGmOL5Cb5PBSkRLfk6s/s1600/DSC_0062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDm07TLBFmntPojQEzk-iHs8fM32PV4JmCWk1FY4fgn0SnWyKScAytgPWnwYgJaJbLusFiD3yootwXZmxoaRJqXp2iHLOln18K_Z3tbIf-2b0jRnHIuKoftY7EGmOL5Cb5PBSkRLfk6s/s320/DSC_0062.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We loved watching the goats and picking out the prettiest ones.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The oven is in the office - another story for another time.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-9225214319645348822012-06-24T09:15:00.001-04:002012-06-24T15:10:36.929-04:00Ntakibaso (not-chee-boz-o) . . . No Problem<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Are you getting settled?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That’s the question that I’ve heard most often through emails and from folks here in Rwanda. The quick answer is “No, but that’s ok.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It’s a good thing that one of my greatest strengths is adaptability! Since I arrived last week, I haven’t spent more than four nights in the same place. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My schedule for the next three weeks is to spend Sunday night - Tuesday night with the Miller family who lives in a village about 30 minutes south of Kigali. They have a very simple home and I was surprised to get my own room! While at the Miller’s, I am helping three of their four kids finish the current school year. My day starts at 6:30am with either a cold shower (if the water is on) or a steaming hot sponge bath. After getting ready, I have about thirty minutes or so of quiet time with God and looking over the day’s lessons. About 7:45 or 8:00 we all sit down and enjoy the breakfast that Andrea Miller has prepared. School starts after breakfast has been cleaned up. We break around 12:30 for another delicious Andrea Miller meal. School will last until 2:30 or 3:00 depending on how difficult the day’s lessons are. The afternoons are always different. The whole Miller family will usually squeeze in language training. Andrea finds time to prepare another delicious meal. (Really, I don't see how Andrea has time for much else beside cooking!) Last week, I joined Abby, who is 13 years old and the oldest Miller kid, for a bike ride. And, Abby promised me another bike ride this week! Hopefully, I'll have pictures to share on the next blog! There's also a whole story about bean bugs - but I'll save that for later.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So three days with the Millers, then I switch to the Crowsons in Kigali. While in Kigali, I am staying at a quaint guest house run by nuns and I am sharing a quaint room with my friend Jessie, who is spending a year in Kigali working with Let’s Start Talking. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thursday - Saturday I work one-on-one with the Crowson boys who are diligently working hard to finish their school year before the next on starts in September. My days are similar as described above but my evenings are usually spent with Jessie or other Americans who are also staying at the same guest house. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today is Sunday, so I am re-packing and looking forward to spending the next three days with the Millers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So far I have been blessed with great health, good rest, respectful students and the ability to remember Jr. High Algebra. I’ve got my iphone unlocked and working on the local network! I even had a delicious BBQ Pork sandwich for lunch today! I miss home and family like crazy. My laundry is starting to pile up and I still have thank-you notes to write to some of you who have sent in financial donations. But, the Lord had blessed me with courage and joy renewed each morning. While I’m not physically settled, my spirit is a peace. That’s why it is all ok! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here are some pictures of the guesthouse in Kigali.</span></span></div>
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It has rained today, so everything is looking especially green and saturated with color!<br />
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Now, welcome to our confusion in our small living space! Jessie uses the front room and I use the back room. Luckily we have a private toilet that we share! We even have hot showers on most days!<br />
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I am standing in the bathroom doorway. To the right is the tiny shower and to the left is the toilet. The sink is straight in front of me. <br />
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Here is my room - luggage and all. It would drive my super organized sister-in-law batty and my mom could clean in here for days, but I just try to ignore the mess and am thankful for a comfy room. <br />
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This is from the doorway of the back room looking forward. And, that's Jessie who is also living out of luggage and trunks like me.<br />
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Just outside our door is beautiful Kigali! <br />
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It is Sunday here and there are lots of visitors who come to worship with the nuns who run this guesthouse. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rwanda is the "Land of a Thousand Hills". And on the next hill over from our guesthouse is the airport. See the tail of the airplane in the center of the picture? So, hearing jets fly over helps me think of Atlanta and makes be feel at home!</span></div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-60177851766198064182012-06-15T08:16:00.000-04:002012-06-15T08:16:09.132-04:00What happened to all that faith and courage?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda last night along with all of my luggage! My journey was thankfully very smooth. I made all my connections despite one long flight delay. The hardest part of the journey was saying goodbye to family in Atlanta. Maybe it is just the heightened state of my emotions from saying goodbye to family and friends for the past three weeks or the build-up of stress over finances, buying supplies, and packing. But, I was unusually teary. I cried through airport security and through most of the flight from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. Even the flight attendant asked if I was ok. And, I was even though the words could barely be spoken because I knew that Jesus was holding my hands and keeping me steady.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Matthew 14:28-31</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Then Peter called to him, ‘Lord if its really you tell me to come to you, walking on the water.’ ‘Yes, come,’ said Jesus. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. ‘You have so little faith,’ Jesus said, ‘Why did you doubt me?’ ” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Like you, I have heard so many lessons on these verses. Most of the lessons focus on challenging us to have the courage to get out of the boat and follow through on something the Lord is calling us to do. As if getting out of the boat is hardest part. Don’t get me wrong, getting out of the boat (i.e. our comfort zone) is a giant step of faith and courage. But, what about the part where Peter realizes that he is walking on unstable ground and becomes terrified? Peter got out of the boat with courage and faith. So, how did it suddenly all disappear? </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Over the past three weeks, I have been in that terrified state. I have taken my eyes off of Jesus and been captivated by the unstable environment surrounding me. I have doubted my call to Rwanda and given in to fear and defeat. What happened to my courage and faith?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, we all know the end of Peter’s story. Peter shouts out to Jesus, “Save me, Lord”. (Funny, Jesus is standing right there and sees Peter sinking, but Jesus doesn’t help until Peter desperately calls out.) And immediately Jesus grabs Peter. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I imagine this is like a young child learning to ride a bike. Feeling wobbly, the child pleads with his parents, “Don’t let go! Please, don’t let me fall!” And the parents, assuring the child, “I am right here. I won’t let you fall. Trust me and just watch where you are going!” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The morning of my flight to Rwanda, I listened to a podcast that reminded me to follow Peter’s example and call out to Jesus when I find myself on unsteady ground. So, that’s what I did. On United Airlines flight 3786, in seat 10C, I whispered, “Jesus, Lord, save me! Don’t let me drown in this fear.” Through my tears, I whispered this over and over again. Of course, I whispered because I imagine if I shouted it out like Peter did, I would still be in the custody of airport security as I type! I cried out and immediately, Jesus grabbed me.</span></div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-62854848674754720252012-05-03T23:56:00.001-04:002012-05-03T23:56:23.140-04:00Big News!The rumors are true . . . I'm moving to Africa again.<br />
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I'll be working with the African Transformation Network in Rwanda. My time will be split between helping 2 American families with homeschooling their kids and working with a Bible-based English literacy program in Rwandan schools. <br />
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I leave on June 13th and will initially live in the capital city of Kigali until August or September when I will move with two American families (the Miller's and the Crowson's) to the small town of Musanze.<br />
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I am committed to stay for 12 months (with a heart open to the possibility of more).<br />
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The Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth, TX has agreed to be my "sending" church and I will be serving as a "missionary specialist". <br />
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More details and updates to follow. If you have questions, please ask post them as a comment.Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-5640450246524470282011-09-12T11:42:00.001-04:002011-09-12T11:42:19.236-04:00Friday, September 9thFriday the 9th was a day of firsts. Actually, it seems that I am experiencing a lot of firsts here in Beijing. Of the 18 different people I have read with, 5 of them said the name of Jesus for the first time while we were reading together. "Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing. Keeps me singing as I go." <p>First things first.<p>On the 9th, I spent over 8 hours reading the Bible with 7 different people. My first reader of the day, 15 year old Rita, had just finished going through LST's "Acts" workbook, so on Friday, she read from the Gospel of John for the first time ever. <p>The next hour, was Yo-Yo who was reading the "Lord's Prayer" for the first time. After our reading session I asked her if she wanted to pray with me. She nervously agreed and I began to pray. It wasn't the first time she had heard someone pray - Yo-Yo had attended her first church-service only a month ago and she remembered a prayer about some juice and crackers, she wasn't sure what it was all about. But, after I prayed she held my hand as she spoke her first-ever prayer to God. <p>Later that day I met with Jessie who was eager to read the last few chapters of the story of Joseph. For the first time, she read how Joseph openly wept and forgave his brothers that had once sold him into slavery. <p>After Jessie, I read with Bush, a 25 year old guy who read the Bible for the first time just 4 months ago. On Friday, Bush read about not being able to serve both God and money. As is typical of Bush and many of my Chinese readers, he related the lesson to an ancient Chinese proverb: "On one mountain there can not exist two tigers." The idea of focusing your life on something greater than just building up personal wealth was nothing new for Bush. So, he wanted to continue discussing what we had talked about the day before - The Prodigal Son. Forgiveness of the younger son seemed way too easy. And the older son had done just what every good Chinese man does - focus on their work, get the job done and work quietly as they anticipate, except, and rightly deserve a reward. Shifting our discussion, I asked Bush about his relationship with his own dad and as we talked, Bush admitted out loud for the first time that he had never heard his father say "I love you" or "I'm proud of you". He went on to acknowledge that his drive towards achievement was his own way of trying to earn and be worthy of his father's love. I could hardly keep from letting the tears gush out. Then for the first time, Bush heard about God's love for him. Among several verses, together we read and discussed Zephaniah 3:17 and for the first time, Bush didn't have a Chinese proverb to relate to this lesson.<p>At 8:00pm, I sat down with my 8th and last reader of the day. Ethan, a forty year old physician turned pharmaceutical researcher has been reading with LST workers for over a year. Currently reading through Acts, Ethan's last session with a previous LST'er was about those who followed Jesus after Pentecost - Acts 2:42-47. His first words to me were "So, have you sold everything you own and given all your money to the poor?" I won't go into the details of our long discussion which was less of a discussion since I was mostly asking lots of open ended questions and Ethan was processing and reaching his own conclusions. (I think I watch too much TV because sometimes as I think of questions to ask a reader in order to engage them more deeply into the Scriptures, a voice in my head says 'Objection! Leading the witness!') Anyways, one thing led to another which led to Psalm 23. And for the first time in his very educated life, Ethan read a Psalm - Psalm 23. When he finished he just stared at the words and said "Wow. Beautiful." Again, I had to restrain the tears, but it didn't matter cause Ethan couldn't take his eyes off the words of Psalm 23. Can you blame him?<p>"The Lord is my Shepard. I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-43461393590793915152011-09-05T12:59:00.001-04:002012-05-03T23:59:22.305-04:00Beijing Birthday<div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Thursday, September 1, 2011</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Birthday.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">8-31-11 was my 30th birthday. Determined not to waste the opportunity to make it truly memorable, my teammates and I planned out a fun filled day in Beijing. Two of our readers, a mother and daughter, agreed to be our tour guides for the day - which was a great relief because their presence meant that I didn't have to assume my default role as navigator. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">We all got up early and rode a bus to the Temple of Heaven. I decided to skip the temple and opted for the nearby Pearl Market where I ended up watching hundreds go by on bicycles as I waited for the market to open and contemplated how much weight I could lose if I rode my bike to work everyday . . of course, this only reminded me that I was 30 and didn't have a job to ride a bike to. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">By 10:00 am, we had regrouped and hopped on another bus to Tiananmen Square. Somehow the large city bus squeezed through the heavy traffic and deposited us just across the street from Tiananmen. Taking lots of photos of this and that, we made our way across the square, and to the front of The Forbidden City. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Walking through the Forbidden City felt a bit like a magic show. Each time we would walk through a large gate with enormous red doors, there would be a large square to walk across and an impressive ancient looking chinese building at the top of some stairs. Then we'd walk around the building only to find another large gate with enormous red doors and walk across another large square and up more stairs to another impressive ancient chinese building. Behind that building was another large gate and so on . . Eventually, the magic show ended and like Alice in Wonderland, we found ourselves in a beautiful garden where we all lost track of each other. After a short time (cause we were all very hungry by now) we finally found each other again and together found the last gate which led us to the street. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">We hopped on yet another city bus which took us to a subway station where we found an actual Subway Restaurant. The Americans were tired and just wanted something light, like a sandwich. Our Chinese guides were tired and just wanted something light like some hot vegetables with rice (we couldn't convince them to even try a Subway sandwich)! Eventually we all got just what we wanted and made our way back home after a short subway ride.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">After saying thank you over and over again to our chinese friends, we finally made it back inside our little Beijing apartment. We got cleaned up and literally hung up our sweat-drenched clothes to dry. Seriously, the humidity was worse than taking a hot shower in a green-house in Savannah, Georgia in July. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">There was a knock on our door at 4:00 and it turned out that my teammates had arranged for the local Dairy Queen (yes, a REAL one) to deliver a cake for my birthday. So we had ice-cream cake for dinner before heading out again to go to the Chinese Acrobatic Show. Despite being an obvious tourist magnet, the mini Cirque-du-Soleil show was impressive and yet another reminder of many things that I will never be able to do.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">After the show, the four of us decided to forego the planned normal taxi ride back to the apartment and opt for a rick-shaw style taxi instead. Of course, we didn't realize our drivers were trained in military combat maneuvers. The exciting and sometimes terrifying ride produced sudden screams and fits laughter - a perfect way to end any 30th birthday. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> The bikes were endless!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9dSDv2FSgY2z465SJANTO9KnhKmymjo4PFKHjlsqmAKZjF5CHS4HjZHaGV6a1z9rivkfXN1RQy3Ild_MIoVss7SsBLA3_Do5D05AAgkm6RV4Waf7eOmaxvj60VnUwGm1TfPxtWi1ZJE/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9dSDv2FSgY2z465SJANTO9KnhKmymjo4PFKHjlsqmAKZjF5CHS4HjZHaGV6a1z9rivkfXN1RQy3Ild_MIoVss7SsBLA3_Do5D05AAgkm6RV4Waf7eOmaxvj60VnUwGm1TfPxtWi1ZJE/s320/DSC_0067.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Me at Tiananmen Square.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjMHYjBuXG0tWoCLWWfObK7P7gRqJiTG0ww7z-6RVvLz3EomaUtIBhCFlVNGEhF4Xz9HhjeHdp0wEpkkdgQda2whjY9HZGD9Ds88rI3aedG35UC0U2IxdIDd0xT3oWpQ-KK0T-n7Qg_o/s1600/DSC_0072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjMHYjBuXG0tWoCLWWfObK7P7gRqJiTG0ww7z-6RVvLz3EomaUtIBhCFlVNGEhF4Xz9HhjeHdp0wEpkkdgQda2whjY9HZGD9Ds88rI3aedG35UC0U2IxdIDd0xT3oWpQ-KK0T-n7Qg_o/s320/DSC_0072.jpg" width="260" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> What I saw at Tiananmen Square . . . A little of this . . .</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSI3pEs6IUKcQhWj7CdZnmwyqwcxQuiao7ZaSutFax_wH5WhwvfXqAjmWVhSkZ3A9zrtTWUARil1T0Ii87wPpJ5OYmBmbH_l4YSquWVITtplhAx7R5rF88OzgvtEydONHLgyzuEiXQb4/s1600/DSC_0085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSI3pEs6IUKcQhWj7CdZnmwyqwcxQuiao7ZaSutFax_wH5WhwvfXqAjmWVhSkZ3A9zrtTWUARil1T0Ii87wPpJ5OYmBmbH_l4YSquWVITtplhAx7R5rF88OzgvtEydONHLgyzuEiXQb4/s320/DSC_0085.jpg" width="214" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And a little of that.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09O8nd_WuNiQv3CKRqZkS_BD8cPLQuPngwoeoNI2zAKNCKovrEfj58vjZkqvhPFMyut811z7ke5X6dxWewLcE-_cxjSeYwqvIW4XV8nTv1kfrUG8Y9Aq7J0zaX4xm78KDXImKPP8VhEs/s1600/DSC_0090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09O8nd_WuNiQv3CKRqZkS_BD8cPLQuPngwoeoNI2zAKNCKovrEfj58vjZkqvhPFMyut811z7ke5X6dxWewLcE-_cxjSeYwqvIW4XV8nTv1kfrUG8Y9Aq7J0zaX4xm78KDXImKPP8VhEs/s320/DSC_0090.jpg" width="214" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Just one of the big red gates. Luckily they were all already opened for us, cause the looked really heavy.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACXjvnKUX4EGa-gyaW4QD_F7Js53f4wDijK7naRtfDFDih1qSmQRGdGixhXzqX0-lrIglMvxtaViY2ET695dKtAGg8PfxQXTHqnPphZClB-cv-RDtJYIRMXHKA-aeuXzseCEDlIFekKs/s1600/DSC_0110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACXjvnKUX4EGa-gyaW4QD_F7Js53f4wDijK7naRtfDFDih1qSmQRGdGixhXzqX0-lrIglMvxtaViY2ET695dKtAGg8PfxQXTHqnPphZClB-cv-RDtJYIRMXHKA-aeuXzseCEDlIFekKs/s320/DSC_0110.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">The crowds at the Forbidden City.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Our chinese tour guides for the day!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaAo7-DYUknMtibyk0_1ZS1Z1yue4yo0QwjQ_VUwL6nDbfzX9d8gdawmuSf0rE1aZORaNudcSRZIQNLf9eSEIvh5VIc9Hc_EbvL2CJc19e7dEw7XKewnOgVQGCUI5Cpv45MQWUhOuW-4/s1600/DSC_0264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaAo7-DYUknMtibyk0_1ZS1Z1yue4yo0QwjQ_VUwL6nDbfzX9d8gdawmuSf0rE1aZORaNudcSRZIQNLf9eSEIvh5VIc9Hc_EbvL2CJc19e7dEw7XKewnOgVQGCUI5Cpv45MQWUhOuW-4/s320/DSC_0264.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Our team.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Oh, the wonderful site of a real Subway! We were so thrilled!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Icecream cake!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhytgk7LHyF-ieylpikYnaDQqG0Er6Sv81EimZ-KlKQ28DtyBwW4S4rUA1dYQlBNZQcM1cw3cAzQDTbqAiM9c3loN1NQIO5vaxFyz7dE_7LB_RQKClUJAbE410lqo7JMc6MBeLdlJJtAg/s1600/IMG_3701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhytgk7LHyF-ieylpikYnaDQqG0Er6Sv81EimZ-KlKQ28DtyBwW4S4rUA1dYQlBNZQcM1cw3cAzQDTbqAiM9c3loN1NQIO5vaxFyz7dE_7LB_RQKClUJAbE410lqo7JMc6MBeLdlJJtAg/s320/IMG_3701.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Riding a bicycle with no hands on the steering wheel . . . one of many things that I will never be able to do.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltzX4erHSwgWan7AzFhX_cRdGujSiAkvTo74QJDSm1Ag6cI0x97NEChS9XJwzX49TtqbTjQGSeFhnwZSVmp4Zq62tuWlEZeNSCWQJ0z0iNxeFMfeRjFx-QhFubMcht89hdsH_ZBHWNZ0/s1600/IMG_3718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltzX4erHSwgWan7AzFhX_cRdGujSiAkvTo74QJDSm1Ag6cI0x97NEChS9XJwzX49TtqbTjQGSeFhnwZSVmp4Zq62tuWlEZeNSCWQJ0z0iNxeFMfeRjFx-QhFubMcht89hdsH_ZBHWNZ0/s320/IMG_3718.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our driver looked this tired before we drove the several miles to our apartment...</span>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-8528534132385759962011-08-29T06:25:00.000-04:002011-08-29T06:26:04.177-04:00Divine Appointments and VickiRight before I left Dallas, I got a text from a friend who said they were praying for "divine appointments" for me during my trip to China. That phrase has been on my mind ever since and I have tried to be aware of, receptive to, and prepared for "divine appointments". <p>Vicki (and family).<p>Beautiful, tan, and just the right amount of skinny, Vicki, a mom of 5, was squeezed between me and the car seat her youngest child was strapped into. Three of her kids sat in front of us and her other two kids (he only daughter and husband) sat across the aisle. Dallas to Detroit; It was the first leg of my long journey to Beijing. <p>As a rule, I generally introduce myself to my neighbor as soon as I buckle my seatbelt. I mean, if we are going to be sitting thigh-to-thigh for a few hours, it is only proper to know each other's name. But, as I sat down next to Vicki, I immediately started asking all the usual questions about her kids and if they travel often as a family and if they are from Texas or just visiting. After 10 minutes of chit-chat, I begin to think that Vicki may be a "divine appointment". <p>Already, through our conversation, I could tell that she was a christian. So, I began to ask deeper questions. Like, how did she know her husband was "the one"; and what is her favorite quality about her husband; what sort of marriage advice she wished she had heard before they got married; what kind of Bible studies she was involved in; and what are some of the spiritual and emotional challenges to being a mom to five young kids. You know, those types of questions that a complete stranger on an airplane really shouldn't ask you. But, I was feeling bold and thought that Vicki had something to teach me. <p>Vicki was so kind and open, sharing many personal stories. One of the things she shared is that marriage isn't always rainbows and sunshine. No matter how strong of a relationship or how passionate a love the most important thing in a marriage is sharing a foundation built on Jesus. A marriage built on the firm foundation of Jesus can survive storms. The hardest part is choosing to never ever give up. <p>What a great lesson! And, it is one that I have shared recently with different readers when we get to Luke 6:46-47. The storms of life (or marriage) come no matter if you are a Christian or not. You can't prevent storms. But a life centered around belief in Jesus and doing what he says, builds a strong foundation of faith ready to survive the storms. Or, as one of my readers put it, faith in Jesus makes the roots of your life grow long and deep into the ground so that you won't be blown over when the strong winds come. Wish I could have kept the drawing that accompanied this insightful summation. <p>In my mind, sitting next to Vicki was a "divine appointment". Our brief time together was like adding a little extra reenforcement to my foundation of faith.Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-90294487266463388642011-08-25T21:24:00.001-04:002011-08-25T21:36:57.699-04:00Finally Catching my Breath<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This is Julie's SIL posting for her. She is unable to access her blog from China. This is an update from several days ago. </div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It is Tuesday night here in Beijing. I arrived safely on Saturday night and have stayed busy ever since! There is so much to share and I am tempted to blurt it all out at once - but instead, I will take a deep breath <sigh> and share one story at a time.</sigh></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_5_1314321319942138" style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div id="yui_3_2_0_5_1314321319942135"><div id="yui_3_2_0_5_1314321319942132" style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br />
We began our reading sessions on Monday and I read with 5 women. Each on varying levels of interest in and prior knowledge of The Bible - but all excited to have a chance to practice their English skills, which are also at varying levels. <br />
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Dawn.<br />
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Like I said before, it is Tuesday night and I just finished a long day of reading. This afternoon I had my second reading session with Dawn. Dawn is 36 years old, married to a successful stock broker and lives on the 26th floor of the building next to where I am staying. Earlier today she texted me (my teammates and I were issued cell phones when we arrived and like in America, everyone here texts instead of calling) and asked if we could meet at her home instead of the KFC (yes, a real Kentucky Fried Chicken and no, I haven't eaten there yet) where we usually meet our readers. I was thrilled to say yes. Not only because KFC can get loud and crowded or because KFC is farther away or because KFC smells like they just painted the walls - but, just like in the U.S., it is such a treat to be in someone's home and I jumped at the chance to see a typical Chinese home.<br />
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Dawn first learned English about 15 years ago while in university but didn't get a real chance to practice it until about 10 years ago when she signed up for a program that used the Bible as a text to teach English - very similar to Let's Start Talking. So, Dawn has already heard many stories about Jesus - but, that's all they are, just stories. She knows the characters and she knows the plot. I pray that she will come to know and deeply connect to the meaning. <br />
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Today, we read Luke 1:26-38, which is the story of how the angel told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. She was very interested in talking about the word "holy" and what that meant. The word "holy" was much easier to explain than "Holy Spirit" which we also spent some time discussing. We snacked on fresh apples and pears and sipped on some type of juice while we talked and our hour together went by quickly.<br />
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Before leaving, I learned my first Chinese sentence. Ni Hao Ke Ai. (knee-how-ck-I) You are so cute! I got a lot of practice saying this because Dawn has the sweetest 4 month old baby boy!<br />
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</div><div>Dawn and I will read again on Friday. Please pray!<br />
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</div><div>If you want to contact me - please send an email. I can't check my blog (updating via email) or facebook. Email is juliereagan(at)<a href="http://gmail.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">gmail.com</a>.<br />
<div><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></div></div></div><div><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span><br />
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;"><div><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="yiv131277471Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-65834154073411491262011-08-19T12:56:00.000-04:002011-08-19T12:56:17.314-04:00And She's Off!Just incase you're checking in on my long lost blog - I wanted to let you know that (depending on internet access) I'll be posting some new updates regarding my trip to China with Let's Start Talking. I'm leaving today and will be gone for four weeks! <br />
<br />
Check back for updates! Please pray for safety, boldness, and friendship!Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-9095482349238384612010-02-24T22:04:00.004-05:002010-02-24T22:29:00.550-05:0031 Days of OscarTurner Classic Movies is hosting "31 days of Oscar".... a thirty-one day movie marathon of Oscar winning films. I love movies - and have always been a fan of the classics and thought I had seen more than most my age - but this is giving me a chance to watch a lot of great films for the first time. Thank goodness for DVR....I get to record and watch on my own time.<div><br /></div><div>Here is a list of some of the movies I've watched since the first of February - complete with my person rankings. Consider this your next netflicks list....</div><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>5 Stars (Loved It! Highly Recommended)<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--Now, Voyager (1942) Bettye Davis</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">A depressed young woman has a break down and then undergoes a transformation on a world cruise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My Bettye Davis Favorite!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Divorce and custody battles have come a long way.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--On the Waterfront (1954) Marlon Brando</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I coulda been a contenda….”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Marlon Brando – do I need another reason to love this movie??</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>4 Stars (Great! Recommended -Just not a 5 Star)<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--Wuthering Heights (1939) Laurence Oliver</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cathy & Heathcliff’s epic romance that never fails to make my heart race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--Roman Holiday (1953) Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Makes me want to tour Italy on a Vespa. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--North By Northwest (1959) Cary Grant</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">My favorite Alfred Hitchcock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Never realized how creepy Mt. Rushmore looks from the top.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><br /></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>3 Stars (Classic and Worth My Time)<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--War and Peace (1956) Audrey Hepburn & Henry Fonda</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If only all the Russian names didn’t sound alike it would be easier to keep all the characters straight.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--African Queen (1951) Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m so glad I rafted the Nile River on modern rafts and with a life jacket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--A Damsel in Distress (1937) Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">My first George & Gracie movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are hysterical.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--My Favorite Year (1982) Peter O’Toole</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Laughed my head off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A movie depicted a 1950’s version of the TV Show 30 Rock.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--GiGi (1958)</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You can’t just say “Gigi – You got to sing it. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--Bachelor In Paradise (1961) Bob Hope, Lana Turner</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Loved it for the peak into 1960’s fashion, décor, and general life. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--Doctor Zhivago (1965) Julie Christie</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Great story – and educational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Never knew so much about the Russian Revolution.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>2 Stars (Had a few good moments)<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--The Great Escape (1963) Steve McQueen;</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A true story about how British airmen escape from a Nazi prison camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>1 Star (OK, but I skipped through some of the slow parts)<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--The Sunshine Boys (1975) Walter Matthau, George Burns</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Slow plot – but great acting.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--A</b><b>nna Karenina (1947) Vivien Leigh</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To me Vivien Leigh can only be Scarlett O’Hara</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--Executive Suite (1954) June Allyson</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wallstreet of the 1950’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Lots of dialogue. </p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><br /></div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-86350622332056278552009-11-16T17:31:00.002-05:002009-11-16T17:36:46.605-05:00Where have all the Pine Trees gone?<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Slow drivers, flat landscape, cowboy boots, Whataburger, mega-churches and the 101 different taco restaurants echo what I know to be true….I’m not in Georgia anymore. There is not a pine tree in sight. But, within sight are three different Sonics. Sonic is to </span><st1:state st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Texas</span></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> what Waffle House is to </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and what Starbucks is to any urban city. There seem to be two on every corner. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here is the question that any non-Texan is thinking….<b>Julie, why are you in </b></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Texas</b></span></st1:place></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>?</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Well, for those of you who haven’t had the chance to ask me “What are you doing now?” Let me get you up to speed.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, Julie, what are you up to now?</span></span></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I am working for Harmony</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Project International (or HPI) in </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft. Worth</span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, </span><st1:state st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Texas</span></st1:state></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">….at least until the end of January.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Why only till then?</span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">HPI only has the funds to pay me until then. I feel like God has given me a lot of talents and professional skills just for a job like this one….so, I am going to work hard while I am with HPI…whether it is just until the end of January or for the next three years.</span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Cool, what is HPI?</span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">HPI exists to help bridge international outreach efforts of </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Christian</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Churches</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "> and Churches of Christ. It is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Our main function is to act as administrator of funds for projects identified by the HPI Board of Directors. Currently, Livingstone International University (LIU) is our only project. </span></span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Okay. So what do you do for HPI?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">I do whatever needs to be done. I am the only person working full-time for HPI so I get to do a little bit (or a lot) of everything. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Hmmm….I still don’t understand what you do, but tell me about </span></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">LivingStone</span></span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">International</span></span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">University</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "> </span></span></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">I love talking about LIU! LIU was a dream of the missionaries who have been working in </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mbale</span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, </span><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "> for over 15 years. For years, they have been planting the seed of this dream in anyone and everyone. Get this, only 1 in 1,000 people in </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "> will attend university. In 2006, over 55,000 young Ugandans qualified to attend university. Unfortunately, the current situation only has the capacity to educate 34,000 students a year at the university level. Can you imagine….only 34,000 students? That’s roughly the size of my alma mater, the </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">University</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> of </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Georgia</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">. 34,000 students wouldn’t even fill the </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "> football stadium half-way.</span></span></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">While I was working in Mbale, I saw the need and caught the vision of LIU. But, this dream is quickly becoming more of a reality. Last year the government granted permission to legally begin developing and constructing LIU. We have already purchased 60% of the land designated for LIU and we are praying for funds to complete the land transactions. </span></span></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">So, why do you have to be in </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Texas</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> to work with this project?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "> </span></i></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">The majority of funds for HPI have so far come from the </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dallas</span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">/Ft. Worth area with Richland Hills Church of Christ being the initial financial supporter. Luckily, a member of Richland Hills has offered to host me for several months…making the transition much easier.</span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">What is it with all the Sonics in </span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Texas</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">?</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Who knows – maybe Texans just look for opportunities to spend more time in their trucks. </span></span></span></p>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-45724441738977712112009-10-27T14:15:00.000-04:002009-10-27T14:16:24.048-04:00Best & Worst about being home.<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Best things about being back in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>?<o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Being closer to family!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Soft toilet paper.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Washer AND Dryer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My own car.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Smooth roads. Dr. Pepper. Mexican Restaurants.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Better shopping.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Cleanliness. Fast Internet.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>Worst things about being back in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>?<o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cold weather. Air-Conditioning.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Perpetual busyness. Hearing trivial complaints. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>Miss most about <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region>?<o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Living in a small community of believers. Walking to a friend’s house for tea.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Driving a stick shift.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Negotiating everything.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Great Indian food. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The best coffee. Thatcher and Mya. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>Miss least about <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Uganda</st1:country-region></st1:place>?<o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Spraying my room for mosquitoes every night.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Tucking in the mosquito net every night.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Dirty feet.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Dogs barking all night. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Intermittent electricity.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Substandard pizza.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Unpasteurized milk.</p>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-56671779259336950892009-09-04T13:59:00.003-04:002009-09-04T14:18:59.528-04:00Modern Major-GeneralYesterday I was on an airplane only to discover that Delta is now offering <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">internet</span> access in-flight! Apparently, this is still a new initiative, so I was able to connect free of charge. <div><br /></div><div>After a few moments, it hit me - I am flying in the air - updating my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">facebook</span> status - sending email - snacking on pretzels. I had the urge to spontaneously burst into song and dance. Hand-springs down the aisle, then crowd surfacing from Coach to First Class all the while singing like I was in a Rogers & Hammerstein classic production. Somehow, I think it would turn out more humorously absurd like Gilbert & Sullivan. </div><div><br /></div><div>No one else on board seemed quite as impressed - but then again, half of my excitement came from the pretzels alone. </div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-14113510815038057362009-08-17T19:28:00.001-04:002009-08-17T19:30:37.868-04:00I had a house in Africa....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; "><i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">This is from a recent Email Newsletter...my last email update....but don't worry, more blogs to follow.</span></div><div><br /></div>“I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills.”</i> This is how Karen von Blixen-Finecke, a.k.a. Isak Dinesen, begins her novel Out of Africa. I think we have all seen the movie... Meryl Streep and Robert Redford….Well, actually, I haven’t….this is more of my mother’s genre of movies. It is one of those that I wasn’t allowed to watch as a kid and just never got around to watching later…Ghost and Fatal Attraction also fall into this category. But, this is not an email about movies that I’ve never seen.<br /><br /><i>I had a house in Africa at the foot of Mount Elgon.</i> I cried my first night in the house and I cried my last night. The first night, I was overcome with the drastic differences between my clean, air-conditioned house in the States and this dusty, sweaty house in Uganda. The last night, I was overcome with these same differences, but my outlook had completely changed. I no longer feared the geckos that scurried up and down the walls, the unpredictable little black jumping spiders, or that my dogs would muddy my clothes before I even got out the door. It was no longer a bother to filter water, walk to town, or wait for my clothes to dry on the line. Don’t get me wrong – there are many, many things about Uganda that I am not going to miss (mud during rainy season, dust during dry season, intermittent power, and dirty feet)….but there is so much that is wonderful and irreplaceable (close interdependent community, the "Ugandan" handshake and smelling the rain come in off the mountains). My friend Lori Manry does a better job describing these sentiments in her blog. (<a href="http://www.manryfamily.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(42, 93, 176); ">http://www.manryfamily.com/</a>)<br /><br />So, my year in Uganda is finished and I am home in Newnan sitting on my bed (with a REAL mattress), using wireless internet and watching HGTV. What’s next for my future? Will I stay in the Atlanta area? As one of my teammates recently advised me, “With God, anything is possible; Dream huge.” After a year in Uganda, I feel prepared to face most any challenge. For those of you who might know someone who knows someone …I am particularly interested in working with a global-minded non-profit organization, one that is focused on making everyday differences in the lives of those living in everyday need.<br /><br />While I will continue to update my blog, this will be my last email update. So, be sure to check out<a href="http://juliereagan.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(42, 93, 176); ">http://juliereagan.blogspot.<wbr>com</a> to find out what is next for me. <br /><br />Thanks for your support financial, emotional and spiritually. You have given me one amazing, unforgettable year. I hope you will dream huge in your own life.<br /><br />Julie Reagan<br /><br />By the way, you are invited to hear more about my year in Uganda at an upcoming “Welcoming Home Bash” on August 29th in Newnan. An evite with details will follow.</span>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-86371668223753896532009-07-11T04:04:00.001-04:002009-07-11T04:06:44.345-04:00Not the Rwandan Story...Soon<p class="MsoNormal">Today was baking day in the Teacher house.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Allen, our school cook, came over to bake cakes for her daughter’s 5<sup>th</sup> birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We made 4 cakes and a batch of cookies.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Multiple cakes were needed for the different school, church, and family parties.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Shout out to Debbie Booth who is my sister-in-law’s mother.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Debbie – we used your chocolate cake recipe…..the one that is in Sue’s new cookbook. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Funny thing, I thought I bought buttermilk…but it turned out to be more lardish than milky….so I attempted to make my own buttermilk.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Hopefully no one will suffer too much from eating that cake.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The amazing chocolate icing should cover any weird aftertaste.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When we were half way through the baking, I noticed that Allen still looked so clean…..on the other hand, my clothes were dusted with flour, coco, sugar and imitation buttermilk.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How does this happen?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Since the many cakes and cookies were too many – I gave Allen a ride home.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She proudly introduced me to her neighbors and showed me her home.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then we did the usual Ugandan three-shake-handshake to say good-bye.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I smiled then gave her the usual American goodbye – a big hug.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Weird for me – I know, I am not a huggy person…I think maybe it was all the female bonding and laughing over flour, sugar and a hot oven…..</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> Oh, and Allen invited me over to have dinner with her family - <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I can’t wait! </o:p></p>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-29447342200707797742009-07-08T15:54:00.001-04:002009-07-08T15:55:51.731-04:00Once Upon a Time, In a Land Far, Far Away....<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A few months before I left the States, I watched the movie “Hotel Rwanda” which depicts events surrounding the now infamous Rwandan Genocide (R.G.). I’ll be totally honest – I had heard about the R.G., but I couldn’t tell you when or what about it. The R.G. happened during my lifetime…I was finishing up the Seventh Grade and getting excited about our upcoming family vacation to the </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Florida Keys</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> with Aunt Pat and Uncle Ralph. My brother and I were following the scores of the 1994 World Cup. But, I don’t remember hearing or learning anything about over half a million people being murdered in a small country called </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rwanda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. I never even learned about the R.G. after the fact….until I watched “Hotel Rwanda” and began searching the web for any bit of information about the R.G. I was ashamed with my ignorance.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">One thing was for sure – I had to visit </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rwanda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is something about </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rwanda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Is it belated attention resulting from the Genocide? Is it the Hollywood movie Hotel </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rwanda</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">? Is it the French speaking native Rwandans? Is the physical beauty? Is it the cool climate? I’m not sure – but there is something different about this country. </span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rwanda</span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> is storybook </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Africa</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. It is </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Africa</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> idealized. The “</span><st1:state st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">California</span></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">” of </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Africa</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. My personal tale of three young maidens’ journey to this land far, far away will be posted soon…. Until then…..I’ll leave you with this:</span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Once upon a time, three youngish missionary maidens set off from one magical land in search for adventure in a land far, far away…a kingdom known as </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rwanda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. It has been said that the journey was just as important as the destination, but never would anyone have imagined a journey such as theirs….</span></span></span></o:p></p>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-65150964574733778412009-06-25T10:49:00.003-04:002009-06-25T11:11:14.464-04:00I'm no Oprah...but I've read some good books lately...<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My time in </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> has afforded me much time to pursue one of my favorite hobbies….READING. This is a hobby that really brings the missionary community together. Since our reading options are very limited…we raid each other’s personal libraries frequently. It is not uncommon for a book to start with one missionary in western </span><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and change hands over a dozen times <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">criss</span>-crossing all of eastern </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Africa</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> before it returns briefly to its owner’s shelf. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Because of this type of environment, I have been reading lots of new authors and different genres than I might normally read. Lucky for you, I have kept a list of all the books I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ve</span> read since being in </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Little Women</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Louisa May Alcott</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>A classic that is a readable for many different ages. Joe gets in our hearts and we long to comfort and encourage her through life’s changes. One of my all time favorites.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dear Enemy</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Jack <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Cavanaugh</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>A dark WWII romantic thriller. An easy read.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Peace Like a River</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Leif <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Enger</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Story of young boy named Rube – written in his simple voice…so good, so good, so good….I think it is time for a reread. </i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Munich</span></u></st1:place></st1:city><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Signature</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> & </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Prague Counterpoint</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bodie</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Thoene</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Both books are part of the Zion Covenant Series. Christian Fiction. Great series – would love to see these made into a movie!</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Shack</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, William Young</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Thanks to my friend Josh <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Truitt</span> for mailing me a copy. Seems that everyone has read or is reading this book and for good reason. There were so many great quotes that I wanted to highlight but that process would only take time from reading this great book….</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">These Strange Ashes</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Elizabeth Elliot</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Thanks to my friend and former long term missionary, Danielle Evans, who had the foresight to send this book with me. A great read after being on the mission field for several months. </i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Have We No Rights</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Mable Williamson</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Another recommendation from Danielle Evans – I learned a lot about mission perspective.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Julie</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Catherine Marshall</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Christie is still her best work – but Julie is a wonderful story. Regardless of the name, it was easy to identify with the main character. Plus the entire time you’re wondering which guy will she end up with…..the million dollar question for most single women. </i></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So Brave Young and Handsome</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Leif <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Enger</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Leif – how do you write these stories that just draw the reader deeper and deeper???? A story told by a has-been writer named Monte. </i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Through Painted Deserts</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Donald Miller</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Donald (I giggle a little every time I say the name Donald…it just feels fun to say) shares his insights during a road-trip. Donald makes no excuses or sugar coating for his personal inadequacies. His style of writing was easy for me to identify with. I read this one slow – rereading several chapters to be sure they soaked all the way through me.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lay That <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Trumpet</span> in our Hands</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Susan Carol McCarthy</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>A special recommendation from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Mbarara</span> missionary, Emily <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Glission</span>. This story takes place in rural </i></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Florida</i></span></st1:place></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i> during Civil Rights. Parts of this story take place in the small town of </i></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Mt.</i></span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Dora</i></span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>, which is where my parents first met. This story made me wonder how I would have acted in the heat of the Civil Rights <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">movemen</span></i>t.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shattered Dreams</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Larry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Crabb</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>We used this book for our weekly Bible Study. Dr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Crabb</span> takes you through the book of Ruth through the eyes of Naomi. Reading this book was very healing</i>.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kite Runner</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Khalid <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Hosseini</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>This book has been a favorite for a while – but it was even better as a reread. Better than the movie</i>.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Blue Like Jazz</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Donald Miller</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>In Donald’s conversational and honest style….this book was a great follow-up to </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Through Painted Deserts.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Colors of </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Africa</span></st1:place></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, James <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Kilgo</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Dr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Kilgo</span> was an English professor at my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">alma</span>-mater, </i></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>University</i></span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i> of </i></span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Georgia</i></span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>. Of course, I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">didn</span>’t realize this till I read the forward by the author. But, it was refreshing to read a story about hunting African wild game from the familiar perspective of a </i></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Georgia</i></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i> boy. </i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A Thousand Splendid Suns</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Khaled</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Hosseini</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Even better than Kite Runner – but probably because I enjoyed reading from the perspective of a woman more than I did of a man….Makes me want to understand more about Islam and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Afghani</span> culture.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anna Karenina</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Leo Tolstoy</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>A soap opera about Russians who speak French. I enjoyed some characters more than others – but it helped me understand more about how this aristocratic culture turned to communism </i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Aboke</span> Girls</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Els</span> De <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Temmerman</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Heart-breaking story of abducted children in </i></span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Northern Uganda</i></span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>. Very well told and amazing that this true story happened in my life-time.</i></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Three Cups of Tea</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Greg <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Mortenson</span> & David Oliver <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Relin</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>My current read. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Mortenson</span> is easy to identify with – which makes this remarkable story even more inspiring. </i></span></p>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-91396585624688015632009-06-24T14:20:00.017-04:002009-06-24T16:53:57.162-04:00A&S Visit Part Two<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyG4RKpz11Z9XgdSKKLdW68QlJxdoVxKsWRviB5tOH9e49c8524CXAvBGyFqglwSIb7OMIiJRC6VPt2ldLgg5fl49M1I00iBSp6LVTuVvxmy9XrGbWo7WG9KCfQAtwLXXmD0Wr2ts_5E/s320/DSC_0006.JPG" style="text-align: center;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350963306070452882" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Andrew and I mid-chimp hunting.....</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQQqCDfX570XC5TgcevcqNgEbMw-zsC_KsZzps6xHN7YgiZ63E5wlK0-TaiadY8kzLPxuzcPDlgy5xW9g09Xn63HmCRLN6JR97TP_QR-14xEuaiMVypcdLpkH7K2kj_fuxYQevynIPVw/s320/DSC_0019.JPG" style="text-align: center;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350963317407244898" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The big black thing is a chimp...hopefully you can make out his face.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAxEF2SJs5Q9dR_svyFL_BcCVW5o8RlWO45KOzPsi_oVlo7b6o7EAwXQQ-RsE0ncwJB8lF1N33J0PIXZDzaOl6i9cWEeZEKq5cG4DIHpw5DQ39URHuicFQlN-fBMEicR9Sww4JRoevJM/s320/DSC_0011.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350963307536047378" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shannon crossing one of many precarious bridges...</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After the fun of game drives and chimp trekking – we headed down the road to </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fort</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Portal</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Portal</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> is in North Western Uganda…..and just a hop, skip and a jump from the </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Congo</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> border.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While there, we stayed with Jeff Cash and family.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Cash’s have been missionaries in Uganda for….a while and Jeff had lots of exciting, skin of his teeth type of stories to share from living so close to Congo.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> One big thing about Jeff is that he is a pilot.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The </span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Portal</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> mission team actually works with the local government to maintain the local airfield…(see picture below)…..Jeff has also worked to buy an airplane to facilitate in visiting churches in remote </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Congo</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, deliver needed supplies, and various projects.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Believe it or not – flying is much, much safer than traveling by road.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The plane isn’t quite put together yet – but he is getting close.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfPepnU0Wwx5dyU5qg-Xue6DZZnhgZLePFNPnRk51vDP0RrjhdftlelqQ2cBECvtDP8FyQ-YLv-6y6PARCyJy_clYbz3P_bE7HIVX3gNdgnsYmoyJ0YxH0PGOAulzPSu87MT02ZVIAVE/s1600-h/DSC_0329.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfPepnU0Wwx5dyU5qg-Xue6DZZnhgZLePFNPnRk51vDP0RrjhdftlelqQ2cBECvtDP8FyQ-YLv-6y6PARCyJy_clYbz3P_bE7HIVX3gNdgnsYmoyJ0YxH0PGOAulzPSu87MT02ZVIAVE/s320/DSC_0329.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350973930213108226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2wtrR_d20A4rAnEDNFlIImnxLxw8tP8v2H64r1vskJEKcRvXQRwww4g8X4SLKPQB7zDvDXUIb4wAa3gYaT9a3sEz3HMx7cF_VRqC7i98sQeGQ9keVLAxRylAkPwVjn8TWBgd87PfI28/s1600-h/DSC_0328.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2wtrR_d20A4rAnEDNFlIImnxLxw8tP8v2H64r1vskJEKcRvXQRwww4g8X4SLKPQB7zDvDXUIb4wAa3gYaT9a3sEz3HMx7cF_VRqC7i98sQeGQ9keVLAxRylAkPwVjn8TWBgd87PfI28/s320/DSC_0328.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350973925733170610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfiDGOSz6QNYFFOZqLSYXjCuOiiH3bqxTTTogr59bu1PkZrBRfpNY0LVc37Ggo3vvzSSFfLM6zaIzyKR6bvVhJUiverbMKd8KGa_drMFZQuXwPTKFilmmFWLxhWqLXvPhvBp-cVwEu3w/s1600-h/DSC_0332.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfiDGOSz6QNYFFOZqLSYXjCuOiiH3bqxTTTogr59bu1PkZrBRfpNY0LVc37Ggo3vvzSSFfLM6zaIzyKR6bvVhJUiverbMKd8KGa_drMFZQuXwPTKFilmmFWLxhWqLXvPhvBp-cVwEu3w/s320/DSC_0332.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350973924013192658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft. Portal Runway (above and below)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLZcXdthNmbCC5Si3KSm-ABZuyznsoMJkGqnqGymjM3YzOyC4dZWYiALJFQyxcAaSVYNkBeYTvXip44T2XMj2wG291Fi0RR1nP-6lJjbMfVs9nurPehnV7gKhtiKxweNAAprnBThxoPI/s1600-h/DSC_0331.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLZcXdthNmbCC5Si3KSm-ABZuyznsoMJkGqnqGymjM3YzOyC4dZWYiALJFQyxcAaSVYNkBeYTvXip44T2XMj2wG291Fi0RR1nP-6lJjbMfVs9nurPehnV7gKhtiKxweNAAprnBThxoPI/s320/DSC_0331.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350973913128935154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As you can imagine – Andrew and Jeff had fun trading flying stories and talking aviation.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In addition to visiting </span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Portal</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">’s top-of-the-line airfield, Jeff took us out to visit </span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Camp</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Saka</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, which is some land on a lake where the </span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Portal mission team has developed a nice place to host camping groups….they also host an annual nation-wide Christian youth meeting there.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then Jeff gave us the official tour around </span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Portal town including the meat market – which is always fun to take visitors through…you never know what kind of animal they might be slaughtering.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This time it was a goat…I think.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNMo7KfDC1qvryEmOG6h-VioJ0a0mGEdd0UaAUCogEMPVgi1cB81h-eRLIqx6TQk5wm_sjHN6mzSgtom8GpqD5rgoPCnQXyHzxAK1e7KUyU-9GEpj3E9ea7qr-gTVYOPaYSGrKRxREAs/s1600-h/DSC_0327.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNMo7KfDC1qvryEmOG6h-VioJ0a0mGEdd0UaAUCogEMPVgi1cB81h-eRLIqx6TQk5wm_sjHN6mzSgtom8GpqD5rgoPCnQXyHzxAK1e7KUyU-9GEpj3E9ea7qr-gTVYOPaYSGrKRxREAs/s320/DSC_0327.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350989373223755522" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kinley Cash making moves on a local goat but not the same goat that we later saw in the market....</span>.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDphAgFUjhSegTzwZDHScaHGJKWlOyopPWRRNTJrG17CRZvIcWuimx1uqQJhOl4hwrBtOsC3_CH4fcHV-1ezWBvUwzmP8PhepPED56C2zzQQguc8DmiBDR8iYDyDuqUlmxq0ZRtQa8Es/s1600-h/DSC_0341.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDphAgFUjhSegTzwZDHScaHGJKWlOyopPWRRNTJrG17CRZvIcWuimx1uqQJhOl4hwrBtOsC3_CH4fcHV-1ezWBvUwzmP8PhepPED56C2zzQQguc8DmiBDR8iYDyDuqUlmxq0ZRtQa8Es/s320/DSC_0341.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350989362435697602" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrz7q-0ErcMvr5bErhVKuruUDhQJrCEEeKvagUvUUeC3DODYkOAPc9TQVEAqLszB8oDDz5HBLLBque0Khg9kexjsG-D814Q1NDWp7r55QkmQ3ncRfySnybEwuAW8zs83hQ8mtVT_qVMM/s320/DSC_0340.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350989367167161858" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 320px; " /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GroStEM2aheuDjs6qS85YREWR0csqG5j3xlqFQmSPElUXqLLdUQmi75OWez_Qq-zHOLA7cAPkANlERiqvnfZMaPkCi1nOstsVFkmoSlJCYUyLdKmZztl3Y79yBK7qUXZVeejmY-2b3I/s320/DSC_0322.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350981327073428258" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-jvwdAf7GKE5X59RzKKLme7H5bhBlg8tqvjmDuw4hASqUIm_CjMz04Yc1P4OFeXFbhYAq13UJtSv0MAw1oSifiILI-el8qeACYyFkbMDUTtaKnK9VVFP8L-2PTdcdDBdfE6QsIhJS50/s320/DSC_0325.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350981335886339538" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pictures from Camp Saka.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The church at </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Portal</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> meets in a circus-like tent, with an oversized coffin serving as a baptistery.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I so enjoy visiting churches and meeting other Christians throughout </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">East Africa</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I wish I could do this all the time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Portal</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, we headed to Jinja.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In Jinja, Andrew, Shannon, and I joined up with 25 other travelers and rafted down the </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nile</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">River</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My second time to raft the </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nile</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> – still amazing.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">During one rapid, (a class 5) Andrew mysteriously fell out of the boat and I lost a contact.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But somehow – I found the contact still clinging to my life-vest and with Shannon’s help, I put that unsterilized - </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nile</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">River</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> washed - contact back in my eye. (I know, I’m going to be blind..) Also with </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shannon</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">’s help, Andrew was able to get back in the boat.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That must have been all the fun these kids could stand – cause after rafting, A&S decided they missed their own boys too much and that they needed to leave early.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Of course, I was heart-broken.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I felt terrible for being jealous of my two precious nephews…but seriously, I hadn’t seen A&S for almost 10 months and they had been away from the kids for just 6 days….Andrew said that one day I would understand….but I understood right the what it is like to be one place and have your heart half way around the world….it really stinks.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A&S wanted to be where their hearts were…back with their kids.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Check – I get this.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When I first got to </span><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">…my body and heart were in different places…but after surviving 11 months of this…my heart began to grow here in </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now returning home will be a big transition and there is no doubt that a large portion of my heart will remain in </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Uganda</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Again, I will have to fight through the separation of body and heart. Andrew - I may not have kids, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand.</span></p></div>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-42924249103973118192009-06-06T10:21:00.001-04:002009-06-06T10:23:27.562-04:00The Best African Vacation Ever!I have always enjoying playing the role of hostess….and this week was no exception. I planned a fully packed, budget friendly 10 day introduction to Uganda for Andrew and Shannon (my brother and his wife..or A&S). This was going to be the best Ugandan Trip Ever!<br /><br />Typical – nothing went as planned. To kick it off, A&S arrived a day late. Of course, I didn’t find out this change in plans until I was at the airport to meet a delayed flight filled with 250 tired passengers…none looked a bit familiar to me.<br /><br />I rented a vehicle and driver to take us around the country…..stop picturing a rugged 4WD land-rover, hummer, all-terrain, all-weather, survive an elephant stampede type of vehicle. Now, think of your neighbor’s old minivan that is still sitting in their backyard…no A/C, no radio, no speedometer, (sounds like my first car), leaks in the rain, goes 10 mph up hills….<br /><br />So, to make the best out of the situation – I ask Isaac (hired Ugandan driver) to give me a historical tour of Kampala. And honestly, – I learned SO MUCH! Did you know that Uganda used to be under the rule of a monarchy until the 1960’s? Also, Arab Muslims were the first religious missionaries to come to Uganda. Anyways, this was fun! <br /><br />Isaac and I eventually pick up A&S – Happy & Sweet Reunion! – and quickly load up the van to drive to the game park. We finally arrive at our camp at 11:30 pm….long past dark, but back on schedule. <br /><br />Around 6:00 the next morning we head out for our Chimp Trekking expedition. We ended up being paired with a cigarette smoking Italian couple…Francesca and Stephano. So, along with our armed guides, we trekked up and down a densely forested gorge criss-crossing a river using whatever fallen tree or rickety narrow bridge that was available – this went on for three hours. We eventually caught up with the chimps, who led us on a fast paced, river-crossing chase. Out of breath, (our Italian friends were wheezing) we finally got to stop and admire these amazing creatures. <br /><br />I’ll go ahead and post this without pictures….at least until the pictures finally upload…oh, the joys of blogging from Africa!Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-18679409425587434532009-05-23T11:56:00.000-04:002009-05-23T11:57:31.954-04:00Being Picky<p class="MsoNormal">The other day I needed to get to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Mt.</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Elgon</st1:placename></st1:place> hotel – I was already running late for a meeting with visitors.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Counting the coins in my pocket, I simply stepped out of our gate and waved down a picky (motorcycle taxis).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“<st1:placetype st="on">Mt.</st1:placetype> Elgon Hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Be careful and I will pay extra.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The “road” that we took to the hotel was probably paved at one time….maybe back in the 70’s – now it is rocky dirt road with occasional remnants of pavement.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today, I needed to get to the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Municipal</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Council</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Building</st1:placetype></st1:place>….but as if on schedule, it was raining.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So – I did it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Rain Hat – Rain Coat – Flip Flops – Towel.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I trekked out in the weather.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Soon a picky came by.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This was unexpected since they usually find a place to hide from the rain.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So, I wiped off the seat and used the usual line: “<st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Municipal</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Building</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Be careful and I will pay extra.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Unfortunately, my umbrella didn’t want to close….so there I go down the road on a picky with an umbrella in the rain.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Don’t worry Mom – I arrived safe both times.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It’s amazing how careful they’ll drive when you promise them extra shillings.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8836224875751645569.post-91452661775626658082009-05-22T06:24:00.001-04:002009-05-22T06:38:34.627-04:00School's Out!!<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My students are extra excited…..over-stressed…..and won’t stop talking!!</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It must be the LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Not your usual last week, mind you.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We don’t have school on Monday – and the last day of school is a Thursday….so we only have a three-day week…..and, well – on Thursday, we are planning a school-wide pool party after lunch – so Thursday is a half day….make that a two and a half day week.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My poor history students have a final on Wednesday….Yikes!!</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Their poor teacher has to write the final….Double Yikes!!!</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In addition to last week hoop-la – our team is hosting around 13 visitors from the Dallas area….They are visiting to catch the LivingStone University Fever and spread it back in the States.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (Note to CDC: this is in no way related to The Swine Flu.) </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Plus – one of our teammates – the Shelburnes (all 9 of them) – are leaving in five days for a year long furlough.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Two day later, two more teammates head back (Mary Beth and Jennifer) until mid July.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then, not to be left out, Laura Shero and kids will leave two days after that (Phillip to follow in a few weeks).</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Did I mention that Heidi also leaves this Friday??</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So in the next ten days, our team will shrink from 14 adults and 10 kids to 7 adults and zero kids.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sheesh!!</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And that’s just the folks leaving from our team…..lots of other expatriates are heading home as well.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After being such a close knit community it is difficult to see that community change. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; ">____OK – I actually wrote all of that earlier this week and totally forgot to post it….That's how busy this last week of school has been! And, that history final...I'm not sure which is more difficult - writing exams or taking exams. </span><br /></p>Julie Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12527554367636790961noreply@blogger.com0