Waldie's World

Great Hadithi Quote

2012-02-01T12:05:00.000-05:00

Each week we have to memorize dialogue and stories in Swahili in order to help build vocabulary and get us used to the flow of the language. This week's hadithi (story) is about women's equality in Tanzania. The best quote is:

"Wanawake duniani pote wanajiunga pamoja kudai haki zao."

Roughly translated it means "Women around the world are all joining together to demand their rights."

Nice.

African Jog

2012-01-30T12:54:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty proud of myself because this morning I got up early and did a run for about 1/2 hour. It's the first time since we've been in Africa that I've jogged, although I have been doing some other exercises sporadically. I was reluctant to start jogging because I wasn't sure how it would go over in this culture where seeing a white woman run down the road in shorts is quite an unusual site for the locals. But I conferred with the director of the language school and he assured me that it would be no problem to do it, especially if I go early in the AM.

So, this morning I found myself running down the dirt driveway and up the road, over to the seminary next door, and around their soccer field a few times. It felt great to stretch my legs a bit. It was also wonderful to be able to take in the sights and sounds of my neighborhood as people were waking up. Sometimes I have these perfect moments when I'm suddenly hit over the head by the fact that I'm in Africa. I can't tell you the number of times while living in the US that I would ride my bike down a street or go for a walk and think "Some day I may do this in Africa." So, this morning as I was running around the dirt field, avoiding the cow crap on the ground, yelling "Shikamoo, Bibi*" to a worker in our school as he rode his bike up the driveway to work, I couldn't help but be grateful and think "Yup, here I am."

*Shikamoo is a term of greeting to someone who is older or should receive respect.

Why I Talk About Rape

2012-01-26T08:43:00.001-05:00

Why I Talk About Rape

Because of my previous job, I tend to talk pretty openly about rape. It’s definitely a conversation-stopper and sometimes I feel like a “downer.” But this article makes some excellent points about why people need to talk openly and honestly about the issue. She puts it better than I could've.

I'm Published!

2012-01-24T10:19:00.002-05:00

The Sexual Assault Report published an article that I wrote right before leaving my previous employment. They don't have the article online, so here's a screen shot of it. If anyone is interested in reading it, let me know and I can email you the scanned copy of it.

Makoko Language School

2012-01-23T12:41:00.001-05:00

I thought I’d share a bit about what it’s like at language school, so y’all have an idea of what life is like for us these days. Makoko Language School was started in the 1960’s by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and for the years has trained missionaries and other westerners in Kiswahili, as well as local languages from this region. The school has since been taken over by the local Catholic Diocese but it continues to teach in much the same manner.

We have 5 classes a day, each 40 minutes long with a 5-minute break in between. Classes run until 12:30, followed by ½ hour lunch and an hour rest. After the rest hour we have 45 minutes in the language lab when we listen to tapes (YES, tapes!) of the stories (hadithi) and dialogues (masungumzo) from the morning classes and practice exercises (mazoezi) from the lessons of the day. After language lab we can be free for the rest of the day, spend more time in the lab, or get help from the teachers who hang out at the school until 3:30.

At first onset it may seem really slack that we are finished our day at 3:30 (or possibly even 2:45 depending on whether I quit after language lab). But after doing this for 2 weeks I’ve quickly learned that my brain can only take so many hours of language acquisition before I’m totally fried. Usually by the time classes are finished and it’s lunchtime I’m so mentally exhausted that I can’t comprehend anymore. The hour nap after lunch has become a necessity for me to get through the day!

Despite my mental exhaustion, after language lab I have been spending time with the teachers hanging out under the tree in the yard. This is good because it allows me to practice some Swahili mixed in with English and I also get an opportunity to ask them questions about Tanzanian culture and customs. The teachers are native Tanzanians from various tribes and different parts of the country. They represent a diversity of ages and they are all really fantastic people! In fact, this weekend a few of us visited the home of one of our teachers to meet his wife and 3-week-old daughter.

I feel like I’ve been handling the challenge of language school very well up until this point. It’s a lot of memorization, but I’ve been able to do whatever was thrown my way with ease. Up until today, that is. Today I feel like I hit a wall. Hard. I can’t really say why, but today I just couldn’t remember anything that we’d learned last week and I was totally overwhelmed with all of the rules and agreements in the language. I was mixing up my “hiki’s” with “hili’s” and my “wa’s” with “ya’s”. Sheesh! We have a dialogue to memorize tonight and I’ve just barely gotten a grasp of it. I know that these feelings and frustrations are not unusual to learning any new language and I know that I will climb this wall and keep going. But man, it’s hard. I just have to keep telling myself that I’m not the first person, nor the last, to learn this language. I WILL do it!

In the meantime, in addition to studying I’m trying to keep my body active by exercising and playing Frisbee, reading a ton of books and watching DVDs. Yesterday I started watching the TV series Glee. I’ve only watched 2 episodes so far, but I have the distinct feeling that this show may just be the thing that gets me through language school.

Lisa’s Pride

2012-01-17T13:07:00.002-05:00

This past weekend we went to the house of a fellow MKLMer and a Maryknoll Sister to help them with a program for children with HIV. The program is called Lisa’s Pride and is named after Sister Marion’s family member who died in the states of complications from gallbladder surgery in 2005. We had a great time on Saturday playing games, putting together puzzles and jumping rope with the kids. The program keeps track of the medical needs of the children, gives referrals to the family and provides nutritious foods for them to take home each month. Us students practiced our limited Kiswahili, but I still felt like it was not enough to actually communicate. I look forward to being able to speak a bit more with the kids and their adult caregivers in our future visits to the program.

After the program was over, Liz and Marion thanked us for our help by serving us the best lasagna dinner ever! They even gave us dessert! What a treat!

Rest in Peace, Juanita

2012-01-16T12:55:00.001-05:00

Chris's Grandmom died last night. She's been ill and on hospice, so it was not unexpected. Chris wrote a very nice blog post and tribute to her over at his blog.

My First Weird Food Experience

2012-01-14T13:07:00.001-05:00

Soursop. We had this fruit for lunch the other day. It was cut in circular segments, like you’d slice a loaf of bread. It’s got a tough green skin with spikes on it. And the fruit inside is slimy and sort of stringy. The flavor is really, really sweet and very floral, with a hint of sour as well. It sort of tasted like I was eating perfume. I’m not a huge fan of it on its own, but when I ate it with watermelon it was much better. The other fruit sort of cut the sweet fragrance of the soursop. I definitely think it’d be good with yogurt and other fruit in a shake, so once we’re on our own I may try it that way.

Choices

2012-01-11T07:27:00.000-05:00

I have been reading daily reflections by Henri Nouwen and I ran across the following passage about making choices. It reminded me of a conversation between me and a fellow missioner back in New York. We were talking about the concept of things happening for a reason. I’ve never been one to subscribe to the line of reasoning that “everything happens for a reason” because there are just too many senseless, awful things in the world. Poverty, untimely death, suffering, injustice.

I would much rather subscribe to the following thought. It allows me to remember that I can’t control everything in life, but I always have a choice in how I handle the good and the bad that comes my way.

Choices. Choices make the difference. Two people are in the same accident and severely wounded. They did not choose to be in the accident. It happened to them. But one of them chose to live the experience in bitterness, the other in gratitude. These choices radically influenced their lives and the lives of their families and friends. We have very little control over what happens in our lives, but we have a lot of control over how we integrate and remember what happens. It is precisely these spiritual choices that determine whether we live our lives with dignity.

-Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith

Things That I’m Excited About Right Now-all having to do with windows

2012-01-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

We’ve swapped our bedroom with our study room at Makoko, so our bedroom is now the corner room with double the windows, double the breeze and double the sunlight. Brilliant.

The birds are happily chirp chirp chirping outside the window.

The smell of dinner is wafting through the windows and it smells like fresh baked bread. And although the bread here leaves a lot to be desired (it’s your standard, cardboard-ish American homemade white bread, which I guess is better than store-bought white bread, but miles away from the crusty Italian loaf I’d give my right arm for), when I start to smell dinner and homemade bread, my salivary glands start working overtime and I get really excited at the possibility of dinner. The food here is tasty, but simple. I’ve yet to get bored with the lack of spices, olive oil or pasta. So my mind starts to wander at what could be on the table tonight.*

*I’ve just returned from dinner and it was pizza! And, it was not half bad. I thought that’s what I smelled earlier, but I talked myself out of it because I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

Arrived at Language School

2012-01-06T13:14:00.002-05:00

Today we traveled by car to Musoma (about 200 km from Mwanza) to the Makoko Language School, where we’ll be living for the next 3 months. It was an easy ride up along a main paved thoroughfare and the scenery was so beautiful through the entire ride! We went along the edge of the Serengeti and saw some zebra, wildebeests, gazelles, and baboons just chilling and doing their thing along the side of the road. So cool!

This week we got to visit all of the placement sites for the new missioners, as well as have individual meetings with our future supervisors.

It’s really exciting to hear about the cool work I’ll be able to do after language school is finished. Though I have to say, I can get easily overwhelmed when I think about the fact that I can’t speak the language, know very little about the culture, have little to no information as yet about the current gender issues in the region, and am quite scared to drive on the roads. Yikes!

I’ve been feeling kind of sick and yucky on and off throughout the week and I’m still not sleeping totally well through the night. But I think I’ll start to even out a bit now that we’re at language school and I will be able to establish more of a routine. And, one of my major accomplishments for the week is learning how to pee in a squat toilet without it splashing all over my feet. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

We haven’t had a chance to take any picture of the school, but we’ll be sure to do that in the coming weeks. Also, click on any any of the pictures in this post to see the rest of the pictures I've uploaded onto Flickr (that is, if Flickr would speed up and load my pictures!)

Newspaper Articles

2012-01-04T09:19:00.002-05:00

Not to toot our own horns, but I thought I’d mention that Chris and I have had some press lately about our move to Tanzania. Right before we left the US, 3 newspapers interviewed us. So far 2 of them have gone to press.

The Columbia Star*
The Vicksburg Post (You have to have an account to view the V’burg Post so I’ll cut and paste the full text of the article below.)

*There are several mistakes in the Columbia Star article. Oh well!

On a mission: City native, wife follow ‘calling’ to Tanzania
by Pamela Hitchins
Jan 02, 2012.

The year 2012 is not just a new year for Vicksburg native Christopher Reid. It’s a time of many “news” — new job, new home, new language, new country, new continent.

Reid, 35, a 1995 graduate of Warren Central High School, and his wife Katie, 33, a native of Philadelphia, have signed on with Maryknoll Lay Missioners, a Roman Catholic organization dedicated to living and working in poor communities in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

The Reids arrived Friday in Tanzania, on the east coast of Africa, where for the next 3 1/2 years they will bring their backgrounds in social work and community involvement to work primarily with women in the country’s second largest city, Mwanza, located on Lake Victoria.

“It is a leap of faith, with some pretty big unknowns,” Chris Reid said in an interview at the Highway 61 Cafe. “Will I be able to learn the language? Will they even want to talk with me? Will I be able to make a connection with them?”

On the whole, though, the Reids are excited and happy to be on their way to do the work they’ve trained, prayed and hoped to do.

“Even on a bad day it will still be interesting,” Chris Reid said.

Family members say he’s right for the challenge.

“I don’t really want him to go, because he’ll be away for so long, but they have to go,” said his mother, Patricia Reid. “It’s their calling.”

“My brother’s my best friend,” said Erica Reid Gerdes. “I’ve learned so much from him throughout my life. It’s difficult knowing I won’t be able to see him and talk to him as often as I might like, but I’m still learning from him — to not hold back, to take risks, to follow the passions I have, as well.”

At Warren Central, Chris Reid played trumpet in the Big Blue Band and was president of the art club before going on to Hinds Community College and earning a degree in graphic arts. Katie, raised in Philadelphia, got a bachelor’s degree from New York University.

Both Chris and Katie have a record of community and social service. They met in 2001 when they were members of AmeriCorps NCCC in Denver. For Chris, raised a Baptist, it was also a time of spiritual seeking and discovering the Catholic church, he said.

At the same time, some pivotal reading, like Barbara Kingsolver’s “The Poisonwood Bible,” got him interested in Africa, and Bible studies and Catholic instructional classes he attended sparked his desire to work for social causes.

“I was really struck by the stories of the people that were down in the dirt and working to help others,” Chris Reid said. “Yes, the history of the church, the hierarchy, these things were interesting, too, but it was the social justice that I found inspiring. It struck a nerve with me, and here we are six or seven years later actually going to do the same thing.”

Katie Reid’s path was a bit more direct.

“I remember from an early age wanting to do social justice work,” she said. “I also remember from an early age wanting to move to Africa. That’s how I ended up with a major in social work.”

Following their Americorps service, they were married in Cape May, N.J., and then moved to South Carolina where each earned master’s degrees at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and compiled extensive resumes of social work, including homelessness councils, sexual trauma victims, mental health agencies and juvenile justice programs.

Chris converted to Catholicism as he and Katie married — not because he had to, the couple said, but because of an authentic, from-the-heart response. They began looking for ways to serve overseas, though the illness and death of Chris’ father, David Reid, such a mainstay at the 61 Cafe that his hat still hangs over the door, intervened. The couple finally was able to sign on with Maryknoll this year.

“We told them, ‘We want Africa, but we are so committed to this work, you can put us anywhere,” Chris Reid said. “That’s how called we are. Maryknoll also sends missioners to Asia and South America, and they could have sent us somewhere else. But when I interviewed, it worked out to be Africa. We got all of it. We got exactly what we wanted.”

Maryknoll calls its workers “missioners,” not “missionaries,” and their focus is not overtly evangelistic, Chris Reid said. They respect the culture of the people and do not try to change them or effect a religious conversion. Missioners simply live among them, helping where they can.

His Maryknoll trainers told Chris that when he and Katie are able to let go of the idea of “I’m going to change the world,” that’s when they will actually start being effective, he said.

“Lower your expectations,” he said they were told. “You are an accompanist, accompanying people in their stories.”

Their first task will be attending an intensive residential language school for three months where they will learn Swahili, and then they will have a two- to three-month initiation period at their jobs, mostly honing their language skills.

The Reids will not know exactly what their duties will be until they are knee-deep into them, but Maryknoll had to provide a general job description in order for them to get visas.

Katie will be working with the Catholic Diocese of Mwanza in programming, focusing on gender-based projects like support for single mothers, gender and HIV/AIDS, and women and agriculture. Chris will work with the Buswelu Women’s Cooperative, where groups of 10 women to 15 women work on income-generating projects, he said.

Introduction to TZ and Mwanza

2012-01-01T13:27:00.003-05:00

We’re coming to the end of our 3rd day in Mwanza and I’m just now feeling like I have the brainpower and energy to write a real blog post. It’s been a terrific few days, but the jet-lag really got me, plus we’ve been pretty much on the go the whole time.

Now that I’m sitting down to write this I feel like I’m at a loss as to say what exactly we’ve been doing. I think everyone probably expects these amazing stories and moving pictures that describe our experience. But the first few days have mostly been filled with getting settled in and acquainted with the area.

We’ve taken walks around the surrounding neighborhoods, gone into downtown, done a little shopping.

Here’s David standing to the side as our host (not pictured) buys some fruit at the closest market.

For those who don’t know, Tanzania has amazing fresh fruit and vegetables. Tomatoes, mangoes, avocados, cucumbers, pineapple, papayas. All for really cheap. So, needless to say, the food is amazing. Each night our hosts have been making a salad of sorts out of finely chopped cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and cucumber with a dressing that is to die for. It’s almost like a smoothie with purred avocado and dill. My favorite food so far, so yummy!

Here are some shots of the house we’re staying in. It’s a pretty typical moderate income house.

The neighborhood is in a “suburb” of sorts in the outskirts of downtown Mwanza. Mwanza is the second largest city in TZ, so the population is pretty high where we are. We’re surrounded by shops and houses, just like any suburban/urban area you’d have in the US. However, you can’t fairly compare this neighborhood to one in the states. It’s the developing world, so the infrastructure is just not there. The “roads” off the main thoroughfare are all dirt and rutted. There aren’t sidewalks, just paths through the dirt or grass. Cows, chickens, birds, and goats roam around or are tied to the side of the roads. And it’s the rainy season so there’s a lot of water flowing down culverts or sitting in large, muddy puddles on the roads.

Here’s a pretty good shot of us walking down a street near the house with shops in the background.

And here’s the road that leads to the house, you can actually see the house in the background.

Last night we had a great time with some of the larger MK society (2 sisters, 2 priests and a brother), as well as all the current missioners in Mwanza. We all got together for dinner and drinks and then played games and put together puzzles. To be honest, I was so tired I could barely make conversation. So when our hosts said they wanted us to put together puzzles and play games I was a little less than thrilled. But it actually helped me to focus and I ended up having a really good time.

The party is raging!

Chris engaged in conversation, what a champ!

Playing games.

I would’ve put down bets that we all would have been passed out well before midnight. But after our guests left around 10:00 we got on the Internet and then right before midnight we started hearing quite a clamoring outside. There were kids running up and down the streets singing, hooting, and banging on pots and plastic drums. So we headed out to the yard to join them. It was so cute, all these giggling kids yelling and singing. I wish I had a picture of them, but it was so dark it wouldn’t have come out anyway.

Tomorrow we start our official orientation schedule of full days getting acquainted with the region and our sites. As a group we will all go to each person’s work site, so I’m looking forward to seeing where we’ll be working (at least for the first little bit of our time here).

Happy New Year to everyone!

Made it To TZ!

2011-12-30T13:30:00.002-05:00

After 3 flights and about 24 hours of travel, we met up with Caitlin and David in Istanbul and we all made it to Mwanza this morning with no problems. It's 10 PM here and we're exhausted, so this'll be short and sweet. I just wanted to give a shout-out to let everyone know we're here safe and sound.

We were picked up at the airport at 8:15 AM by 3 current MKLM missioners, Michele & George (with whom we're staying this week) and Joanne, our regional coordinator. We had a bite to eat then rested for part of the morning and afternoon. The only big event for the day was taking a walk to the market just to get acquainted with the neighborhood. We all made dinner tonight and I uploaded a few of those pictures with shots of the Otte's house onto my Flicr account. I won't link any pictures here because I don't want to use all of George's bandwidth for internet, so you'll have to go over there to check them out. Tomorrow we're supposed to go buy internet and phones, so hopefully I won't have to be so cautious about usage in the future.

Goodbye! (for now)

2011-12-28T22:02:00.002-05:00

We’re sitting in our gate for our flight to Turkey, then Tanzania. Just finished our last meal in The States for a while, Wawa hoagies. Oooh yeah! This whole situation is so surreal; I can’t even explain it. As I was driving up to the airport (3 hours from Southern Jersey to JFK), I was struck by how normal all of this seemed. I mean, maybe not normal-normal, but a new normal. I wasn’t freaked out at all today. For the most part I felt calm and relaxed. Everything just seemed to fall into place. It definitely stung to say goodbye to my mom and step-dad, but other than that, I am just amazed at how we’re just doing this. One foot in front of the other.

So, I guess this is it.

Thanks to everyone who have made these last few days, weeks, and months so wonderful! There is so much I am going to miss, but most of all I will miss you.

I look forward to updating the blog again when we’re at our destination. Say some prayers and send thoughts our way for a safe and uneventful journey tonight and tomorrow!

Christmas Recap

2011-12-27T22:56:00.002-05:00

We had a great visit in Vicksburg for our last Christmas in the states before we head out. Here are some shots of the highlights:

Whenever we're in town, we always make a stop to Highway 61 Coffee Shop.

We got some last-minute visits in with friends, including Ian, who came to town to see us for a few hours.

We also went out one night to hear Chris's uncle Carl in his band, The Chill. I'd never heard him play before, so it was really fun to hang out and watch him.

Chris's mom made an appearance for a few hours!

Lots of family were there to hang out.

Christmas eve was at the Reid's house.

The food was amazing. I ate too much and then passed out in the living room. Good times.

Exhibit A, followed shortly by another helping.

We opened presents at Chris's mom's apartment on Christmas day and then had lunch at the Antoines.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:24:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Chris!

2011-12-22T17:21:00.001-05:00

Happy 35th birthday to my beautiful, wonderful, smart, goofy husband!

1 week and Counting!

2011-12-21T18:35:00.001-05:00

Our bags are all but packed.

We just got word that our Tanzanian resident work visas were approved and they are currently in the mail to us.

The car was (finally) sold yesterday. (We’ll miss you, Soob!)

And in a week from today we’ll be boarding a plane to our new home.**

It’s all incredibly surreal but the fear is definitely starting to creep in a little bit!

**Wanna contact us while we’re abroad? Chris and I will be turning off our phones after Christmas, so we will no longer be reachable at the phone numbers we’ve had for the past few years. We will still update our blogs and regularly check email, so feel free to keep in contact that way. We also have a Google Voice number, which is a US phone number that people can call or text to leave us messages and check in. I’ll be emailing out that phone number this week, but if I don’t have your email address or you accidentally get left off the list, leave a comment here and I’ll be sure to give you our new number.

Happy Birthday, Bo!

2011-12-19T23:50:00.002-05:00

While there's still 10 minutes left in the day, I want to wish a happy birthday to my step dad.

Advent

2011-12-18T21:54:00.004-05:00

For the past week we have been at my mother and step-father's house hanging out and getting ready for our departure. It's been great to spend quality time with family and just relax. I'm very appreciative of this time and have been trying to soak it all in because I know that within a very short period of time all of this will be behind me.

At the same time, there is a little bit of apprehension during this time because we're just sort of waiting. I think the whole family feels the strain of the waiting because the immediacy of our departure seems to sort of put a shadow on everything that we do.

I'm not the greatest at waiting, as patience has never been my strong-suit. I generally like to just cut to the chase and I often find myself constantly moving through life anticipating the next thing that's coming around. Obviously, that's not the best way to live because while I'm waiting for the next thing, I'm missing out on what's currently going on. We talked a little bit about the topic of waiting in our MKLM training and I recognized my lack of skill in this area. I pulled the quote below from one of our better trainings, which was conducted by Rev. Larry Lewis who has written several books on the topic of waiting. I find solace in knowing that there is something special in this time of anticipation and I hope that I can slow down, take time to enjoy the moments, and recognize my blessings.

Not to push the days, the seasons,
Not to strain for tomorrow.
Let be.
What if these were the end?
From the fancied gasping plunge in the void
Turn with relief
To a leaf
To a flower or a bird,
To anything that is and is naught,
And note how even the gloom
Of that lowering cloud
Brings out and deepens
The colors of the world,
Colors unburdened and freed
From the flattening stress
Of excessive glare.
Not for me the labored pretense
Of eternal optimism,
Of perpetual looking forward
With unwearied eagerness.
Now is all that is left
From all the pregnant futures
Of the immemorial past.
Now is it- or never.
Now is the greenery of trees
And laughing girls and bees,
The pain of scars and of memories.
Now is to hold and to savor.
Such as it is, look,
Look your fill and hark
Before the screen goes dark.

-Samuel Kaufman, "Acceptance," in American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 37, No.4 (1977), p. 352.

MKLM Joint Mission Sending Ceremony

2011-12-14T21:09:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we had a ton of family and friends up in Ossining to witness our Joint Mission Sending Ceremony. This ceremony marks the end of our Orientation Program and culminates in us being officially "sent" to our mission countries. It was a jam-packed, emotional weekend, but I had a great time with everyone!

On Friday we went out to an Ethiopian dinner with my parents, Chris's sister and bro-in-law and fellow missioner, Darren.

The Ceremony was full of symbolism and quite beautiful.

Missioners from each region were "called forth" by someone who had previously served in that region and then they were given their mission crosses by MK leadership.

Me and Chris receiving our crosses by Sam and Janice.

After the ceremony we all went out to the mission sending bell for pictures.

It was so great that some of my NYU friends came up for the day!

The dress that I'm wearing is from Tanzania. There is a returned missioner, Bertha, who was coming back to the US after completing 9 years in mission in TZ. She happened to be in Ossining this weekend and she gave me this dress. It fit perfectly, which was amazing because it was made specifically for her. I was so excited about it that I decided to wear it to the ceremony.

It's unbelievable that the next step is simply getting on a plane in exactly 2 weeks from today. There's a lot to do between now and then though and it puts a knot in my throat and stomach to think about it!

Goodbye Bethany

2011-12-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

The halls are nearly empty as most of the missioners departed a day or 2 ago. Just a few more goodbyes and we'll be rolling out of here. For good. Bethany has served as the home of MKLM for several decades, but we'll be the last class to come through this building. For a variety of reasons our operations will be moving to the Society down the road and the building will be sold back to the Priests and Brothers. Even though I have only lived here for 3 1/2 months, it grieves me to leave this place.

This building is the heart and soul of Maryknoll. It's not just a building. It's a home. A memory of good times. A place where great friendships were formed. The start of the most major shift in my life. An embracing of a lifestyle that will break me. And heal me. Over and over again.

As Fr. Larry Lewis said in his Homely at the Covenant Signing Ceremony on Thursday, mission requires us to constantly empty ourselves so that we can be filled up again by the people we serve. Embrace the emptiness because that is where we'll find God. I certainly feel that emptiness today. It's a hard place to be. And I know the emptiness I now feel will only get greater as the next 2 weeks roll on. But I do believe there is a grace to it. It's a blessing to feel loss and pain, even if it hurts. It shows there is something good there.

Covenant Signing Ceremony

2011-12-08T21:41:00.002-05:00

Today we celebrated the first of our two big ceremonies ending our time in the MKLM Orientation Program and officially welcoming us into the Maryknoll community. We had the Covenant Signing Ceremony this morning at Bethany, our home and the hub for MKLM. It was an intimate ceremony, full of symbolism and celebration.

Each area of the world had a table and a representative from each region decorated the table. Merwyn, a Lay Missioner in the US, and former TZ missioner, did the TZ table.

Fr. Larry Lewis, a MK priest, said Mass. He had a great homily.

The TZ crew getting ready to sign our covenants.

Caitlin was my witness and I was hers.

I was so pleased that my mentor, Sr. Noel, was able to come to the ceremony today. She's been a great asset to my experience here for the past few months.

The next big ceremony will be on Saturday. We'll have a ton of family and friends coming into town for that one. We're going to party it up!

2011-12-06T21:34:00.002-05:00

It's so hard to believe that 14 weeks have passed and we now have less than a half week until the end of our Maryknoll Orientation Program. As with all things, it seems like a lifetime ago and a blink of an eye ago that we left South Carolina and pulled into the parking lot at Bethany. I am so excited to be finishing because that means the next step is just getting on the plane on the 28th! But, at the same time this next step comes with a huge number of emotions.

This weekend will be our Sending Ceremony, which is pretty much like a graduation. And at the end of the weekend we'll have to say goodbye to the wonderful people that we've met here. Over the past few months, I've made some amazing new friends. As I said at the very beginning of training, we all have very different stories, yet very similar paths. So it's been easy making friends here because in some ways we understand each other very well. So, needless to say, it's going to be a tear-jerker to say goodbye to these folks.

From the back row, left to right.
Chris, Rick (El Salvador), Darren (El Salvador)
Me, Dee (Cambodia)
David (TZ), Mabel (TZ), Hyun Jung (Brazil)
Caitlin (TZ), Carolyn (Brazil), Nena (Bolivia)
Gloria (Bolivia), Isabel (Brazil), Maria (Cambodia)
Sirikit (Brazil), Donna (Bolivia)

More Goodbyes and Visits

2011-12-03T08:33:00.002-05:00

During the past 3 months we've had so many visits from family and friends that it's been hard to keep up with them here on the blog. I'm not saying that's a bad thing! We've had such a major outpouring of support and love from our family and friends. It continues to astonish me!

When we were in DC last month we got to stay goodbye to Paula, a friend from SC who has lived in the DC area for a few years. She even took the day off to hang out and get Ghanaian food with us!

Posing with some beautiful fall foliage.

Then, a few weeks ago we went back into the city to hang out with a childhood friend of Chris's, Billy. Billy and his wife are recent transplants to the NYC area so we had fun trudging around Central Park and going into FAO Schwartz.

MS boys take Manhattan!

That same night the 3 of us met up with another group of friends, Tricia and Adam, to see a Mike Doughty concert in Brooklyn*. A&T get big props for driving (through wicked** traffic) from Boston just for the evening. I think we only got to hang out for like 1 hour (not including the concert, which doesn't count as "hanging out time" since we couldn't talk.)

The crew after eating some awesome veggie burgers and veggie dogs in Williamsburg.

The Mike Doughty concert was great, as always. And they had a really rocking opening band, Moon Hooch.

Doughty and Band

But the added bonus of seeing MD in concert is that Chris's other long-time friend, Andy "Scrap" Livingston plays for Mike. So we got to hang out with Andy before and after the show!

Scrap, living the life.

Andy and Chris after the show.

Last but not least in the visits thus far was that I took a quick trip onto Long Island yesterday morning to get a glimpse of my college friend, Melissa, and her beautiful children. The visit was too short, but I'm starting to have separation anxiety and I just needed to say hi.

This child melts my heart.

Baby Lena is as snuggly and cute as can be.

It was hard to get everyone to stay still for even a second!

*We were in my old stomping ground of Williamsburg. I lived there over 10 years ago for a summer and then moved over to Greenpoint, which is just a few blocks down the road. My, has that area changed over the past decade! I almost didn't recognize it!

**You see what I did there? "Wicked?" Boston? Yup. I'm a dork.

4 Years

2011-12-02T07:48:00.001-05:00

4 years ago today we lost Chris's dad, David. He is still missed every day.

New life

2011-11-29T19:44:00.006-05:00

It seems like life has been full of pregnancies and births lately. I have two friends who just recently gave birth to beautiful, healthy babies. And it seems like every day someone new is announcing their pregnancy. In fact, the big news in my family is that my brother and his wife are expecting their third child. This, after a 10 year hiatus, took everyone by surprise! They announced it to the family on Thanksgiving weekend via this cute video that my brother put together. Check out these pictures of the family when they found out:

There is just something so magical and special to me about all of these changes. Life is moving so rapidly and change is coming whether we want it to or not. Perhaps because I am manipulating so much change in my own life I am finding some clarity in seeing the changes unfold in other people's lives on a day to day basis. And (Not that everything is about me, but it's my blog so I can make it all be about me, right?) I am finding a lot of similarities between what my pregnant and newly parenting friends/family are going through and what I am going through as I prepare to embark on my own new adventure. I can't imagine what it's like to go into the hospital one day and come out the next day with your very own infant in your arms! When you're going to become a parent many people read books, talk with other parents and buy all the right equipment; yet somehow I imagine that there's really nothing that one can do to fully prepare for what that experience will entail. You just have to live it and experience it and figure it out as you go along.

Well, that's exactly how I feel right now about going overseas. We've been working toward this move for so long. We've met people who have lived there; we have attended session after session in the orientation program; we've bought new equipment. But there's really no telling what it's going to be like to step off that plane in our new home until we just do it. We'll just have to work it out as life unfolds. And there's just something really poetic to me about that. We just need to keep moving forward knowing that God will give us all strength to handle whatever challenges and triumphs are thrown our way.

Car for Sale

2011-11-26T21:18:00.003-05:00

Anyone know someone who wants to buy a Subaru? It's a fantastic car and we would never sell it if it weren't for moving abroad!

Here's the link to the posting on Craigs list. Pass it around to anyone you think might be interested!

Welcome Lena!

2011-11-26T20:41:00.002-05:00

Born 11/26/11 @ 10:19am
7lbs 2oz

Congrats to Tim, Melissa and Ann!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T18:57:00.002-05:00

I have so much to be thankful for and right now I'm even more aware of the blessings in my life since things are about to change so drastically very soon. Of course, I'll still have an uncountable number of things to be thankful for even once we're gone. And in fact, when I'm in Tanzania I suspect that I will be even more aware of my blessings than I currently am. But for now I'm trying to practice awareness of the great things in my life and appreciate all of my surroundings.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Visit from the Family

2011-11-21T21:28:00.003-05:00

Last weekend my brother and his family came up to Ossining for a visit. It was so special to have the time to visit with all of them and catch up. We had a leisurely time together but managed to do a lot of fun things too.

We reserved them their very own apartment at Bethany. I think it was nice for them to be able to stretch out a bit and have their very own space.

But each morning the Waldies merged upstairs in our place for breakfast together. It was so cute.

We enjoyed going to the local farmers markets and stocking up on some goods.

Maddie got to help make stone soup.

We also spent a good amount of time walking around the Maryknoll grounds and visiting the museum at the Father's. I hadn't been into the Maryknoll Museum before, so I was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was.

They had a lot of interactive exhibits and a great video that I thought explained the call to mission really well. They also had this really cool prayer gazebo where visitors could write their prayers on wooden cards and tie them to the gazebo.

Saturday night we played a mean game of Apples to Apples with some of my fellow candidates. Yours truly was the winner, thank you very much! I thought it was really great that the MKLMers and my family could get some time to get to know each other.

On Sunday we took a walk along the Hudson. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was out so it was a pretty day.

Thanks, dudes, for a great visit! It means a lot to me.

An Ode to PM

2011-11-14T20:59:00.003-05:00

If I still lived in Columbia we totally would have gone to Pizza Man for dinner tonight. I was craving a tossed salad with Parmesan peppercorn ranch dressing, french fries and a slice of cheese pizza. I essentially got the same as this at a local pizza place here in Ossining and it was good, don't get me wrong. But it was no PM. Oh, you are missed, my friend!

Retreat

2011-11-13T21:45:00.002-05:00

Thursday and Friday marked a turning point for us in the Orientation Program. We spent 2 days on retreat to quiet down and reflect on the program thus far. The retreat officially completed the discernment portion of our training and on Friday we verbally agreed to move forward with our decision to become missioners.

This may seem like a weird semantic situation to most people. I mean, why would we get rid of all our stuff, quit our jobs and rent our house out if we weren't completely sure of this? But MKLM likes their rituals. And they want to make sure that we are absolutely positive that this is the right place for us (and vice versa). So the theory is that up until this point we were feeling things out, praying, and really trying to figure out if this was our place. But now the assumption is that we've gotten a better idea of what we're getting into and that we're in it now for the long haul.

I have to say, I LOVED the retreat! I spent a lot of quiet time walking alone through the woods, sitting by the river, writing in my journal, and just paying attention to God. I can't remember a time when I was so still and quiet. The weather was warm and the scenery beautiful. What a special treat to have that time!

Google Voice

2011-11-08T20:32:00.003-05:00

We got a Google Voice number a while back so that I could send text messages for free and also so people could leave voice mails for us when we're abroad. When people leave voice mails for us on GV, it emails us a (poorly done) transcription of the message. Here's one I got today from a fellow MKLMer:

"Hey, Ohh, this is maria in Washington. I am at the mechanic. Gardiner very close to the capital on the south side, of the Catholic he just start barely along the mom this is reachable to panic gardens and I need to eat some lunch in a meeting at 130 just finished talking to some 22 year old, climbers and I wanted to get a chicken ass, but alas, that's done, one more meeting 130 beautiful day gimme a call if you guys only for lunch or later. "

Last Day in DC

2011-11-08T08:21:00.003-05:00

We're winding up our Collaborative Formation Gathering in DC and tomorrow we will be heading back to NY. Yesterday and today we have been wandering around DC and seeing more about how our government and the Catholic Church work.

Yesterday we met with a variety of organizations, mostly Catholic, that work on social justice and global peace issues.

The most powerful place we visited was TASSC International, an organization to support survivors of torture and advocate for its abolition. Their offices are tucked away among the various buildings associated with the Catholic University of America and when you walk in there you can just sense the pain and suffering of the people they serve. They said they have a caseload of over 300 people and that every day approximately 2 new cases walk through their doors. If I lived in DC I would definitely volunteer for them.

In the afternoon we visited the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the big dogs!

They told us a bit about how the Conference works along with Catholic Relief Services to lobby the US government to fight global poverty and injustice. I may not always agree with them on all of their stances, but it really gave me a broader picture of how much good work the Catholic Church does around the world. I know we (the Catholic Church) get a bad rep in a lot of ways, but seriously folks, Catholic Social Teaching, check it out. It's pretty revolutionary, I think.

Today we break off from the group and visit our State Senators and Representatives. Just want to make an introduction and let them know that they have constituents abroad and that we'll be monitoring how US policy plays out on the ground in developing countries. We'll see how that goes.

AND, this afternoon we get a visit with PAULA!!

Visits with Friends

2011-11-04T22:02:00.002-04:00

The goodbye tour for the Reids has continued in DC as we've gotten some special opportunities to say goodbye to more friends.

On Monday night, which just so happened to be Halloween, we got a bonus visit with one of Chris's oldest friends, Jeremy, and a special meeting with his girlfriend Jan. They were in town from San Diego for a work trip this week.*

Jeremy and Jan dressed as Mexican wrestlers, Luchadors, or "Muchadores."

We also got to see them on Thursday night too. Double bonus!

On Tuesday night we met up with my friend from NYU, Emily, and her husband. They're in limbo before moving into their new (gorgeous) house, so we hung out at her parent's house and had an amazing dinner!

I love their dog, Paloma, sitting with her legs spread in the background waiting for Kevin to come home and play with her.

I guess I've probably already said this more than once already. But I'm going to keep saying it because it's true. It's really a special thing to have so many supportive friends and family accompanying us on this adventure. And, it's been a wonderful experience having the opportunity to see so many of our dearest loved ones in such a short period of time. We'll definitely draw from these memories when we're struggling with temporarily having no familiar faces or loved ones near to us.

*I was going to plop a link in here to my blog post about when we recently visited Jeremy in San Diego, only to realize that I never wrote such a blog post! I guess things got really busy at the time and I just forgot. All I said about our trip was the massive power outage, which is hardly representative of the great time we had. Oh well, the pictures of the trip are on Flickr.

What's in a seed?

2011-11-03T12:27:00.003-04:00

Have you ever known that you can eat the insides of the seeds of an apple? In fact, I've discovered that they're one of the most delicious parts of the apple. They have a very subtle, nutty grenadine flavor. I just learned this fact from a fellow missioner and now I can't seem to stop eating apples, mostly to get to the yummy seeds inside.

For 33 years I've been eating apples (well, maybe a little less than that since I probably wasn't eating apples when I was a newborn) and throwing away the best part, not even knowing that I'm missing anything.

I think there's got to be some sort of analogy there. Maybe that's what my job will be as a missioner-to seek out the gems that have been discarded by society or others as useless in life and appreciate them for all their beauty and subtly.

Happy All Saint's Day

2011-11-01T16:52:00.005-04:00

I'm having trouble keeping up with the blog and documenting everything that is going on as it's going on. Chris seems to be keeping up with it a little bit more. So I feel like I'm behind the ball. But for the sake of keeping things up to date I'll keep posting, even if it's past due or has been posted somewhere else already.

On Sunday we met up with my family in the city for brunch. It was a sort of last-minute arrangement and I was so glad to be able to see them, even if just for a short time. Here's a shot of my mom at Friend of a Farmer. The food was so good, as always!

After brunch, we (mom, Chris, I and several MKLMers) attended the centennial Mass of the Maryknoll Father's and Brothers at St. Patrick's Cathedral. To be brutally honest, it was sort of your standard long Mass with a lot of pomp and circumstance. But they had a few cool touches in it.

For example, they started the Mass out with a procession of all the flags from the 47 countries that currently have Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. It was really cool! They also read the Prayers of the Faithful in six different languages (while we read along in English).

I did feel a special sense of pride during the Mass. To be a part of such a great movement with a history of dedication to service around the world is an amazing privilege!

Following the Mass we took a bus to Washington, DC. We're down here for the next 10 days to continue our cross training with 3 other mission organizations. I was sad to leave our temporary home at Bethany, but it's been a good change of scenery. Plus, we've already gotten to see some friends and will continue to see more as the week progresses. For the past 2 days we've been learning about Catholic Social Teaching and community organizing. I hope to post more about those sessions when I have a bit more time.

Special Visitor

2011-10-30T18:05:00.002-04:00

I mentioned yesterday about the snow, but I was saving a special post to mention my visitor for the weekend. We were fortunate to have my friend from NYU make one last visit before she gives birth to her second daughter in less than a month.

She chose a heck of a weekend to visit, but braved the snow just to have some extra "Katie-Melissa Time." We had a great time hanging out, playing cards, resting, and just catching up. Thanks, Melissa! Can't wait to meet the new little lady soon (but not too soon so you have time to get the room finished)!

Snowpocalypse?

2011-10-29T17:22:00.003-04:00

It's crazy snowing today in Ossining and we just got back from a snowball fight. It's hard to believe that 2 days ago we were playing frisbee in our t-shirts.

It's a great way to spend a day, though. Cozied up, watching football*, drinking hot chocolate and resting. We're just getting off a 10 day stretch with no day off and we're about to go into another one. So this is just great!

*I'm not a huge fan of watching sports on TV, but it reminds me of childhood and the noise in the background is comforting.

Update: there are more pictures of the snow-shenanigans on Flickr now.

Motivations to Serve

2011-10-26T17:36:00.003-04:00

Chris wrote a really good blog post about his motivations to be in mission and serve in Africa. I share a lot of his thoughts. Check out the post here.

Dear, oh Dear

2011-10-24T21:51:00.002-04:00

Last night Chris and I decided to go out to dinner on a "date." We're 1/2 way through a 10 day stretch with no days off and we started to get a little stir crazy. After staying inside for several days in a row and having no outside experiences I really start to get cranky. It was funny because for the past 2 days we'd had workshops on conflict resolution. When Chris and I went out we were both so cranky that I said we'd decided to demonstrate the conflicts we'd heard about for the past few days.

Anyways, I got a little gussied up and we went to a town over to get dinner and then came back to Ossining for dessert at the local diner*. Despite our tired crankiness, it was a nice night. And the best part was when we pulled into the parking lot at Bethany there were 3 deer grazing in the yard, a momma and 2 teens we presumed. We thought they'd skitter off when we got out of the car but they didn't. We had to walk past them to get to the door of the building, but they still didn't budge. They just looked up and watched us closely as we watched them closely. We were about 5 feet from them. Totally cool! (And a little scary.)

*$2.50 double scoop of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry! What a deal, even if the bathrooms were a little smelly.

My Mailing List

2011-10-21T20:12:00.003-04:00

Four times a year Chris and I will send out newsletters that will detail the work we're doing. The first one will go out in December, so if you have already requested to be put on our mailing list and have given us your contact information but you have not received any updates in your mailbox from us (virtual or otherwise), now you know why! :) Keep your eyes peeled after the 1st of December and you should find something there.

If you have not formally requested to be put on our mailing list and would like to do so, please email me or Chris with your email address and snail mail address. Me: curlyk78(at)gmail(dot)com or Chris: baldman76(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Great stories to come, for sure!

What Are You Studying?

2011-10-18T13:13:00.003-04:00

Bethany House, our home and our workplace for Orientation Program

We've gotten a lot of questions about what exactly we're learning about and studying over these next few months of the Orientation Program. It's kind of a hard question to answer because we're learning new things every day and every week. But here's a bit of a rundown of what we've been learning.

Just like any other job, we've had orientations to all parts of the organization--marketing, human resources, finances, etc. Those are the "how to's" and the "who we are's" of the organizational structure. Pretty typical stuff.

For the past week we learned about Dialogue-Based Education (aka Popular Education), which is a method for teaching adult education. It's based on the concept that ideas are generated from the group, rather than from a traditional teacher-to-student mode, like more traditional teaching styles. This type of education incorporates a lot of activities, discussions and dialogues, and the participants are seen as active decision makers rather than passive attendees. It also allows a lot more room for respecting diverse cultures. Cultural sensitivity will be especially important in mission because I'll be coming from a very different cultural reference point than all of my participants. Plus, who would know better about the problems in their lives and the potential solutions than the participants themselves?

One of the things that is also neat about Dialogue-Based Education is that it's sort of like how Jesus taught. For better or for worse, Jesus taught using parables and stories. He rarely gave a straight answer. Instead, He encouraged the people to come up with answers themselves. DBE uses this idea. And that can be great and/or it can be infuriating because it's a circuitous process and there's not always a clear-cut answer. This will certainly test my patience (not a strength of mine), but I'm hoping it will lead me down paths that I never would've thought on my own!

Our training room

We've also had classes on scripture in which we've talked about various passages related to mission, as well as classes on the theology of mission. That was where we talked about what it means to be a missioner in the Catholic Church in 2011 (and beyond). That class was great because it cleared up a lot of concern that most of us had about mistakes made by past missioners/missionaries (and current missioners too, I guess) (for example, disrespecting indigenous cultures, forced conversion, ethnocentrism, etc). It was from this class that I got the quote I used in an earlier post.

The next few weeks will be interesting because we'll be cross training with three other Catholic Mission organizations, the Franciscan Mission Associates, the Society of African Missions and the Comboni Missionaries. They will stay with us in Bethany for 1 1/2 weeks and then we'll be going to DC for another 1 1/2 weeks. I think we'll be talking for the most part about how to handle trauma in mission as well as cross cultural issues. But I'll for sure keep everyone posted!

History of Maryknoll, A Good Hike, and Other Stuff

2011-10-11T21:10:00.004-04:00

Chris wrote a great post about the history of Maryknolls. Pop over to his blog if you've not read it.

I also thought I would post a picture of our Regional Coordinator, who we have mentioned on several previous occasions.

Our first meeting with someone who will soon play a very significant role in our lives!

Also, in the spirit of being behind on blog posts, I think I should mention that in our free time we've been having some nice outings around the area that we're living. A week ago Saturday, 6 of us hiked Bear Mountain. This had special significance to me because I used to hike up this mountain every Fall when I was in Newman Club at NYU. It's been at least 11 years since I took my last hike here, so it brought back all kinds of good memories*. I wonder if they still do this as an event.

The ascent we took was quite steep.

Here we are resting a minute from the climb.

The views were spectacular, though the leaves weren't really changing yet. It's amazing what difference a week can make! I bet it'd be all colors this weekend.

When we got to the bottom of the mountain the park was having an Oktoberfest festival. What better way to celebrate a good hike then with a cold beer! We contemplating getting a stein, but decided none of us needed to spend that much money on beer**!

Do we look happy or what!?

This past Sunday we took another smaller hike along the Hudson, but I don't have those pictures uploaded yet, so I guess I'll save that for a future post.

*Some of which include Fr. Greg almost tumbling down the mountain, praying at the summit, and sliding down the wet rocks on my butt!

**If I remember correctly, it was $23 for the stein and $9 for refills of beer. Compared to the standard $5 a pint, it seemed a little extreme.

Yummy

2011-10-09T21:20:00.000-04:00

Fall in NY = apple pie

Oh so good.

Our Project

2011-10-06T18:15:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I've left everyone hanging since Saturday when I mentioned that we got our project descriptions but didn't actually tell you what we'll be doing. Sorry about that folks.

So, the back story is that in order to get Tanzanian visas we have to list our job title and job description. None of the other 5 countries that MKLM serves has to do that. So most missioners won't know their job until they're in the country, can tour the job sites, and get a feel for where their education, talents and interests will best fit. I think there's positives and negatives to both ways of doing it, but I certainly appreciate knowing ahead of time what my job will be! So, we sat down with our Regional Coordinator* on Thursday of last week and hashed out where we'll be working. I am thrilled to say that it sounds like both of our jobs will be perfect fits!

I will be working at the Catholic Diocese of Mwanza in their Women's Programming Desk. I'll be working with a native Tanzanian woman who's been the "lone ranger" in the office but she doesn't have enough time to get all the work done. The programs they run include: Gender and HIV/AIDS, Gender and Inequality, Supporting Women in Civic
Engagement, Support for Single Mothers and Women and Agriculture, to name just a few. So, needless to say, I'm totally stoked and I feel like it's all coming full circle. This is the exact type of work that I wanted to do and my skills and education will certainly be utilized in this job.

Chris will also be working with women, but in a different capacity and through a different organization. His job will be assisting an NGO with women's cooperatives. His job will be a lot more nebulous because it's basically just sitting with women in the area and finding out what kinds of things they'd like to start, and then helping them start them. There are already a few coops already started, one of which is a womens' singing and drumming group. He's totally psyched about that!

Time will tell what these jobs will really look like, but at this point we feel very positive about it and can't wait to get started!

*All of the Regional Coordinators from around the world are in NY this week for a meeting of the Global Council. That's a benefit to us newbies because we get to meet the people who essentially are our in-country supervisors and who will be a great resource to us while we're abroad. Our RC is GREAT!

Long days

2011-10-04T21:54:00.003-04:00

Today's schedule:
8:30 Morning Prayer
9-12:00 Morning session
12-1:00 Lunch
1:00-3:00 Afternoon session
3:30-5:00 Tour of the Seminary
5:00-6:00 Happy hour at the Seminary (yes, you read that right. These guys have a great setup!)
6:00-7:00 Dinner with the Priests and Brothers
7:45-9:30 Meeting with Regional Coordinator
10:00 Security check around the building

Tomorrow's schedule:
7:30 AM Rabies shots (yeah, that's a great way to start the day)
8:30 Morning Prayer
9:00-12:00 Morning session
12:00 Group Picture
12:20-12:50 Individual Discernment Meeting
1:30-4:30 Afternoon session
5:10-5:50 Vaccination meeting
evening Get passport photos taken

How Do MKLM Party?

2011-10-03T21:51:00.002-04:00

With a cook out and Andean music...

My battery died, so this video cuts pretty short. But you get the idea.

Has it Been A Week Already?

2011-10-01T14:06:00.003-04:00

This week has flown by! It's hard to believe that we arrived at Bethany this time last week. So I feel really slack that I've not yet posted about the visit to Long Island that we made before coming up here.

Check out this little squirmy worm:

We enjoyed the awesome company, plus hanging out, resting, getting ice cream and (as always) eating yummy food.

How about this quiet moment?

We didn't take a lot of pictures of Melissa and every one that we did take, Melissa said we couldn't post online. So here's the only one I've got:

Thanks for the great visit!

What Are You Going to Be Doing?

2011-10-01T13:46:00.002-04:00

We get that question a lot. It's a reasonable question. People want to know what we'll be doing. Heck, I want to know what we'll be doing. And, to be honest, we found out this week what our jobs will be. (Yipee!) But I'm not going to share it just yet with you. Before I do that, though, I want to share a quote that I got this week during one of our training sessions.

Before all else, dialogue is a manner of acting, an attitude; a spirit which guides one's conduct. It implies concern, respect and hospitality toward the other. It leaves room for the other person's identity, modes of expression and values. Dialogue is thus the norm and necessary manner of every form of Christian mission as well as every aspect of it whether one speaks of simple presence and witness, service or direct proclamation.
-Reflections and Orientations on Dialogue and Mission #836

I put this quote up here because it's a reminder (mostly to me) that regardless of what my job will be, my main purpose is to listen to people, to accompany them in their stories. There is nothing I can do for anyone without first doing that. This is probably the hardest thing that we will do while we're missioners.

First few days of training

2011-09-27T20:49:00.006-04:00

We’ve only gone through 2 ½ days of training I’m already overwhelmed (in mostly good ways) and my brain is just reeling. In and of itself this training alone is going to be a life-altering experience. And I’m so excited for it.

Today both Chris and I individually had to give a 30-minute presentation on our “journey” to MKLM and this point in our lives. It was essentially a life story. I was up until after 11PM last night working on it, Chris until after midnight. So today was a long day of sitting all day listening to 9 people’s (1/2 the group) life stories. But, it was such a privilege to be allowed to hear how they got here. People shared such amazing journeys. I have this visual of 20 different roads all leading to the same convergent point and then breaking apart again. What I mean by this is that I feel like even though we all have vastly different stories, are varying ages and come from unique backgrounds, something has led all of us here today. And we will influence each other in amazing ways over the course of our training. Then, we’ll take that influence and use it in our work around the globe.

I’m off to bed now because we have another long day tomorrow. I was going to post some pictures from my Lifelines presentation today, but Flickr isn't working with me and I'm too tired to mess with it. I'll try again on another day.

San Diego, Mississippi, and Alabama Visits

2011-09-25T21:56:00.002-04:00

I'm still catching up on posts from our visits out west. Chris did a great post summarizing the last few days of our trip, so I figured I'd just link to his post rather than wait for me to actually get it together to post about the trip. This is kind of a cop-out, but at least I've gotten the San Diego and Gringo Star pictures on flickr.

Read here about the 2nd half of our out west trip.

A Tour of Our Apartment

2011-09-24T22:25:00.002-04:00

I know that I still have to post pictures and stories from all the visits we've been doing in the past few weeks, but I can't help but post a quick message about our living space at MKLM.

We arrived this morning and have spent the day getting settled, unpacking, and meeting the other candidates. Tomorrow starts our training and it will be JAM PACKED until December. Most of our nights and weekends are even going to be filled up! We weren't expecting that. But we're SUPER excited for everything to come and can't wait to jump right in.

It's totally surreal to be here. We've been talking about this ad nauseam for 10 years! It's so strange and wonderful and amazing to actually be doing it!

When we got here, this sign welcomed us by the elevators.

There was also this sign on our door.

Here is a view of our apartment as you walk through the door. The couples and families get suites with kitchenettes and private bathrooms. But the single folks have to share bathrooms and kitchens on each hallway.

Here's a bad shot of me cooking. The kitchenette is not the easiest thing to cook in. So we may be going to the end of the hall and using the communal kitchen a lot.

Our little eating area. Need to get some light bulbs for that light.

Bathroom. Fairly standard.

Bedroom.

We even have an extra bedroom. Guess that's so when we fight we have a place for one of us to sleep. Just kidding!

All in all, it's a very cozy, comfy place!

We made it!

2011-09-24T11:39:00.002-04:00

We made it to our training center in NY! The true adventure starts now...

A Must See

2011-09-20T23:36:00.001-04:00

Chris's sister and her husband are amazingly talented people living in Chicago. For the past many years they have been part of the product team, Blewt. Blewt just put out a pilot TV episode of Don't Spit the Water, a crazy live game show they've done as a theater production for years. The episode is hilarious and brilliant. You've GOT to watch it. Then, go to the network's website and tell them how amazing it was and that they've GOT to make it a regular program. Seriously, folks, this is so funny.

Don't Spit the Water! Pilot Episode from Blewt! Productions on Vimeo.

Goodbye to Columbia

2011-09-19T22:36:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday we officially moved from Columbia. It's very surreal that one day we're in our own home, sleeping in our bedroom and living in the same city we've lived for 8 1/2 years, and then the next morning, we wake up, (over) pack the car and roll out.

After months of selling, donating, and get rid of stuff you'd think we'd have nothing to take with us. Plus, it gets really old going over and over and over again deciding what we should keep and what we get rid of. So, imagine our frustration at just how much stuff we had to to fit into the car.

Luckily, we got most of it in. I'd rented a bag for the roof of our car, which fit a lot of stuff and in the end we only had to ditch a few last-minute things. And all things considered everything went well with the whole move.

Before we left town we had another round of goodbyes. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but it actually was a really good process. It gave me time to appreciate all the amazing friends that we have in Columbia. We have the most amazing support system that anyone could ask for. If you're reading this blog then you're a friend (or family--same thing). So give yourself a big hug and a pat on the back with a big THANK YOU for being so amazing. It's because of your support that Chris and I are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. We are going to need your continued support and prayers, so don't give up now! ;)

Here are pictures of some of our last Columbia goodbyes:

Allyson, neighbor of a lifetime!

Iggy Pup!

Travis and Julia, the new parents to our kitties!

Hanne, Brent and Ellie

Showing Carrie some love on our last night in town

Being sexy with Jenah.

The Magandas are from the area of Tanzania that we'll be living. In fact, we stayed with their family when we visited in 2006!

Arizona Days 3, 4 & 5

2011-09-18T00:35:00.002-04:00

I’m still catching up on blog posts from our trip out west.Meanwhile, the rest of life just keeps moving on. I’ll post soon about the moveand all the craziness as we were leaving town. But for now, here’s theremainder of our trip to Arizona.

During the last half of our trip, we did a nice balance ofchilling out at the house, mixed with sightseeing. On Sunday we pretty muchstayed around town because the hubby and I wanted to go to Church and we had aslew of laundry to do. I always enjoy going to churches in other parts of thecountry (and world) to see their local and cultural spin on Mass. As to beexpected, the Church in Dad’s neighborhood was very modern. Though it didn’thave much of a Latino flair to it, so that was surprising. The rest of the daywas spent going in and out of funky little shops in an area of town not too farfrom Dad and Holly’s place.

Cool iron sculpture of a horse outside a store.

Messing around in the shops.

On Monday we took the afternoon to go to Sedona. I visitedSedona when I was last in AZ to see the parents, but Chris hadn’t been. So wetook a Pink Jeep Tour to look at the beautiful red rocks and take in thespectacular natural sights. We also enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal, which wasour main staple both in AZ and in CA. We couldn’t get enough of it!

Stealing the pink jeep for a quick getaway into the mountains.

Overlooking Sedona.

A view of what is known as "The Cow Pies Trail" because of the rounded rocks. We loved how you can see the layers of different types of rock in the formations.

We had a few hours on Tuesday before our late afternoonflight to San Diego, so Dad took us down to Scottsdale to show us the buildingwhere he works and take us around to some of the art studios. Did you know thatScottsdale has works of art by Picasso, Renoir, Miro, Warhol and Hunter S.Thompson? I didn’t even know you could have those things for sale! We were justwalking around, checking out the artwork and we turned around and saw a Reniorstatue. Then we walked around the corner and saw Picasso. Our jaws dropped.Then we went to another store that had a bunch more fantastic, famous artists.They didn’t have price tags on them. And our saying is “If you have to ask, youcan’t afford it.” Needless to say, we didn’t buy anything.

House for Rent

2011-09-14T14:29:00.001-04:00

Having not sold our house, we're now listing it for rent. We have it listed with Columbia Property Management, so if anyone is interested they can contact them directly at 803-931-0044.

Here is the link to the house listing on Craigslist. Please spread the word!

Oh! And if you were thinking of buying it but hadn't made your move, you can still make an offer but you better do it quick. As soon as the house is rented we'll be taking it off the market! Here's a reminder about the listing for sale!

Back in Columbia

2011-09-13T16:33:00.001-04:00

We've been in Columbia since Sunday night, but we've pretty much been go, go, go-ing since we got home, so I've had little time to post the rest of my pictures or tell the remaining stories from our trip. We're only here until Saturday, at which time we'll head up north toward our training ground.

I've been slowly putting up a few shots onto Flickr, so I'll leave you with this video from our visit to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. Can you tell we were having fun?

San Diego Unplugged 2011

2011-09-09T11:55:00.002-04:00

We've been in San Diego for the past 2 1/2 days and last night we experienced the big power outage that spanned from Mexico to Orange County and into parts of New Mexico and Arizona. It doesn't seem like national media made too big a deal out of it, but it was a huge deal here. Millions of people without power. All of San Diego in the dark.

We were out in Escondido at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park when the power went out. So we headed back "home" again, made a quick stop at Target to pick up supplies (this is when big box stores really come in handy), and then had a cookout in Jeremy's backyard.

On the walk back to our hotel we stopped at a bar (the only bar open on the strip) to ride out the power outage a little longer. I have to say, it was pretty cool to be hanging out in the complete dark. Gave a neat air to things. (Maybe it's good that I liked it because we'll definitely experience rolling blackouts in Africa. Though, they'll be more equipped to deal with them there.)

The power went back on again around 1:15 this morning. We were asleep by then, but I woke up to the sound of cheers as power was restored.

I'll write more about our travels soon!

Arizona, Days 1 and 2

2011-09-04T12:06:00.002-04:00

We're not even 1/2 way through out Arizona trip and it's been jam-packed so far! We're visiting my dad and stepmom and they always make sure to show us a great time! My sister was also out here for the first day and a half that we were here. But she had to head home yesterday morning. And, unfortunately Chris and I left our camera in the car in Mississippi, so I've had to take most of my pictures on my Blackberry phone. I'll have more photos later once I get the pictures that my dad has taken with his camera.

On the first day we visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. Man, what an awesome museum! We spent 7 hours walking around, listening to music and playing on instruments from around the world. It was such a well organized and beautiful museum. You just walk from station to station listening to music and instruments from around the world.

Chris spent a lot of time in the Africa section, as to be expected.

And, the food they had in their cafe was AMAZING! I said jokingly that Chris's head was going to explode because of all the awesome world music, but my head was going to explode from the delicious food! Organic. Local ingredients. Healthy. Fresh. My belly AND my ears were happy.

Sandwich with local cucumbers, squash, kale, goat cheese, and a spread of pesto. Homemade potato chips. Locally made birch beer.

Yesterday we took a day trip to THE GRAND CANYON! LOVE IT! I've seen it a couple of times, but Chris had never been there. So I was really happy to be able to share this place with him.

We ate lunch and then took a short hike down a portion of the Bright Angel Trail.

I'd really like to hike to the bottom and back at some point in my life. But it's pretty amazing how tired I got even from just the small bit of hiking we did! We were all pretty exhausted last night.

One of the highlights of the day was spotting some elk eating by the road out of the park.

I look forward to figuring out what more is in store for us for the remainder of the visit!

Road Tripping

2011-08-31T10:27:00.003-04:00

Before we head to NY for our 3 months of training we're taking a few weeks to travel across the country and visit family. We drove to Vicksburg on Sunday. On our way through Atlanta it just so happened to be lunchtime. So we stopped for a quick bite at Home Grown, a restaurant that my cousins introduced us to a little while ago. Man, if you're in the area, that's some tasty food!

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. I was exhausted so I slept most of the way. I did wake up, however, to see my husband get pulled over for a speeding ticket in Alabama. $174 for going 88 in a 70 MPH zone! Seriously!? Grrr..

On Monday we made settlement on Chris's mom's house! This is a true blessing, more-so than selling our own house. It's one less thing to think about while we're gone.

We've had a good time visiting with family, hanging out at the best coffeehouse in the South and chilling out. I even got my wonderful husband to swim in the hotel pool with me yesterday!

Tomorrow we head west for Arizona!

**P.S. We heard from MKLM that we've raised over $600 so far toward our fund raising goal! We were so psyched to hear that because last we'd heard (about a month ago) we'd only received about 3 donations. They've not told us who has donated, which I feel bad about because I'd like to send individual thank you's. So thanks to everyone who has donated so far! We can't express how much we appreciate your financial support!

Where's all our stuff?

2011-08-29T14:36:00.002-04:00

So, I mentioned that our yard sale went well on Saturday. Despite that, Saturday night I found myself wide awake all through the night (unheard of for me!) inventorying everything we sold/donated.

What happened to that DVD of Hook? Did we sell or donate it? We should've pulled it out of the donation pile and sold it at Second Spin....

I wish we'd held onto those small plastic bottles. I could've used them for the upcoming traveling we'll have....

Damn, that suitcase that I accidentally got rid of...

And on and on and on.

It's funny because several people have made comments to me about how calmly I have been handling everything. And, seriously, I think I have been. But I guess it's caught up to me a little bit. It's kind of funny how my mind is playing tricks on me. Like stuff=stability or some semblance of control in one's life. And now that I'm without stuff I have less stability and/or less control, which is obviously bunk. And, not that I think I need (or particularly want) most of the things we got rid of. I've never really wanted a lot of "stuff." So that makes it even more odd that I was obsessing about it the other night.

I guess this is just gearing me up for the big push because, in fact, those trinkets are minor compared to the family and friends we'll soon be leaving behind (NOT getting rid of).

I found particular solace in the readings from Mass yesterday. "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matt 16:25.

Yard Sale 2

2011-08-27T16:48:00.003-04:00

Our second yard sale was a great success! Thanks to Allyson and Carrie again for helping out! Y'all are gems!

Now our house is pretty close to being empty, which is surprisingly not depressing. Yet, I'm fixated on the fact that I sold a large suitcase and forgot to look inside of it. I have a sneaking suspicion (as in, I know for a fact) that there was another suitcase stashed inside of it that we wanted to keep. Damn! Oh well, someone got that deal of the day. Anyone have a suitcase that they want to get rid of?

It's getting real

2011-08-25T18:20:00.002-04:00

After saying goodbye to most friends, leaving my work, and making all kinds of very real transitions toward moving, it's remained a very unreal thing that we'll be leaving Columbia (in less than 3 days!). But today I've sold a bunch of our things and the house is starting to look empty. We don't have a microwave or any table to eat off of. Those are definitely things that we use daily to function in the house. And, as I'm walking around the house, The situation is just now gaining a sense of immediacy. It's hitting home (pun not intended) that we're actually leaving this place. And as much as I'm looking forward to all the great things to come, it's definitely very sad to be leaving Columbia, our home and all the things and people that are here.

Dear Craigslist Buyers,

2011-08-25T13:49:00.004-04:00

When you say you're going to come purchase and pick up an item for sale, please follow through on your promise. It is inconsiderate to not show up, show up an hour late, or text to say never mind and you don't want the item. It's also really annoying if you call a dozen times beforehand to continually reschedule the pickup time.

Sincerely,

A Craigs List Seller

Going Away Party

2011-08-22T19:22:00.002-04:00

I just finished up a bowl of homemade ice cream, made by Carrie Draper for our party, while I'm posting some pictures of our going away party.

As I said before, the party was awesome. It lasted 9 hours, so Chris and I were utterly exhausted yesterday. But we have some of the most amazing friends and we had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came out! And a special thanks if you brought food or drinks! It was so helpful to have all the food taken care of! I normally handle all the food for our parties, which I enjoy doing. But I have to say, it was really great to not have to deal with any of that. And everything was so delicious. People kept complementing me on the food and I had to keep saying that I didn't do anything!

The spread at the beginning of the afternoon. A TON of people brought food too, so we were definitely not without sustenance.

Chris's work friends. Sylvan (on the right) is his replacement!

Fr. Bernard, Doyle and Kara enjoying food and company.

Carrie gives her ice cream a thumbs-up.

Cheryl and Noah, as Erin escapes out the door.

There was a brief, albeit violent bout of rain during the party. That's when the numbers started to swell a little bit.

Once the rain cleared, the weather was actually quite nice.

The Somali boys have grown so much in the past 6 years that we've known them.

Paula wins the prize for coming the farthest! She flew in from DC as a surprise.

Adam, Sara, and Enid came from Charlotte. A&S have only ever missed 1 Reid party in all the years we've been here.

Matt and Chrissy

Mrs. Dell (pictured above) and Dogwood (on the left) came from Greenville and brought yummy cookies.

Fabian and his wife (pictured 2 above) are from the region of TZ that we will be living in.

STSM in the house!

The kids seemed to enjoy each other's company and have an all-around good time.

Ruth, the celebrity, made an appearance.

Lucy's friend wore a shirt from Tanzania in our honor.

Allyson came the shortest distance--5 houses away. :)

Me and the biker crew.

PANASA had a good representation.

Dancing finally broke out in the evening.

The ubiquitous fire, a staple in all Reid shindigs.

The piece de resistance of the evening was the 2 really drunk and high neighbors who stopped by to introduce themselves. They were harmless, but made for great entertainment.

Thanks to Michelle for taking most of these pictures throughout the course of the night. Without her we wouldn't have had any shots!

Lovely Surprise

2011-08-21T18:17:00.001-04:00

Guess who popped in from Washington, DC for a surprise crashing of our party?

Totaly Rockin' Party

2011-08-21T15:53:00.002-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to the goodbye party last night. It was a great time! It was sort of like our wedding reception all over again--so many of our favorite people all in one location. How could it NOT be great!

Big THANKS to Carrie for organizing and planning most of the food and invites!

Last Minute Reminder

2011-08-19T21:38:00.000-04:00

Our goodbye party is tomorrow! Hope to see y'all there!

Nice weather!

2011-08-17T19:33:00.001-04:00

The weather is so cool(ish) tonight that we have the windows open! What WHAT? I thought it was August!? LOVE IT!

Car for sale

2011-08-14T13:10:00.001-04:00

Anybody know someone who needs a cheap around-town car?

**UPDATE: It sold! Wow, I never expected it to sell so fast. Within 30 minutes of posting it I had, like, 10 emails.

2011 Family Reunion

2011-08-12T16:30:00.002-04:00

Two Sunday's ago was our annual family reunion in western Pennsylvania. I was able to have an extra long visit with my grandparents because my mother and I drove up on Tuesday. We went early so we would be able to get all of my storage stuff up into the attic before the onslaught of 18 members of the family arriving closer to the weekend.

I can't really say we did much during the week other than a few shopping outings and getting ready for the reunion. But it was good to be at my grandparents house to soak it all in. I've been going there pretty much every summer for my entire life. I don't know when I'll get back there, if ever. My grandmother and grandfather (my only living grandparents remaining), though very healthy, are 84 and 93 years old respectively. Who knows what condition they will be in when we return. Obviously, I hope for the best, but I have to be realistic as well.

All-in-all, it was a very good visit with everyone. Even though I think we all get along relatively well, tensions can get a little high when you have so many people staying in the same house. But it was great to see everyone!

We have a tradition of going out to Bruno's restaurant on the Saturday night before the reunion. We all look forward to going there because they have great food and are very accommodating. We can be a rowdy bunch. Plus, we've got a slew of special dietary needs, what with 7 vegetarians, 1 person who's allergic to dairy and nuts, and 2 who can't eat gluten. God bless them for putting up with us!

The Family at Bruno's

Nick hamming it up behind Julia

This may be one of 2 times I've ever seen Grandmom drink alcohol. Maybe the Italian-ness has finally taken over her good Southern background...Or maybe she just needs a drink with all these crazy family members at her house!

Can you tell Hannah's our cousin?

One of the things that is a signature of my grandparent's house is that there are always a ton of animals, both inside and outside of the house.

This year almost everyone left their dogs at home and G.G. got the spotlight.

For the 60+ years that they have lived in that house, my Grandmother has fed "the critters." She puts dried corn, stale bread and food scraps out for groundhogs, deer, squirrels, and whatever other creatures come by for the buffet. She also feeds a menagerie of birds, including hummingbirds. So you can sit outside on the back porch any time of year and watch animals and birds going in and out of their backyard as they eat.

This year there was a 1/2 blind groundhog that Chris fell in LOVE with!

And, of course, what visit would be complete without a game of poker? I chose to sit out this year, but enjoyed watching everyone.

The reunion in itself was pretty anti-climactic this year. There was a smaller crowd than normal. And, Uncle Flint died the night before, so there was a somber feel about the event. Plus, there was no wiffle ball or bat this year because the person who holds them from year to year wasn't in attendance. I can't remember a time when there was no wiffle ball game. But we played BINGO and I won $10! Woot woot!

Grandad calls BINGO.

Jen also organized kid games, though there were only 3 kids there. Adults and kids participated, though, and that was fun too.

The line for the pinata

The water game

And, of course, the reunion always ends in a crescendo with a water balloon war. There were some serious hits this year. Though, I am happy to say I stayed completely dry!

Nick poised to attack

It will be at least 4 years before we make another reunion. There has been talk for years that the practice will be disbanded. It was started about 63 years ago because my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather were getting older and their children were dispersing. So the family set aside one day a year for everyone to get together. And, we have done that every year since. Now there are only 3 siblings left, my Uncle Ricki, my Aunt Phyllis, and my Grandfather.

Uncle Ricki is the last living brother of my Grandfather. At 99 years old, he's also the oldest of our relatives.

It will be very strange and sad for me to not be able to make the reunions for a few years. Leaving my family behind is going to be the hardest part about moving. I have fears that distance will come between us, while everyone else will continue to be close. But, gratefully, everyone is supportive of us going. I think their support will help us remain connected, even across thousands of miles and many years.

Thanks, guys. I love you and will miss you!

Rest in Peace

2011-08-10T17:41:00.003-04:00

Over the past two weeks 2 family members have passed away. My stepdad's mother died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday, July 24 while my mother was visiting us in Columbia. And my great-uncle, brother-in-law of my grandfather, died the following Saturday night.

Charlotte Cutshall, my step-grandmother, as a young woman.

My uncle, Flint Gaston, at last year's family reunion.

Both of these family members were much loved by the family and they both will be sorely missed.

Back Home (for now)

2011-08-09T22:35:00.002-04:00

I've been away for the past two weeks, driving (with the help of my Mom) our storage up to my Grandparents' house in PA and visiting family in NJ.

I've only been home for a few hours, but I have some conflicting emotions about being back. It feels so great to be home again (though it was a great visit with everyone!). I'm a creature of habit and I like to be in my own space with my own stuff and my alone time. So it's very strange to think about moving out of this house and I can't help but wonder how it will be in a few short weeks when we no longer have this home to come home to. I'll have to come up with all new habits; I'll be coming home to a new space and most of my "stuff" will be gone or in storage.

Even though this change is going to be good, it's certainly going to be tough.

A Last Visit

2011-07-27T22:50:00.002-04:00

Mom came down for her last visit to Columbia before we move. It was a busy visit, with packing up the house, having several social engagements, and my goodbye party at work. But I enjoyed having her here.

I think it's appropriate that she is helping us move out of the house, since she helped us move into it 4 years ago. As we were packing up I asked her if she thought she'd be helping me move out so quickly, and she said "no."

Sorry, mom. I know you love this little house.

So now we've got most of the stuff out of our house. And with a little luck maybe the next step will be selling it. Anyone?? Anyone??

Goodby to STSM

2011-07-21T22:51:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is my last day at work. It's not quite real to me yet. But I know I'm going to miss it. I think it's rare to find a job that is such a natural fit as mine has been for me. And because it was such a natural fit, I feel like I was able to excel at my job. I've only been there for 4 years, but I've done a lot of professional growing up over that time. I've learned so much about myself and about where my professional passion is. I truly am grateful for the experience.

My job has been my identity for so many years, I know I'm going to be a little at a loss about "who I am" after I'm no longer there. I fear I will feel useless until I am back at work again. So here's hoping that I can just hang in there and "go with the flow" for the next year until I am working in a job again.*

I also work with a great group of women. I feel blessed to have been able to work side-by-side with these women who are all amazing, smart, strong, beautiful, funny, vulgar, quirky, and a little bit crazy. Thanks, ladies, for all you've taught me. And, more importantly, thanks for putting up with my crap. I'll miss every one of you!

*Even though we start MKLM soon, we'll be in school essentially for the next year. It will be 3 months of training in NY, followed by 3 months of language school, followed by 2-3 months of language practice.

Saturday Get-Away

2011-07-17T21:08:00.002-04:00

This Saturday we went with a group of friends on our 3rd annual Lake Jocassee get-away. The weather was beautiful the first year we did a trip like this. Unfortunately, year two was a total freezing cold wash out (though we had interesting adventures none-the-less). So this year we prepared a little bit better and brought sweaters and pants on the boat.

The day started out chilly and overcast, but it warmed up enough for most of us to get in the water. It was still not as beautiful as it had been on year one, but a definite improvement from last year!

As always, great friends, great food, great times.

Brian and Chris catching up

Our fearless captain

The Dells always provide us with a feast for lunch!

Out of the boat to hang out at the waterfall and swim

The men in the waterfall

Playing in the COLD water from the waterfall

Nicole and I hiked up to the top of the first waterfall

Getting back in the water. See if you can spot the snake!

Keeping a close eye on the snake behind us

On a different set of rocks, Nicole and Chris set out to explore.

Enjoying a bit of the afternoon sun.

The beautiful mountains in the distance

You can see my whole set of pictures from the trip here.

Dogwood Dell also has his pictures up on Flickr.

AC Situation

2011-07-14T17:41:00.002-04:00

After 2 nights of no AC, it is now fixed. It took the guy less than 20 minutes to diagnose and fix it. Luckily, when we listed the house for sale we signed up for a home warranty service, which covered most of the cost of the repair.*

Last night was so much better than the night before. The house was in the low 80's so I slept a lot better. That may explain why this morning I said to Chris that I was actually enjoying having no AC. It was nice to have all the windows open and experience the fresh air for a while. I'm still appreciative of having working AC, though. ;)

*A big THANK YOU to our friend, Margaret, who reminded me that if we had a home warranty it would cover the repair!

Goodbye party

2011-07-12T23:09:00.002-04:00

Our sweet friend Carrie is organizing a goodbye party for us! If you've not already RSVPed to Carrie, send me an email or comment below to let me know you're coming!

(Click on the picture to make it bigger.)

Bah!

2011-07-12T19:27:00.004-04:00

Our air is out and I want to cry. It was 110 with the heat index today and I guess our system lost the battle. It's now 87 degrees in the house, 4 degrees warmer than when I got home from work. We're going to try to deal with it tonight so we don't have to pay overtime fees.

I know, you might ask "How are you going to live in Africa if you can't spend one night without air?" 2 things:
1) I'd like to soak up all the air I can get now before we're without it for over 3 1/2 years.
2) Where we're going to be living, the average temperature is more in the 80-90 degree range. And it was WAY over that in Columbia today.

*****UPDATE: It's now 11 PM and it's 89 degrees. I'm really hoping it doesn't get any hotter! The "air conditioning" is off and we've got a bunch of fans going (thank you, Myers). I failed to mention earlier that last weekend the motor on our box fan burned up and the ceiling fan in our bedroom is off-balance so it's making an annoying scrapping sound so we aren't using it. This is just an uncanny number of temperature-comfort-related coincidences.

4th of july weekend

2011-07-10T15:07:00.003-04:00

I'm a little behind in posting our pictures from the 4th of July weekend visit from Chris's sister and brother-in-law. This was Erica and Fuzzy's last visit to Columbia before we move. We'll see them again around the holidays, but by that point we'll no longer be living in here. As the number of our remaining visits with them dwindle it gets more and more bittersweet to see them because in the back of everyone's minds there's always the thought that we won't have this for 3 1/2 years while we're away.

That being said, we mostly put aside our sadness and concentrated instead on how great it was to see them and we enjoyed the little time that we had with each other! We ate brunch at the all-local farmers market, went tubing in the Saluda river, ate delicious food, and enjoyed each others' company.

Here are some of the highlights:

tubing on the river

What visit to Columbia would be complete without a trip to the Pig? Both Erica and Fuzzy dig the Pig.

Hamming it up in downtown Columbia.

Grilling in the back yard

my fair city

2011-07-04T22:06:00.003-04:00

Now that it's coming close to the end of my time living in Columbia, I'm really finding myself appreciating what's great about this city. And I also have been getting a little weepy at the least expected moments.

When Erica and Fuzzy visited last weekend we went to the Main Street Mast General Store for the first time. I know it's just a store and I really am not one to love to shop. But ironically, I found myself getting emotional when I was in the store. I think it's because it's a sign of a change in Columbia, a change which I've seen slowly unfolding over the past 8+ years that we've lived here.

When we first moved here, there was very little in the way of local produce and good food was hard to find. I remember shopping at like 3 grocery stores before I could even find feta. It was considered a "specialty item." There was definitely no local farmers markets, other than a few vendors that went to street fairs in downtown. There was also very little going on in terms of outdoor recreation. The Riverwalk was open, but the Greenway wasn't as sprawling as it is today. And whatever cool "scenes" that were happening in this city were mostly disparate groups that operated in a niche of their own with no cohesive whole.

Now, there's definite change in the air and I really love living here. Not only do we have an awesome local farmers market (within walking distance of our house) and the Greenway, but we've got tubing and kayaking on the river, roller derby, neat shopping areas. We have a crap-ton of awesome Indian restaurants. There's a sustainable farm in downtown. We see neat festivals making their way through Columbia now. And there are some neat musical acts coming out of here (or so my husband tells me. I'm not really a music follower. But I trust him on this.) It's just a great place to be.

So, although I definitely look forward to the changes that are coming, I think it's important to take a look at what we're leaving behind and what we're giving up. I'm sad to miss the continuation of these awesome changes and will be bummed that we're no longer a part of that change.

one of my new favorite things

2011-06-30T20:52:00.004-04:00

i love skyping and skype chatting with my husband from one room in the house to the other. this is especially ridiculous because our house is only 930 square feet.

Save the Date

2011-06-25T21:04:00.002-04:00

-August 20th from 4:00 PM until...
-Our goodbye party
-It's tentatively set for our house, but if the house sells* then we'll adjust accordingly.
-More details to come

*We've not had many people looking at the house, so please send up prayers and good thoughts that it will sell in the next few months!

How do i answer this?

2011-06-25T20:55:00.002-04:00

So I am filling out some supplemental questionnaires for Maryknolls and one of the questions is: What are your deepest hopes for your future as a missioner?

How do I even sum it up, people!?

tough stuff

2011-06-22T21:13:00.002-04:00

chris and i just rode our bikes to get frozen yogurt. it's really not a far in terms of distance, but i'm so proud of us because it was up a big hill. we've had fear of riding up the hill for a while, and we totally conquered it!

plus we got dessert out of it!

word.

girlz

2011-06-18T18:08:00.002-04:00

a picture taken by my brother at few weeks ago at the wacky waldie wedding weekend.

from left to right: jen, me, rachel, holly, lizzie, maddie (in front)
(i guess maddie didn't get the memo to wear black. at least she has a black purse.)

How can we help you?

2011-06-12T16:06:00.005-04:00

This is a question we have generously and quite often received from people lately. Everyone seems to be so supportive of our mission to move to Tanzania. It's a great feeling to have the backing of so many people in all kinds of communities.

Up until this point we really haven't had an answer to how people could help us. So much was unknown that we couldn't give any specifics. Now that we're a bit further into the process, we have come up with a list of three of our most pressing needs. We may add to this list as time goes on, but for now if you would like to support us in mission we're asking for the following things:

1) Prayer. This is the most important need, of course. The changes that we are making in our lives (and in the lives of family, friends, colleagues, etc.) would be insurmountable if it weren't for the Grace of God and the Peace of the Holy Spirit. We ask for continued prayers for us, our families, and our friends, as well as for all Missioners around the world working toward peace and justice. We would love it if people would add our intentions to any prayer groups or Church services that you know of.

2) Monetary Donations. Unlike most other mission-based work, our service with Maryknoll Lay Missioners does not require extensive fund-raising. MKLM has their own fund-raising staff who, with the occasional support of the Missioners, raise enough money so that the mission staff can concentrate on what they were hired to do--service to the poor and the marginalized. That being said, there is a small fund-raising goal that the hubby and I are asked to achieve before we leave in 2012. Our goal is to raise a combined $1000. If anyone would like to contribute to our goal, we would love for you to do so. Donating financial support to MKLM is a very important way for you folks at home to get involved in our mission. As a matter of fact, without donations MKLM would cease to function. It is a great way to support not only me and Chris, but also an organization that has been working for decades with some of the world's most needy people.

If you would like to make a donation, you can send a check directly to Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Advancement, PO Box 307, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0307. Please put mine and Chris's names in the memo line of the check in order to ensure that we can be "credited" for bringing in the donation. We can also take cash and mail a check to them ourselves with your name on it, if you would prefer.

3) Storage Space. Although we are selling/donating most of our possessions, there are a few things (photographs, family heirlooms, etc.) that we will put into storage while we are away. Some of these things need to be stored with care because prolonged heat/cold might hurt these items. Obviously, obtaining a climate controlled storage unit for 4 years can get a bit pricey (though we will do it if we have to), so if anyone has any storage space that they are willing/able to let us use for at least 4 years, please let us know. You can post a comment here, visit Chris on Facebook or email either of us to let us know. We'll weigh our options and then figure out the best solution from there. We don't want to have a box spread out at at each of two dozen homes around the country. ;)

Thank you again to everyone who has supported us thus far. Most of you know that this move has been a long-time in the making. In fact, I was checking out some old material on this blog from 2006 and found a post about our previous attempt at moving to Africa (which obviously didn't pan out). It just goes to show how much we have worked toward and prayed about this calling. Thanks to everyone for being an important part of our mission.

placement news

2011-06-12T15:53:00.003-04:00

we found out on wednesday that our placement for marknoll lay missioners (mklm) will be in tanzania! this is great news because it was our first choice. all of the placements sounded amazing, but we are super excited to be going to the very place that we wanted the most!

we still don't know what our jobs will be yet. but we will shortly because in order to get a tanzanian visa, we have to have a job description. deciding our work is a process that will happen via phone and email conversations over the next few weeks/months. the woman who called us with the offer said that there was no end to the work we could do, given our education, skills and hobbies. narrowing it down, she said, would be the hard part.

mklm is in 2 cities in tanzania, mwanza and musoma. both are located along lake victoria in the northern part of the country. we actually visited mwanza in 2006 and LOVED it. so we're super excited to possibly be placed there. we'll be in musoma for at least our first 6 months for language school (all missioners have language training/immersion before being sent to their mission site). after language school we'll transition into the work we'll be doing for the next 3 years.

so we're one step closer and it's seeming more and more real each day. now, if we could just sell our house....

sick sick sick

2011-06-07T14:10:00.001-04:00

going on day 5 of being sick. this summer cold is getting really annoying!

anticipation

2011-06-04T21:50:00.003-04:00

this week the country directors for maryknoll lay missioners meet (via conference call) to discuss and decide placements for the 14 people entering the program in 2012. by the end of this week we should know where we'll be headed in january.

please keep special thoughts and prayers this week for this process!

family weekend3

2011-06-02T21:01:00.002-04:00

this past weekend we had an extended memorial day weekend in chicago visiting the hubby's sister and her husband. they're great people and i love visiting them. plus, chicago is such a great town. how could we not have fun?

we also got to see parker and latte.

sadly, we didn't take a picture of latte, so i'm giving you an old picture of her in a wig that fuzzy took a while back.

we saw 2 shows, both of which included dances that erica choreographed. fuzzy and erica also performed in the 2nd show. it was great to see their artistry at work. they're very talented people! we didn't take pictures during the show, but here are some pictures of the after party on saturday night. it was the last night of bbr so there was a lot of celebrating going on.

fuzzy chatting with friends and performers

erica looking all pretty

the hubby and i chilling while everyone talks

on sunday it warmed up so we took an 8 mile bike ride along lake shore drive, ate lunch and then walked in and out of shops. it was a beautiful day!

baldman had to wear a sweatband because without hair, the sweat just goes into his eyes. dork!

lake shore was PACKED, as was the beach.

we ate lots of yummy food, including awesome home made breakfasts, indian food, ethiopian food, vegan food, and yummy sandwiches from gaztro wagon.

ras dashan!

we visited erica's office.

and, on the last night we had a little gathering at e&f's with some of their closest friends.

noah and spukey trix

the 2 kates.

thanks, erica and fuzzy for the great time!

produce galore!

2011-05-25T22:41:00.003-04:00

we joined a new community supported farm this year. we've done csa's with 3 different farms in town and have been happy with all of them. but this one, by far, has been the biggest shares we've ever gotten!

city roots knows where it's at, y'all! check this out!

turnips, beets with greens, carrots, 2 types of lettuce, kale, yellow squash, and sprouts.

and we get a share this size every week! so exciting.

heebie jeebies

2011-05-19T20:31:00.001-04:00

i killed a black widow spider in our shed tonight.

...

shivers.

family weekend2

2011-05-19T20:00:00.002-04:00

last weekend we met up with a bunch of the waldie clan for a wacky waldie wedding weekend. my cousin, alex, whom i'd not seen since my own wedding 8 years ago, was getting married in north carolina. it's not usual for that side of the family to get together, so we took advantage of the opportunity. and, man, we had a great time! we danced like crazy and laughed uproariously. i definitely vote that we do that more often!

we used cocktail hour to practice our dance moves! some of us couldn't WAIT to get on the dance floor.

don't we dress up nice?

dad and holly bustin' a move

waldie dance circle

a fuzzy picture of the bride and groom

this is why my arms were sore the next day

the proud parents of the groom

waldie train

more silliness

we all wore black when everyone else was wearing flowers and bright colors. guess we didn't get the memo...

the next morning we were fortunate to be able to meet up with everyone for brunch.

apparently the night before was a little wild because the groom lost his shoes and my niece woke up with tattooed legs.

up for grabs

2011-05-18T18:07:00.002-04:00

would anyone be interested in making homemade soap? i have equipment that i want to get rid of. since i make my soaps out of lye the equipment should be used cautiously and i'm afraid that if i donate the items people will use it for food, which would not be recommended.

if you're interested, post a comment below or send me an email and we can discuss.

some kids never grow up

2011-05-16T21:44:00.002-04:00