California Experience

If I could live anywhere, I'd probably live in California. Or Italy. But I'm thinking more in terms of State-side. Because everyone would really prefer to live in Italy. 


I love California because it has something to offer everyone, and each region has its own group of people, preferences, styles, etc. Simply put, there is always a place you can go and fit in. And I kind of like to fit in. A lot. And Daniel Lau would tell you its a problem that I need to deal with. But right now I prefer to live in my backslidden state and no, I am not ashamed. 


Without further ado, here are a few highlights from mine and Patrick's trip to California in October. I realized I never posted any of these because I was choosing to live in a black hole and talk to no one, so I'm sorry these are a bit late. BUT THEY'RE STILL GOOD! So check them out. And enjoy them. And remind yourself that YOU can be a light in my dark hole if you're interested. I'm looking for a way out. :) Thanks.

 On the pier on Balboa Island

Just to keep with tradition 

Balboa/Newport Frozen Banana dipped in chocolate and rolled in cinnamon and sugar

San Diego - our view from the hotel room when we woke up (it was dark when we checked in the night before)

Our favorite restaurant to date. Cafe 21 in the Gas Lamp District of San Diego. These are assorted sangrias and mimosas. 

The meer cats at the San Diego Zoo. Just as cute as they look.

Proof that we saw more than meer cats.

We also spent a few hours in Laguna Beach and discovered that yes, it really is as beautiful as everyone says. However LC and Heidi were nowhere to be found.

All in all we had a great trip. Despite not seeing ANYONE from The Hills.

Skip West, Head East

I love to travel more than anything, and there are several places in this world that I would love to go. Here are a few that I hope to visit over the next few years! We just bought a house, so visiting any of these is highly unlikely (at least soon), but I have hope that I'll get there one day!

Venice, Italy

Marrakech, Morocco

Cinque Terre, Italy

Jaipur, India

Yeah, it was harder than I thought...

Last week I went to Haiti. I spent time in Port au Prince, St. Marc, and Chadirac - 3 very different communities. And I was warned that the poverty in Haiti is unlike any other. And every time I heard that, I thought "I've been to plenty of rough areas, so this isn't a big deal. I've used pit latrines, I've seen children that are sick and begging. I've wanted to take the clothes off my own back and give them to a widow." But I had assumed that things could only be so bad, and there wasn't a way to necessarily get worse.

But I was wrong.

Very

very

wrong.

Haiti touched places of my heart that I thought were untouchable.

And the hard thing was, I didn't really have anyone to walk through this experience with. I was with a high school team from Charleston, and I was the one they looked to for answers, for advice, for encouragement. I also spent time with our Haitian staff, but they too were looking for answers, strategies, and thoughts on their country. I heard all the complaints and all the praises, and served as a buffer between both groups...both eager to serve the other, but also having to deal with the emotional heaviness of it all.

It wasn't until the plane ride back, when I'd finished my book and put in my headphones that the weightiness I was carrying finally settled around me. I sat on the plane and looked out the window and just cried. I hope the guy next to me didn't notice, or if he did I'm glad he didn't say anything. I wouldn't have known how to respond. Am I ok? Maybe. Sort of. Not really. Do I need anything? Millions of dollars, a non-corrupt working government, and a stellar education system along with clean drinking water and jobs for 80% of the country. Do you have that? Then no, I don't need anything other than that. But thanks.

The problem with Haiti is that the world has told it that its poor. That it has no gifts. That it requires our aid to survive. And so we've brought money, and aid, and medicine, and clothes, and resources. But why hasn't the billions of dollars we've sent over made a difference? Why haven't the clothes, food, shelter supplies and medicine made a difference?

We need to start sending Haiti a better message. Like we love them. We value them and their gifts. That they have something to offer the world that no other country has. That we need them more than they need us. That they are powerful. That they have a rich destiny and purpose that they need to step into.

I believe once we change our message, things will start to shift. But until then, they'll always believe they can't survive without us. But they can.

Snapshots from Haiti

A large cathedral in Port au Prince that was destroyed by the earthquake

The community of Chadirac - Land of a Thousand Hills coffee being grown here

Haitian women bagging soil to be used for the coffee seeds

Haiti

Tomorrow I leave on my first trip to Haiti with The 410 Bridge. I've been working for 410 for almost 3 months, coordinating all teams/trips that go into Haiti. Haiti has posed quite the set of challenges for us, but I'm hoping that my trip down there this week will help us iron out some of the hiccups that are happening.

To me, the 410 Bridge is one of the most "Kingdom" organizations I've ever heard of. Each country has its own set of leaders that have a heart for their community and their country as a whole. What I love about this is that there is no American running the show. Our goal is to come alongside these leaders and hear what their dreams are for their area, and then strategize on how to make those dreams a reality. We like to say that we "enable the self-developing capabilities" of those we serve.

In many poorer countries, there is this mentality that says "if I wait long enough, an American will come do this for me." And yes these countries are poor, but we are reinforcing their poverty mentality by coming in and bringing them food, clothes, and other projects (which 9 times out of 10 is just what makes us feel better about their problems). Not that those things aren't good or helpful, but how will these people ever see how capable they are if we keep doing things for them? At 410, our heart is to help them see the gifts and the strengths that they possess, as well as their dreams, and then help highlight how the two go together.  And we measure our success not by what we do, but what they do for themselves. In our opinion, that is true development.

The idea behind every project originates from a Kenyan or Haitian, NOT an American. We want them to lead us, because they know what they need. To tell us what they want for their community. And once they've identified something as important and necessary, we talk through what that looks like. We might fund a well, but not without Kenya telling us they need one, why they want one, how they want it to work, and who will be in charge of it (because if it is not "owned" by them, it will never be sustainable). Once they identify some key needs and plans to help put them in place, then we come alongside and help make those needs happen. But we require the community to participate in every step of the process. Here is a video of a recent project we did in a community called Endana:



The men and women of this community participated in this project, and have a plan for keeping it running. If our project has to be run by an American then we didn't do our job.

Here is another video from our Director and CEO on what we do (we haven't been in Haiti very long, so this video mainly focuses on Kenya):



I love this organization, and I love the way they execute their vision. It is truly a blessing to work for them in such a strategic capacity.

I'll post some more updates and pictures when I get back from Haiti next week!

Sandstorm

I'm posting two videos of a sandstorm hitting Kuwait. Last year in the Middle East we arrived in the middle of one of these, but it wasn't quite this bad. Its all in Arabic, but give it at least until the 4 minute mark when you can see how ridiculous this is.

Here is another one- I'm not sure if you can click on this one or not. It's a little bit different perspective. Perfect daytime visibility to 0 visibility in only a few minutes. 

Middle East 2011

My experience in the Middle East this year was really incredible, and I feel so blessed. I learned a lot about myself and feel like I grew a ton. But processing and re-aclimating to the US is a big job, and I don't think I'm quite ready to share much of that process yet. So in the meantime, I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures!

The view from our apartment of the Mediterranean Sea. Tough life.

Wine and Cheese Party. With Lebanese wine. Heaven on earth. When this was suggested for the evening's activity, I knew I had come to the right place. I now have standards for all mission trips.

Olives.

Learning Arab dances. SO FUN. Best. Night. EVER.

Did I mention it snowed? 

The sunlight over the capital city.

Arguileh. 

Our team. Plus Patrick on the far right who is an Arab.

What album is complete without a good jumping picture?

There are tons more pictures on Facebook, but these are a few of my favorites from the trip! I'll be posting more thoughts later, and probably more pictures as my processing cocoon cracks open. Thanks for everyone's amazing support of this trip! It couldn't have been better. Well, it could have been. If I had moved to the Middle East and been given Arabic as my "tongue." Thanks for nothing Holy Spirit.

 JUST KIDDING.