Ethiopia

So it's been three weeks since I've returned from Ethiopia, and I've tried desperately to process everything I saw and did and sum up the experience in a neat little sentence or paragraph. But I've come to realize that it  is impossible to condense 12 days of watching God at work into a few words...the memories and lessons are too vast and amazing.

I have run through the usual post-mission trip emotions: sadness at leaving the people, guilt about my privileged life, dissatisfaction at my normal routine, and inspiration to change the world. I know these feelings will wear off, but I hope when they do my heart is still touched and my life is forever changed. I don't know if I will be able to adequately "process" the trip this side of heaven...so many things can't be fully understood or appreciated until I see with new eyes.

Our team of 9 women spent the first few days in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. 75,000 of the poorest of the poor there live in an area called Korah, which is short for garbage...a fitting name since the village borders the dump and provides a living for the people who scavenge in it for food and goods to sell.

In the midst of that community is a vibrant, growing church, run by a team of pastors with an unparalleled passion to serve the widows, orphans, lepers, and HIV positive men and women of their community. Their faith in God was truly inspirational, as they joyfully trusted every need to be met for their congregation and themselves.

One of the beautiful women of Korah and her little boy (happy to have a cookie!)

We got to meet with the women of the church and encourage them with Bible stories, snacks, new clothes, and even a time of feet washing. They were crying as we (white, "rich" women from the US) washed their (lepers, prostitutes, HIV postive, poor, sick, needy Ethiopian women) feet, humbled at the love and service. But I think their favorite part of the day was receiving new underwear!

Smiles because they got new panties ;-)

We also spent a day hanging out with the kids of the church...all 350 of them in a tiny room. I'll never forget their little voices shouting the worship songs or the hands reaching (ok, attacking me) for stickers and candy. Most of the children there are orphaned, victims of the ever-growing HIV epidemic, but they were so eager to hold our hands, touch our hair, and just spend time with these women with funny skin who had traveled so far just to see them. They hung around our vans, and even ran after us as we left the village.

Two of the beautiful children of Korah

Several of the kids spoke a little English, so we could talk to them and express basic sentiments. Most of them asked us to sponsor them and gave us little slips of paper with their names so we would not forget them. Little do they know it is impossible for me to forget them...I hope to see them again one day but even if I don't I will always remember their happy smiles and unconditional acceptance and joy, and pray that their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs will be met.

A baby hanging out on his mom's back.

A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling....
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
Psalm 68:5, 19

If you would like to sponsor a child in Korah, visit http://www.ywamethiopia.com/dynamic_content.php?pageid=23

back in business

It's been a while since I've done anything on this blog. I've resigned myself to the fact that I am not the type who has a lot to say in a public forum...I am a lousy facebooker, tweeter, and blogger. And that's ok. I'll just post what I'm having for lunch and tell people the good stuff about me in person.

But I have taken a lot of amazing trips this summer so I'm going to bore you with shots from my vacations.

In June I flew from Chicago (where I was attending a design conference) to Dallas and then drove with my fun friend Erin McCabe from Dallas to LA over 3 days! We saw a LOT of the Southwest on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure (because I hope I only have to make that drive once in my lifetime), and survived such events as running over mattresses at 75 mph, driving for hours without seeing an exit (while needing gas), singing loudly to Justin Bieber, and laughing and crying, sometimes simultaneously.

As I was taking a bazillion pictures I noticed a theme emerging...so here is my trip across the country, in pairs.

the two wilco buildings, chicago

two cadillacs at cadillac ranch, texas

two of the many rail cars that criss-cross our country

two awnings at the beverly wilshire, beverly hills

two arms of a sculpture at the getty center, la

two friends who shared quite an adventure!

fisheye

I have a little plastic camera that uses this stuff called film. It's cheap but fun to play with because it has a fisheye lens.

Some vacation shots as scene through the eye of a fish:

I could make a statement about how hard it is to shoot through the fisheye lens, because you only see a very small part of what you're photographing, and when you get the pictures back you see so much more than you remembered and the bigger picture is even better, and how much like life that is.

But really I'm just glad Walgreens still develops film and simultaneously burns the pictures to a disk.

gettin' my party pants on

This is the year of the 30th birthday. I celebrated mine in June with a vacation to Belize, and in August my friend Mary Ann threw a birthday bash at the house to celebrate hers.

I realized that I love planning a party...I like to know there will be good food and the decorations will be appropriate to the theme and would make Martha Stewart proud. I don't really care if people show up but I want it to look good. I think we accomplished that. (and fun people showed up, bonus!)

Now I'm off to my next 30th celebration, a tour of the coast of New England with my friend Jackie and our new friend Hurricane Earl!

before & after

For the first time in a long time (maybe ever) I have more blog ideas than I have time. I'm going to start to "catch up" by sharing my most favorite project this year...the re-covering of my garage sale chair. This chair was $35 and is turning out to be the best money I've ever spent. It began life in the 1980s and was probably the accent piece in a room of pastels. I recovered it hastily with a paisley sheet 3 years ago, which was cute but not very durable. So this year I decided it was time to make it a "big girl" chair and bring it into a new decade (much like myself).

Found fabric at Calico Corners, had a little help with the seat cushion covers, but covered the rest myself.

Ta-da!

July Club

In my family we have a very exclusive club for those who are born in July (or within a few days on either side of July), since so many of us are midsummer babies. To be a member of July Club is highly enviable, since we are known for our wit, charm, beauty, and intelligence.

The founder of July Club was my grandmother, who would be 90 today. She loved parties, clubs, eating, celebrations, and anything remotely fun. So, in celebration of her life and good cooking, here's a delicious recipe for her signature cookie:

Nana Betty's Sugar Cookies

1 cup white sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine (melted)
1 cup Wesson oil (vegetable oil)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
4 ½ cups flour
Mix all ingredients together. Place in the refrigerator for an hour. Roll into little balls and dip a small juice glass in sugar to press dough balls flat OR roll out and cut into fun shapes.
Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

Tip: this dough can store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

thirtymoon

So I recently returned from celebrating the big 3-0 in Belize. I decided that if I haven't been spending my hard-earned money on a wedding or honeymoon or children, I should spend it on myself. Thankfully I have 2 good friends who totally agree. So we treated ourselves to 8 days in paradise, also known as Ambergris Caye, Belize.

We survived a hurricane (ok, tropical storm, but who's counting??) which left us stranded...at a Radisson...with a bar, a Mexican buffet, and the US getting defeated in the World Cup.

We ate delicious food at all times and sailed away to other tropical islands, stopping only to swim with the colorful fish.

We soaked up some local culture and enjoyed wandering the streets of San Pedro.

We zip-lined through the jungle like Jane to Tarzan (except Tarzan was a tiny 17-year-old Belizian named Oscar who was clipping me into a harness) and explored caves and crystal waters in inner tubes.

We went to bed whenever we felt like it and woke up early because hey, we're 30, and we have nothing to prove.
We conquered a 2-hour yoga class and later smoked Cuban cigars, because on vacation there are no conflicts of interest.
We zipped around Belize in airplanes the size of my car with no worries.
We hired a private guide to take us into the jungle cause that's how we roll...we're not sharing our Ford Windstar with other tourists.
We lounged by the pool while the pool boy delivered our frozen mojitos (a treat that rivals Rumba's mojitos, which is saying a lot).
We justified our ridiculous extravagance by insisting on the importance of supporting the local economy.

I reflected on the family and friends who have gotten me this far, and the unfathomable blessings I have received in my 30 years on earth.

And I was reminded that even though life at 30 looks nothing like what I expected or planned on, I've had a heckuva lot of good times and experiences and opportunities, and become a person I never dreamed I could be. And that's not a bad way to start a new decade.