Kittermans On The Go

All Packed

2010-12-15T03:45:00.000-08:00

As you can see we're all packed up and ready to go. We're truly sad to be leaving Nairobi, but looking forward to seeing friends and family in the USA. We're truly grateful for all of you that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers over the past year, and especially now as we head back for a major transition.
bekah & ian

Can you trust your eyes?

2010-11-25T00:51:00.000-08:00

One of the projects I have been working on here in Kenya is making the digital presence of Amani more attractive. They have had a number of products for sale online for a while now, but contribution has been giving them the nudge from normal to something special when it comes to some of their images (or at least that is what I am trying to do). For the past couple days I have been running photos from an extremely rushed quilt shoot through my computer.

Now, I am an okay photographer when i put my mind to it. I can take my chunky SLR out and get some nice shots, but what I enjoy even more is a little digital slight of hand. I love post-production. Sure taking out dust spots might not sound super to everyone, but giving a photo a little more life than it could naturally have really makes me happy. Here's a little example of what I am talking about:
Photo 1 is more or less what came straight off my camera. I was having a hard time getting the lighting right in our limited space and we were ducking the rain all day. Instead of our usual location to photograph quilts, we had to get these quilts shot in a few hours so the could be shipped. No time for the usual trek out to the tea fields. On top of that, while getting some of these beautiful quilts photographed, I noticed that the focus ring on my go-to lens is loose...which messes with my ability to focus in on the subject correctly. All-around this was not my best day of work, that and our garden at Amani was being replanted so we had a lot of bare spots. Here's what we got-
not bad... def not great

Here's what a little digital TLC turned it into-

Little bit of a difference. Maybe still not great but definitely better.
Just wanted to give you a little taste of the nuts and bolts of what serving in Kenya has looked like for me, and encourage those who are looking to serve abroad through non-traditional means, that your talents and interests can be put to use to help people

Wondering where you could snag one of these quilts? Check out Amani's etsy page at http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmaniYaJuu in a few weeks for some fresh listings.
B

Wrapping up

2010-11-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

As most of you know by now, we are headed back to the states in a few weeks with no plans of returning to Kenya, but we wanted to make sure that even if you didn't get our email that you are filled in.

First of all, thank you for all of your kind words of encouragement, prayers, and blessing us with your finances. As you know we had decided to stay until July in Kenya and were fund-raising towards that goal in our last newsletter. After having a frank discussion with my boss, the field office director, we decided that it would not be advantageous for us to come back in January.

When we had made the decision to stay it was under the impression that I would be working on a structural transformation project. Unfortunately, this project never entirely manifested itself and instead I had been working on program design. I like program design so it has been enjoyable but as I have worked on it my job description has kept changing. My boss was frustrated with this though and did not know how to best manage me. After this discussion it seems clear that my position wouldn't

stabilize anytime soon and should be postponed until it could be stabilized. So we decided that this would be a good time to have our time with IJM come to an end which is also the time that we thought we would leave when we first came to Kenya.

Instead of staying until July, Bekah and I are headed back to the United States in December. While we definitely are sad to leave Kenya. We are happy that we will soon be near friends and family again. We will be around for Christmas and looking forward to talking to many of you and will keep you up-to-date on opportunities for us to meet with you.

After December, we do not know what we are doing but we are sure that God has a place and a plan for us. We would appreciate your continued emotional support and prayers as we transition back to life in the United States and as we look for options for our future.

For those of you who have been giving to us financially this means we will no longer be receiving this money and instead it will go into IJM's general fund. If you would rather support another intern you are more than welcome to, and you just need to let IJM know that. To change your monthly support let us know, and we wil forward you details for contacts etc.

If you have any questions about this please let us know and we will try and set up a time to talk. Thank you once again for partnering with us during our time with IJM.

Sincerely,
Ian and Bekah

Big Babies

2010-11-06T07:33:00.001-07:00

October holds a couple different holidays here in Kenya, so this year on Mashujaa Day (Heroes Day) we took our day off from work and explored a little bit of what greater Nairobi has to offer. Our first stop was The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust which is home to a number of orphaned baby elephants that are being hand-raised and then released back into the wild. For one hour a day, the handlers bring the babies to the swimming hole to eat and play while excited guests hear about the project while being entertained by the immense cuteness of these pint-sized pachyderms!

Follow the leader!
The Sheldrick Trust was the first group to perfect the milk formula for baby elephants. These babies need to be fed every 3 hours at least day and night.

Elephants mature at about the same rate that humans do, so the little ones love to play and wrestle... and mud just makes it more fun!

After a bath it is important to get a good coating of dust to protect them from the hot Kenyan sun.

Ian loves rhinos! This rhino is kept by the Sheldrick Trust because he is completely blind. They feed him and try to make sure he gets exercise.
Of course the rhino does have friends visit from time to time... this warthog was wandering the grounds and decided to pop in to say hello.
And what Kenyan holiday would be complete without meeting a giraffe? Not ours! We of course thought it would only be proper to offer it a snack.
:)
B
PS- we're working on our November newsletter... let us know if there is something you've been curious about that we can fill you in on!

A perfectly good pumpkin

2010-11-02T08:21:00.001-07:00

Don't think just because we are in Africa that we are missing out on all of the Autumnal fun! Gary-o-lantern (named after a certain founder of a certain NGO that a certain Kitterman works for) made a return performance this year, although pumpkins are easier to find in Kenya than they were in South Asia... so Gary got to be a pumpkin instead of last year's watermelon incarnation. You work with what you have.

And the reaction from Kenyan friends: "that seems like a waste of a perfectly good pumpkin."

That was a little disappointing, but we will soldier on continuing to bring more American ridiculousness with us to our home away from home. (A just like in the US, our jack-o-lantern is sure to sit on the porch until near rotting state.)
:)
B

Captives will be set free...

2010-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Check out IJM's latest fund raising mailer with the story of a client from Ian's office at IJM Kenya! This case touched our hearts and further convinced us that we are here in Kenya for a reason.

(ALSO... we completely admit that we stole this update from the blog of our housemate Betsy, who is the super-star intern in church and community relations. Check her blog out here at http://elizabethfairfield.wordpress.com/ )

Still, it is great to see this story going out to supporters and we hope that it encourages you that justice is being seen by 'the least of these' through your support!

-Kittermans

Dear Jenny Craig...

2010-10-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

your help is not wanted here....

We saw these signs around Ian's work as we were appropriately munching an after work snack. :) Unlike in the US, if someone tells you that your wife is very fat you should take it as a compliment and not punch them in the face. *wink*

B

More Cairo

2010-10-23T05:20:00.001-07:00

We've posted more Cairo photos on Bekah's facebook, but just to keep our promise that there would be more on the blog... here you go!

B

Egypt memories

2010-10-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

It has been almost 2 weeks since returning from Cairo for our visa run, and it is high time you got to see some of our pics! Here is part 1 of our Egyptian adventures.

Ian viewing the Alabaster Sphynx out in Memphis

A man standing in the pathway to Zoser's pyramids and compound.

Happy to be hanging out in ruins again!

What!? Zoser's pyramid is right here! Bekah very excited about seeing one of the first types of pyramids. Gotta love pyramid evolution.
Ian's best impression f an Egyptian statue... wrong leg forward... but would you really have known that if I didn't tell you?

catching the Egyptian breeze

climbing some pyramids!
These bricks are huge.

Getting near the end of the day hanging out at the Great Pyramids of Giza

Riding off to the horizon ;)

B

We're baaaaack

2010-10-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

We made it! Successful visa run with lots of fun and new experiences. We'll have a better update complete with pyramids...once our internet decides to be faster than molasses in a snow storm.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
B

Visa run

2010-09-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

Headed out to renew some visas and do a little touring. Please think of us and pray for us that the visa process would be smooth.

We'll be touring a round a little during our few days away, which has inspired this little gem that I thought I should share with all of you! We look forward to giving you more updates.
*wink*
B

Power Outs and Updates

2010-08-30T23:58:00.001-07:00

We've been having a lot of power outs in our neighborhood this past week. For the last three days we have had at least 12 hours of no electricity a day. This isn't a terribly strange situation, sadly. It is just merely inconvenient. The most annoying bit is no hot showers, and then probably no way to communicate with friends and family over the interwebz.

With that said, we are back on the grid for the time being and I wanted you to rest assured that I have not forgotten to fill you in on what is going on.

Ian is back from his business trip a whole three days early (hooray!) and I am soaking in a slower paced week knocking some things off my to-do list while the trainees from Amani ya Juu are on break. Mind you I will still be trekking over to the office a couple days this week, but it is a little less pressure to get Amani associated things done.

As part of the the to-do list, we am near the mid to finishing stages of our newsletter and I am trying to give the newsletter and this blog a nice facelift in hopes that it will motivate us to use it even more! Here's a quick preview of my work-in-progress:
There's still a lot to do to get that to-do list ticked off.
All the best!
Baraka,
Bekah

People of Peace

2010-08-20T03:58:00.000-07:00

During my days at Amani ya Juu i have the pleasure to get to know some of the nicest people in Kenya... or at least I think they are the nicest people in Kenya. I think I have shared before that Amani ya Juu means "Peace from Above" in kiswahili, and the people I get the privilege of seeing there are often my refuge of peace. Not just peace, but giggles and laughter and hugs and good times while getting things accomplished. I have been hanging out in the Garden cafe a lot lately, and during the slow slow slow times one of the favorite past times seems to be taking facebook pictures. One day I interrupted the cell-phone camera facebook pic session with my big 'ol SLR and promised a couple glamor shots to some of the lovely ladies in the garden. It ended up that not only ladies like getting their photos taken, but our garden keeper Jackson got in on the action too.

Palvine

Delphine and Judy

Jackson

Hilda

I had taken these a little while ago while re-doing a few product photos for the shop, and had forgotten about them until today when I was going through my files and found one more portrait I didn't remember. I had handed one of the cafe staff my camera to look at and play around with for a photo or two and Betty managed to snap a photo of me in the garden too :)

It's awesome getting to be with these people every day and have them as my teachers and co-laborers. I'm hoping to introduce you to more of them as we go along!
More from the Garden later!
B

now the eyes of my eyes are opened

2010-08-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

- e.e.cummings

We just returned from our short wedding anniversary holiday to the Masai Mara. The poem i thank You God was streaming through my brain the entire time we were in the park. Don't worry- we'll be posting more pictures soon.

Visit Up Country

2010-08-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here in Kenya when someone is going traveling elsewhere in the countryside it is referred to as 'up-country.' It does not matter if it is north or south or wherever... it is still 'up-country.' Mind you as a muzungu (loosely translated as white person) I do seem to get made fun of when referring to 'up-country' because I am not visiting my home land. Nevertheless, I will not stop using the phrase because I think it is a fun colloquialism and sometimes it is nice to be vague in where you are traveling to. Ian's recent pre-business trip was just the right occasion to pull out my new phrase and go up-country with him to see a couple friends from DC who are serving in Eldoret, Kenya.

We left Nairobi around 4am to make the bumpy (and sometimes a little scary) trip up to Eldoret. We arrived in town around 9 and stopped into a local coffee shop to get some breakfast. Sadly, the local breakfast joint was out of juice, bacon, eggs, cheese, and pretty much everything else that is on the breakfast menu, so as Ian zoomed off to a series of meetings in the greater area i sat around consuming as much tea as I could reasonably consume until our friend Dasha came to meet me.

Seeing a familiar face here is always wonderful, and this was no exception. Dasha has been spending her time in Kenya volunteering with a drop-in center for street youth who have just recently become under great attack from the government of the area. Dasha has spent a lot of her time tending to dog bites from when the police set their attack animals on these kids and then any other wounds that are a result from the brutal beatings they receive from the police regularly. Sadly I showed up on Dasha's day off, so I didn't get to meet many of her new friends, but she did show me around to some of her favorite places.
First was the Imani Workshop which is a craft workshop and vocational program for HIV/Aids patients from the local teaching hospital that has international partners.
It was great to see another vocational program where the arts are really adding to people's lives in multiple ways. I always encouraged to know that wherever our giftings lie, there is always room to use them for the good of others and especially those in vulnerable situations.

After catching lunch with Dasha's husband Nate, and Ian we explored the center of Eldoret until Ian's meetings were done. When his work day was over and we had successfully checked in at our roach filled hotel, we headed to Ian's tourist point of choice... the local creamery and cheese making factory.
I don't know how many people have heard this about Ian and me, but we have in the last 6 months or so been working to hone our cheese making abilities. After our time in South Asia left us yearning for cheese that wasn't paneer, we took some of our 'limbo' time to figure out how to make a basic mozzarella and ricotta. The rest is history, as we have been happily making some home made cheese every once and a while for fun, and this interest in cheese sparked Ian's hope to tour this independent creamery.
Our guide Nancy gave us the quick tour of the place since we had come at the end of the day when production was ending. She kindly posed for a picture with us and we told her she should show her teeth when she smiles, because her toothy grin was stunning although she wouldn't go for it on camera.
Right as we got to the part of the tour where we get to taste a number of the cheeses there was a cloud burst. Seasons are pretty predictable around Nairobi.... it is dry or wet. Period. However, up-country this is not as much the case and random downpours do occur regularly.

Rain or no rain, we were determined to sample some cheese and try some of the full-cream in house ice cream. After some sampling of delicious ice cream and probably the best blue cheese I have ever savored, the damage was done and Ian did a little 'grocery shopping.' Good reasonably priced cheese is really difficult to find here, so when opportunity in the form of the best cheese we've had in Kenya at a major discount comes your way you had better seize the day.
After the cheese-purchasing we spent some time with Nate and Dasha as they showed us around their up-country town.
It's always nice to be with people that can understand you on multiple levels. The Smiths were part of NCC in DC and are now working toward doing aid work full time. It's awesome to know you will run into great people in this line of work.

The next morning we were on the road bright and early again for more meetings for Ian. Sadly in the next town we were in there were no familiar faces to visit with, so I once again sat myself down in the local 'coffee shop' for as much tea and 'bitings' (snacks) as I could reasonably dilly-dally through without raising to much suspicion. Sadly this stretched into multiple hours and after a short exploration of the town I settled in another coffee shop for almost a play-for-play repeat of the earlier experience, except with greasy tea and stale ndazi (kind of like a doughnut). Luckily when i was drawing to the last bite of my chewy ndazi, Ian finished his meeting and we were off to lunch to eat... and let him talk on the phone for a conference call. Such is the working life it seems. He's been working hard to get things ready for an upcoming project and it has meant a lot of long phone calls and extra hours of work at home.
After lunch it was back to the road and on our way back to Nairobi. Unlike our trip there, the trip back was actually during day light and we got the chance to see some of the beautiful Rift Valley and spotted zebras and baboons along the road. Also, I could have sworn I saw a couple scenes from Lion King... seriously. Is it just me, or is that Pride Rock?!
Ian will have some long weeks ahead of him making more trips up-country to do research. He's a good sport about it and has been digging into his work and trying his best to do high quality work in sometimes very little comfort with little solid sleep. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to travel up-country during the next month.
As always, thank you for sharing in this journey with us! We are blessed to be partners with you!
B

Equator hopping

2010-07-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a trip up to Western Kenya for Ian to begin some research. While on that excursion we saw a landmark that we knew we needed to stop for!
Here we are (in the middle of nowhere... our driver thought we were nuts) standing on the Equator!

I thought just for fun I would post a pic of when we visited the Prime Meridian in London.

Thanks to our friends and family who have supported in so many ways as we criss-cross the globe! We are proud to represent you around the world :)
B

Love Has a Hem

2010-07-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

A little quote and a pic of an Amani quilt in the making. Click to enlarge and save for a desktop back ground. Just a little summer time treat for those of you stuck in the air-conditioning staring at a screen all day :)
B

Visiting Kawangware

2010-07-09T03:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I went for a home visit to Kawangware. It is one of the slums near central Nairobi where some of the ladies from Amani live.

I made the mistake of forgetting my camera, but here's a fairly recent photo of part of Kawangware.

It is a moderately developed area with various buildings mixed with tin structures. The place where Margaret and Anita live is in a concrete building. They live on the top most floor in a tiny apartment. It has a small kitchen and washroom and living/bedroom. They have a humble home, but it is tidy and well organized.

I don't know what much to say about the visit, but that it makes me proud to be part of a family of Christians. Margaret began helping her friend Phyllis when Phyllis was diagnosed or "discovered" with HIV in 2000. Margaret was diagnosed in 2007. They are good friends and spend time reading the Bible together and encouraging one another through their illness.

It was so encouraging to hear the word from Grace as she shared a devotion today at Margaret's home. She shared from Exodus 22.

21 "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.

22 "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

Many of the women there were single mothers or widows including one from one of the visiting mission team.
Grace shared how God cares for women who have been left alone by being widowed or have had men leave them. He loves them so much that He has put it in his law.

She also shared that she was glad about the part in this passage about the alien... or foreigner. She said she was so glad that God had made it possible for these foreigners to visit them and was thankful for the love that they have brought. She thanked God that he has loved us so much that these foreigners have love to give to the Amani ladies in Africa.

She then said something that was shocking to me. She told us that helping those in need was something that was more built in to our culture, and that in Africa it is not so and is often very difficult or does not happen. She was grateful to God that our culture has sent us to her with so much love.

This affected me in a strange way. I know there are many loving people in the USA. I know many of them both inside the church and out. I have heard from political minds on other continents how giving the American public is. I guess I have just never thought of helping those in need as being something in my culture. I think I see where this is coming from in her mind, especially in the midst of literal hand to mouth existence here for many people. Still, this shocked me to think about. I think, perhaps the Americans they meet are the people who really want to love them and help.

This hurt my heart though. Americans, in my experience, are very willing to open up and want to give to the poor internationally. The outcry after the disaster in Haiti was just a small fringe of what American private aid does. When Americans go on short term mission trips or short term relief work they throw themselves into the work and into loving the people that they meet. However, back on our own home soil we sometimes have a harder time loving the poor and pouring ourselves and our resources into them.

African widow needs dental work? no problem... here's a couple hundred dollars. Single mom in East St. Louis needs a cavity filled? Too bad... she should work harder so she can pay for it. I remember after Katrina hearing something so similar to this from someone I have respected since childhood that I was greatly taken aback.

I know this isn't the attitude among all American people, but it is enough that I find it disturbing to consider that 'helping those in need is built in to my culture.' I am also aware that being a young American who travels primarily for the sake of working in development or missions that I can be very tough on my fellow Americans... and especially American Christians. Even knowing my biases against my own people, it is hard for me to accept that compared to other cultures mine appears to have 'help those in need' somehow embedded in it.

I walked my short walk home after returning to Amani from the visit. I said hello to Joel(Jo-el) who runs a shop by the rickety bridge I cross. I have been beginning to make small informal relationships along the walk to and from work. Joel is one of the shop keepers I have met. I am often a strange sight walking along that road as I am usually to only non-African not in a vehicle. Sure there are white people and Indians in cars, but never on foot. I try to act like this is normal and go along my merry way saying hello to the many shop keepers, food vendors, and bicycle repair men I have come to recognize. I am sure they find my friendliness amusing. I however find it challenging and a constant step out of my comfort zone.

I arrived home and stopped to talk to our guard Benjamin. He has been trying teach me Kiswahili and has been a bright spot of my day from the moment we moved in. I just learned that Benjamin is half Rwandan and used to be a teacher.

I use my limited Kiswahili to ask Benjamin how he is and he tells me he is fine. I ask him about his day, and it has been very good. He asks me if I have had a lot of work today. I am home almost an hour and a half later than usual because of the home visit. I tell him that I have been visiting friends in Kawangware and he asks me if I actually went to Kawangware.
"Yes. I went to their home to visit."
"Oh! IN Kawangware?"
"Yes."
"Were you shocked at the conditions?" he asked me.
I told him I wasn't at all. "I am very much accustomed to areas like Kawangware. I really enjoyed seeing their home!"
Benjamin was impressed at this. He told me that it is such a good thing and that I visited and that it makes people in those area feel special and respected and affirmed as people. He also told me that I have a good heart and that someday when we visit him it will be very good because we will not be shocked at where he stays.

He was amazed to hear that we also had made friends in Kibera and that I have visited and plan to visit again.

I mentioned to him that there are poor in the USA as well, and even people who live on the street or in places in the middle of nowhere that have only just gotten electricity (like in some of Appalachia), but that many people refuse to realize that these things exist in my own country or they simply have no idea.

He was glad to hear that I was willing to go to these places in Kenya and meet these people. It made him very happy, I think, to know that I thought it was okay to live in places that don't look like the luxury condos that he guards every day.

I realized when I finally said goodbye to Benjamin and went up to our flat, that I have slowly been becoming comfortable with urban slums in the developing world throughout my life and that I am grateful to the community that encouraged me as a young person to open my heart to people in circumstances different to my own.

My home church in Michigan, MCRC, and my family have always been very supportive of my international travels, and our home church in DC, National Community Church, has also stood behind us as we have taken steps toward working in development. Also our Greenville College family, our friends from Christian Legal Society, and other like minded humanitarian lawyers and professionals have given us permission over and over again to live and love radically.

I am so blessed.

Without perhaps even knowing it, these communities have saved me from another type of poverty. They have rescued me from having an impoverished heart. The ability to be comfortable visiting people in different circumstances without feeling ruffled at all is due to the investment that others have made in me over the years and I am sitting in out flat in Africa feeling so very blessed to have such investors on my side.

Even if helping those in need is not something that is obvious to me in my own culture, I think it is awesome that widows in Africa can see the investment of people who have stretched me and encouraged me to live outside of the box. I cherish that the final product that these women recognize is that of love.

Thank you to all of you who have invested in Ian and me so that we can invest in the people we meet here.
B

Goodies and the Post Office Debacle

2010-07-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ian worked really hard to get this package, so it definitely deserves its' own post.
We just received our first package in Kenya! How fun!

The only part that wasn't fun was picking it from the customs office at the Posta down town. We went on Tuesday n our way to pick our furniture and it was a bit of a disaster. Ian took off from work early and we took a cab downtown. The traffic was a beast, but we managed to get to the post office around 3:30. After waiting in line and waiting in line we were finally told to open our package and see what was inside so that they could assess it for customs charges. We found a whole bunch of goodies from our buddy Kate Netzler complete with some treats from her recent trip to China.

After taking inventory and giving us a bill for about $5 the post office man told Ian to go to the next desk then accross the hall to get various papers stamped and approved. He told me to pack everything back in the box and re-tape the box. what? why?

Ian came back to tell me after all of his running from counter to counter that we had to go across the street to pay our fees at some bank. The Posta man said "The bank closes at four. You'll have to return." By this time it is 5 minutes past four. Argh!

Another woman working behind the counter gave us directions to try and get help so that we could get our box. No dice. The best we received was that we could send someone with a copy of Ian's passport. blerg.

So Friday Ian took his lunch to go downtown again. When he arrived at one o'clock he was told that they were taking lunch from 1 to 2 and no one could help him. Good grief! needless to say he was peeved and had to wait a whole hour just to wait in lines again.

Luckily he was successful this time and came home baring all sorts of goodies including shark fin flavored biscuit sticks, new shirts for each of us, and the Greenville College Record alumni publication.

We're excited to have a little bit of Kate here with us and also glad that we now know when not to go to the post office. (Better luck next time I guess.)

Thank you Kate for encouraging us and sending us birthday goodies! We are so blessed to have you as a friend!
B

Struggling through

2010-07-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

I have had a hectic past month at Amani and Thursday a couple weeks ago was almost my tipping point.

Ramona* is from Uganda. her husband worked for the government that was overthrown or something of that nature and they have been refugees in Kenya for some time. I automatically loved her. She reminds me of my mother, I think. That is probably one of many reasons why when Amani couldn't give her a loan the size she was asking for that I lost it.

As far as we know her son is in prison in Uganda. We don't know why or how long he has been there, but he is in his early twenties and from what i understand was working with computers and I think going to university and now he is in prison. Ramona is trying to go back there and bail him out and bring him here to Kenya. As far as we know there are some problems with this. First, if he leaves before a court date he could be seen as fleeing from justice and be at risk of never really being able t travel again, or even just put straight back into prison if he is flagged at the border of Uganda with a warrant. Second, we have no idea what he did. Third, there seems to be no clear answers in any direction about how much they would need to get him out or anything.

When I was in the room when Ramona was getting the loan she thanked us and thanked God and then said she wouldn't even be able to leave with this much. 10,000 shillings is about $150. it isn't much. We dropped twice that much on furniture this weekend. What do I do?
After taking the loan and seeming so downcast at the small amount she left the office leaving myself and Pat sitting in silence. Pat has a hard job. She is the HR person and in many ways the advocate for these women. She used to be a principal at an arts university. She is a sharp lady and I like her. She is tough but merciful; what a wonderful combination. We looked at each other and she said "what do we do?" and I looked at her and said "I don't know" and I busted into tears. I lost it. Pat talked me through her struggles working at Amani where these women are sometimes paid very little, although better than they would be in other places. She encouraged me that God loves them and we don't understand his ways and that money is not always the answer. I really appreciated it even if none of my questions are answered and my heart is still in turmoil.

Ramona is obviously in low spirits. She needs 9000 more shillings at least and I just don't think i can do that. I know I can't give it to her directly anyhow. As a person who is very much a gift-love-language person... this hurts my heart. I want to give her whatever i can, but i can't. Not without the details and not on the budget we have. how do I chose who to help?

Lori* is another one. She's been sick this week and I met her on the road on my way to work and she was going to the hospital. I wanted to throw her in a cab and bring her there myself, but it is hard with precedent setting. I realize poverty is multi-faceted. Helping someone for a season may actually be a burden if they become dependent. The best thing i can do is pray and continue to encourage them as they continue to work towards sustainability. I can help set up programs that will create jobs and opportunities and I am trying to do that. I'm just struggling with always seeing the real face of the poverty and hurt that we've come to help.

I meet so many people in difficult circumstances here, and not just financially. Many people regardless of their income need hope. Aid and missions workers need this even more than others often. They stare hard circumstances in the face daily and work their tails off to make change happen, often to little praise... if any. The amount of bitterness that can seep into their hearts is uncanny, and it is not always shown in the ways we would think.

The inability to listen to others well is one of those things I have noticed in a number of missions workers since we have been on this journey. It seems to spring directly from some of the bitterness they have acquired, often because they have been taken advantage of by someone or some organization. This is a huge attack on the work that relief workers do. Yes, there are often many people vying for position in our schedules, but what good are we if we cannot listen and really hear what is going on? We are very little good, especially in a cross cultural context where listening is key to our understanding which is key to learning how to serve.

I guess this brings me to self-care. Self-care for Aid workers, relief workers, and missionaries is paramount They need a support network that is often not given to them. Maybe this is a strange cry in an odd direction, but if you are reading this you should know that the situation I have been put in above is barely even the tip of the iceberg for many people out in the field. If I have learned anything from this experience so far, it is that working this type of work can be a very lonely road. I have been blessed by you, our supporters, friends, and family with a wonderful extended network of support. Still, I know that not all people in my position have that network. Please consider being the person who encourages someone who is out doing amazing peace-building and development work. It sounds all nice and fluffy, but it is a tough road and they need to hear from you especially during times of moral dilemmas (which generally is every day).

May we be agents of peace and hope wherever we go and in all that we do.
B

(*real names have been changed to protect the identity of those in vulnerable situations)

Visiting Kibera

2010-06-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a while without a substantial post, and I will give you all the down-low on why! I (Bekah) have finally begun working with the foundation I was hoping to get to partner with and it has been super-duper busy. I have hardly gotten a moment to breathe! More on that later though....

The day before I jumped in to my current position I went on a visit to the Kibera slum with my friend Lesley who helps plant urban gardens. Lesley has a passion for nutrition and is working to educate women with HIV especially on the benefits that good nutrition can have for their quality of life. She is a lovely gal and we have been blessed to come in contact with her and her husband Michael and hope we get to spend some more time with them in the future!

I had been hoping to take a trip into Kibera with Lesley for a while and was excited to get the chance to see what she was up to and meet some of her friends and co-laborers in the gardening effort.
We began our journey into Kibera in Lesley's car bumping along some of the dirt paths down to the school where one of the gardens is located. We were supposed to meet Stella who is one of the most faithful volunteers for the gardens. In return for her efforts she gets the benefit of the produce.
Stella was still on her way to meet us so we journeyed ahead to the daycare where Stella's son stays while she is working. Stella is a young single mother living in the Kibera slum
and is the only one caring for her tiny son.

The daycare was mostly a room with dirt walls a cement floor and a tin roof filled with tiny children. The nice lady running the daycare welcomed us and gave us all hugs. She told us that many of the women whose children come to the daycare have a hard time paying the fee for a day's stay for their babies which is 20 shilings... equivalent to just under 25 cents USD. These women spend most days looking for work to make ends meet for their families.
The little ones were enamored with our cameras and had plenty of smiles and giggles at getting to see themselves on the screen. Many of these children are undernourished which will greatly effect their development, especially in these early years. Still, they are full of smiles once they get over the fact that there are scary white people (maybe the first some of them have seen) visiting them.
As we left we passed by one of the main water sources fr the area; a polluted creek. Clean water is one of the things most needed in area like this. Children and adults alike die from water-born illness and dysentery.

We then made our way to a little school near-by and had time to play with the kids and talk with the staff. Many of the staff had grown up in the same slum and had dreams of teaching.

They make due with what they have and many have worked hard to get books and desks for the school. Still, life is difficult in Kibera and many of the children will end up dropping out of school for lack of school fees or various other reasons. Due to the large amounts of rain we'd been having here a couple of the walls in the school had washed out, and the one in their 'kitchen' was completely gone.

The amount of positivity here is still overwhelming. Even though it was a short visit to Africa's largest slum, I was grateful to get a glimpse into the lives of many of the people I meet here. They are often struggling to make ends meet in often grim circumstances, but there are glimmers of hope.
Educators who know that and education will give the next generation a boost up in the world.

Women like Stella who are volunteering in urban gardens.

People like Lesley who have befriended people in Kibera and are working to improve their lives in sustainable ways. And of course, the enthusiasm of children who still play games, tell jokes, and laugh in the face of great adversity.
God Bless Kenya.
B

The Wild Life

2010-05-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of wildlife since our last post on the intruding beetle that was stomping on our curtains. No big cats yet, sorry. Mostly just small critters.
We have a number of beetles that frequent our flat and we always try to peacefully let them leave after placing them outdoors. (we don't extend this kindness to cockroaches just so everyone is clear). We've seen a lot of these little beetles that I call thorn beetles... not sure exactly what they are, but their underside is bright green.

One night we were returning from the grocery store and upon opening the door Ian jumped backward in surprise. He thought that he had seen a very large centipede, but upon turning on the light we found this gecko on the wall.

We did our best to urge him out, but he was pretty firmly stuck in a corner of the ceiling so we decided to let him stay. Ian had guessed that a gecko had been roaming around the apartment as we had been cleaning the walls of little bits of 'dirt' every once in a while. We were happy to have a visit from the gecko as we desperately needed some mosquito control. Luckily we found a plug-in 'Moskiller' later in the week since we have not seen the gecko since and have a bit of a mosquito problem.

Another strange phenomena that happens here is getting swarmed by flying termites. At night if you leave your lights on and windows open flying termites will often find their way in. the body of the termite is only a couple centimeters long, but the wings are enormous and loud.
The other night our balcony was swarmed by these termites and we had to shove plastic bags along the bottom of the doorjam to keep them from climbing under the door! Flying termites are not the brightest of creatures, so after a long while of them bumping themselves up against the windows we were left with a huge amount of dead termites and termite wings on our balcony.
Gross! Needless to say, Ian went and bought a proper broom the next day.

Yet, in the morning as I was getting ready cleaning I swept all of our dead termites into a pile and was looking for some equivalent to a dust-pan when a couple of different birds started singing really loudly. I popped my head out to the balcony to find two bright yellow weavers eating a buffet of termites as a few other birds joined them. It was great to see them enjoying my swept up termites.

Next time I will get the zoom lens ready for the day after we have another termite attack!
B

World Vision Report - Week of May 8, 2010 - Skateistan

2010-05-17T01:28:00.000-07:00

World Vision Report - Week of May 8, 2010 - Skateistan

I really enjoyed this report from World Vision Report and wanted to share it with you all. Sometimes it is hard to imagine how we as individuals can become agents of peace in an often very violent world. I thought this story about a skateboarding school in Kabul was fantastic and a creative way to build bridges between different people. This was exemplary of how we all can use our giftings, skills, talents and even our hobbies to become agents of peace and further reconciliation.
B

From the sketchbook

2010-05-11T03:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd leave a little treat here today. We're working on our update letter this week so hopefully you'll be hearing from us soon. Still, I thought I'd post a page from my sketch book.
We have a great view from our current apartment looking our over the suburb that we live in. We also have a balcony that affords us some outdoor space 5 stories up which consequently is great for drawing and bird watching.
I don't usually post my scribbles, so please be gentle in viewing them... they're a little shy. This drawing was made sometime last month as I was noticing all of the interesting movement and life in Nairobi and enjoying it move along as the day passed slowly... which things take a looong time here.

Hopefully you can see it alright. If you click on it you can view a larger photo. It made me chuckle and I wanted to share it with you!
Thank you for being part of our story here in Nairobi!
B

Grace and Justice

2010-05-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Kenya is astoundingly different than our South Asia post. One of the most striking difference is that Kenya, for the most part, is a Christian nation. This makes it a lot more familiar and somewhat like home, though here church leaders are often also politicians and that causes all sort of problems. While I am grateful for the Christian base, the misunderstanding of God’s wrath causes problems in our work. In Kenya we do a lot of work with children and young persons who have been sexually assault by their neighbors. What often happens next is that someone reports to the parents that their child has been sexually assaulted and they go and confront their neighbor. The neighbor admits to his “sin” and ask for a Christian forgiveness. It is imperative for the neighbor to avoid having this matter reported to the police and him being tried because the sexual assault of a minor can mean life imprisonment. The parents, believing that Christ would forgive this man forgive him, and usually the assault continues.
There is a valid concern here about what Christ calls us to do. What does justice mean in this instance and how much grace can we give to a man/woman who rapes a child of God? I am reading a document prepared by UNDP and there are these two sentences “In traditional context, both society at large and the police may favor negotiation and compromise as the appropriate way to deal with SGBV (sexual gender based violence). This leads to situations in which men forgive men for violence committed against women.” In approaching these situations we have to ask: who has the man offended? Do the parents have a right to forgive him? If they don’t, does a 10 year old, who doesn’t understand how she has been defiled other than the pain, forgive him? A person who rapes another not only defiles that person but the very temple and image of the Lord. Grace is not a license to continue to keep on sinning but an opportunity to right ourselves before God. A man who begs forgiveness for rape may be given this grace and this opportunity but I don’t know that we, as Christians, have the right to stay his legal and earthly punishment

Unwelcome guest

2010-04-19T03:49:00.000-07:00

Excuse me sir... those are my curtains that you are stepping on.

I'm sorry, but if you aren't planning on paying rent, you will have to leave!

Luckily he went peacefully and without obvious complaint.
We seem to be getting a number of unwelcome and unexpected guests due to leaving our windows open during the day. Today we almost had a bird! Still, nothing too nasty.
B

Holler Indeed

2010-04-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

"He is risen!"
"Holler!"
(quote from a DC friend's first response to the Easter morning liturgy having never heard it before. Awesome)

This past Sunday, Easter Sunday, was our first Sunday in Kenya. It's always difficult to adjust to a new place, but I think that sometimes holidays make it more poignant that you are, in fact, no longer in a familiar setting. Easter held just such an experience.

We set out Sunday morning in a taxi with a fellow IJMer to head to All-Saints Cathedral in Nairobi which is an Anglican congregation. As at most churches on Easter, there was quite a crowd gathering outside to head in to the next service and we were among them. The crowd comprised of an interesting mix of ethnicities and ages as we squished through the doors.

Disclaimer: I should probably just put it out in the open that I love church. I don't usually think of myself as particularly traditional, although I am not particularly non-traditional either... but just any given person I may meet in casual conversation at a party probably wouldn't assume that church-loving-ness about me straight off. So there it is.

I know I have a number of expectations and stereotypes stored away in my subconscious for what Kenya would be like and what our experiences would be. Some of these come courtesy of the big screen such as Lion King and The Constant Gardener, while other expectations are rooted in my previous experience in South Africa in 2001, while still others are the product of reading too many guidebooks and blogs about what to expect. I try to recognize those expectations and stereotypes when going to a new place in order to attempt a separation, or maybe more appropriately attempt to take inventory of truths or lies that are embedded in my preconceived notions.

In the case of Easter Sunday, I was expecting a lively time of worship and celebration with lots of color and 'African flare'. You know... the stereotypical unaccompanied choir and maybe some dancing. What I received was not exactly what I expected.

We began the service with a responsive reading and the traditional Easter call "He is risen!" which the congregation responds to with "He is risen indeed!" This has to be one of my more favorite Easter traditions (apart from Peeps and Easter bonnets of course *wink*). I get really excited before Easter services knowing it is coming and getting ready to reply with gusto. Needless to say with the combined personal excitement at this tradition and the expectations of a boisterous Easter Sunday Kenyan style, I was all ramped up for my response to the clergy's call.
Just as I expected, a ridiculously dark and adorable bishop got up and began the service "He is risen!"

I took a big breath and put my diaphragm behind my much anticipated response "He is risen INDEED!". And that is when it happened.

I suddenly realized that I was the only person in my general vicinity besides perhaps Ian who seemed to be super jazzed about responsive reading. (I guess I should be used to this as responsive readings aren't exactly the most exciting part of most people's church experience, but... it's Easter for crying out loud!) I got a somewhat startled half glance from the woman two seats down with the umbrella, and one of those trying-not-to-look-at-the-crazy-person grimace from the older couple in front of me. Yikes!

I calmed myself for a moment and tried to reign myself back in. I listened to a couple more responses and was surprised by the muddy mumbling all around me. Sure enough, I seemed to be the only crazy in the 5 or so pews on any given side of me. This was not one of those expectations that I was preparing to be dashed to pieces. Where was my happy African Sunday service!? What the heck is going on here?!?
So I flaked. I was in shock and frustrated, and as a rebellious move I decided not to stand up with the rest of the 'first time visitors' when asked by the provost. Who even likes doing that? As far as I know.... NOBODY.

It didn't take long for me to bounce back to full roaring-choir-kid volume and exuberance. One thing that continues to be difficult to learn as we transition from place to place is to not let a crushed expectation keep you from enjoying the moment as you had hoped. Sure, my fellow church-goers murmured through all of the responsive readings in the liturgy. That is no reason to join into the mumbling and let a few rumbly lines rain on my (Easter) parade.

Looking back, there are many reasons why the response could have been muddy: the architecture, lack of familiarity with the text (I mean it is Easter and lots of people show up on Easter who don't usually frequent church services), even low literacy rates could be part of the deal... and probably a couple church grumps thrown in. Not to mention that while I love Anglican services, I have to remember that the tradition is probably a little less charismatic than even my good 'ol Reformed background.

Either way, I belted my way through "Up From the Grave He Arose!" and a few more rousing celebratory hymns, laughed at the jokes of the wonderful Bishop who was preaching from Ezekiel about resurrection (brilliant! talk about throwing a curve ball to the usual text from the gospels), and shared The Peace with those around me.

Communion on Easter is always special since we are celebrating a fulfillment of the covenant and Christ's conquering death. Even though I didn't get my high-powered responsive reading, the procession up to the altar was great as we proceeded right through the cathedral's choir with the choir singing on either side as we reached the altar. That was awesome. Honestly, I love my teetotaling American Protestants at large and all of their weekly Welches grape juice, but there really is something about the heat of real wine going down your throat when observing Christ's blood shed for us that makes me feel connected historically.

All in all, Easter was great. Confusing, mildly disappointing in some ways, but in general a good beginning to our time here.

Our Easter celebrations didn't end there, of course. We walked around city center, through a park where I was almost run over by a camel while crossing a footbridge, in and quickly out of the Maasai market, into a grocery store to buy a man named David a bag of rice, and into a coffee shop for some of the best Masala tea I've had outside of Asia. A little after-noon nap helped soothe some of the jet-lagged feelings we're still getting and then we had a friend over for Garlic Chicken and some exciting rounds of Set and Nerts.

We're settling in and looking forward to new experiences and new friends during our time here in Africa

And finally....
He IS risen. Holler!
B

We made it

2010-04-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

So we made it safe and sound to Nairobi. So far we are enjoying it and it is going to be much more familiar than our last post. Have yet to figure out internet and still trying to adjust to time. Pray for us as we adjust and as I start work on Tuesday.
-Ian

Answered prayers and "up up and away!"

2010-03-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

We are putting the final touches on our packing as we head out today. I just sapped this photo with my phone as I tucked some of my books into my carry on. I had a moment of thankfulness for answered prayers and wanted to quickly share. If you look at the photo you can see a ribbon around my bright pink bible and it says "I wish for big dreams to dream". This ribbon was one that I acquired from a 'wishing wall' at an interactive art exhibit in STL back in probably 2003 or 2004. The idea was claiming a wish and tying it somewhere until the ribbon breaks and your wish comes true. I think it's a neat little bit, but when i saw this wish, I knew it was the one I had to claim and take more as a prayer. I have had it tied around my Bible to remind to continuously ask for big dreams.
As I tucked my Kenya guide book in front of my Bible I realized how God has really answered this prayer and answered it before I realized it was my prayer. I'm feeling very thankful for many answered prayers as we head out today.
So... just a few hours until we are the air. All of our love to all of you :)
"up, up and away!"
B

A Year Ago

2010-03-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

I turned to Ian today while we were at church celebrating Palm Sunday and told him that exactly a year ago today we were in Paris checking off a couple life goals and watching people coming and going from Sacre Coeur Basilica in Montmartre overlooking the Paris skyline from the place I called the "Amelie park."

I've noticed lately that a sneaky little literary device... the 'little did they know' keeps popping up when I think about where our story is headed. I'm excited (and nervous actually) to see what 'little do I know' will look like a week from now, a month from now, and a year from now.

But until then, to quote one of my favorite Academy Award winning films of this year... "Adventure is out there!!!"

T-minus 2 days until lift-off to Kenya!
If you are reading this and haven't received our update letter via email and would like to, please leave us a comment so we can put you on the list-serve :)
B

Much awaited news

2010-02-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
We're glad to be able to finally give you some news after almost two months of silence. During those two months we kept looking at one another and saying "surely this week we will have something we can tell them!" and then another week went by without much news. But after much waiting and many lessons in practicing patience, we have an update for all of you.
In short, we will not be returning to South Asia due to a visa situation that could put others' work in jeopardy. We're truly sad to have left our work there after such a short time, and we were extremely disappointed not to be able to bid a proper farewell to the amazing staff and friends that we had the pleasure of being surrounded by every day.
We learned a lot during our three months in South Asia, and we are moving forward with a few more tools in our globe-trotting tool belts as well of a broader knowledge of the extreme needs and difficult situations of victims of poverty and trafficking.
Although the door to South Asia has been closed for us our journey is not over. We have been blessed to be extended another opportunity in IJM’s Field Office in Nairobi, Kenya. After discussion and prayer we have decided to take the leap towards next steps that will send us to Africa.
Ian will continue working as a Legal Fellow for IJM taking a slightly different role than the one he was filling in South Asia, but still working towards justice for the oppressed. Bekah is still trying to solidify another position, and will be getting in touch a number of contacts to see where there is need and how she can help. We are both looking forward to reporting to you from the ground, as well as just getting back into the swing of a regular schedule.
Please stay tuned and keep your eyes open for an upcoming newsletter in your inbox with more details about what we've been up to and what we're headed towards. This will be another big change for us and will probably change some of our plans, so we would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we move forward towards the next adventure.
I & B

Christmas in the States

2010-01-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

2009 was an interesting year for Bekah and I. During this time we have lived on 3 continents, have been homeless twice, and I both graduated from law school and passed the California bar. For those of you who do not know we started 2009 in London where I studied for my last semester of law school. While there we assumed that I would be able to find a job to begin after school and have something waiting for us when we got back. God, however, had other plans for us. First, God sent constant reminders that International Justice Mission should be something I should think about. Then God sent two friends to London who were IJM fellows to visit Bekah and I and tell us how we should thinking about IJM. And then God affirmed our decision to apply by both closing doors and giving us encouragement that reinforced our decision. (Including encouragement from one person offering me a job, who told me it would be best for my career to work with IJM.) I am glad that I ended up with IJM this year and am looking forward to being back at work.

Since our last update we have been able to have lovely Christmases with our families and friends running from one part of the Midwest to the next. In a matter of one stretch of four days we spent 24 hours in a car. We were able to see our friends for New Years thanks to the little public transportation that the midwest has. Then this last weekend we drove with friends 15 hours each way to Orlando, Florida for one of my best friend’s wedding. One would think that Florida would be warm, but it was only slightly above freezing there so we did not get play outside as much as we were hoping. This, however, did not stop us from swimming outside in the pool the night before the wedding and doing some synchronized swimming. If you are friends with me on facebook there is a video of us posted, and if you are not friends with me on facebook... why aren’t you? During this entire time, about every other day, I spent time on the phone with our airline trying to get reimbursed for a cancelled flight. The airline is still (up to this point) playing hardball, but hopefully we will get our money back.

Most importantly during this entire time we have been trying to get a new visa to go back to South Asia and get back to work. Shortly after arriving in the United States our office started getting varied reports from the different embassies about what type of visa we should get. One embassy said that we should apply for business, another employment, and another yet entry. We also received notice from the American embassy that people with tourist visa wouldn’t be let back into the country in South Asia unless they leave for over two months. Since we are not planning on being gone for two months, this meant Bekah also had to apply for a new visa. After waiting for over a month and still not getting a clear answer from the embassy we have decided to go ahead and apply for visas and pray that God will work His will in this matter.

Needless to say the constant moving, combined with sleeping in new places, and never being able to plan for longer than 5 business days (the amount of time it takes to get a new visa) this month has been a little rough for both our relationship as well as our nerves. Please continue to pray for us. Pray that God will continue to provide as He has in this time. Pray that we will use this time as a learning experience and God will teach us something. Pray that our relationships are able to make it through this time.

Back in the US of A

2009-12-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

Friends, family, and total strangers,
Please accept our apologies for this random and strange update. It has been a couple of crazy weeks since we have written and sadly we don't have a ton of great news on the visa end.
The first week of December we spent zooming around Thailand on a little scooter being told repeatedly 'no' by various consulates when it came to renewing Ian's business visa. Luckily Thailand was so beautiful, and the local IJM office so friendly that it was far too difficult to stay upset over a seemingly pointless trip.
So what IS one to DO when in Thailand and nothing seems to go quite right? I'll tell you. Eat lots of street food, stumble upon waterfalls, and ride elephants. Now you know in case you ever find yourself between a rock and a hard place and randomly in Thailand.
Sadly our visa charades have come to very little except more bad news, which is prompting us both to re-apply for visas and hope for the best. In order to do so we had to cancel our flights back to our post in South Asia and make an unexpected trip back to the 'motherland' of the US of A. We've spent the last week trying to figure out what needs to be done, who needs to go where, and how on earth to try to deal with all of our business and issues that are still in South Asia.
I'd like to say that we are generally at peace with this upheaval, and most moments we are handling it well. But the moments when 'what we are missing' or 'why are we here' strike, things can look a little bleak. I am trying not to look at this as a massive disappointment but it is difficult. Another road block... another day not working... another issue with our apartment or bills in S. Asia. It's a bit of a mess and a lot of international calling. Still, we have been reminded in many ways that every closed door is an opportunity. Every problem and detour presents an adventure, and at least this time every impossible visa request means a holiday with friends and family.
I'm still disappointed to have to give this update, and I was hoping by this time this week (one week since we have arrived in the US) that I would be able to give you all a functional update of when we would be able to return, but I am not able. We do want all of the wonderful folks who have supported us and loved on us during this process to know that we aren't going to give up so easily. We still have some good fight left in us and we plan to go forward unhindered by whatever problems are thrown at us trusting that there is a reason for the journey.
Our apologies for this late update, and we will update once again when we have some news or perhaps before that with a couple pictures :)
Many fond Christmas wishes!
B

Newsletter Available

2009-11-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!
Just in case you didn't find your way on to the update list (or if your email bounced back... because I am still trouble shooting a couple that seem to hate me) we have our Nov. newsletter up and kicking. Give us a shout out and we'll add you to the list for future updates and (if you're realllllly nice) we can shoot out last week's update to you personally!
Here's a little teaser from the letter:

Top 10 "different" experiences
10. Fireworks from 3-10pm every night for two weeks straight
9. Watching rats and crows fight over paper for entertainment, and choosing sides
8. Having unexplained strings tied on one’s self during festival season
7. Playing human “Frogger™” to cross the street
6. Being woken at 5am by an unexplained group of people singing in the street
5. No hamburgers at McDonalds
4. Being told that you look so ‘nice and pale’ today
3. Being blocked from the office door by a herd of goats
2. Getting asked for an autograph walking home from work
1. A woman offering us her monkey which she is walking on a leash

:)
B

ps- we also are asking for continued prayers as we travel today to another country in hopes of getting Ian and extended visa to stay here. Much love!

Monkey Business

2009-11-09T01:01:00.000-08:00

For those of you unacquainted with UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites, I strongly recommend proceeding with caution as this list may turn into a mild obsession if there is any Indiana Jones/history geek/wanderlust anywhere within you. I'm not sure when Ian and I became aware that many of the things we wanted to see and do in our lifetimes included World Heritage sites, but after visiting a number throughout Europe and and parts of Asia this past year we are hopelessly hooked. Lucky for us, our new locale has a number of relatively close sites (and by relatively, i mean closer than we are to them when in the USA *wink*) that keep us dreaming about what our next weekend adventure might include. This weekend we crossed another site off of our list as we visited some Shaivistic cave temples carved out of the stone side of a mountain thought to date back to the 9th-13th century.

Archaeological sites hold a special place in my heart, and I love art history. Being able to see pieces that I've read about or studied right up close really makes me happy, and sometimes a little giddy or emotional. Luckily this trip was not one of those emotional reactions, but ask me some time about the man who pushed me when i was viewing the Venus di Milo for the first time and I will still have some strong emotions to share.
Amazing pieces have always moved me, and this experience was no exception. The carvings in the caves were extremely complex and ornate. Many of them representing pieces of the human form in a way that portrays movement in exciting non-western ways.
Still, as any truly rewarding experience, there was a journey and price to pay to get there. This began on our boat ride out to the area where the caves are located. We got on a slightly rickety older boat with 30 of our closest strangers and made the hour long ride to our port. Usually I find boat rides very calming, but this ride proved a slight exception.
I believe I have mentioned via some social media within the last week that our forecast for the last two weeks have been "smoke." Not fog, not clouds.... smoke. Not only has that been the forecast, but it has been the extremely accurate forecast. As we pulled away from land and out to the open water I watched the skyline behind us disappear into a haze of smoky smog. On the upside I did see the blue color of the sky for the first time in a number of weeks. The air quality here is terrible and estimated to be the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. Adding to the sad view of our city was the sight of a mother instructing her child to throw the soda bottles and plastic bags overboard into the murky deep. It hurt my heart, because this cultural acceptance of rubbish everywhere adds to one of the biggest problems in the developing world which is the availability of clean drinking water. Each time one of the people on our boat tossed another piece of garbage overboard, all i could do was shake my head and hope that change is in the future.
Our boat finally docked giving us about two hours to climb the small mountain up to the caves and return before the last boat back. We made some tracks and paid a number of random fees to get up the mountain, but the most bothersome part to me was not the huge fees but the monkeys.
Yes, I said monkeys. It's not that I don't like monkeys or think they are cute or fascinating, but it is more that monkeys who have the ability to freely come up to me and invade my personal space freak me out a little bit.

On our trek up the steep stone walkway to see the caves I started to notice just how 'friendly' these little primates here are. The stone walkway we were trekking was covered by blue tarps above us as canopies to keep the hot sun off of the vendors that line the entire route. These athletic critters were using these well placed tarps as monkey sized trampolines. We'd be huffing and puffing our way up the trail when *phoomm!!!!* the tarp above us would slack under the weight of the fuzzy monkey it was receiving from a nearby tree. Then the tarp would recoil sending the monkey flying in another direction, or on less lucky jumps the tarp would give a little too much and you could see a monkey shadow sliding down the side of the tarp to be dumped swiftly into a heap on the ground.
Honestly, this became much funnier on the way down the mountain, as we stopped for a lime soda and watched the multi-level chaos with bouncing monkeys above and bustling shop vendors below, but on the way up I braced myself for a mid-air collision with every loud thump.
I would like to say that this was the only mischief these devious creatures were up to, but as we neared the caves we watched the monkeys chase tourists and steal plastic bags full of lunches! As I told my sister about this yesterday she said "oh.. so kind of like squirrels." Ha! Like squirrels with opposable thumbs, fangs, much better cognitive skills.... and the size of a toddler. So....no... not really like squirrels.
We made our way past most of the monkeys into the cave area, and explored the man-made caverns complete with stone carved columns for structural integrity. It was an exciting dip into the local cultural history, and I walked away with a lot to think about and hopefully a few good pictures.

Still, the way down from the caves was not devoid of monkey business. There was a group of women in their traditional dresses by the exit gate to the stairway who wait there with cooking pots balanced on their heads trying to get tourists to pay to have their picture taken with them. As I encroached into the crowd of curry-carrying women hoping not to have anyone's dinner end up on my head, the monkeys made their move. Out of nowhere a group of about ten monkeys of all shapes and sizes came charging down the gate and leaping through the maze of pots across the open gateway. I have a very limited native vocabulary, but one word that has been essential in maintaining my composure in difficult situations is that staple "NO" word. As the monkeys charge and the women crowd and my life seems to hover in a slow motion struggle all I can seem to wail is "no! no! no! no!!!" and boosted with a little extra energy by my verbal outburst I successfully snaked and elbowed my way out of the kitchen pot and monkey maze. Which was good because shortly after this became a screaming kitchen pot monkey maze as some other westerners with less elbowing ability got stuck in the middle. Phew! Close one.

With the monkey madness behind me, we headed back to the dock saying hello to some cows who were eating leftovers from the corn on the cob vendors. I spent most of the boat ride back trying to hide from some creepy guy trying to take pictures of me on his cell phone and watching more well-meaning mothers throw their rubbish overboard.
Luckily a tasty plate of spaghetti (served saucy.. which is the best add-on menu choice ever) while pondering the sights of another World Heritage site crossed off the list was my hard earned reward for a day of sight-seeing, litter grimacing, and monkey dodging. But as is often the case, the journey, not the destination, was the true adventure.

B

Rough start

2009-10-28T04:06:00.000-07:00

This week got off to a rough start. We said good-bye to one of of our friends that we knew previously from DC as he headed back to the states, leaving our apartment far too quiet and us feeling a little less comfortable without him here to guide us. It's been a great blessing to have friends that we met in DC show us the ropes around our new digs and help us get adjusted. His wife leaves this week and the whole office and ex-pat groups will miss them a lot!
Besides difficult goodbyes, Monday already had a sort of comic dread looming over it. I've been allergic to something here that makes the skin around my eyes dry and puffy so that I have this sort of bug-eyed iguana look going on in the morning... extremely attractive, I promise. I woke up Monday late due to malfunctioning brain that forgot to set an alarm in the same room I was sleeping. After tending to my iguana eye issue, i got dressed in my half traditional-half western garb and ran out the door on my usual trek past the mounds of garbage, staring men, and wild pigs to my boss's home office. I apparently was earlier than I was supposed to be as she was still getting ready and I was locked out on the second floor stoop shooing the massive crows away. Eventually we got everything in order and were off to the train station on our way to a new possibility of homes to work with.
Generally I am a fan of public transport. I think it is a great idea for saving money, being kinder to nature, and getting from one place to another in a consistent and reliable manner. However, the train system here is a little more stressful than my usual metro commute in DC. My boss Stephanie was kind enough to 'steer' me as we pushed and shoved our way into the women's car... and I am not joking about the pushing. Here's a picture from a car in our area.
On the way out of the train all you need do is stand near the door and let go of whatever you had been using for balance and you will magically get shoved along out of the door by the raging river of humanity streaming out of the car, your only obstacle being the unlucky up-stream swimmers making their way onto the car against the pull of gravity. And the pandemonium doesn't end with popping out of the car. Next is the journey up the stairs when the rest of the trains previous inhabitants join in the fray. It was this ascent to the street above that put the finishing touch on ruining my Monday.. which hardly needs any help to begin with.
We've all experienced a bottle neck somewhere... a baseball game as everyone is leaving, the rush to the front car of a roller coaster, elbowing someone to get the fallen pinata candy at a third grade birthday party (hopefully you were in third grade when this occurred) ... we've all had to fend for ourselves in the writhing mass of humanity at some point. Getting out of our train stations here are one of those experiences at all times. I was given very explicit instructions to put one arm across chest holding on to my bag on the opposite shoulder for the mere sake of guarding myself from unwanted 'grazes'. I'm not kidding. I elbowed my way through the crowd 'graze free' until a moment when the crowd closed in and up the stairs became a shoving match and all of the sudden i realized that though i was guarding for frontal assault, my rear was only separated from the world by the long flaps of my kurta (long cotton tunic type shirt), which proved to be not enough for some especially forward member of the crowd who proceeded to grab my butt. With so many people from all different directions there isn't a way to whirl around and deck someone for being entirely inappropriate and intrusive so my first reaction was to make a fist and separate that appendage from my rear as quickly and forcefully as was possible in the circumstances. I reached the top of the stairs grope-free, but still in shock about what had just happened. My colleagues could read my obvious distress and I told them what happened, but not much can be done when you can't see behind you, and even if you can... it might not be that person anyway trying to get a handful of western bum. I get stared at constantly here, so even getting a drawn out glance from someone in a crowd doesn't really lend any clues to who decided to be gross and mean. Again, my Monday didn't need any more help in being rough, but this sealed the deal.
Luckily a good cup of tea and warm hospitality goes a long way to sooth a soul after a traumatic moment, and visiting the ladies who may be the next addition to our weekly visits was a much needed encouragement. It was fantastic to hear the history of the organization that runs this home, and to hear their plans and dreams and to see how we might play a part in them. Thank God for people who care about women in a culture that often doesn't care past their use as physical objects. And thank God that there are women who are beating the odds to come out of these difficult situations and become beacons to those around them.
I started to pray for the gender gap here, and for the person who was out of line to grab me in the station while I was on my way home. I tried to figure out what I was learning in this situation. It's difficult because as the feeling of violation set in I felt helpless and really upset, but I have also noticed that sometimes the battle is won in the direction of grace.
I thought of the story of Jesus in the crowd when the woman with perpetual bleeding touched the hem of his garment and he stopped and asked "who touched me?" because he felt healing power go out of him, and the woman admits it was her and that she believed that if she merely could touch him she would be healed. Jesus tells her to go in peace because her faith has healed her. I know being groped in a train station is a far cry from a woman being healed after touching the fringe of Jesus' robe, but this story impressed itself on my brain. I'm guessing this will not be the last time in this next year that something inappropriate like this will happen to me, and I have been asking that God really make me an instrument of peace and that peace and love would be tangible to the touch, even the unwanted touch. That when these things happen a holy guilt and shame would enter the hearts of these people and cause them to transform their hearts and transform their culture. I've been asking that my pint sized understanding of feeling violated will give me a bigger heart for those I meet and work with every day who have been violated in much worse ways. Also, that the lies of loss of worth or feelings of dehumanization that come with physical violation would be conquered and that the only thing that would remain would be empowerment through love.
I wanted to leave you with a quote from The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis that a friend set me on the trail of some time ago:

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat, the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.

Please pray for the treatment of those born into oppression and vulnerability, and that the work we are doing will contribute to the effort for positive cultural change.

with love
B

Shout Out!

2009-10-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Wanted to give a quick shout out to some awesome 5th & 6th graders from Covenant Christian School. We just got your letters today and can't wait to respond to you! Thank you all for your prayers and your encouragement :)
B

Quiet Week

2009-10-19T00:45:00.000-07:00

You haven't heard from us in about a week and I promise there is a reason for that. Sadly it isn't what we would consider a good reason, but truly a viable reason. In short, our brief blog absence has been due to our first bout of food poisoning that took the wind out of Ian's sails for a few days and knocked me out pretty good for most of the week. I got back into the game and on the horse, but wasn't eating regularly until yesterday! Yikes! It seems a bad batch of hummus did us both in, and from what we hear, this probably won't be our last brush with that nasty little bug.

Our hummus consumption was just part of last weeks goings-on, as the holiday season has been in full tilt this week. twinkle lights and plenty of fireworks have punctuated our early evenings. We got the chance to do a little bit of necessity shopping at one of the nicer malls in the area. Generally a mall is something that reminds us of the hustle and bustle of the Western Christmas shopping season, and people pushing to get into sales after Thanksgiving... and while that season is still in the near future for our families on the other side of the globe, shopping season for the native holidays was very much upon us here. This looked a little different, however from our idea of holiday tinsel and reindeer.

First, part of the confusion happened in that this holiday is one that neither of us celebrated growing up, so we wandered in upon its' festivities without realizing what was going on. But also, the reason that a person goes to a mall during the holiday season here can be very different than the reason for going back in our home country. After discussing the massive amount of people in the mall with some of our friends here, we were informed that may people come to the mall during the holiday purely to see the spectacle of the lights and music and special exhibits and spend time in a place that they would never otherwise visit. Once this was pointed out, I started to notice a number of things that would have otherwise probably passed my notice. For instance, there was a line for the escalator... not because there were so many people, but because a number of sweet women dressed in their holiday best were completely mystified and almost terrified by the prospect of stepping on to this strange mechanical staircase. From what I understand, many of these women do not wander away from their neighborhood regularly. Often they keep house, plan for meals, and do the family grocery shopping within a very small radius of their home. Their husbands or or sons may be used to high-rises and the tricky escalator, but these are very unusual things for many of these ladies and they wander around the corridors wide-eyed, and often in a slightly confused daze clogging up the escalators until getting up the courage to take the leap of faith.

We did get the chance to see a movie in the mall, which was a nice break from all of the 'new and different' that constantly bombards us. Although entering and viewing a cinematic feature seems like something pretty straight forward, we still had some surprises. After going through a rigorous security check and getting our tub of popcorn and cup of cherry coke, we headed up the stadium seating to our pre-assigned seats. Looking for a specific row in a movie theater was already odd, but as we are climbing we realized that we were the only ones moving and everyone else has stopped dead in their tracks, stood, and are facing the screen silently. I honestly had a moment of "we've wandered into body-snatcher territory!! oh no!!" when i realized that it seemed to be a highly produced version of the national anthem complete with glittering animated flag waving in the digital breeze on the screen. Oops. My bad. We quickly joined the body snatched masses for the rest of the song and then plopped into our seats. We made it about halfway through the film fully suspended in American media export when suddenly the film stopped mid-wedding scene. What!? We came to find out that they have intermissions here.. about a 15 minute break to let you get some tomato flavored popcorn, and to watch a number of commercials about how cool various carbonated beverages will make you. Sadly our intermission may have cut out some of the dialogue of the wedding scene (probably mostly the "i do" part.. goodness!), but the rest of the film went on without a hitch except for us waiting with new paranoia at what other cultural faux pas we may end up committing during possible post-movie rituals. Luckily the end of the movie was the usual leaving a mess behind and seeking the exit... most of which we could handle.
We went on to make some poor food decisions that left us home-bound the beginning of the next week. Fun fun. nothing like a bout of twisted tummys to round out a good holiday season!
Happy Holidays!
B

Ride of our life

2009-10-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about the past a lot lately. Not because I am particularly nostalgic, but because my life keeps flashing before my eyes. This enlightening experience has been given to me by multiple auto-rickshaw drivers, but in particular this previous Saturday night's ride. Bekah and I had spent the day at a mall by ourselves (and we didn't even get lost, yay!) and decided it was time to head home. So we do the natural thing and hail an auto-rick.
(If you look in the little rear view mirror you can see us :) )

If you don't know what I am talking about see the photo below, but basically these things are a three wheel golf cart frame with a motorcycle 2-stroke engine in them. This allows them to go about 35 mph (though more if going downhill). It is fun and exciting to ride in them, sliding around the vinyl seat, feeling every bump on not such great roads, and hanging on for dear life. This last thing, hanging on for dear life, was what happened Saturday. We get in and our driver nearly hits a person getting in another rick and then laughs about it as we pull away (and the large gentleman who he nearly hit is saying not nice things in another language). And away we go.

Reflecting on it, I think this man thought he was driving a motorcycle. On numerous occasions he saw an opportunity to fit his nose in between two cars and then just wedge his way through (did I mention we are going over 30mph in an open vehicle with 7 lanes of traffic in an area marked for 3?). Needless to say Bekah was worked up. She handled it great though, barely squeezing my finger and not yelling at all. But we successfully made it through every time and I would laugh afterward because I was grateful for the time that the Lord has decided to give and to extend that time. People told us before we came that we were going to almost die here, but I didn't really realize it will probably be happening on a regular basis until tonight.

Much love- Ian

Tail end of monsoon

2009-10-08T00:31:00.000-07:00

We thought the monsoon season was over, but it seems that mother nature played a little trick on us this week. We spent the first half wading through the mud puddle that is the car lot around our building. I thought you might enjoy Ian's monsoon style... we waded through the water to get some fruit, and even though we got drenched the pineapple was worth it!
I know this one is blurry... but you can still see his pegged jeans, which is the part that killed me :) Function over form is the reality when it comes to serious rain.
B

Reality Checks

2009-10-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

I never thought staying in South Asia was going to be a breeze. No sir. I went through lots of internet research, asked questions from people who had lived there, read a few books... and scared myself reasonably silly before even stepping foot in the country that we have committed our time to for (God willing) this next year. But I've found that no matter how much you prepare yourself for a new culture and a new place, actually arriving and being there has a sort of x-factor that you cannot prepare for no matter how hard you try.

Tomorrow marks our 2-week mark in country and for me there have been a number of "oh crap," "oh-my-gosh," and "Toto... I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" sort of moments.
"Oh crap" moments like sudsing up my face all good and soapy only to realize that the water has been turned off for the day, and my best bet is to splash myself with the 'emergency flush bucket' water.
"Toto...We're not in Kansas" moments such as watching scads of teenagers burst into tears when they realize that one of the country's biggest movie stars is eating in the cafe we're in while I have been wondering why on earth that 'guy over there' has so many friends that only stop to say hello but don't sit near him afterward... (stupid American).
But one of my larger wake up calls so far has been something more of an "oh-my-gosh" moment.
I'm volunteering with a NGO that teaches jewelry making to girls in aftercare homes. The girls I have had the privilege of getting to know this past week are very much like any teenagers you run into anywhere. They giggle a lot together, they shoot each other glances loaded with sarcasm, and they like to show off the things that they know when they have a captive audience. I am that captive audience.
I'm still getting my bearings when it comes to this mad new world that we've been dropped into and my local language skills are non-existent, so at the moment I am mostly an observer while the women in charge of the project do their thing. This is not an issue for one of the girls who seems to find unending amusement in learning new phrases in English and testing out her English on me as often as possible. I personally am getting a kick out of trying to pronounce words in her language and how she and the other girls think it is so funny when I can't quite make the sounds. She also finds it amusing how my extremely pasty white skin turns pink and reddish when she pinches it for a moment and lets go. This also makes me laugh, as it is not the first time that my extremely pale skin has been amusing to another person and I respect the chutzpa it takes to poke so confidently at someone you hardly know.
After sitting for a while, listening to the discussion of the story of Queen Esther, she starts to sing quietly to herself and I realize that I know this song very well. "Oh be careful little eyes what you see. Oh be careful little eyes what you see! For your Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes what you see." I start to sing with her, which is great because her face lights up that I know this tune as well. "okay sister!" she tells me, "Let's sing more... come... oh be careful little feet where you go..."
It is about this time that the "oh-my-gosh" hits my stomach. This is not a just any teenage girl singing a song about simple lessons of self control and warning to other children that you need to keep you eyes free of bad things, but this is a young girl who has seen many things that 'little eyes' should never have to see, and has had to go where 'little feet' should never have to go... careful or otherwise. The heaviness of this song in this context makes my insides tumble.
I think this is one of those moments when something you thought you cared about previously, suddenly gains a real face. Girls trapped in brothels and being exploited are suddenly no longer grainy pictures with blurred out eyes, but very real tangible beings that sing and laugh and eat and give hugs. While I have known this to be true for a long time, this drove it home again.
I sat back in our flat that night turning it over and over again in my mind. Young girls laughing... oh be careful little eyes what you see... the smells of spices and dust. "Oh-my-gosh." How resilient we as human beings are. The ability to laugh and sing, even after such abuse, speaks so loudly of hope to me. Yes, there is a lot of hurt and dysfunction and plenty more beneath all of the singing and laughing, but still that glimmer of hope and possibility still sits on top and gives me some of the first chills I have had since arriving in this steamy part of the world.

*Please pray for the hope possible for these girls to be realized, and for healing, wholeness, and freedom for their entire beings.
B

Jetplanes and Jetlag

2009-09-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

We have arrived! As an update, our flight went reasonably well. Now that long flights have personalized movies it makes flying much more tolerable, though I can't help but think that I am not unlike the toddler who needs tv to travel in the back of the mini-van. When we landed, though, things became more interesting. We had to go through a infrared heat gun and sign a statement that we had not had flu-like symptoms or a fever. (India is trying to prevent the spread of H1N1) Then passport control where we were given a quick look over and stamped through. And then baggage claim. We waited for our flight to show up on a carousel and when it did we waited. Then another flight was on the same carousel and we waited and then both flights disappeared from the carousel. At this point, I was worried but Bekah remained calm and we waited and about an hour and forty minutes after landing, we received our luggage. I felt bad for our friends who had waited that entire time outside in the heat for us. They explained that this was pretty typical and they were not worried at all.

After then getting a day of rest we went and had dinner at a local restaurant where the food was excellent. On the way home we had to pass through a festival, stopped and got pineapple that was cut in the most amazing way, and then listened to shouting and singing till nearly 11 p.m. We are still getting used to the sounds and smells of this new place but I think we will be able to be happy here. It is warm but we have fans and when it gets hot we will use the AC. Thank you all for your encouragement so far!

Safe and sound

2009-09-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

We are now at our destination and getting ready to get some much needed sleep! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We had zero trouble with our journey.. which is awesome.
More updates to come, but wanted to let you all kw that we are safe.
B

Flying out

2009-09-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

We're heading out today really quickly. We'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we head out.
Also for anyone that had the experience of reading that bizarre twitterfeed here.... sorry about that. We're fixing it :)
B

At The End Of Slavery

2009-09-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

We got the privilege of seeing a pre-release showing of the upcoming IJM documentary "At The End Of Slavery" last night and we're really excited that this resource will soon be openly available! The official launch is in DC on September 30th and will be readily available with resources for taking action on the film's website. We can't wait to hear about the big impact we imagine this film will have in the hands of passionate people. Check out the trailer!

At The End Of Slavery - Extended Trailer from International Justice Mission on Vimeo.

Cross-country meadering

2009-09-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

We're back in DC hanging out with friends and preparing to fly away on our big adventure. After a long train ride I'm glad to be sitting on a squishy couch doing a quick post!

(Fishing on Lake MI.. I'm on a boat!)

We've had a great past month visiting friends and family all over the mid-west. As usual, it is always very difficult to say goodbye. We're going to miss everyone so much, but hope that you all will keep in touch and let us know what is going on in your lives as you hear about what is going on in ours!

(getting in some paddling)
(At 'the bean' with the fam)

Besides our friends and family, we also said a (much less tear-filled) goodbye to over half of our closets. That may sound really silly, but living out of a suitcase (or hiking pack) is swiftly becoming our way of life, so simplifying is a necessity. It's good to figure out what we need and what we can do without. We get some mixed reactions when folks figure out that the things we actually use fit into four suitcases.. and honestly it challenges us a lot to think that we even have anything in storage when we have figured out how to problem solve without all of that other 'stuff.' This time though, we put our wardrobes through the 'cultural sensitivity' filter and had to bag two thirds of my clothing. Bummer. I guess it is time to get lessons in eastern modesty. should be fun :) I'm at very least looking forward to picking up a colorful scarf or two!
Looking forward to giving some updates from the other side of this big blue globe!
:) B

(Extra points if you can find us 5 times!)

OOOOOHH WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!!

2009-08-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

OHhhhhhhh! Livin' on a praaayyyyyer!!! (sorry.. couldn't help myself.)
Just wanted to give a quick shout out to all of our friends and family in the Northern Michigan area. We really appreciate all of the love and support you all have shown us in the last couple weeks.

Just as a quick update on the finances front.... (drum roll please.)

We're just a squeak over half way! Thank you for everyone who has gotten behind us and is partnering with us.

B

Quotable quote

2009-08-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

I love a good quote... and I also happen to have a strange love for Teddy Roosevelt. So I found this among my daily design & craft blog wanderings (guilty pleasure) on a blog called "Make it Do." I love the do-it-yourself attitude of the craft world. It helps me stay motivated to keep going in a world that often has the attitude of waiting for someone else to fix what they are complaining about. Which brings me to my next quotable quote for today (drum roll please)....
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi
Be the change in your world today by doing what you can with what you have.
:)
B

Read All About It

2009-08-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

This came through the twitter-feed today thanks to our friend @shuttergrace and I thought it was worth a share. This article gives an interview with journalist & humanitarian Benjamin Skinner. A very well articulated interview about some of the realities of human slavery internationally. Check it out!

There Are More Slaves Today Than at Any Time in Human History

By Terrence McNally, AlterNet.

Summer Days

2009-08-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ian is finally done with the dreaded California bar exam and we have moved on to the greener pastures of Michigan in August! We've been having a great time hanging out with family and friends and getting a chance to get our collective 'ducks in a row' before heading back to DC and off to Asia.
Be on the lookout for our next update letter letting you know how our fundraising is going and different ways that you can help as we work to secure justice for those in bondage internationally!
I've already had some really interesting conversations with people here in the mid-west about how wide-spread the issues of human trafficking are. Many of the people I have conversations with are sincerely sad to hear about trafficking internationally, but do not realize that trafficking and slavery still exist in their own country... perhaps in their own town (here are some State reports that Ian helped research and put together a little while ago). I think we all have a lot to learn from one another and I am really excited to share what we have learned as well as hearing what is going on here.
We're hoping to have some sort of get-together or event within the next two weeks if you are in the North-western Michigan region and interested in hearing what we are up to. As for now, here's a little eye candy via our fancy-dancey cell phone camera (seriously am going to miss that thing).

Chef John's with Bekah's sisters and our friend Sean

Quintessential trip to House of Flavors!
Hanging out with the MCRC worship team (John tried to steal my phone..stinker)

Taking care of business at Redolencia Coffee

More updates to come!
B

Week of Justice

2009-08-05T21:39:00.001-07:00

In case you haven't heard, there is a great series of events going on at Ebenezers Coffeehouse in DC called Week of Justice! AND guess who is making a cameo appearance? Us!
Come out Thursday at 7pm for a night devoted to learning about and discussing the issues of Modern Day Slavery. Everyone is invited! Click for more info :)
B

Signs of faithfulness

2009-07-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

God remains faithful to us even when we aren't faithful to him, and this past week seems to be a gleaming reminder to me of that fact. To be quite honest, this whole process leading up to our departure has been really tough already and I have found myself getting crabby for no apparent reason. I've come to think of these (ever seemingly increasing) moments where I get really angry and then get really humbled as part of the growing pains occurring in this process.
For example... when we were in the midst of licking and sticking all of our crazy envelopes and re-folding letters I had a moment where I did a little Shirley Temple hands-on-hips and said "God! Why haven't you been faithful to us in this process yet? We have put ourselves out on a limb because we think this is where you want us and nothing has happened yet!! Grrr! Throw me a bone here!"
Luckily for me, on numerous occasions when my spiritual immaturity is hanging out for all the world to see, God whispers back a reply instead of making me the kid who gets spanked in the super market (don't you try to tell me you haven't been around for that uncomfortable experience!). Almost immediately I felt my heart stop racing and my eyes open to realize I hadn't even mailed the letters and already God had provided me with a summer job, people who had already started giving towards our fund-raising goal, and friends with amazing hospitality who have been our rock this summer. Man, I felt dumb. I quickly got back to work as we zoomed all of those letters to the post office and waved good-bye sending them with a quick prayer thanking God for his faithfulness and asking for eyes to see his work more clearly.
I'd love to say that since then that our goal has been accomplished and we are good to go, but at the moment that is not the case yet. Still, the encouragement and love that has been all around us and the presence of a holy dream seems very tangible at important times. I am looking forward to looking back on these times and pointing back down the road saying "see.. God was and is faithful. He did it again and worked a miracle."
Thank you dear friends, for being the vehicles for God's faithfulness.
B

Project Update

2009-07-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

RELEASE THE HOUNDS!!!..... er.... LETTERS!
We released a huge load of support letters into the wild of the USPS this week asking for God's providence and thanking him for his amazing faithfulness to us.
What a feeling! It's good to have those out in circulation, but it is also difficult to let those finally go after the work it takes to get them out the door! Many thanks to the people who helped make that happen and those who have already begun to support us through various means as we step forward to serve abroad. I wish I had gotten a picture of all those letters grouped and ready to go... but sadly i spaced. So.. just in case you have yet to get your letter... here's the front of our postcard for your browsing pleasure :)
hearts!
B

Welcome to our blog

2009-07-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome! We'll be posting shortly. We're excited for you to join us on our journey!
I&B

London!

2009-01-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

(Copied from Bekah's blog)
They say first impressions are important. With that in mind I have put off posting for a few days for the sake of giving a positive first impression of our stay in London. :)
We got here at 7am local time Wednesday morning and Ian immediately left for school and I began my 3-day stint of full-time Nanny to a friend's child who was a ball full of energy. I felt bad for the poor kid because I was so completely bushed after being awake for 24 hours that first day, i was probably no fun at all! Still... cameras are a big hit.. especially when you can take pictures of the other person taking a picture of you... she though this was just grand!If I had not yet won favor, I think that my ability to draw pictures that looked like her Disney princess dolls may have done the trick. Ah... my college education at work.
SO... If I had in fact blogged before today that is pretty much all you would have seen. Myself and my new preschool friend and Ariel in her post-mermaid dress. THAT is what London is all about. NOOoooooo. Moving on...
Trafalgar Square! Finally today Ian and I got out for a touch of sight seeing. After morning service at Holy Trinity Brompton (which we enjoyed) we headed out to the center of vacation snapshots....
This so far has to be my favorite picture... maybe ever. I love this guy and this picture makes me so happy! He's amazing and I am thrilled we get to finally globe-trot more together.
And me! Those cars whirring past in the background were actually going quite quickly... maybe. That is one thing I am unsure of here.. are the cars really going faster? Or am I just ridiculously close to the road at all times?
Big Ben! Since we are mere mortals we saw Ben (which happens to only refer to the clock and not the tower.. did you know that?) from behind a rather tall gate.
We have been reading up on London, and we figured it was no time to stop. Ian was reading me from our tour book as we went along. He read, I took pictures. Pretty keen deal.
Just one more for fun... with the London Eye in the background!
We took a quick turn around the grounds of Westminster Abbey...
And then back past Parliament on our way back to the tube to go back home to our teeny flat.
Hooray! The rumors are true! We really are in London!!!!

Needless to say, I plan to revisit all of these sights again, but it was good to finally get to take a little look around at some of the iconic sights of this city. If it crosses our mind please pray for our health. We are still recovering from some jet-lag and just generally no sleeping as well on our 'dorm bed'.
Cheers!
B

getting it done

2008-12-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hey there friends and family.
We're packing our bags and selling our furniture. Let us know if there is anything you were looking for specifically and we'll see if we have it and are willing to part with it.
We fly off to London on Jan. 5th... so holla at us sometime!
mucho luv
B

I've got the dough on that guy

2008-11-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

in oven, originally uploaded by ian.kitterman.

I made this! So as some know when I get stressed, I make bread. I made this today, its beautiful. I even basically dropped the loaf and its still beautiful. Praise God for the little things. This is it in the oven and its good out of the oven. Though it called for an egg wash and I didn't have any eggs so I put an oil wash on it and its a little crisper crust than I would normally go for, but it still good.

Bailout perspective

2008-10-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Not to take over this blog too much and make it incredibly serious, but my friend Amanda has a wonderful blog where she highlights lots of different injustices almost daily. As with anyone I don't always agree with her, but I thought this commentary was excellent perspective. Its originally from an oxfam blog.
perspective:

"The arguments for a bailout to avoid systemic collapse are of course genuine and persuasive, but so are the arguments for aid and against standing by and allowing a child to die every 3 seconds, or a woman to die in childbirth every minute. To put the proposed Wall Street bailout into perspective. $700bn:

· Would clear the accumulated debt of the 49 poorest countries in the world ($375bn) twice over
· Is almost 5 times the annual amount of extra aid needed to achieve all the Millennium Development Goals on poverty, health, education etc ($150bn a year)
· Is about 7 years of current global aid levels ($104bn in 2007)
· Is enough to eradicate all world poverty for over two years (UNDP calculates it would take $300bn to get the entire world population over the $1 a day poverty line).

On the other hand it’s
· only a quarter of the cost of the Iraq war ($3 trillion on Joseph Stiglitz’ calculation )
· a half of annual global military spending ($1339 bn)"

Justice is what love looks like in public

2008-10-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

This movie premieres on Oct. 9th, from what I have heard I highly recommend it.

New term

2008-09-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

I learned a new term today WAF, wife approval factor. As some of you know I have a knack and desire to tinker with things, especially with found object. As most of you know as well I also have a very understanding wife who lets me tinker with things probably beyond the extent I should and often takes part in the tinkering. Before I always had to consider and guestimate what I could get away with, but from now on I may just use a WAF scale.
Ian

Instructable

2008-08-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

The instructable is up, it lets you see a little more exactly how we went about building this. Let me know if you replicate it!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike_Cabinet/

Hey... wanna see a show?!

2008-08-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tickets for NCC’s production of “Steel Magnolias” are now on sale! Come see Bekah on stage. If you are wanting tickets and can let us know by tomorrow we can get some set aside for you and there will be no online booking charge. Just let us know in general :) . It's going to be fun.. so you'll be missing a good time if you don't show up!

Here's our little blurb:

Three generations of women discover the meaning of courage and strength in this classic, timeless play. Steel Magnolias is the emotional story of a young woman battling diabetes, a mother who sacrifices everything for her, and how both women find hope in their community of friends, even in the midst of heartbreak.

Based on a true story by Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias premiered and received critical acclaim Off-Broadway, and then went on to earn an Oscar nomination as one of the most poignant films of our time. This heartrending tale holds layer after layer of humor, wisdom, loss, grief, and the power of enduring friendship. As each unfolds, you’ll cry, then laugh when you least expect it.

Tickets are only $10 and they’re already selling quickly! Reserve your seats now!

Showtimes

September 4 - 8:00 pm (Doors, 7:30 pm)
September 5 - 8:30 pm (Doors, 8:00 pm)
September 7 - 3:00 pm (Doors, 2:30 pm)
September 11 - 8:00 pm (Doors, 7:30 pm)
September 12 - 8:00 pm (Doors, 7:30 pm)
September 13 - 8:30 pm (Doors, 8:00 pm)
September 14 - 1:00 pm (Doors, 12:30 pm)

Starring

Bekah Kitterman as M’Lynn Eatenton
Jen Barrie as Annelle Dupuy
Amanda Giobbi as Clairee Belcher
Lindsey Vogt as Truvy Jones
Lisa Overman as Shelby Eatenton
Heather Zempel as Ouiser Boudreaux

A cyclical project

2008-08-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

So here it goes guys, my attempt to reveal to the world our coolness, this is what we started with. A couple board roughly cut, screwed together and a dream.

Luckily for us, my wife can measure better than I can and the bikes ended up fitting.

This is what we ended up with after everything was kinda put together. Our land lady wanted it on wheels so she could access to the door, so we ended up with something slightly different and taller.

With the false leg in

With the false leg out and then we just pull the bikes straight out.

And it closed and pretty like, the trees were Bekah's idea and we just used contact paper to cover it. I think we are going to add some pretty leaves to it as well but generally speaking I am pretty happy.

I am going to try to add more pictures and narrative later, and also put it up on http://www.instructables.com/home which if you haven't you should check it out.