I have been missing my team members lately. I miss their hearts and their kindness. I miss how well we all meshed together. How much we laughed. Oh, and laugh we did.
Here's a video of Elizabeth. This girl makes me laugh. Lots:
She doesn't like to be confrontational or angry. She laughs continually. Geoff thought having her say "I'm so angry" would help her. Well...it did help for an entertaining bus ride.
Geoff and Elizabeth and I had a fun experience in downtown London our last night:
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
A Downtown Chicago Experience
This past weekend I had an interesting experience that keeps getting played over and over in my brain. I was sitting in downtown Chicago on a bench waiting for my bus to come to bring me back home. I had just come off a great weekend that involved very little homework, so I pulled out my book to read, put in my iPod and starting getting in the groove. All of a sudden I heard a guy walking up to me. He called out before approaching me and didn't want to scare me at all. I think the first thing he told me, and repeated numerous times, was that he wasn't a street person, that he had a $34/hr job as a plumber, and that he needed help. His truck tire had a hole in it, he needed to run to the nearest BP to buy the right stuff to patch the hole, and he didn't have any cash on him or his card to get cash from the nearby ATM. He asked if I wouldn't mind borrowing him some cash and if I gave him an address, he would send it back to me.
I ended up taking $60 out of the ATM and refusing to get paid back. Instead I gave him my Mocha Club url and told him to give the money back to Mocha Club. To join my team if he wanted. That Mocha Club and my trip was the reason I would ever do something like this. I sincerly hope he does it.
I know many hearing/reading this will think I am stupid. Giving a complete stranger $60? Would you think I was more stupid if that stranger was homeless and couldn't afford to give anything back? Probably. It doesn't bother me that he may never return the favor to me. It doesn't bother me that I will never see that money again.
What haunts me a little bit about the whole experience is how he felt the need to assure me over and over that he wasn't homeless. That he had a good job. That he was trustworthy. Isn't it sad that the first thing he said to me was that he wasn't homeless and had a job so I wouldn't be afraid for him to approach me? What kind of country do we live in that the meer fact that someone doesn't have a roof over their head means they are dangerous? That we are more willing to help out someone who has an 8-5 job than someone who doesn't and who needs our help more? When did we all get so freaking cautious and judgemental that we don't help those in need of it?
In all honesty, I have been waiting to give back to the community. I know that fella thinks I helped him out a lot. But I felt so grateful to be in the position to help someone out, to make an impact no matter how small, and to genuinely care about a stranger. That was who I was in Ethiopia. I'm not allowed to be that very often here at home. I am judged for it. I am thought to be unsafe and stupid if I talk to a homeless person. If I smile at someone. When did we forget that the other humans walking next to us are humans as well? That they have names and stories and deserve to be recognized.
I'm sorry if this post came off as harsh or condenscending. I don't mean it to be at all. This is not how I think everyone else should feel but how I personally feel. I only write it to share my feelings.
I ended up taking $60 out of the ATM and refusing to get paid back. Instead I gave him my Mocha Club url and told him to give the money back to Mocha Club. To join my team if he wanted. That Mocha Club and my trip was the reason I would ever do something like this. I sincerly hope he does it.
I know many hearing/reading this will think I am stupid. Giving a complete stranger $60? Would you think I was more stupid if that stranger was homeless and couldn't afford to give anything back? Probably. It doesn't bother me that he may never return the favor to me. It doesn't bother me that I will never see that money again.
What haunts me a little bit about the whole experience is how he felt the need to assure me over and over that he wasn't homeless. That he had a good job. That he was trustworthy. Isn't it sad that the first thing he said to me was that he wasn't homeless and had a job so I wouldn't be afraid for him to approach me? What kind of country do we live in that the meer fact that someone doesn't have a roof over their head means they are dangerous? That we are more willing to help out someone who has an 8-5 job than someone who doesn't and who needs our help more? When did we all get so freaking cautious and judgemental that we don't help those in need of it?
In all honesty, I have been waiting to give back to the community. I know that fella thinks I helped him out a lot. But I felt so grateful to be in the position to help someone out, to make an impact no matter how small, and to genuinely care about a stranger. That was who I was in Ethiopia. I'm not allowed to be that very often here at home. I am judged for it. I am thought to be unsafe and stupid if I talk to a homeless person. If I smile at someone. When did we forget that the other humans walking next to us are humans as well? That they have names and stories and deserve to be recognized.
I'm sorry if this post came off as harsh or condenscending. I don't mean it to be at all. This is not how I think everyone else should feel but how I personally feel. I only write it to share my feelings.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Some Video Inspiration
Yes, I'm a child on the "technology century" and rely on technology and video to help me articulate life. These videos speak for themselves.
First, a Dave Barnes song "10,000 Children." I listened to it every night before falling asleep in Ethiopia. I could finally put faces to those children. Wow. "10,000 children and all I can do is just talk." Take a listen for yourself:
Second, a video of Barrett Ward explaining the Mocha Club school project in Ambo. I recognize so many of these faces. And am SO excited that if people join my mocha club team (www.mochaclub.org/joinme/mkohne), the money goes towards finishing this exact school!
That's all for now...more videos coming soon that I took myself on the trip!
First, a Dave Barnes song "10,000 Children." I listened to it every night before falling asleep in Ethiopia. I could finally put faces to those children. Wow. "10,000 children and all I can do is just talk." Take a listen for yourself:
Second, a video of Barrett Ward explaining the Mocha Club school project in Ambo. I recognize so many of these faces. And am SO excited that if people join my mocha club team (www.mochaclub.org/joinme/mkohne), the money goes towards finishing this exact school!
That's all for now...more videos coming soon that I took myself on the trip!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Things I give up
When my team met in Dallas for training (pictured above), we spent some time reading in the bible and reflecting on it. The particular passage we read focuses on not complaining. As we discussed this passage and our expectations for the trip, our training leaders suggested we all create a list. We were to create a list of things we were "giving up." The things we were surrendering and not longer having the right to. I dug through some stuff and finally found my list that I wrote out on that day, July 1st, in Dallas; here, I'll try to translate it to typed text as best as I can:I'm giving up my right to:
- complain about the weather or other uncontrollable, insignificant things
- get enough sleep every single night
- be stagnant & ignore my journey of faith
- pick & choose who I think I should/would be friends with or get along with & instead be open to everyone
- talk about myself before listening to others
- worry about things after the trip (wedding, zoo, boys) that I can't control
- be picky about my food (spicy, coffee, etc...)
- plan and be on schedule - know what's ahead
- hot shower
- to stay dry & comfortable
I look back at that list and think about how I had to give up those things, surrender my right to be picky or to worry, to be able to fully experience Ethiopia. Without worrying or giving in to these trivial things, I was able to be completely present in the moment as possible - to let it all sink in and to give of myself, my attention, to these people as fully as I could. I look back at the list and realize how many of those things I did give up.
"get enough sleep every single night"My mind wanders back to a night spent in the guest house (pictured above). I was downstairs journaling in the living room, as Keith journaled in a chair across from me and Geoff sat engrossed in his book. It was probably well past midnight already and I was in desperate need of sleep. The two soon finished their tasks and headed up to bed, but I stayed for what I thought would only be a bit longer. Another team member, Sarah, soon came down and we found ourselves talking until almost 2am (knowing we had to get up by 7:30 or so). That time together really was the start of our friendship though and was needed. We needed to be present and caring towards one another. Sleep could wait.
"be picky about my food"
"be picky about my food" Well, I was in Ethiopia where coffee was discovered. Nevermind I had probably only drank 3 cups of coffee in my whole life, I decided to embrace the culture and had coffee every time it was offered. You know what? I didn't absolutely love it, but I did enjoy it. It was all part of experiencing the country and was worth it. We even had the privelage of experiencing two coffee cermonies. The one pictured above was in our guest house, put on for us by Tigis, one of the guest staff, on our very last night in the country.
"to stay dry & comfortable"
On our last day of ministry, we went back to Hannah's Orphanage. This was our third day at the location and we went to help the children with their chores. The "chores" at one point entailed our eleven person team helping to wash dozens of children's clothes. We had probably six basins of soapy water that team members would scrub the clothes in, then another 4 basins of rinse water, and then lines upon lines of clothes. It was raining and dreary out. At the end of the endeavor, my back hurt and my sweatshirt, shoes, and shirt were completely soaked through. I was neither dry nor comfortable. What I was instead was content. I had been able to do something that I knew was a service to these people...a small token of thanks for sharing their lives with me.
"hot shower"
"hot shower"I specifically remember taking a shower in the Ambo hotel (view from our balcony posted above). The water was absolutely freezing. Sooo, very cold. I could barely handle the water. I found myself complain in my head about how cold it was. And then I stopped. I realized how incredibly selfish I was. Here, I had just spent the day with people who didn't even have running water in their homes most likely and I was complaining that I had to endure a cold shower, one day out of how many days? That's when the tears starting falling.
Now that I'm back home and have gotten back into the "flow of things," I have noticed myself falling back into habits. Habits like complaining about the weather or traffic. Why? There is no need. I have no control over the situation. I have to continually remind myself that the list of things I "gave up" before going to Africa doesn't need to be reclaimed again. I can be that person I hoped to be on my trip while I am back home. I hope and pray that I can always strive to be that person.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Making Sense of it All
I know I haven't written much since my return. I apologize. I could blame it on being busy, but that is not entirely the case. It is more because I am at a loss of words. I'm scared of not doing justice to the wonderful and beautiful souls I met. I'm scared you'll get bored reading it. There is so much bottled up inside of me concerning this trip that I'm at a loss at where to begin. So I'll just begin somewhere easy:
Meet my friend, a precious little girl I met at Kachene Study Center. Her name escapes me at the moment; even if I could remember it I wouldn't be able to spell it correctly. My team spent a total of three days at the Kachene Study Center in the heart of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The center is for kids who are orphaned but still live with extended family, whether that be an aunt, uncle, grandma, etc... It provides a safe haven for the kids and allows the family members to have time to work without worrying about the kids. Think of a Boy's and Girl's Club in the U.S.
She stands out in my mind for her tremondous amount of joy and laughter. You'd forget she had gone through a hard life of losing her parents and lives in poverty. Yet, that's the way the people of Ethiopia are: so incredibly joyful and loving despite the hardship. If I learned anything while in the country, that was it.
Meet my friend, a precious little girl I met at Kachene Study Center. Her name escapes me at the moment; even if I could remember it I wouldn't be able to spell it correctly. My team spent a total of three days at the Kachene Study Center in the heart of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The center is for kids who are orphaned but still live with extended family, whether that be an aunt, uncle, grandma, etc... It provides a safe haven for the kids and allows the family members to have time to work without worrying about the kids. Think of a Boy's and Girl's Club in the U.S.
The first day of ministering in Ethiopia we visited Kachene and just spent some time with the kids. Then we left the capital (Addis Ababa) for a few days. Upon our return to Addis we returned to Kachene for two more days. This little girl caught my eye right as I hopped off the bus on that second day. She instantly jumped into my open arms. I got asked by Sister Amoss (the founder and lady in charge) to help take some pictures of the kids so I had to set the little one down. She just stayed nearby and watched as I worked with Sister Amoss for at least 40 minutes. When finished I looked over and waved her over and she came running to me. She didn't leave me for the entire day.
The next day we visited Kachene's again. This time the girl saw me probably before I saw her and again came to hold my hand and hangout for the day. This girl had so much attitude and sass and giggles in her. She was a riot to be around and made me smile so much. Her hugs were precious and her giggle made you start laughing instantly.
She stands out in my mind for her tremondous amount of joy and laughter. You'd forget she had gone through a hard life of losing her parents and lives in poverty. Yet, that's the way the people of Ethiopia are: so incredibly joyful and loving despite the hardship. If I learned anything while in the country, that was it.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Back From Africa
No - I didn't get stuck in Africa (i wish!). I'm back.
First of all, thank you so much (whoever actually reads this) for your prayers, thoughts, encouragement, and support. I appreciate more than you can ever imagine. It means the world to me and I hope to attempt, although unadequately, to "pay you back" by sharing with you what this journey entailed and what happened.
Second of all, sorry for the delayed post. I thought I would be able to post a blog or two while in country, but my attempts failed due to the extremely slow dial-up internet. I will have to gather some pictures and refer back to the journal I kept to help relate how things were at that time.
I got back in the U.S.A last Tuesday (the 15th), but then proceeded to drive up home for my sister's wedding and then drive to Chicago to meet up with friends and see a concert (a friend drove up from Nashville, and I'm friends with one of the bands that played so it was all around a great trip). Then work started up on Monday after a 3 week "vacation." Basically, life has been hectic and makes me miss the slow African pace of life (we joked that one city in Africa that we visited, Ambo, had 26 hours in the day because they took everything at such a slow pace).
Everyone keeps asking me "HOW WAS AFRICA?!?!" Well, the response to that is more of a feeling than words. When I think about it, a sense of warmth rushes over me and a longing to go back. If I didn't have a plane ride back to the US, I'm not quite sure I would be here right now. Not that I never wanted to come home...I just didn't want to come home quite yet. There is so much that my trip entailed it is hard to sum it up in a few words, but I'll try. Here are some that come to mind:
*Amazing
*Life Changing
*Unreal...yet more real than anything I have ever seen
*Beautiful
*Blessed
*Heartbreaking...but heartwarming at the same time
*Breathtaking
*Laughter
*Bonding
*Joy, Joy, Joy
I'm trying to adjust back to life here. It seems to be harder than trying to adjust to African life. Strange to understand unless you have experienced it. For me, the journey is not over. I'm still processing. I'm still searching. I'm still trying to understand why I was on thetrip and what I'm suppose to do with it all.
Life calls though...so more later.
Until next time...
First of all, thank you so much (whoever actually reads this) for your prayers, thoughts, encouragement, and support. I appreciate more than you can ever imagine. It means the world to me and I hope to attempt, although unadequately, to "pay you back" by sharing with you what this journey entailed and what happened.
Second of all, sorry for the delayed post. I thought I would be able to post a blog or two while in country, but my attempts failed due to the extremely slow dial-up internet. I will have to gather some pictures and refer back to the journal I kept to help relate how things were at that time.
I got back in the U.S.A last Tuesday (the 15th), but then proceeded to drive up home for my sister's wedding and then drive to Chicago to meet up with friends and see a concert (a friend drove up from Nashville, and I'm friends with one of the bands that played so it was all around a great trip). Then work started up on Monday after a 3 week "vacation." Basically, life has been hectic and makes me miss the slow African pace of life (we joked that one city in Africa that we visited, Ambo, had 26 hours in the day because they took everything at such a slow pace).
Everyone keeps asking me "HOW WAS AFRICA?!?!" Well, the response to that is more of a feeling than words. When I think about it, a sense of warmth rushes over me and a longing to go back. If I didn't have a plane ride back to the US, I'm not quite sure I would be here right now. Not that I never wanted to come home...I just didn't want to come home quite yet. There is so much that my trip entailed it is hard to sum it up in a few words, but I'll try. Here are some that come to mind:
*Amazing
*Life Changing
*Unreal...yet more real than anything I have ever seen
*Beautiful
*Blessed
*Heartbreaking...but heartwarming at the same time
*Breathtaking
*Laughter
*Bonding
*Joy, Joy, Joy
I'm trying to adjust back to life here. It seems to be harder than trying to adjust to African life. Strange to understand unless you have experienced it. For me, the journey is not over. I'm still processing. I'm still searching. I'm still trying to understand why I was on thetrip and what I'm suppose to do with it all.
Life calls though...so more later.
Until next time...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Packing
Wow. Packing was probably a 6 hour ordeal today. I'm exhausted from it. I jammed everything possible into those bags...I honestly can't believe it all fit. I spent so much time taking everything out of its bulky packaging and sucking all the air out as humanly possible.
I leave for Dallas in about 9 hours. AHHH!
Here are some pictures to show the packing adventure for the day:
taking over the living room:
Packing 1 of 3 suitcases... layer one:
Layer two:
Layer three:
Weight:
suitcase one: 46 pounds
suitcase two: 49 pounds
suitcase three: 46 pounds
carryon: JAMMED
Morale of blog: Melissa is going to FALL OVER trying to haul this through the Dallas and Mpls Int'l airports.
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this while on the trip. So keep me and the team in your thoughts and prayers. Team members: Geoffrey, Daina, Danielle, Sarah, Jenny, Elizabeth, Geof, Keith, Jessica, Missy, and myself.
Until next time...
I leave for Dallas in about 9 hours. AHHH!
Here are some pictures to show the packing adventure for the day:
taking over the living room:
Packing 1 of 3 suitcases... layer one:
Layer two:
Layer three:
Weight:
suitcase one: 46 pounds
suitcase two: 49 pounds
suitcase three: 46 pounds
carryon: JAMMED
Morale of blog: Melissa is going to FALL OVER trying to haul this through the Dallas and Mpls Int'l airports.
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this while on the trip. So keep me and the team in your thoughts and prayers. Team members: Geoffrey, Daina, Danielle, Sarah, Jenny, Elizabeth, Geof, Keith, Jessica, Missy, and myself.
Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
