Ten Reasons I know I am in Santa Ana, Colombia

10. The moment I woke up from a nap to find a white frog, which was apparently injured, dripping blue blood down my wall.

9. Every time I have startled a herd of cattle and a gang of donkeys while running. There is nothing like running behind thousands of pounds of beef and burro except seeing the face of people who happen to be coming the other way!

8. When I can no longer count on 2 hands and 2 feet how many servings of rice I have eaten this week.

7. The fact that I am once again writing another blog while in my underwear, fan full blast, and ear plugs to help my mind think about something other than Daddy Yankee.

6. After walking to the public school 2 times a day, 5 days a week, for almost 8 months, I still get a few motorcycle taxis asking me if I am going to Playa Blanca. Maybe the latest beach fashion for touristy gringos is dress pants, button-up shirt, and school supplies!

5. As I am sitting listening patiently and respectfully during a mind numbing meeting in Spanish, a gecko decides the top of my head would be a great landing pad for his suicide jump off his perch 10 feet up.

4. I forgot what my principle looks like.

3. Following yet another debilitating rain shower, seeing 2 eyes staring at you in a puddle, only to remind yourself there are no crocodiles on the coast but there are a million pigs who like to escape this heat!

2. I just bought 7 pounds of Mojarra (Red Snapper’s Brother) for 7 dollars yet while delicious; the amount of oil that was consumed during this meal took another 12 days off my life. ETA to Heaven…about 58 years old and dropping.

1. No hay school today, no hay school tomorrow.

Half-time in Colombia- Part Dos

As I sit down to write this blog entry, there seems to be a lot on my heart.

Reflecting on “Life in Colombia” over the last 6 months takes my mind many places. Yet, the truth is: I just spent the better part of this beautiful morning writing about the first thing that seems to always come to mind in a moment like this. Something that I was scared to write about but as I did it was like felt more peace with each letter. While I talk in a manner that sometimes appears like I have no real train of thought, my writing is more methodical. One day in the moment I feel my heart is adequately represented with consideration to others involved, I will post it. Until than…you get the locker-room halftime report!

Half-Time Key Points

1. Keep the Weight On!
If I never see another plate of beans or lentils, white rice, and fried plantains, I will not be crying. Colombian cuisine is kind of a like a Plymouth Voyager Minivan. Its big in size, not too flashy or colorful, leaves plenty to be desired, but gets the job done! So while I’m not whining like a baby about it, I will state that Bobby Flay does not have to worry about anyone from this country trying to dethrone his Iron Chef status.

The Plan: Continue to be creative with my fellow American teachers. Take Colombian food like the empanada and make it American (thicken the dough, add a hotdog, you have Pigs in a Blanket!). Beg friends and family to send seasonings! Eat Crepes and Waffles Ice-cream every chance I get in Cartagena! Dream of BBQ and countdown the days I can stick a big fatty piece of meat in my smoker for 7 hours! And above all else…amazing breakfast foods like the pancake and delicious Western omelet will always do the trick and help me remember good old America!

2. Learn Spanish!
While many at home probably think it’s very easy to do so when you live where I do, I would have to agree! But I will add that I live with 5 other English speakers and there are days that I don’t speak a lick of Espanol! If I were in another situation, I am sure I would be far more fluent by now, but it’s just how my cookie crumbled. The reality is that we have plenty of opportunity to learn, we just need to make them happen, and continue to push ourselves to learn (I should be a motivational speaker...Chris Farley style though).

The Plan: Get back in my books! Remember I have a few friends in the pueblo to whom know zero English! This is nice because often my Colombian friends who know some English want to practice their Ingles, which doesn’t help me much! And lastly, quit being lazy! I am Colombian, dang it Seguin, learn the language like you ought to!

3. Re-evaluate Ministry
I did an earlier study on legalism in the Bible starting with Abraham and into Galatians. It was something I desired very much to share with my Colombians friends here. That by His Grace we are saved, it is a free gift for all those who believe in Jesus, and when we get caught up in thinking we actually can do things ourselves, we are being set up to fail and fall on our face. We’ll while I was able to teach this to the church I am working with; I think God had me study it because I needed to learn it! I will not lie, when I say that I have struggled here in Colombia, it is an understatement. While I have come to know God in a way that would have been very difficult in the States, I have also faced amazing adversity and have not always walked away victorious. My faith has been under attack and in this storm I have reached out for other things than Him! The solution I have seen time and time again, is that when you’re stuck in quick sand and going down, you would rather hold on to a nearby rock than a blade of grass. But the problem is that sometimes the grass is all you see? So needless to say, it’s been a struggle. One that has discouraged me in some remarkable ways! Yet, I have friends praying for me and I know that He is near!

The Plan: To Know God deeper and deeper in the face of this adversity. To bring all of me, the good and the bad, to the Cross and humbly ask Him to change me, a sinner! To ask my friends, to keep me accountable, and to be honest about these struggles! I know He is leading me, preparing me, for things I will not be able to do on my own, and I want that! I want that kind of dependence! It’s a huge reason I am here, so I pray I quit reaching for grass and finally learn there is a huge rock that never moves and was designed for me to stand tall upon it. And in each and every victory may He be glorified.

4. Understand Life in the slums of Santa Ana
Don’t get me wrong, we are blessed as we live in the nicest place in Santa Ana. We are housed within the private school here and truly have little to complain about. We have water, food, shelter, electricity, and even internet! Yet, all of us will admit, living among this very poor pueblo has been both hard and challenging. The poverty is immense and while the kids and their families appear happy, you have to wonder what it’s like for some of them who live in a small hut, with a leaky roof, and dirt floors. However, being among this community has given us all an amazing insight to how the majority of the world lives like. Did you know that more than 3 billion people live on less than 2 dollars a day in this world? 1 Billion of them live in desperate poverty! And as I have stated before, 30,000 children will die today from lack of food or preventable disease. We are a blessed nation! So while I have seen a bit about what it’s like for the poor and oppressed, I want to learn more. I want to gain more insight on how we help such a community like this. While no one is dying here of hunger, all are well fed, but this poor community is still running a course to remain poor, under-resourced, and possibly displaced by more educated Colombians!

The Plan: To make every effort to see the whole story. It’s easy to take an educated approach and cite X, Y and Z for these problems. But it’s another thing to use your improved Spanish and enter people’s worlds! To hear from them about what it is like? How things in this community have improved and where they believe it hasn’t. I am not trying to take my ideals of the American Dream and impose it on them, but meeting them on their level and seeing what is the next step that could mean better water, education, less disease, job opportunity, and transportation! I am not sure there is much I can do, but this type of knowledge will go a long way into possibly helping someone else in the future or possibly coming back with a real game plan and resources to aid in these problems.

We’ll this is the half-time report on “Life in Colombia.” These are 4 things that I will be focusing on in the months ahead. 4 things I will address at the end of my journey here as well. Looking at the calendar, I really don’t have that much time left, so it’s truly time to take advantage of the amazing opportunity and not waste a day.

Thanks for tuning in! You are a missed so much!

Eric Seguin

Its Half-time in Colombia- Part Uno

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Soccer. Yet, there was always something about the orange wedges we would get at halftime that just made the sport so much better. How could it not! After chasing a black and white blur around a humungous field for what seemed like eternity, these vitamin C packed slices of heaven were demolished about as quickly as that eating freak Takeru Kobayashi enjoys Nathans hotdogs! I remember feeling so sticky I seriously considered playing goalie for the second half.

When I got a bit older and a tad more competitive in another sport whose playing field is much smaller, we didn’t get treated with oranges at halftime. Instead we would sit in a circle, share some Gatorade, and hear our coach reflect, berate, and then instruct our team for the next half of play? I was in shock “Coach, this is halftime, its vitamin C time baby! I know you got some questions about my play last half, but I have a major question too: whose mama brought the wonderful wedges?” Needless to say, there was a good chance those words never made it out of my head but let me say proudly that I was thinking them! Instead I learned the true meaning of halftime, and while I could seriously write an entire blog about the very interesting halftime experiences I have witnessed during my days of playing organized sports, I’ll refrain, and instead shed light to this current adventure. Its halftime in Colombia: time to reflect, berate, and plan!

Life at the Public School

Tomorrow is exam day at our school. All the kids have paid their 2500 pesos to have the school print out the 4-6 page booklets that are all our tests. I made a “muy facil” exam this semester, because frankly, I believe my students have learned as much as I did when the very blessed Sydney (now) Clayton sat next me in Kinesiology (Dave: you are a lucky man!). My kids, co-teacher, and I have had some tough times getting on the same page and as a result I am coming into halftime knowing none of them will be gracing the cover of any ESL newsletter and I am in no way going to be paraded around this pueblo, on the shoulders of their thankful parents, as we all sing Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus (I hate that song)! Who said teaching English would be easy! There are days that kids seriously look at me with such joy you would think I am telling them to march to a death camp! But I wake up each morning, make my coffee, and walk to school. I my own dry and sarcastic humor, I have berated myself enough, and have decided to now move onward to the planning part.

There are things from the first half that worked! The kids love when I make a fool of myself in class. So they can expect more of that in the form of some great singing and even a dance or two (this will not end up on YouTube). We even just learned these cheesy raps which seeing I can barely write about because I’m laughing so hard, not sure how I’d get through that one live in action! The kids also like when I am “cool Eric” and not “tough Gringo-because his co-teachers refuse to stay in class to help discipline). So I will do my best to prepare and empower these teachers to be a part of every experience and will crank up the “cool Eric” (which is not hard when your “cool”…is that what kids still say these days?). I have also seen what doesn’t work and that’s Spanish in the classroom. Many of you in that instant sighed “duh,” and while your right…this is going to be the hardest thing I have ever committed to. One class in particular, there will be nothing like managing thirty-two 8th grade gremlins as you mettle on in a foreign language which appears to have the same effect as sunlight to vampires! As it’s been in class, a bit of Spanish was like a vile or two of blood, a nice way to tame the beasts! But I am going to change, and while it might be the death of me, it’s for the best! I love you Mom.

All joking aside: These kids are worth it! This project is worth it! So this second half will be one where we move forward having after careful and meticulous evaluation, greatly improved the game plan! And if by some miracle this small poor village comes to adore Uncle Sam’s language, how cool would it be to be toted around this pueblo on one of my donkey friends while people throw palm branches at my feet singing “Blessed is the Gringo who comes in the name of English.” That was kind of dumb and maybe a bit too sacrilegious but it beats anything having to do with Miley Cyrus…

Seeing my body is fighting something weird, I think I am going to end this segment here, and go crawl into my bed with the flies that have recently invaded our island! Hope to get the halftime report about “life in Colombia” up here very soon.

Real quick final note: During a rough spell of homesickness, I was watching the movie Julia and Julia. In a particular scene, Julia (Child) and her husband Paul got notice they needed to move out of Paris, which prompted her to sullenly ask “where is home?” Her husband very calmly responded “wherever we are.” While not the line of the century, it was something that hit me in the face. I have stated on this blog that this place feels like home more and more. Than all of sudden, I hit a rough patch of straight up loneliness. This line was so potent because it caused me to reflect on why I stated this and eventually how I got here. God opened up door after door for me to come here. He has taken my life and turned it upside down since I’ve arrived. I have come to see Him in a way I sometimes believe would have been impossible in my old life. What an amazing blessing this experience has been because I have got to Know God. This place has felt like home because I have come to crave and depend on Him. And in this very admittedly “new” outlook on life, He gives us a peace that can even surpass those amazing feelings we have when we’re in the presence of our amazing families. Mom, please don’t read into that more than you should, as I can’t wait to curl up on the couch with you, Dad, and Ellie! But if you are down, sad, lost, empty, angry, hopeless, or you fill in the blank, look to the God who never abandons His sheep. He is holding out His hand for you with promises of peace, joy, hope, and unconditional love. Take hold and I promise that despite this world’s darkness, you will be granted a spirit of family and security that unlike all this place has to offer, will never fade away. Props to God for using Julia Child…! Ha!

“O Lord, you have searched me and know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalms 138: 1-7.

Miss you all very much!

E

Ciudad Perdida- Final Post (Kind of)

It’s been like 2 months and to be perfectly honest, I don’t want to write about Ciudad Perdida anymore. So I am going to give you my summary in a nutshell and move on! It was the most amazing hike I have ever taken. It beat the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Rockies of Colorado. You have it all, amazing plant life that makes you feel as if you in the movie “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” gorgeous mountain springs and waterfalls (which we swam in every one), opportunities to pick mangos, avocados, bananas, and coca leaves (yup- the same stuff that makes the white stuff) directly from the source along the route. In addition to that, you have an opportunity to see and meet several members of the indigenous Kogi tribe that live in this mountain range. They are a fascinating people with a rich history in this area. The Lost City itself was cool and I encourage you to Google it sometime if you interested. There is so much about this “find” that it would take me 2 posts to explain it all. As I sit here and think back about the trip, it was the journey that made it a blast. I went with some great people whom I had the opportunity to get to know more. We got some decent exercise hiking 4-8K up and down the sharp peaks of Colombia, but then spent the rest of the day eating amazing food, laughing, playing games, and talking about everything you can imagine. So for all those that read my blog- thanks! Colombia is a beautiful country and I hope a fraction of it is captured in some of the pictures I will post.

Miss you all!

E

Adventures to Ciudad Perdida- Part 2

I told you I was going to post another blog entry sooner than later…

So the quick responses I got from the millions of people that read my blog (???) were that I needed more details and of course pictures. In response to that… I am a whooping 29 years old now! Next February I will be turning the dreaded…we’ll you can count and I don’t want to say it. But one thing I have noticed is that my eye sight has gotten worse, someone found a grey hair on me the other day (still don’t believe them), and that my memory is about as sharp as the spoon I used to stir my coffee this morning. And so recalling a 6 day adventure in full detail seems a bit daunting to me but I am going to try!

Where did I leave off…another example of how sharp my mind is (I had to read my own blog to remember- yikes)! So after I woke up from my diabetic coma in the beautiful Caribbean city of Santa Marta, Colombia, I ventured out to find some “fried goodness” for breakfast! Knowing I was about to risk being kidnapped in the Colombian jungle, I wanted to make sure I took in a few amazing empanadas and papas relleno (stuffed potato) before this happened! We all know that food in captivity is not all that great!

An old SUV type truck/van pulls up in front of our hostel around 8 am. The excitement in the air is high as we meet our guide and his wife. With the help of a few others, we get our gear packed among the amazing amount of food they packed for us. Hope you didn’t think we were going to carry that…we got a mule to do that (hello- its Colombia)! Just before we’re about to pack in like sardines, I run to my new friend selling the fried goodness and purchase my 4th papas relleno of the morning which turns out to be a horrible decision. We pack into this 4 wheeled beast and I wonder, for almost 1.5 hrs, why I decided to eat about 3000 calories of pure fat before such a ride!

The truck stops along this road to get gas (someone with a bucket of fuel siphons it into your tank) and some of us run to a great fruit stand. Not sure why I was interested but I went and purchased 2 amazing sugar mangos (sorry everyone…they don’t sell them in the US). Maybe I felt bad about eating so horribly earlier that I wanted to balance it out with a fruit, but this also turned out to be a bad idea. As we take off again, within 2 minutes we take a hard right onto a road that does not look like a road but more like a gnarly mountain bike trail! This road traverses up, around, and over 3-4 mountains! You know when you’re driving and you run over those “rumble tracks” on the highway…it’s like that except multiply is by a 1000! Let me also remind you there are possibly 10 people in a 6 passenger vehicle. Needless to say my sugar mango was not that enjoyable. I’ll bet I may have got about 40% of it in my mouth, 20% on my friends, and the rest on my favorite Vanderbilt shirt (go Dores).

After what seemed like a year on that road, we come to a remote town! So weird that all of a sudden, in the middle of nowhere, you has paved roads, houses, and little stores! This quaint little town is where we will begin our trek to Cuidad Perdida, but not before we absolutely stuff ourselves with sub sandwiches and Coke! They know how to take care of Gringos! After eating enough food to make my Ironman Triathlon preparation seem sheepish, packing and repacking gear, lathering up in mosquito repellant, and double checking the Oreos are easily accessible, we officially begin the hike. I am feeling a bit like Indiana Jones and Clark Griswold!

I know the title says “Adventures of Ciudad Perdida” and I have not written about the actual hike yet…but let me remind you: THIS IS MY BLOG! Plus I am writing this in only my underwear, sweating profusely, in my non air-conditioned room, feeling the heat of which Weather.com said it “feels like 114 degrees” today! How about them apples?

Miss everyone! And a special shout out to my Uncle Dan who is seriously considering sending me frozen cheeseburgers via this new shippable box his company invented that keeps things frozen for a few weeks! He’s a genius engineer and I am a hungry boy! Gotta love family!

Adventure to Cuidad Perdida- Part I

For those who sent me emails because I have not posted a blog in almost a month and you may have thought I had been kidnapped by the FARC during my trek in the Colombian jungle, I appreciate the concern and am glad you care. For those who have not checked up on me, we’ll just see if you get informed I completed the coconut rice post for my blog…

Colombians love holidays and I love days off from work! The week before Easter is called “Semana Santa” which means “Holy Week” which means vacation (as well as the remembrance of the most glorious moment in Christianity)! Before I could really think about what to do, I got an email from some friends in Barranquilla who were interested in doing this awesome hike we had read about during orientation. After considering my other option of spending a week with my little piggy friends here in Santa Ana, I happily agreed to go!

Because the school I work at is a bit different (not always in a good way), I got a chance to leave the Dirt, Dogs, and Donkeys of my pueblo a bit early (okay almost a week early) to hop on a sweet air conditioned bus heading for Barranquilla. I have to admit I was looking uber “Gringo” with my full pack back but I made it there safely without anyone trying to steal the Oreo’s I stashed away for my trip!

In Barranquilla I got the opportunity to hang out with my friends who all teach at Shakira’s (my future wife) amazing school Piez Descalzos! During our orientation they described this school as a “very wealthy institution for poor children.” I think a few other countries need to adopt that idea! Another cool thing at their school was the fact they were celebrating “Dia de Dulces” which means Day of Sweets! Having worked in the realm of childhood obesity I would normally be appalled by such a celebration. But seeing like 5% of kids are overweight (compared to 60+% in the good old US), what’s wrong with a little azucar (sugar). Add in the fact that my new best friend is called Arequipe (Yum!) and they were selling him for all of 500 pesos (25 cents), it was a great day!

After I awoke from my diabetic coma the next morning it was time for us to pack up and begin this adventure. The next 24 hrs would include a trip to beautiful Santa Marta (3 hr bus ride), a meeting with our guide Jose and his wife, a nice dinner complete with hilarious stories from friends I haven’t seen since orientation, the purchase of additional Oreos (of course!), a pleasant stroll along the ocean, and a sketchy nights stay in a local Hostel. As we all settled down for the night, I had a nice feeling that this trip was going to be a lot of fun and that I was also going to smell really bad when it was done.

While I fall more in love with this country every day I am here, know that I miss everyone so much! There is not that goes by where I do not think about many of you and all the great memories we have made. Thanks for all your support and prayers! There has been a lot going on in terms of ministry and adventure so I hope to finish up the second half of this blog soon and dive into some of this stuff! Don’t worry though, I know where my only reader’s (I love you Mom!)heart lies and thus I will finish the Coconut Rice entry real soon!

I'll leave you with a cool verse to think about doing your day- Love you all!

"But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we may might recieve the full rights of sons (adopted by God). Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." Galatians 4:4-7

A Hearts Cry

It was over 2 months ago when I boarded a plane for Colombia. As the plane headed down the Houston, Texas runway and the wheels lifted off the ground, there was a deep feeling I had just left a huge part of me there that I would never have again.

I have lived a blessed life! Having been adopted from Bogota, Colombia is certainly one of the most amazing gifts I have received. My selfless parents have given me as much as the world as they could. My father worked long and hard hours so our family could be comfortable. My mom only took jobs that would grant her the flexibility to always be there for us when we needed her. They were and are the most important people in my life.

After high school I attended a Christian University in Nashville. I made friends that I will have all my life. I had experiences both trying and glorious that have impacted who I am this moment. I graduated with an education that enabled me to work in health care. I worked for some amazing people and one of the most prominent hospitals in the US. I was given opportunity to be creative, inventive, and original. I was always compensated well above what I needed.

My life was simple but fun! I worked hard but made sure I always had time to play. I loved escaping to Colorado to ski! I competed in a bunch of triathlons throughout Tennessee and all around the country. My triathlon bike cost more than my truck! I love to cook and learning a new recipe is one of my favorite things to do. I spent several months trying to distinguish why a wine from one region in France is so much better than one from another. I went on Caribbean cruises where my goal was to always gain at least 5 lbs. My beloved dog Ellie and I enjoyed eating Blue Bell ice cream after early morning training runs. There was always something amazing about watching every Rocky movie in succession on a lazy Saturday. As I sat along the rocky coast of Maine and watched the tide come in, I would always consider how blessed I was.

Today, over a billion people live (and die) in desperate poverty which is less than a dollar a day. Close to two billion others live on less than two dollars a day. 30,000 children will breathe their last breath due to either starvation or a preventable disease today. We are not inconvenienced by this extreme poverty because those stricken by it are not only poor, they are powerless. Literally millions of them are quietly dying in relative obscurity and we can comfortably ignore them in our affluence, pretending like they don’t even exist. Meanwhile, they do exist, and God measures the integrity of our faith by our concern for the poor.

I walk to my school every day and see families living in houses that barely have walls. I have lunch with kids whom this could be their only complete meal that day. People wash, cook, and bathe with water that is delivered to the end of each street because the idea of plumbing and running water is impossible here. I see homeless in Cartagena whom are so ravished by the weather they are too tired to beg. I have walked through neighborhoods where they plead to more affluent people to take their children because they can’t provide for them.

Please don’t listen to me but what is written in God’s Word. In Luke 6:20-22 we read “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you for who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” In verses 24-25 Jesus warns “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who will laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.” In Mark 10:21-22 an eager affluent young man approaches Jesus and asks how He may “inherit eternal life.” After he explains to Jesus that he has been keeping the commandments since he was a little boy, Jesus looked at him and “loved him” and said “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” The story continues “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” In 1 John 3:17-18 it reads “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” Back in Luke 12:32-34 Jesus words are piercing as He commands “Do you not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The Word of God is clear about how much He cherishes the poor, oppressed, and orphaned. The Word of God is clear about how much He despises though who neglect them. I have come to see that I am the “Rich Young Man.” When the Bible speaks of the “Rich” I know that I fall into this category. In America, I was certainly not the most affluent, but in the perspective of this World, believe me when I say that I am exactly who Jesus is warning. Salvation is never a matter of external reformation, but is always a matter of internal transformation. James says in Chapter 2:15-17 says that if we see someone in need, hope for them a better future, and do nothing, that this is an example of a faith that is “dead.” If we have Him in our hearts- everything changes.

While the words of Jesus are tough- they are necessary. The reality is that hundreds of children will die by the time you finish this blog. 30, 000 will breathe their last by the time the sun sets. When I left the US, I left behind a diseased view of materialism. I have repented to God about my disobedience and as a result His spirit is changing me. I know my life will never look the same as it was last year. It can’t be. The words of Jesus have radical implications for our lives. Read Matthew 25:31-46 and ask what side you are on. Plead with Him to change your heart, the perspective, and the priorities. Draw close to Him, believe in His promises, and then listen to His voice. It will never be a matter of guilt, but responsibility. Give Him your heart and see where this takes you. The lives of millions depend on us. Please believe it. Join me in prayer, petition, and action.

Sometimes, God just puts a word on your heart that is tough but demands to be shared. In my flesh, I would rather share how to make Coconut Rice or how I saw the most amazing tarantula the other night (that will come!) But I know this needed to be my next blog entry. I hope you are encouraged and whatever your religious position, you come to see how this experience is shaping my perspective of life as I know it. I love and miss you all so much! Thanks for your support! I feel it! Pictures are courtesy from a few amazing ministries I adore here, Uganda, and India.