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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

THE REAL DANGER ISN’T ALWAYS WHERE YOU EXPECT IT…..

Mom warned me about snakes all my life, and particularly whenever we headed for tropical climes. This trip to Kenya was no different - I got to hear about the cobras in Penang once again…and then I find that there ARE cobras here, and that a friend has seen them, and a friend of HIS actually has the skin of a 7-footer. Enough to make you think twice about walking around at night!!

But, a far more immediate threat of mayhem awaits us whenever we head over to the cafeteria—here is the path:
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We follow neither set of concrete stones, but head into the herbiage to the right of that light pole, right past those pretty little trees and between the giant shipping containers in the background. And those “pretty little trees” look like THIS, up close:
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After seeing this close up on the first day, and realizing that we would be walking that way in the dark at times, I (very carefully) bent back some of the long branches and hooked them on twigs farther back toward the trunk, so that our actual path is now pretty clear. Remember, this is where the giraffe and black rhino get their leaves—from BETWEEN these nasty thorns!

We’ve been eating three great meals each day - at least two starches each time, and they might be rice and potatoes, or rice and noodles, tonight it was rice and sweet potatoes (which were delicious). Then there are either lentils or beans, plus some protein like (wonderful homemade) gluten or tofu in a savory sauce, and a vegetable, finishing with a plate containing salad and fruit. The salads have included various permutations of cole slaw, plus mixed greens, cucumber and carrots, etc. We’ve had green mango (hmmmm), lovely ripe ones, watermelon, and tonight papaya. Lots of bananas at breakfast. The food is very good, and the students eat prodigious quantities. We’re keeping it in check, lest we come home looking like blimps!

We’ve also walked pretty much all over the 100+ acres on which sit Maxwell Adventist Academy, the East and Central African Division (that may not be the official name), and the very new Adventist University in Africa, which will become the seminary and graduate school for this continent - at least, that’s the current plan. The main office building plus three homes and one guesthouse is all that’s completed, but work on more faculty homes proceeds apace, and we saw the plans for a really major installation over the next few years.

Tomorrow morning I have my first class, and we’re going to town with friends to buy train tickets. I’ll have another report, later - Gail wants my computer.

Posted by Earl on 06/24 at 01:14 PM
2009 SUMMER TRIP - Kenya, England, Paris • AUA, NAIROBI •

Monday, June 22, 2009

FROM KENYA WITH PHOTOS…...

Here’s the first AUA guesthouse in place - others are being built, and next door the Division has several. This is where we’re staying - upper floor on the side away from the camera:

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There is a kitchenette with microwave, toaster, stove/oven and refrigerator/freezer. At the dining table, we have a glass fiber for internet access, which is slow, and intermittent at times. There are two bedrooms - one double and one twin, with a bathroom in between. The furniture is local manufacture, serviceable rather than nicely made, but we have everything necessary for comfort. More - there’s also a TV that probably has satellite feed of some kind - they show CNN in the cafeteria at supper.

Here’s the view out the french doors onto our balcony:
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After lunch, we lay down to sleep a bit - the AUA provost called me after about 3 hours (woke me up, but hey!) and came over to talk a bit. While we stood on the balcony, I saw a bird down below - it’s some kind of ibis that sorts through the grass and leaves looking for its meal…..
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. Bunch of black and white crows around, plus something that looks and acts like a mockingbird, a swallow with a real swallow-tail, something with a rusty tail, and lots of other stuff.

Having fun so far. More later.

Posted by Earl on 06/22 at 11:12 AM
2009 SUMMER TRIP - Kenya, England, Paris • AUA, NAIROBI •

WE’RE SAFELY IN NAIROBI…...

....well, actually at ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY of AFRICA

We left the U.S. on Sat. nite, and arrived here in Nairobi about 6:30 a.m. Monday. In that time, we figure we slept about 8 hours, but “sleep” is not exactly what it was. Sitting up in airline seats dozing, really - unless you count the half hour or so sitting on a bench in Kensington Park, dozing in London.

About to go eat lunch, come back for showers and crash for an hour or two. Then walk around the campus - it’s a large place, and includes AUA, the conference headquarters, and MAXWELL ADVENTIST ACADEMY. The Academy site has great photos of what it looks like here.

Looking out our window, we saw a black and white crow - seems incongruous, given what we’re used to. Also working along picking up bits of breakfast out of the grass were a pair of brownish ibis. There’s a swallow’s nest on the eaves of the cafeteria - lovely babies in a mud cup, almost ready to fledge.. Lots of messy bird droppings below, too - some things just don’t change.

I’ll have photos and more commentary up later….at least, I’ll have photos *if* the server improves its speed. I’m falling asleep now….back soon.

Posted by Earl on 06/22 at 04:49 AM
2009 SUMMER TRIP - Kenya, England, Paris • AUA, NAIROBI •

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

I THINK IT’S TIME TO PRESSURE THE ISRAELIS TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE “PALESTINIANS”, DON’T YOU?

I mean…...WHAT COULD GO WRONG, after all?

Posted by Earl on 06/16 at 07:50 PM

IF YOU HAVE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT AN ABORTION…..

...or if you know someone who is thinking about one…..or who has had one…..or who you think MIGHT think about one in the future…..then there IS a website that can help…....

WELCOME

Thank you for visiting this Web site. I’m so glad you’re here. I especially welcome visitors who have personally experienced abortion—whether it was your own or the abortion of someone close to you. This Web site is close to my heart because I’ve been there.

When I became pregnant at 18, I had an abortion.

I was completely unprepared for the emotional fallout. I thought the abortion would erase the pregnancy. I thought I could move on with my life. I was wrong.

I experienced periods of intense anger followed by periods of profound sadness. When my feelings became too difficult to deal with, I reached out for help from a trained counselor.

With counseling and the help of supportive friends, I was able to enter into a healthy grieving process.

In addition to grieving the loss of my child, I slowly became aware of how my choice to abort had impacted my family. I was surprised and saddened that my parents, my sister, and even my living children struggled to deal with the loss of a family member through abortion.

Over the years I’ve heard many heartrending stories about abortion. Although each story is unique, a common thread moves through them all—abortion changes you. Yet there is no forum to help abortion participants—and the people who are closest to them—explore this tragic truth. Although abortion has touched many of us, we rarely share our personal experiences regarding it.

This is what led me to write a book that shares some of the stories I’ve heard. There was also a need for a safe space for people to tell their stories, explore the ways abortion has impacted them, and find resources. We created AbortionChangesYou.com to fill this need.

It is my hope that this Web site will assist you as you seek to make sense of your abortion or the abortion of someone close to you.

It’s a site for sharing, with a mission that appears to be unique - at least, I’ve never seen another just like this:

OUR MISSION

This confidential space is for those who are touched by abortion, whether the experience happened recently or years ago.

Abortion Changes You is a refuge for those who wish to tell their story and begin the process of healing.

Your Friends at AbortionChangesYou.com

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HERE IS THE WEBSITE.

Posted by Earl on 06/16 at 04:50 PM

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