boxing

so we're having a garage sale this weekend. it should be a pretty big one, but i have a lot more to accomplish before we're even close to making it happen.

i've been digging through boxes for the last couple of days. i have managed to refrain from accumulating much in the 4 years since college, but this process is still trying. i am literally evaluating the necessity of every single thing that i own. is it going to africa? is it worth storing for X number years? if it doesn't meet one of these 2 criteria, i will no longer own it within a week.

it has been an emotional process as i come across mementos and memories, but it really is so freeing. i don't even like 'stuff'. it ties you down, and i certainly am not one to be tied down. at this point in my life i absolutely dread the thought of owning my own home, and i'm thrilled, thrilled, by the idea of not owning a car. (mine is for sale. anyone want it?)

i've come to believe that the purpose of things should be to simply enable us to carry out the indispensible movements and relationships of life. in an attempt to conserve our own time and individuality, we work so hard and acquire so much that we eventually lose the whole point... and we end up wasting some important things as a result; natural resources are one thing, but community and simplicity are even more detrimental sacrifices that we make.

so, we're having a garage sale, and i'll be glad to be rid of this stuff. but i remember that 'law of conservation of mass/matter' thing i learned in high school. matter can change form, but cannot be created or destroyed. and i'm strangely sad about that little bear figurine with the graduation cap and gown. it used to be something else, maybe even something useful, but someone decided to make it into 'stuff'. and while it won't be my stuff anymore, it will be someone else's. what a waste.

blepharoplasty

please excuse the constant changes to the face of this blog. i keep revisioning and revising, but the nagging perfectionist that lives in my head won't let me leave things alone. i promise i will stop soon. maybe not.

GOOD NEWS!

this is a typical saturday afternoon. 300 kids packed into the little church in kroo bay. the 'good news club' is always stressful and entirely exhausting, but SO MUCH FUN! my friend noah runs the club and my friends from the lighthouse program help lead singing and do a lot of the teaching. after the lesson they pass out boiled eggs and biscuits and then take care of minor first aid needs - or try and find help for people with more serious health issues. there are a lot of things i appreciate about freetown, but this little church is where it's at. when you come visit me you'll understand.

choitram market

this photo was taken at an indian-owned grocery near the 'kroo bay' part of town. you will hear me talk a lot about kroo bay because it is where some of my favorite people live, including these 3 rascals. they make up half of the 6 kids who i tutored in the afternoons. this grocery is one of only a few places where you can find soft-serve ice cream, and it is a bit of a luxury, so we only splurged on the very roughest of days.

aberdeen sunset

this is the view from the front veranda of the home i lived in. it is in an area of freetown called 'aberdeen.' the sunsets during the rain-season are incredible! the water you see is a warf that fills up during high tide. at low tide you can walk across it on dry sand, and it becomes a soccer field for the village on its bank. beyond the tree-line is the atlantic. you may notice that there are no lights on despite it being dusk. freetown operates power on a grid system, and our part of town didn't make it into the rotation very often. but who can complain with a view like this?

a de go bak!

just wanted to post a quick update. two weeks ago I was in omaha for an interview with word made flesh, and it is now official; I’M GOING BACK TO SIERRA LEONE! i signed a 3-year contract as servant team coordinator, which means that a big part of my job will be to lead teams like the one i participated on in 2005. the goal is to leave for freetown in august, but this will largely depend on how quickly i can raise financial support. i do know that it will cost at least $2000 just to get there, and i will have to raise that money plus 3 months salary before i can purchase my tickets, so that will all need to happen pretty quickly. feel free to ask about details in that area. i’ll post more when i know more.

now that blogger is more user-friendly and i’m all excited about returning to freetown, i figured it was about time to post some old pictures and attempt to give everyone some idea of what i’m getting into. i've been trying all evening to post some photos, but i'm having issues. maybe blogger isn't so user-friendly... i'll try to be more creative with my posts as i have time. thanks for checking in!