Since I'm not there to tell the story...

I'm posting a link to someone who can.

Emily Rhodes was one of my roommates and coworkers last year as we did Katrina disaster relief work with Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans. She continued living in Nola after our volunteer program ended, and now she's giving updates on the current situation going on with Hurricane Gustav. For her perspective, check out: http://kingdomemily.blogspot.com/

Memories of a One Hurricane, Fears of Another

I'm a day late on this one... but just wanted to write something to commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which happened three years ago yesterday. I haven't been to New Orleans since Mardi Gras this spring, but the city has been on my mind a lot the past few days. I've wondered about how progress is coming in rebuilding, I've reminisced on the year that I spent living there, and I've missed the friends that are still there working to restore the city. Oh, and I've longed to hear some Trombone Shorty and Irvin Mayfield. :)

Obviously when August 29th rolls around on the calender, a lot of people will be thinking about Katrina (was it just me or did Obama's two references to New Orleans receive extra loud applause during his acceptance speech at the DNC?). And while I can vouch that the residents of New Orleans never STOP thinking about Katrina, it's actually not the hurricane MOST on their mind during this commemorative day. That's because Hurricane Gustav is already a Category 3 with a possibility of strengthening into a Cat 4 after it crosses Cuba. And though it's too early to tell where exactly it will make landfall, trackers are predicting that the storm could hit New Orleans dead-on. I spoke with some of my friends who live in Nola, and they were evacuating to Baton Rouge last night. I can't really express how much I'm hoping Gustav DOESN'T hit New Orleans. The residents have been through so much in the past 3 years - I don't know how many of them could continue if all they've done to recover is destroyed by another hurricane. For anyone who would, now would be a great time to offer up some prayers for grace, hope, and strength for all the folks on the Gulf Coast.

A couple links:

Anderson Cooper did an outstanding job in his reporting of Katrina, and more importantly, of the recovery process and failures of the government throughout the whole ordeal. Check out his 360 blog:

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/category/hurricane-katrina/

From the Times-Picayune, columnist Chris Rose can always be counted on to deliver poignant commentary on the status of the city, wrapping up biting truth within humor and sarcasm. For his latest:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/08/everybody_please_just_relax_un.html#more

Some of my favorite men...

So in a break from serious contemplation about Sudan and what-I-want-to-do-with-the-rest-of-my-life stress, I'm taking a minute to consider other highly important matters. Two of my favorite male musicians are coming to Austin and I MUST find a way to overcome some barriers and hear their voices live and in-person. What barriers you ask? Well let's consider the scenarios...

First, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals are playing THIS Sunday evening as part of the post-Nike+ Human Race entertainment. I was a little late in coming to realize how incredible Ben Harper is, but once I got on that boat last fall, I've been dying to hear him in concert (particularly since he's known for putting on stellar shows.) The problem though is that supposedly you have to be a participant in the race in order to get into the concert. Hmmm. That's a little problematic since I haven't exactly been training for a 10K run, and I also already have plans for Sunday night. Do I ditch plans, pay the $35 entry fee, and then run over 6 miles ... all just to hear Ben? I dunno. I'd be so bummed to think that he's playing in Austin and I'm NOT there, but... I think that suddenly enlisting in an athletic competition might be a bit much. Anybody know of ways to get into the show that won't involve running shoes??

The other show I just found out about tonight, and I'm SO excited for. On October 25th, the one and only Ray Lamontagne is going be playing at the Paramount here in Austin -- and seriously, I MUST be there. Three years ago I made a mix of songs by Ray Lamontagne and Amos Lee, and I've literally listened to it hundreds of times since then. The barrier for me going to this concert is far less hindering than a 10K run, but nonetheless, is cause for some slight hesitancy in buying a ticket. See, back in '06, GQ magazine put out this article (check out #8), which forever put attending a Ray concert in the same category as say riding a gondola in Venice or going to an Italian restaurant on Valentine's Day. It's something you only do if you have a special significant other to do it with, because otherwise no amount of confidence-in-your-singleness will prevent you from being depressed about being in that romance-heavy environment sans a love interest to share the moment with. Even if you ration that it'd be o.k. to attend a Ray concert without necessarily being in love with your companion for the evening, let's be honest, the minimum requirement would at least be someone you can make out with during "Trouble". Now, I've gotta admit that I've kinda enjoyed my singleness this past year, since it afforded me the freedom to go on more dates with incredibly-good-looking men in the past 6 or 7 months than I've been on in the past 6 or 7 years. But, I'm going to really need to be NOT single for that Ray Lamontagne show. Or at least be single, but with a really hot date who is gonna be ok with some required cuddling. :) Fortunately for me, I've got two months to figure this dilemma out. Training for that Nike race in 4 days, on the other hand, is lookin a little less feasible...

Return to the ATX

Just a quick update:

My team and I arrived safely home to Austin last Monday night, super tired from days of traveling, but with wonderful memories from an incredible trip to Sudan. Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes from all of you while I was gone – it definitely meant the world to know that I had support from so many of you here at home. And of course now that I’m back, the question comes “How was Sudan?” Man, so much to tell. I guess the easy part first…. if a picture is worth a thousand words, then check out my visual report here for all my personal pictures that I’ve uploaded. You can also check this out, which is where many of my team members have posted their photo albums.

Now the hard part… trying to put all of the experience into words. My hope is take some of my favorite memories and write separate essays about them soon. There is so much to tell, and I want to do it justice as much as possible. I’d hoped to already get some posted, but I ended up spending most of this week back home in Lorena with my fam, and then this weekend was pleasantly consumed with a two-day celebration for my friends Phillip and Constance’s marriage. (Which, has totally confirmed in my mind that eloping in a foreign country and then later throwing a big party back at home DEFINITELY beats a traditional wedding.).. So, anyways, back to work at Halcyon as of this week while I start up the new job hunt… and I’ll get those essays up as soon as I can. Love y'all...

Thanks!

The 24 hour countdown is about to be underway. Which is a little scary seeing how much I still have left to do, haha. But, if there is anything I've mastered over the years, it's procrastinating on packing by cramming in as much possible social time as I can, and still managing to get where I need to be on time.... or, at least shortly thereafter :) Good thing I'll have lots of time to sleep on the plane rides, 'cause I don't think I'll be getting any before then.

Before I leave though... just wanted to say a HUGE thanks to all of you for all the support and encouragement you've given. It definitely means the world to know that I have such an incredible community of folks back here who are wishing for the best for me and my team. Whether you gave money to help with my fundraising, or helped hook me up with supplies, or toasted a drink with me, or committed to praying for us, or even just asked about the trip and offered encouraging words --- I'm truly grateful for all the care and love. In whatever way we may be able to support the work of the Didinga people to see their homeland restored... it will be in large part because you all made it possible for us to go. So thanks for joining in the task at hand, and for believing in my dreams with me.

Looking forward to sharing about it all once I'm back home in a few weeks! Much love y'all...

Recommended Reading

For a really wonderfully written account of the affects of the wars in Sudan, I'd recommend reading "What is the What" by Dave Eggers. It's based on the story of one of the "Lost Boys", and is incredibly touching.

Also, here's a small collection of news articles about Sudan, for those of you who would like to know more about the circumstances we're getting into...

The latest on Darfur: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7534353.stm (A lot of you have mentioned concern about us getting into all of that... but we're going to be in South Sudan, not near Darfur, so we'll actually be in one of the safest parts of the country.)

A Q & A with some basics about Sudan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3211002.stm

Brief update from back in March on the refugees returning home: http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-03/2008-03-28-voa47.cfm?CFID=19554324&CFTOKEN=49901161

Lots of information, particularly about the ICC's case against Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir: http://www.sudantribune.com/

Gates of Hell

So obviously when people find out I’m going to Sudan, they are often curious about why I want to do such a thing. And usually I refrain from mentioning anything spiritual… since 1) a lot of people are leery about the idea of “missionary” work, and 2) given my own hesitations about evangelism, I’m not exactly leading the pack on “reaching the nations for Jesus” zeal. However, the truth is, a lot of my motivations are spiritually grounded – though I could spend hours writing on why that is and how my religious convictions have developed and been re-shaped over the past years. No time for that now, but I did want to share some thoughts that are relevant to answering the questions of “Why Sudan?” and “Why go some place so dangerous and broken?” The following is an excerpt from “Jesus for President” by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw – two guys who grew up in a similar religious culture as I did, and who are now bringing some valuable perspective to re-thinking some of those truths we learned as kids in the Bible Belt. (Sorry if the train of thought is kinda fractured.. but I’m gonna skip around some for the sake of brevity.)

“There’s a lot of bad theology out there. Some folks tell us we shouldn’t worry about caring for creation since it’s all going to burn soon anyway. Other folks have a fatalistic view that the world stinks, so we just need to prepare people to die. But we are convinced that Jesus came not to prepare us to die but to teach us how to live. The kingdom of God is not just something we hope for when we die but something we live ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ And we’re not willing simply to promise the world that there is life after death when the world is asking, ‘Is there life before death?’ We are thankful for heaven, but we are not willing to stand by and watch people live through hell to get there…

We remember as children hearing hellfire and damnation sermons… we all went forward to repent of all the evil things we had done over the first decade of our lives, motivated by the fear of being ‘left behind.’ The preacher literally scared the hell out of us… But have you ever noticed that Jesus didn’t spend much time on hell? Really there are only a couple of times when he spoke of weeping and gnashing of teeth, of hell and God’s judgment, and both had to do with the walls we create between ourselves and our suffering neighbors. [Commentary on the passage in Matthew 25, and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man]… God is in the business of rescuing people from the hells they experience on earth. And God is asking us to love people out of those hells. Hell is not just something that comes after death, but it is something many are living in this very moment: 1.2 billion people groan for a drop of water each day; more than thirty thousand kids starve to death each day; and thirty-eight million folks are dying of AIDS. It seems ludicrous to think of preaching to them about hell when we would do better sitting at the well asking them for a little water. We see Jesus spending far more energy loving the hell out of people, and lifting people out of the hells in which they are trapped, than trying to scare them into heaven. And one of the most beautiful things we get to see in community here in Kensington is people who have been loved out of the hells they find themselves in – domestic violence, addiction, sex trafficking, loneliness.

C.S. Lewis understood hell not as a place where God locks people out of heaven but as a dungeon that we lock ourselves into… With this new perspective, we gain new insight when we look at the parable of Lazarus or hear the brilliant words with which Jesus reassured Peter that ‘the gates of hell will not prevail against you.’ As adolescents, we understood that to mean that the demons and fiery darts of the Devil will not hit us. But lately we’ve done a little more thinking and praying, and we have a bit more insight on gates. Gates are not offensive weapons. Gates are defensive – walls and fences we build to keep people out. God is not saying the gates of hell will not prevail as they come at us. God is saying that we are in the business of storming the gates of hell, and the gates will not prevail as we crash through them with grace.

People sometimes ask if we are scared of the inner city. We say that we are more scared of the suburbs. Jesus warns that we can fear those things which can hurt our bodies or those things which can destroy our souls, but we should be far more fearful of the latter. Those are the subtle demons of suburbia. As Shane’s mother says, ‘Perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfort, detached from the suffering of others.’ We’re scared of apathy and complacency, of detaching ourselves from the suffering. Just as we are building walls to keep people out of our comfortable, insulated existence, we are trapping ourselves in a hell of isolation, loneliness, and fear… Let’s pray that God would give us the strength to storm the gates of hell and tear down the walls we have created between us and those whose suffering would disrupt our comfort.”

There’s no question that the people of Sudan have already lived through hell on earth. After 50 years of civil war, of death and fear and sorrow and hate – there is no doubt that many of the Sudanese have been trapped in a cycle of horror that would rival any nightmare we could imagine of fire and brimstone. And so if I believe that Christ calls us to love our neighbors and to pursue His Kingdom, there’s no way I can believe He merely wills us to share with the Sudanese about some promise of heaven-after-you-die. Would I hope that they would want to pursue a relationship with Jesus? Of course – because I don’t think anyone can ever truly experience Life Abundant apart from Grace. But surely loving our neighbors also means joining the fight against all the things that would steal life from them – including war, poverty, hatred and fear. And I think it’s hard, if not impossible, to fight against those things from a distance. Obviously not everyone is called to go to the front-lines of tragedies – to the war-zones or hospitals or inner-cities or nursing homes. But I DO think we are called to do our part to join in what God is doing to bring love and healing and hope and grace to those places. I think it’s a gift the Lord gives us actually – an invitation to play some small part in seeing redemption happen, in seeing restoration take place. And in fact I think it’s impossible for us to ever experience grace and healing in our own lives if we refuse to find commonality in the suffering of others.

And so am I going to Sudan to “share God with people”? Yes. But that’s because I think God isn’t just in the business of “life after death” – I’m pretty convinced He’s in the business of bringing life before death too. And Sudan could definitely use more folks striving to see more life there. More peace there. More joy there. To me, it’d be totally worth risking a little danger, if in the end we get to conquer some of death’s grip on a weary land and replace it with life and hope.