There are so many ways to wonder about this earthquake and why something so unbelievably devastating can happen to someplace already so devastated. I am just mourning for Haiti. If you want to keep up with what my friends who live there think of what's going on, I'm posting links to their blogs below. We have no idea how terrible this actually is. If God is both good and sovereign we cannot fathom what His justice and final redemption of creation really will be like. I cannot imagine what goes on in a child's heart and mind in Haiti today.
Here are their blogs:
http://jayanddiana.weebly.com/
http://jershurk.weebly.com/
http://zacharykee.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Cold blooded blogging
That has to be the problem. As the temperature drops, so does the rate at which I write blog posts. Actually, I have just been really busy. Let me do you the disservice of "catching you up", which is to say, tell you what's been going on without giving you the interesting details.
Haiti was incredible.
When I got there I could not stop thinking about how amazed I am that the Americans that are there long-term are there long-term. It is a hard place. By the time I left I realized that i could be there long term if my family was with me. The reason I went, if you recall was to assess whether or not Lespwa could develope some kind of tilapia production system to either 1) feed the orphans and alleviate their anemia, 2) feed the orphans and the school's students and alleviate their anemia, or 3) feed the orphans, the students, and sell some fish to other villagers to help alleviate anemia, maybe create a job or two, and maybe start to develop a little economy in Mesaye. The highlights of the trip for me were: *being near/around orphans (expounded upon below)*, meeting the other people on the trip, wonderful friends that I wish I lived with on a cul-de-sac, perspective of life in Haiti, Haitian people, Creole, and the farm we saw that looked more like a farm in Cuba than Haiti. (Did you know Cuba has a really incredible agriculture system?)
Christmas was great!
I can't tell you how excited I was to get back to Valerie and Carver. We spent the days surrounding Christmas in Tampa. I am in love with Valerie's family. They have each become so special to me, and I love sharing the holidays with them.
For New Year's weekend we went to merritt Island to be with my family where we had our Christmas. It was awesome. We always make a huge deal out of the food, and no one dissapointed. Ayden got me ladderball and my folks got me a Wake Forest hoodie. I'm super pumped about both, but I'm kind of affraid to wear the hoodie around Gainesville because I can imagine someone just like me yelling out there car window, "Why don't you go there if you like it so much!?" And I'd be like, "Gators wear jean shorts!" And the guy would never know it was meant as a compliment.
Gainesville is great.
And cold! It may snow tonight! It is hard knowing this is our last semester in Gainesville for at least 2 years. I want to say that I am firmly confident that we'll be back here. We want to be in Florida. We love being in a college town. With that said, though, my other goal in the next 2 years, and in the next 60 years for that matter, is to do a better job of discerning and obeying what God wants me to do. He does put our desires in our hearts, though.
Well, I guess that's a sufficient catching up. I'd like to really get my thoughts down about Haiti sometime soon. It would be a shame to let any of what I experienced be forgotten. If you are ever interested in going to Haiti and helping out, this aquaculture project may eventually need some hands to get started.
For now, thanks for reading. I'll look forward to posting more this semester since I'm not in school full time.
(The orphans standing in front of a cargo container that was washed into the compound during the Mesaye flood on Sept. 7th, 2008.)
*As mentioned above, being around orphans was really challenging for me. Not challenging in the sense that it is hard to be around orphans, but that it challenged my perception of orphans before I went. In a few thoughts, they are very independent for their age. They have no one to rely on, so they make do...emotionally, physically, socially, and I'm assuming mentally and spiritually, other than what they get from the Americans that live there and their house mom. I love these boys. There are 12 of them, and it is so hard to look at each of them and realize that they do not have a dad. It is so unspeakably unfair that they don't get a dad. I cannot tell you how many times this thought went through my head while I was in Haiti. They are better off than most Haitian kids in their provision, because they are at this orphanage. But they don't have a dad or a mom, and that is and was so hard for me to process. The only place I can turn is to a deep deep aching and hoping that God is good, sovreign, and just.
By the way, if you would like an illustration for how God can possible be good, sovereign, and just in a world that contains orphans, read "The Man Who Was Thursday" by G.K. Chesterton.
Haiti was incredible.
When I got there I could not stop thinking about how amazed I am that the Americans that are there long-term are there long-term. It is a hard place. By the time I left I realized that i could be there long term if my family was with me. The reason I went, if you recall was to assess whether or not Lespwa could develope some kind of tilapia production system to either 1) feed the orphans and alleviate their anemia, 2) feed the orphans and the school's students and alleviate their anemia, or 3) feed the orphans, the students, and sell some fish to other villagers to help alleviate anemia, maybe create a job or two, and maybe start to develop a little economy in Mesaye. The highlights of the trip for me were: *being near/around orphans (expounded upon below)*, meeting the other people on the trip, wonderful friends that I wish I lived with on a cul-de-sac, perspective of life in Haiti, Haitian people, Creole, and the farm we saw that looked more like a farm in Cuba than Haiti. (Did you know Cuba has a really incredible agriculture system?)
Christmas was great!
I can't tell you how excited I was to get back to Valerie and Carver. We spent the days surrounding Christmas in Tampa. I am in love with Valerie's family. They have each become so special to me, and I love sharing the holidays with them.
For New Year's weekend we went to merritt Island to be with my family where we had our Christmas. It was awesome. We always make a huge deal out of the food, and no one dissapointed. Ayden got me ladderball and my folks got me a Wake Forest hoodie. I'm super pumped about both, but I'm kind of affraid to wear the hoodie around Gainesville because I can imagine someone just like me yelling out there car window, "Why don't you go there if you like it so much!?" And I'd be like, "Gators wear jean shorts!" And the guy would never know it was meant as a compliment.
Gainesville is great.
And cold! It may snow tonight! It is hard knowing this is our last semester in Gainesville for at least 2 years. I want to say that I am firmly confident that we'll be back here. We want to be in Florida. We love being in a college town. With that said, though, my other goal in the next 2 years, and in the next 60 years for that matter, is to do a better job of discerning and obeying what God wants me to do. He does put our desires in our hearts, though.
Well, I guess that's a sufficient catching up. I'd like to really get my thoughts down about Haiti sometime soon. It would be a shame to let any of what I experienced be forgotten. If you are ever interested in going to Haiti and helping out, this aquaculture project may eventually need some hands to get started.
For now, thanks for reading. I'll look forward to posting more this semester since I'm not in school full time.
(The orphans standing in front of a cargo container that was washed into the compound during the Mesaye flood on Sept. 7th, 2008.)
*As mentioned above, being around orphans was really challenging for me. Not challenging in the sense that it is hard to be around orphans, but that it challenged my perception of orphans before I went. In a few thoughts, they are very independent for their age. They have no one to rely on, so they make do...emotionally, physically, socially, and I'm assuming mentally and spiritually, other than what they get from the Americans that live there and their house mom. I love these boys. There are 12 of them, and it is so hard to look at each of them and realize that they do not have a dad. It is so unspeakably unfair that they don't get a dad. I cannot tell you how many times this thought went through my head while I was in Haiti. They are better off than most Haitian kids in their provision, because they are at this orphanage. But they don't have a dad or a mom, and that is and was so hard for me to process. The only place I can turn is to a deep deep aching and hoping that God is good, sovreign, and just.
By the way, if you would like an illustration for how God can possible be good, sovereign, and just in a world that contains orphans, read "The Man Who Was Thursday" by G.K. Chesterton.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Ascot Nation
As we were going to bed last night Valerie reminded me that I have to get used to the idea that we may run into some snobbery at Wake Forest, it being a private school and all. She then said, "You know, we went to UF, which is a great school, but its public...", which is when I cut her off before she said something she was going to regret. I said, "UF is the Harvard of the South, Valerie." And it was about that time that I realized that there are varying degrees of snobbery. Ouch.
On a related note, do you think they'll let us into the Wake Forest football games with our jean shorts on?
Also on a related note, I have a feeling that I'm going to be talking more and more about how sad I am to forfeit my membership in the citizenry of the bottomless jug that is Alachua County.
On a related note, do you think they'll let us into the Wake Forest football games with our jean shorts on?
Also on a related note, I have a feeling that I'm going to be talking more and more about how sad I am to forfeit my membership in the citizenry of the bottomless jug that is Alachua County.
Do not despise the day of small things
As you know, we've felt like things have been "up in the air" for us for quite a while now. Since about the time I started lacking direction on my thesis until now we have just been living day to day, week to week, trying to listen to God. The portions of our life that have been concrete, however, have been what got us through that; God's grace in our floundering around, our trust that God was taking care of us, God taking care of us, and our marriage. Our priest, Father Ron, ofter reminds us not to despise the days of small things, and that he or she who is faithful with a little will be trusted with bigger things.
We are finally, finally at a place where things are not up in the air! I applied for PA school earlier this semester and went back to Santa Fe to finish the prereqs (Anatomy & Physiology I & II and Microbiology). I applied to 11 schools, and the first to call for an interview was Wake Forest, in Winston-Salem. I went for the interview on Friday just praying that I would have a chance. There were people there who seemed quite a bit more qualified, and I was hoping for at least a spot on the alternate list. Well, at the end of the day they called me and another applicant into the admission director's office and she said, "normally we don't do this on interview day, but the two of you just blew us away today, and I'd like to invite you for a spot in our incoming class!" My very first thought was that Valerie and I will no longer feel like everything is up in the air! One day I will actually have a career that is rewarding and affords a good salary. I cried and hugged the director of admissions.
I am so impressed with Wake's program. It is focused on problem based learning (PBL) rather than lecture based learning, and I think I will thrive in that environment. It is much the way my graduate advisor teaches students. So, I have decided to accept the spot at Wake Forest. I cannot tell you how excited I am!
It has taken me so long to get to a spot that I was finally not despising the days of small things. I'm sure years from now I will see that I've grown even more. The times that build our character the most, I'm convinced, are chronic. Because we are creatures of habit, I think they have to be. We should not grow weary in doing good (day after day, after long day), because at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we faint not!
By the way, the program starts June 1st. We are so unspeakably sad to leave Gainesville. I can assure you, though, we will be back often. In all kinds of weather we all stick together for F-L-O-R-I-D-A.
We are finally, finally at a place where things are not up in the air! I applied for PA school earlier this semester and went back to Santa Fe to finish the prereqs (Anatomy & Physiology I & II and Microbiology). I applied to 11 schools, and the first to call for an interview was Wake Forest, in Winston-Salem. I went for the interview on Friday just praying that I would have a chance. There were people there who seemed quite a bit more qualified, and I was hoping for at least a spot on the alternate list. Well, at the end of the day they called me and another applicant into the admission director's office and she said, "normally we don't do this on interview day, but the two of you just blew us away today, and I'd like to invite you for a spot in our incoming class!" My very first thought was that Valerie and I will no longer feel like everything is up in the air! One day I will actually have a career that is rewarding and affords a good salary. I cried and hugged the director of admissions.
I am so impressed with Wake's program. It is focused on problem based learning (PBL) rather than lecture based learning, and I think I will thrive in that environment. It is much the way my graduate advisor teaches students. So, I have decided to accept the spot at Wake Forest. I cannot tell you how excited I am!
It has taken me so long to get to a spot that I was finally not despising the days of small things. I'm sure years from now I will see that I've grown even more. The times that build our character the most, I'm convinced, are chronic. Because we are creatures of habit, I think they have to be. We should not grow weary in doing good (day after day, after long day), because at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we faint not!
By the way, the program starts June 1st. We are so unspeakably sad to leave Gainesville. I can assure you, though, we will be back often. In all kinds of weather we all stick together for F-L-O-R-I-D-A.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
A little hope is a lot of hope
It is official! I am flying to Haiti on December 13th to begin a project that will eventually provide tilapia for an orphanage! Our friends Jay and Diana Cherry moved to Haiti about two months ago to live there indefinitely, and run an orphanage they helped create. Jay contacted me a few months ago and asked me to consider helping with an aquaculture project that would provide protein for these children. if you didn't already know, impoverished areas of the tropics have a major lack of protein, and aquaculture is the most efficient way of producing animal protein.
I have been in contact with several professional aquaculturists who have experience with tilapia production in Haiti, and I have plans to visit a site that one of them has built there.
I am so excited about this opportunity. Since aquaculture was just a glimmer in my eye, I have daydreamed about opportunities to teach people in the "global south" how to feed themselves with farmed fish. The fact that this is for orphans eclipses even my wildest ministry/aquaculture dreams.
This first trip will be somewhat of a "sondeo", or a gathering of information about the natural resources available, other tilapia projects in the region, cultural perspectives of aquaculture, etc. But it will also include some initial site preparation, and at least some site preparation planning.
The organization Jay and Diana work with is called Lespwa Worldwide, and they have paid for my plane ticket to Haiti. Right now I am trying to come up with the rest of my expenses, which total around $1,300. If any of you dear readers feel led to donate to this trip, I would greatly appreciate it. If so, you can email me at estonerook at gmail.com
I'll keep youins updated as details fall into place!
I have been in contact with several professional aquaculturists who have experience with tilapia production in Haiti, and I have plans to visit a site that one of them has built there.
I am so excited about this opportunity. Since aquaculture was just a glimmer in my eye, I have daydreamed about opportunities to teach people in the "global south" how to feed themselves with farmed fish. The fact that this is for orphans eclipses even my wildest ministry/aquaculture dreams.
This first trip will be somewhat of a "sondeo", or a gathering of information about the natural resources available, other tilapia projects in the region, cultural perspectives of aquaculture, etc. But it will also include some initial site preparation, and at least some site preparation planning.
The organization Jay and Diana work with is called Lespwa Worldwide, and they have paid for my plane ticket to Haiti. Right now I am trying to come up with the rest of my expenses, which total around $1,300. If any of you dear readers feel led to donate to this trip, I would greatly appreciate it. If so, you can email me at estonerook at gmail.com
I'll keep youins updated as details fall into place!
Monday, October 19, 2009
America's a free country
Yeah, maybe the kid's parents shouldn't have used him as the main actor in their publicity stunt. But you have to admit they are about as creative as they come. A giant silver baloon? The kid's parents are about to be arrested for allowing the police to believe their son was inside that baloon. The sherrif of their town said the following, "We were manipulated by the family, and the media has been manipulated by the family." The media? Manipulated?! NOOOOOOOO!!!! Now manipulating the police, the FAA, the Navy, Air Force, and Coast guard...well, that's one thing. But NO citizen of my county will get away with manilpulating the media, with all its moral and non-manipulative fiber. I mean, all those news stations HAD to power up their choppers and anchorpeople to cover this thing, right? And at the expense of whom? The powerless advertisers on their networks!
These folks who may or may not have set this thing up are just trying to give the economy a boost, people! I mean, the only thing that was lost was a little government money, and meanwhile we were all advertised to on whichever non-manipulative, non-partisan news source we prefer. I was just complaining in my last post about the loss of American ingenuity. This is American ingenuity! At least someone is still being inventive and taking strides toward a better tomorrow!!!
These folks who may or may not have set this thing up are just trying to give the economy a boost, people! I mean, the only thing that was lost was a little government money, and meanwhile we were all advertised to on whichever non-manipulative, non-partisan news source we prefer. I was just complaining in my last post about the loss of American ingenuity. This is American ingenuity! At least someone is still being inventive and taking strides toward a better tomorrow!!!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Windvention
This is an incredible story, brought to you by BBC via Travis' blog.
What if we all had this kind of creativity, whimsy, and determination after we got home from work?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8257153.stm
What if we all had this kind of creativity, whimsy, and determination after we got home from work?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8257153.stm
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