Running the race. . .

I saw the message on my screen and my heart leaped. An international running race in the place I love. Right in the heart of Uganda. I sent the link off to my friends and asked them if any of the former street boys they work with might be interested. Running fever swept them up hard and fast and I shared in their excitement and anticipation of running in their very first race. I wanted to join them, but I knew I couldn’t. It was impossible, it was too expensive, it was too busy at work, I was going to be overseas just a few weeks before and that was just going to be too much traveling. Still they asked, would I come? I said no. God said yes. My faith it turns out, was far too small. I forgot that I serve a God who likes to remind me that dreams are not impossible things.  One by one all those impossible reasons fell away; my boss said yes, funding for a flight came unexpectedly, and I knew deep in my bones that this was meant to be, even if flying clear across the world for a few short days seemed like a crazy thing to do.

The day of the race, adrenaline was pumping. I remembered back to my first long distance race. I didn’t know what to expect or how to channel all this unfamiliar adrenaline or how to recognize and manage the differences between a training run and a race. And I saw all those same things in these boys who have become so special to me. I wanted to tell them, and to some of them I tried, but sometimes there are things in life that must be experienced to be truly understood. They ran hard and they ran well. I ran too, but not as fast as them, and that’s ok. We all had fun, but I think for most of them it was a learning experience. They learned what endurance means. What it means to keep on running even when everything inside you tries to make you believe quitting is the only option. They learned to overcome. But they also learned how hard long distance running can be, how important training is, to build up not only the physical endurance required to run a long distance race, but also the mental stamina. Training didn’t seem so important until they were halfway through the race and presented with finding endurance within themselves.

They, and I, we both lived a dream. Felt the sweet success of crossing a finish line. But they also found out that sometimes dreams look different than we thought they might. They are harder, and longer, and more full of steep and unrelenting hills that none of us feel like climbing. And sometimes when we arrive at the finish line, we are full of disappointment. We did it, but we wanted to do better. We didn’t win the race, it was harder than we thought and perhaps we wonder if all that effort was really even worth it. But I want them to know, it was. They made me proud. They were victorious even if they didn’t feel like they were. Sometimes victory lies not in winning the race but in overcoming the struggle. They did their best, and their running and their lives have taught me to turn my eyes to the heavens and trade all of my dreams for His. Even if they look different and go down roads that are longer and harder than I want to travel. They remind me to keep. on. running.  We can’t all win the race, but we can run with endurance, we can lead by becoming less. The people of Uganda, they teach me to love. To be aware of those who run around me. To invest in their pain. To be a person of the Word.

“Because People of the Word are to be for the voiceless, to stand with the silenced, to never make pain out to be invisible, as injustice is intolerable. Because People of the Church are to be those who stand up so safe places open up, who lead by always going lower, who expose and confront abuse everywhere they find it, so the hope of the Gospel can be of use anywhere it goes."- Ann Voskamp  

The Welcome Sign I found in my room.  It made me so happy!

We had a presentation ceremony to hand out the boy's t-shirts.

Thanks and Gratitude to Nimblewear for generously donating custom running t-shirts for all the boys to run in.

Getting ready at the start line

Me Running!

Now that's what you call a cheering section! 

After the race

Love these guys!

I found some kids!

Dancing after the race

The aftermath. . . a few sore boys.

Reflections on Nepal

I feel it is time for me to share a few words on Nepal.  It's as though these words are going to work their way out of my soul whether I want them to or not.  They are here in the crevices of my broken heart, rising to the surface and out onto this page.

Most of you know I was in Nepal two weeks ago. That my Dad and I trekked to Everest Base Camp and back. That we walked on paths and streets that are now filled with rubble.  Slept in villages that may no longer exist.  And it is all somewhat surreal.  To be getting multitudes of messages from people giving thanks for my life. Telling me they are oh so happy I'm alive. Just this morning I got an e-mail in my office inbox, wanting to know if I was safe and accounted for. It is sobering to know just how many people care. To know there are that many people who care about your very existence.

There are only a few people in my inner circle who know what it means to see a tragedy on the television and connect it to a name and a face of someone you know. For me this is not the first. I sat back in 2010 and watched as the earth shook in Haiti and I had to sit at home and wonder if all those children I loved were still alive. And then to feel the sweet relief of hearing they were, but my heart tightened when I heard they were sleeping outside for days after, scared and trembling as aftershocks continued to shake the earth. And then I remembered a little girl I had met in church. She came up and took my hand all dressed up in a pretty flowered dress with white bows in her hair and said something to her Mother in Creole. Her Mother then turned to me and said, "My daughter, she wants you to know that she loves you." And there on January 12, 2010 I sat back and saw Carrefour, her neighbourhood, on TV reduced to a pile of rubble and my heart ached because I wanted to know she was safe but I didn't, and I still don't.

And so, this here, seeing Nepal up-heaved and collapsed, it doesn't get easier, the pain of watching all that devastation, perhaps, it just gets a bit more familiar, but not easier. I feel sweet relief as I read that all staff and guides from our trekking company and alive and accounted for. And I see on Facebook that some of the climbers we met who were living at Everest Base Camp are safe and helping in the relief efforts and I am relieved once more.

My Dad and I we visited this amazing organization called SASANE that provides women rescued out of trafficking with legal education to stop the cycle.  I get an e-mail in my inbox this morning that those precious ladies we met are all alive.  Homeless and struggling is what they said. But Praise God for life.

I know that things will change for the people of Nepal. That perhaps 12 noon on April 25 will be the moment that changed everything.  When I went back to Haiti after the earthquake, everyone I met chopped time in two. Everything was referred to as either before January 12 or after January 12. One Pastor told me that his people would never be the same, would never be able to live without fear again. I hope that for both the people of Haiti and the people of Nepal that this will not be so. That the sun will rise and set on their joy and not their fear.   

My prayer for them is for strength to face these struggles. That beauty will rise from these ashes. My heart breaks, but as Ann says " It’s the broken hearts that find the haunting loveliness of a new beat — it’s the broken hearts that make a song that echoes God’s."  I hope that one day those beautiful and resilient people can sing again. That their hearts won't sing with fear, but with joy for the gift of life. But for right now, in the middle of the struggle and the hunger and the chaos, I simply hope and pray that they will find peace and the provisions they need.  

Being right in the middle of village culture gave a face to all the destruction I see on TV.

I hope this little guy has the opportunity to watch many more trekkers pass through his village

The village of Namche Bazaar

Although these two climbers we met from International Mountain Guides won't get to summit Everest this year, I was so relieved to hear they have been accounted for.

Explosives and Playing in Dirt

Perhaps you've come to expect this kind of news from me, but I'm having so very much fun!  Yesterday we had an early morning and went to morning devotions with the children at the school and it was so inspiring to watch these kids that come from such hard situations sing and dance with so much joy.  What a special thing to be part of.

Myself and Braden walked around the site and measured buildings and other infrastructure yesterday which was fun.  I also had the opportunity to calculate volumes for the water storage tank and rainwater collection tanks.

Last night, it was Braden's birthday so our hosts here got him a cake.  And then. . . they brought out the fire crackers. It is tradition to blow off fire crackers on someone's birthday here.  They are these kind that you hold and light and then throw and they explode.  I am telling you . . . if you want to see a room full of guys giggle like a bunch of school girls, just bring out the explosives.  Our Guatemalan host was so excited to bring them out, he could hardly contain the surprise during dinner, and then told us there was to be absolutely no dishes done until the firecrackers were finished.  He was just so pleased.

This property is guarded by guys with machine guns.  Not to worry, they keep us safe.  But we asked our host if we should alert the guys with machine guns that we would be setting off fire crackers so they didn't think it was gun shots, and he smiled, patted us on the back and said "My friend, it is no problem."

Today we met with the ministry to get some more details and suggestions on what the design should look like.  Angie (the other civil) and I also dug holes for perc tests and took a look at some preliminary soil conditions which was fun, and I'm pretty sure the local's think we're off our rockers for digging holes and pouring water into them.

Anyway, that is all for now.  Tomorrow we will be continuing design, and also visiting one of Impact's School's and clinic's.

Until next time,

Jaimee

The surveyors hard at work

They have an amazing agricultural program on this site

Patrick walks the land before he starts his surveyor

The beautiful view

I love the children here!

They are so genuine and full of joy.

They wanted to hug us all!

Braden's Birthday cake

Hugo tells us no dishes before fire crackers!

He can hardly wait!

Demonstrating what to do

The guys inspect their fire crackers

Braden throws a fire cracker

It's about more than a white picket fence

Side Note:  I'm not sure if the volcanic eruption that occurred here has been in the news, but it is a ways off from where I am.  I am fine, and the air was clear here, so we didn't notice the eruption.  The airport has now re-opened, so there will be no worries about me getting home.

Well I'm back.  And here I am once again right in the middle of all things happy.  Greg, our team leader was talking last night about how eMi projects are his happy place.  They are definitely mine as well.  I was sitting around the table last night with my teammates and realizing, that all these deepest parts of me, the parts that are such a great struggle to put into words and explain to people back home, are deeply understood by everyone here, because their hearts break for the same things as mine.  As my project leader Greg said last night, life is about more than getting a house with a picket fence.  It is so wonderful to be around a group of people who live that out.

Wait until you hear about this.  I have officially been here 1.5 days and have already had ice cream!  Isn't that the happiest thing you have heard all day.  I love Guatemala.  Although there are definitely things that seem foreign to me, I have been noticing just how much more North American influence there is here compared to some of the more far off places I've traveled.  I am trying to pick up a bit of Spanish, but am realizing that I wish I could communicate with the locals more.

We went to church this morning, which was rockin' and great, I know fully understand why the Latin people back home think our church services resemble something like a funeral.  Because we got to do some wild dancing this morning.

The biggest cultural adjustment has been not being able to throw toilet paper in the toilet.  People, you would not realize how ingrained this concept is in a North American's brain, until one has to fish it out of the toilet bowl.  And they even have signs plastered all over the bathroom, which you think would help, but who in their right mind reads the signs on the bathroom wall?  I have resorted to doing a chant whilst doing my buisness.  The chant consists of "Not in the toilet, not in the toilet" 

This team has been different for me from all my others, in the huge Canadian influence on it.  It is more than half Canadians, and the structural engineer is originally from Southern Manitoba, and one of the surveyors grew up in Rivers until he was 6 years old.  And I was sitting with the electrical engineer last night, who is from Denver, CO, and he asked me if I had ever heard of Portage la Prairie, MB.  I was like, are you kidding, of course I've heard of it, how the heck have you heard of it.  And he said he's been there because he helped design the potato processing facility there.  And I found out the director of this organization, that lives in Guatemala with his family now, lived in Brandon for 10 years as a school principal.  Crazy hey?  And a group of high school students from Winnipeg are showing up here on Tuesday, so there are going to be crazy Manitobans here all over the place!

It's been much colder here than I've expected.  I only brought one fleece and a jacket, which I keep warm in, so I guess I'll be wearing the same thing all week and just changing the t-shirt underneath. My teammates are all in the same situation, so I don't think any of us will mind each other wearing the same thing all the time:) Today it was nice and warm in the sun which was nice.

I have been learning to embrace all the unexpected blessings that come from being here.  Most of you know, I was supposed to be in Cambodia, and clearly I'm not.  Some of my teammates here were supposed to be on the Cambodia team as well, and we were all disappointed not to go.  Listening to some of the work my teammates have previously been involved with in Cambodia, the heaviness of working with organizations that help trafficked children, and the heart that they have, renews my enthusiasm to hopefully get there someday to do a project, but I am also trying to focus on being fully present with the people in front of me here, rather than dwelling on what might have been.  The things we did today, hearing the vision of this ministry, and seeing the changed lives that have been a direct result of their work here has reminded me the many reasons I have to stand in awe and thanks that I actually have the opportunity to be here.  I am so thankful, and am being consistently reminded of just how much joy can come out of roads unexpected.

That's all for now.  Until next time,

Jaimee

Guatemala is not Cambodia

Some of you know that I was supposed to leave for Cambodia in a few short weeks. I was signed up to be part of an amazing project for one of the most heart rendering ministries I have ever heard of. A ministry that assists children rescued out of human trafficking situations. I was ready. I had been reading up on Cambodian culture and I had read books on children in the sex trade that broke my heart in half. I wanted to give human trafficking a face and a name, to experience some of the heaviness, to feel the pain, and to hear stories of fragile hope for young people who were finding their way out, and soon I would be able to.

But all that was not to be.  Flights had been booked, and a team fully recruited, but at the midnight hour, right before Christmas, some property issues meant the project was cancelled.  I was so disappointed, as were the rest of my would be teammates.  But as disappointed as we were, the ministry, must be experiencing disappointment of a whole other level. They aren't going to be able to have their transition home designed and built on the same schedule they thought they would.  In fact, at this point, it is postponed indefinitely, as they have to start the search for land to build right from scratch.

A couple weeks later, an opportunity for a new project came up.  This time in Guatemala.  A much different culture than Cambodia, and to be honest, I wasn't really that excited about the thought of going there.  Perhaps this sounds vain, but it didn't sound exotic or adventurous enough.  I mean, everyone and their dog goes to Guatemala.  At least that's how it seemed.  But at the end of the day, after a lot of deliberation and talking to God, I decided this was the project, this was the team I was supposed to be part of. And I trusted that God would somehow use me in this place I would have never gone to otherwise.  And as momentum builds, I am getting excited about going and the ministry we'll be working with there, and meeting new kids to love in a whole new country.  Sometimes beautiful things come from the most unexpected places.  Is it possible that God will use me in some small way in this project that somehow seems like Plan B?  But maybe it's not Plan B at all.  Maybe the whole time I was making plans to go to Cambodia, God knew he wanted me in Guatemala, for reasons perhaps, I might never even find out. And so, a few weeks from now, let's get this party started, Guatemalan style, every single beautiful, unexpected part of it. 

http://www.emicanada.org/projects/projectprofile_10050.shtml

Saying Goodbye and other business

Today was a busy day.  My word it was a busy day.  But it was also a good day.  And also sadly my last day.  I am wishing I had more time.  Always I wish I had more time.  But I feel as though I've squeezed every last minute out of the short time I have had here and that has been a blessing.

They started drilling the well at Eagles Wings yesterday.  I am so happy I was able to be on site for at least part of it.  I was very impressed with the Living Water International crew and equipment.  I know they will do quality work. 

This morning I was down at the drilling site and also found the property boundary stones with one of the Eagles Wings staff members that also helped with the site survey when the eMi team came.  I spent a bit of time with the kids over lunch hour and before I knew it the day was almost done.

I attended my first Ugandan funeral today which was a very interesting experience.  It was for an older fellow from the village who had passed away yesterday.  I tried to blend in which is a very hard thing to do when you are one of three mzungus in a big crowd of people, and as the burial was taking place this line up of old ladies insisted on coming over and having a long conversation with me in Luganda right while the burial was going on.  I don't know most of what they told me but they all wanted to hug me and started jumping up and down when I said the few Lugandan phrases that I know to them.  One of them told me she was so happy I spoke Luganda! (which I most certainly do not:)

This morning Joan (the lady I stay with) and I found out about a young girl we know that was having to stay home because she wasn't able to afford school fees. So between the two of us we decided to pay for her term which came to about $35 each.  As I was walking along the road today I saw her on her way to school with the widest grin I have ever seen.  All because she got to go to school.  And I was reminded of all the things I take for granted. 

I went to youth fellowship for the last time tonight and it was so hard to say goodbye to all the kids.  Harder than it has been in the past because I know some of them quite well by now.  I hope I will see them again soon.

And so now starts the transition from being flung from one world into another.  In some ways it seems these 2 worlds couldn't be more different, and I will miss this place and it's people deeply, for there are many things I love and leaving will be hard.  My time in this place that is starting to feel like home has been richly blessed.  I feel so very thankful.

Until next time,

Jaimee

Few things make me happier than designing toilets in Africa, but drilling wells might be a close second.

The burial.  I wasn't going to take a picture, but all the locals were taking photos so I decided to as well.

Saying goodbye

I'm going to miss these girls

Love to Dance

Yesterday was busy.  I went to church out at Eagles Wings in the morning and then we went to visit one of the secondary students at a nearby high school.  After I got home I went to go visit Mama Florence the 24 former street children she looks after.  I have been so inspired by them and the work they are doing.  Some of their girls love love love ballet, so last year I was able to give them a ballet lesson.  This year, knowing how much they shared my love of dance, I brought them some ballet skirts, leggings, and t-shirts.  Brandon School of Dance generously donated ballet shoes for each of them as well.  They were so excited I can't even begin to describe it.  The whole room erupted when Mama Florence opened that bag of gifts, and pretty soon I was at the bottom of a 24 kid pile up as they screamed with joy all the way on top of me.  They had been praying for ballet costumes.  How precious is that.  They excitedly put on their new costumes and performed for me and it was so precious.

Today I went out to the Eagles Wings property.  I got to hang out with the kids over lunch which was so much fun.  I forgot how fun it is to be mobbed by excited school children.  I had so very much fun.  I attended an Eagles Wings staff meeting in the afternoon.  The drilling equipment was supposed to arrive today, but didn't.  It is supposed to come tomorrow, so hopefully that will happen.  I am looking forward to going back out there tomorrow to spend some more time with the kids and hopefully watch some drilling.  I have pictures for many of you of your sponsor kids, but will send them when I get home.

Here are a whole lot of pictures as I just couldn't choose.

Until next time,

Jaimee

Fitting Ballet Shoes

Ready for Performance

Aren't they beautiful?

They are so precious

At Eagles Wings today

I want to take him home!

Jotham is so silly:)

This is what it looks like when you get mobbed