Hannah Reed's Summer 2011 post

                As I write this, it’s hard to believe that it is already mid-August.  This summer has flown by in anticipation for college, concentration on work, and missing my friends in Ghana.  From June to July, as many of you know, I worked full time at an architectural firm in Grand Rapids, AMDG Architects.  I was filling in for a woman who originally was going out on a mission trip to Russia, but she ended up leaving the firm for another opportunity and so my work has continued, but only part-time.  It has been a great learning experience for me, as this was my first foray into the ‘real world’ of business and it has been difficult but good.  I am an Administrative Assistant and work to help and assist the architects and staff of AMDG.  The team I work with is great, and they have been very patient as I learn the ropes of the position.  AMDG Architects is a Christian firm, and they work on projects with schools, churches, business, and houses.  I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to work with and learn from these amazing men and women of God.

               The imminent approach of college has done all it can to unnerve me and it has been mildly successful.  To be perfectly honest, I am not too scared or nervous yet- it just feels very surreal.  I’m more focused on the more daunting prospect of my mom and brother being 5000 miles away from me.  We have grown very close over the past couple years and my mom and brother are my best friends.  I have other best friends, the non-family kind, but I feel very close to my mom and brother.  They know me, I know them, and we trust each other with a lot.  My talks with my mom over the past couple years have kept me sane and have drawn us closer.  It will be hard to have her be so far away.

               One of the hardest things for me to come to terms with is the fact that I’m not going to be leaving again.  I am here.  I’m not going to leave after another month, not going to move, not going to leave on any permanent basis… for the next four years at least.  I’m so used to this being a temporary home and it’s hard to think that I’m here for a long time.  I miss West Africa, my friends in Ghana, and the culture and pace of life in West Africa.

               ‘College’ is merely a concept at this point.  It is something that gives me a great opportunity to either fail or succeed; it is (apparently) difficult and fun, stressful and joyful.  It seems to be contradictory and confusing at this point, and I actually have no expectations.  I have heard so many things from so many people, and all the different opinions have balanced each other out and I know only vaguely what to expect.  Since I’ve never experienced anything close to college, I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself in to.  I do not want to fail, and I do not want to go deeply into debt.  At the same time, I partially expect to fail and to go deep into debt.  It’s a conflict of emotions and expectations that, instead of making me more nervous and frustrated, actually calm me by balancing each other out.  I am curious and nervous to be sure, but not fretful, anxious, or terrified.  I am very thankful for that.  It’s got to be a God thing.

               On that particular subject, God has been a present force in my life recently.  To my great frustration, however, I have not felt His presence as much as I would like.  Not being as close to God scares and frustrates me more than anything.  Part of me wants to blame being back in the States- the busyness of the States, all the Stuff, the food, the movies and books- but I know that is unfair.  As much as I’d love to have an excuse for my distance from Him, I have to realize again and again that God is not looking for my excuses.  He acknowledges when I sin, understands why I sin, and expects me to do better in the future with Him as a guide.  He doesn’t need to hear me justify and excuse my sin.  Despite the distance I feel, I have seen His love and blessings and trials in my life, and I have been very thankful for that.  The distant felt is emotional, but my mind is still close to Him, acknowledging His presence and love as a fact, not with an emotional response.  I miss that.  But that’s the way faith goes sometimes.  It ebbs and flows, and God sees my heart is still His and my life is still focused on Him. 

               So that’s the ‘me’ update.  I just want to thank everyone, since this feels like an ending.  My trip through middle school and high school has been hectic to say the least.  But there are few girls who can claim as much love as I have received.  It is overwhelming, and a testament to God’s grace in my life.  I will still write occasionally for the blog, so this hopefully won’t be my last chance to say ‘hey’ to everyone.  However, one of the biggest changes of my life is coming up and I wanted to say how deeply I appreciate all the love and support I have received before I got too swept up in this change.

Thank you and God bless.

Hannah Adriana Reed     

Reed Update - August 2011

Where has the time gone? It's already August and time for a Reed Family Update.

Summer Academy Class:  Noah is barely visible in the back.

Noah completed his Summer Academy course at Calvin College and was very pleased to have a college credit to his name, prior to his older sister.  He took the Intro to Film and Media class, which he enjoyed, although did admit that it was challenging.  He is pretty sure that he would like to attend Calvin College next year and is looking forward to college life.  He has had the last couple of weeks off and was able to join me for a week of vacation at the cottage of some friends (Jeff and Jennifer Keessen) on Big Star Lake, where he very much enjoyed driving the jetski.

There he goes again, often at full speed.  It was a joy to watch him.

He returns to Ghana in about a week (August 16) where he will have already missed a week of school, as they are starting especially early this year.  He will return by himself and will be staying with the family of his best friend, Armand, who is from South Africa.  This is his last year of highschool, even though he is 16, because he skipped the first grade.  He isn't particularly looking forward to returning to Ghana, and would rather go to the Potters House High School, so please pray for him!

Online language test for Calvin...

Hannah has been very busy this summer, working full time at AMDG architects up until last week when she dropped down to part-time.  She has enjoyed her time at AMDG and has learned a lot about architectural work and also about herself in the process.  She has also been learning to drive, driving every chance she can get, with the hopes of getting her license before I leave for Ghana. Hannah will be moving into the dorms of Calvin College on August 29, prior to her orientation, and has been communicating with her roommate as to how to decorate the room.  At this point she plans to get her Bachelors in Social Work (BSW), hoping to continue after for her MSW.  She is dealing with some "third culture" issues - if you are unfamiliar with that term, Hannah and Noah are considered third culture kids (tck - they even have books out on this stuff, especially for military kids) because they don't exactly fit in the US culture anymore having lived six years in West Africa and being exposed to a completely different culture and world; on the other hand, they don't exactly fit in the West African culture, because they are American and were 10 and 12 when they moved there.  So they are third culture kids, not exactly fitting anywhere.  So she is dealing with some adjustment issues, which is to be expected, and frequently talks about wanting to go back to Ghana.  [Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence - Noah, who is going back, doesn't want to go; Hannah, who is not, wants to go.  :-) ]  She is not looking forward to being so far away from Noah and I; and we are not looking forward to being so far away from her, so please keep her in your prayers as well!

The Kranenburg kids and mom (l to r:  Liz, Yvonne, Janette, Renita, Henry)

As for me, this summer has been just what I needed.  The silent retreat was the highlight of the summer, followed by good times with family, a vacation, good reading and learning time - I had set a goal to learn more about the Muslim faith this summer and was able to do that during my vacation.  Work has been very busy as well, with trips to many and various places, meeting with different churches, businesses, and individuals who are involved in West Africa.  I have one trip to go yet to Wisconsin (for the Rural Empowerment Initiative in West Africa) and Iowa (for our partnership in Cote d'Ivoire), from August 17-24.  Hannah will be my chauffeur and I'm looking forward to that alone time with her in the car.  A couple of highlights from my work this summer:

Fields in Sunnyside; note dry hills in background.

1. My trip to Sunnyside, WA.  The Christian Reformed Church there supports our work in West Africa but is very involved in the farmer to farmer program in Zambia.  Sunnyside was an amazing place to visit - maybe because I'm such a city girl.  They call it a desert (who knew a desert was in Washington!) and have fully irrigated it themselves from the hills.  The place was lush with at least 80 different types of crops growing - you could see many different crops as you drove down the road, full and green, while in the distance dry brown hills surround them.  It felt like the Garden of Eden there, which was great, but what so impressed me is that this place was lush and green by the sheer will and ingenuity of the people who decided to make it that way.  It gave me hope for Africa and agriculture, in spite of the conditions.
2. My time in Grand Rapids is filled with meeting with members and friends of Madison Square Church, specifically with those who are involved in Liberia.  One of things that the LEAD Grand Rapids group does is a prayer call every Tuesday morning from 7-7:30 am for Liberia.  Mary Springer has been a faithful prayer every week since we started this about two years ago - often it is just Dave Graf, Mary, and I on these calls.  Last week, Mary found out that she has ovarian cancer and today (August 6) she will have surgery to remove the cancer.  Dave Graf and I had a chance to visit Mary yesterday at the hospital

   

   Mary

   and pray together in person (a rare treat).  Mary made the comment that these Tuesday morning calls have helped prepare her for this day.  I pondered that for some time after I left her.  Who would have thought, that as we gathered and prayed for Liberia and its people every week for two years, that we would be the beneficiaries?  But isn't that often the way it works?  We think we are doing something for someone else, but we end up benefiting (if we are paying attention).  The relationship I have with Mary and Dave because of these prayer times is deep and real and powerful.  Very interesting. 
3. The last couple of days, Partners Worldwide has been giving their orientation for the new interns who are about to go out on the field for a year of service.  I had the privilege of meeting our intern for Ghana, Emily Daher, who hails from Ohio and is a recent Calvin College graduate, with a BA in International Development and Political Science.  She participated in the semester in Ghana during her senior year and therefore is familiar with Ghana, has studied the culture, and knows more of the local language there than me because of taking a class in Twi. 

   

   Emily Daher

Emily will arrive in Ghana just a couple of days ahead of me (I leave on September 2).  Her time will be focused on continuing to work with the Hopeline Institute staff on developing the Small and Medium Entrepreneur program, specifically the training and mentoring portions. If you are interested in learning more about Emily, her blog can be found at http://emilydaher.wordpress.com. 

Megan Fraga

We also have an intern going to Liberia, Megan Fraga, who hails from Florida and is a recent graduate of Florida State University with a BS in International Affairs.  Megan is currently working in Sudan for the summer and was unable to attend the orientation at Partners Worldwide, and will leave directly for Liberia from the Sudan on September 7.  Megan's blog can be found at http://meganfraga.blogspot.com.

We are still looking for an intern for the research farm in Liberia.  If you know anyone who has knowledge and experience in agriculture and would like to spend some time in a tropical country, please email me at renitar@partnersworldwide.org.

That's it for now.  More next week!

A Story of Grace

Several weeks ago, I promised you a story of one of our business members in Ghana.  Here is the story of Grace, published recently by Partners Worldwide.  The story of Grace is quite an amazing one - I have four pages written on it but that was way too long for this article and for this blog. If you are interested in her full story, please email me at reedsinthewind@gmail.com and I will send it to you. It truly is a story of Grace, but the struggle is still not behind her.

[By the way, Grace Adom is not her birth name, but it is the name she adopted when she became a Christian. Adom is Twi (the local language) for Grace...she named herself "Grace Grace.]
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ACCRA, Ghana — This spring, entrepreneur Grace Adom attended a business training course for the first time. After 12 weeks, she graduated this April—excited to strengthen the business she’s owned for 10 years, and to share a new sense of affirmation she’s found in a network of business owners through Hopeline Institute in Accra, Ghana.
“The name [of my business] is meant to encourage people to believe like I have,” says Grace, who had started Believe Feed Meal a decade ago on a micro loan of $300 USD. Today, she employs seven others, and the business holds a value of $13,000.

With the mission to provide high-quality poultry feed to farmers surrounding the city, Grace takes tuna fish refuse from the local tuna factory, then grinds it into feed for chickens and turkeys.

Grinding the tuna refuse

While her future is looking bright, it hasn’t always been that way. When she was 16, Grace was kicked out of her home when she refused to marry an older wealthy man. Raised in a poor Muslim community, Grace decided she wanted to make a better life for herself, and to do that, she needed to complete secondary school. She used her entrepreneurial skills to sell water on the street and saved up profit to pay her own tuition—as well as three of her siblings’ school fees.

Years later, Grace married another Muslim man, and was kicked out of her home again when she became a Christian. Not only did she receive refuge in the church community, she describes, but the church also provided her a microloan to start a business selling grains and rice.

Yet, the conflict didn’t end there. Because she had shamed her husband’s family, they plotted to have her arrested on false charges, and, as a notable family in their region, they succeeded. She was sentenced to prison with no clear accusation. “The prison gave me no chance to contact or notify anyone of what happened,” she says.

Then a miracle began. After three months, a fellow inmate was released and got word to Grace’s pastor of Grace’s predicament. “The church immediately held an emergency meeting!” says Grace. Within a day, 12 key members came to the prison—lawyers, customs officers, and police to act on her behalf. She had been sentenced to five years or a fine of $330 USD. “They decided not to pay the money because they knew I was innocent,” she says. Instead they filed an appeal, and after two more months, Grace was freed.
As soon as she was out, Grace’s church offered her that money instead to start the poultry feed business she owns and operates today.

Through the business training this spring, Grace has created a viable business plan, and continues to learn from her new network of Christian peers and business owners through Hopeline Institute and Partners Worldwide.

Despite every opportunity to lose her faith, Grace says her calling is still affirmed: “The Holy Spirit is in me. I am putting all my trust in the Lord.”  She longs to reach other Muslim women and uses every opportunity, especially through her business to do that.  While she has lost contact with her other children who were taken from her when she was forced to leave her home, she was able to take the baby with her, and he has now grown into a young man who is preaching to everyone!  Grace would like to expand her business to include buying the chickens who have stopped laying for the purpose of sale in the market.  To do this, she will need a facility and refrigeration units.  We hope to walk alongside her and encourage her in her business as it grows.

Since it began in 2007, Hopeline Institute has served over 4500 clients, especially marginalized woman, working with them as they grow from micro-business owners to small and medium businesses (SMEs). In 2010, Hopeline Institute joined with Partners Worldwide to enable SME owners to grow further through business training, mentoring, and access to capital.

A Vacation with My Daddy

The Hermitage, in Three Rivers, MI

Hannah still calls me "Mommy" and called Bob, "Daddy".  I love it.  I remember when I switched from calling my mother "Mommy" to "Mom";  I remember thinking that I was too old to continue calling her "Mommy"; I was concerned about what other people thought.  I love that Hannah has chosen to continue to use this term, which I view as a term of endearment, of trust, of affection, maybe even of delight.  It is not just a title like "Mom" or "Mother".  Each time I hear it from her, it warms my heart.

I just returned from a silent retreat at a place called The Hermitage.  I had announced prior to going that there were a couple of things on my agenda to process with God - one, intentional grieving time, and two, looking at my future.  I knew when I had spoken with people about this agenda that God would have His own.  Upon arriving at my little hut in the woods, I found a prayer designed for the beginning of a retreat.  Part of it reads,

Help me, my Lord, to leave outside this hermitage, my plans for tomorrow, my memories of yesterday, as I live fully and completely in the wonder of Your present moment.

I smiled.  So much for my agenda.  I think I heard God chuckle as well.  I gave myself over to Philippians 3:10, which says, "I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering, becoming like Him in His death...".  My goal now was just to be, to know, to fellowship.  Within about 12 hours, I gave up control of the "meeting", allowed God to run His agenda, and to host our time together.  Very quickly it turned into a vacation with my Heavenly Daddy.  I crawled into His lap and heard Him whisper, seemingly for the first time (since it was the first time since Bob's death that I had taken the time to get silent in this way), that He too was sorry for Bob's death.  We cried together.  I slipped my hand in His and we walked through the woods and fields, seeing, smelling, and hearing things through His senses.  I heard Him whisper His delight and joy in me, as He gently reminded me that it's not about what I can do for Him, but it's about what He has done and continues to do for me.

What a great God.  What an amazing time.

I wonder why places like this aren't packed out.  The incredible luxury of having NO other roles - no cooking, cleaning, dishes, planning, organizing, parenting, conversing...nothing.  Just being His child.  A slice of Heaven on earth.

And the beautiful thing is that we did get to my agenda...but in His better timing than my own - in the unforced way that a Father leads His daughter, with greater wisdom and understanding.

Fields and fields of Bob's favorite flowers surrounded me - Black-Eyed Susans and Indian paintbrush

On May 29, 2011 a tornado touched down on the Hermitage property, taking out 10-15 acres of trees.  Thankfully, no one was hurt but still a lot of destruction. 

An unwinding knot, a familiar carpet, and a moment with my Dad

We have been in the US for about three weeks now and it has been a whirlwind of activity. Hannah started working full-time at AMDG Architects as an administrative assistant just a few days after our return; Noah entered the Summer Academy of Calvin College one week after our return; and I just returned from a week in Canada, visiting four different cities, three of which were work related:  a conference in Chatham, a visit with a partner church in Hamilton, and two days of meetings in Barrie; I then spent a few days in Georgetown with my Mom and siblings, celebrating her 75th birthday.  My time in North America is not one of rest and relaxation, but a time for connecting with my North American partners and sponsoring churches to continue the partnerships and opportunities for mutual transformation on both sides of the ocean.  This Friday I leave for Washington State to visit another church and then I will have a few days for a silent retreat.  During that time I will be seeking God's will for me as it relates to where I go after my three years contract for Ghana is completed next June, 2012. 

While the time has been very busy thus far, one of the things that I have noted is the unwinding of the pretty constant knot that is in my stomach while in West Africa.  I have become quite used to the knot and didn't even notice that I had it until last week when I was driving to the Partners Worldwide office and suddenly noticed it was gone.  The knot is there because of the pretty constant state of unknown or unexpected frustrations that can happen on a daily basis in Africa.  The tension of living in a foreign land, in a foreign culture, where things often don't go according to plan or in a timely manner does take its toll and so I am enjoying a more relaxed state for the time-being.

Additionally, having an extended time here (as opposed to rushing in and out over a period of one or two weeks) allows me to relax in my home church as well.  I quickly reacquainted the carpet at the front of the sanctuary with my tears - it has received many of my tears over the past twenty or so years.  I believe this time will be a time of continued healing and grieving for me - I've cried more in the last few weeks than in the last few months, which is good - again, I think it's because I am able to let down my guard.  Unfortunately, I don't have very many Sundays off from speaking at various churches, but I'll take what I can get.

Last week I was able to see my father for the first time in two years - I hadn't seen him since leaving for Ghana in June 2009.  He is 81 years old with either frontal lobe dementia or Alzheimers, and entered a nursing home in October of last year, in Brampton, Ontario.  He didn't recognize me although he seemed to know I was someone from his family.  It was a great delight to see him and spend time with him, with several poignant and touching moments.  One of those moments was when I was showing some pictures from a photo book we had made for him.  It had a picture of Bob and I in the center and Hannah and Noah on either side of us.  My Mom reminded my Dad that Bob had died, and Dad then made the comment, pointing to my picture, "that woman is a widow."  I told him that the woman was me and that my husband had passed away.  He put the book down, took both of my hands in his, and with tears in his eyes told me how sorry he was.  Even though I don't know if he knew that I was his daughter at the time he said that, it was so touching for me to hear those words from my dad.

I remain in regular contact with my colleagues in West Africa who continue the hard work through the rainy season.  Noah has my camera right now at Calvin College, so no pictures this week.  Sorry!

Graduation and Flying Home

On Thursday evening, Hannah graduated from high school.  She was selected to be valedictorian as she had maintained her 4.0 grade point average throughout her junior and senior year.  The theme of her speech was a quote from Jonathan Swift, who stated, "May you live all the days of your life."  She did a great job.  Here are a few pictures, followed by a slideshow that I put together of pictures from babyhood to graduation.  The song on the slideshow is from Mark Harris, "Find Your Wings."

On Sunday evening, Hannah will say goodbye to West Africa, her home for the past six years, and embark on a new adventure.  It is definitely bittersweet for her.  We will be arriving in Grand Rapids on Monday and hope to see those of you who partner with us in the US and Canada very soon!

As a reminder, if you are in the Grand Rapids area, you are welcome to drop by 2135 Francis SE on Saturday, June 18 from 2-4 pm for food and cake to celebrate with us and to allow us to thank you for your part in Hannah's life.  She has made it this far by the grace of God, with many prayers, words of encouragement, and lots of love from many of you! (Please, no gifts.  Just hugs!)

I love this picture...but you really had to be there.  I didn't tell them to get close or Noah to put his arm around Hannah.  But they are such good friends and Noah showed such care for Hannah that day, it was so touching. 

The six graduating seniors, prior to the ceremony.

And after.

After the open house, Hannah and her friends did the traditional burning of notes from the past year.  After saying goodbye to many friends, this was very therapeutic for Hannah.  It went on well into the night.

A particular favorite subject to burn was physics!

West Africa Regional Team

Fanny Atta-Peters and Jeremiah Yongo

A few months ago, I wrote a brief political and work update from the four countries in West Africa with whom Partners Worldwide works.  One of my goals in this past year has been to build more of a team in the region, despite different languages, nations, and cultures.  In many respects, each partnership with whom we work is very unique - one of the things Partners Worldwide prides itself on is not having "cookie-cutter" partnerships, allowing a lot of freedom, flexibility, and context to enter into each partnership.  While this is necessary and prudent, it is also true that there are a number of underlying commonalities in the work that we do in these countries to fight poverty and grow the Kingdom of God through Kingdom businesses.  In West Africa, despite the many differences, there is a "West African culture" with many similarities in challenges, due to similar land, climate, and histories. It's not unusual in this work to feel alone,like you are fighting an uphill battle.  Hearing from others who are sharing the same experiences, discussing best practices, and encouraging and praying for each other as leaders is very important.

In this past year, we have grown this team spirit through monthly phone calls, a face to face visit at the Partners Worldwide conference in October, another face to face visit at the conference in Liberia in February, and one-on-one visits of the affiliate leaders to our partner country programs.  Most recently Jeremiah Yongo was able to visit both Liberia and Ghana on a learning visit, as he was not able to join us in Liberia in February.  He wrote me an email that shared some of his observations and learnings in that trip. 

A Muslim VSLA group in Madina, Greater Accra.

 I noted with great delight how well members of the Hopeline VSLAs (Village Savings and Loan Associations) work across religions and tribal lines.  This harmonius working relationship is a testimony and ministry in itself.  One of the VSLA groups is made of Muslims and Christians, and the members of that group work well together.  Muslim members of the grouup even compromised a bit in setting up their constitution, just to accommodate the Christians.  I will be sharing about this harmonious relationship as I meet with our affiliates here in Nigeria.  As you are well aware, religious and racial tensions sometimes run very high in Nigeria.

Both Hopeline (Ghana) and LEAD (Liberia) have benefited in terms of organizational capacity development from other partnerships in addition to their relationship with Partners Worldwide (e.g. USADF, Barclays Bank, etc.).

With one of Hopeline's SME clients, we debate the dilemma of poultry farming in West Africa

There are strong views in the Micro-finance world about what works and does not work.  It is gratifying to see that the right mix of training and access to capital can work.  During my trip to Ghana and Liberia, I was encouraged to be persistent, patient, and confident in our work in Nigeria, even when results do not come as soon as expected. Both Fanny (Hopeline, Ghana) and Allen (LEAD, Liberia) shared with me about the challenges they had at the initial stage as they rolled out their programmes.  

Education plays a fundamental role in development.  Due to their educational system, the workmanship of Ghanaian artisans is better than that of their Nigerian or Liberian counterparts.  (Is there any possibility of capacity building here?  For example, masonry, carpentry cross training, mentoring?)

Sustainable results speak for themselves.  In the midst of screaming adverts about 36 hour and 48 hour loans from some Ghanaian Institutions, the more tedious programs and loan requirements of Hopeline Institute continue to draw clients.  

I am very thankful for Jeremiah's observations and the opportunities that our West Africa team has had in this past year.  In July, we hope to send a staff person from Hopeline Institute to Liberia to train the LEAD staff on the VSLA methodology.  In August, I hope that Fanny, Allen, and Jeremiah will be able to attend the Partners Worldwide Conference in East Africa and I'm working now to raise enough funds to help them get there. In October, we hope to invite Tinashe Chitambira, from our partnership with Africa Works in Southern Africa to West Africa to teach us more about the models that they use in Swaziland and Mozambique to build farm co-ops for crops and poultry farmers.  To all of you who have helped make these learning trips possible, we thank you and ask that you continue to pray for these leaders as they lead these initiatives in their countries.

While we share a number of best practices, we also share the "worst practices" or things that don't work.  This picture of our intern, Brett Pfister, in Liberia is a case in point of things not to do in West Africa...don't drive a motorcycle with four passengers.  Kids, don't try this at home!

Italia - by Hannah

My entire life, I have wanted to visit Italy.  Something about it just drew me.  The beauty, culture, history, language… everything just drew me in.  Well, my fellow seniors and I worked all year, fundraising and fundraising and fundraising, to raise enough money to go to Rome, Italy.  Thanks to help financially from parents, to the chaperones for helping out, and to the hard work of the seniors, we actually got to go to Rome.  It was a dream come true.  We left for Rome on the 2^nd of May (Monday) and stayed until early on the 9^th (Monday).  It was a blast. 

The Seniors: (left to right) Christian, Abena, Setor, me, Samantha.  David took the picture. 

             

Pictures do not do justice to the Colosseum.  Huge and breathtaking.

On the first day in Rome, we saw the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.  Upon seeing the Colosseum, I fell in love with it.  It is absolutely breathtaking.  There are so many stories, so much history, and so many years in the Colosseum, as well as its size.  It is enormous.  On day two, we walked a lot, all over Rome.  We saw the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.  Walking up the Spanish steps, you get an incredible view of Rome.  Seeing the Trevi Fountain was again breathtaking.  To imagine that people carved this marble by hand and with no instruction manual and it came out looking so huge and so realistic was awe-inspiring.  The legend goes, if you toss one coin in to the Fountain you will come back to Italy, if you toss another in you will find love, and if you toss a third in you will get married.  My plan was to toss only one in, but then Mr. Crosby (the Director of AIS and a chaperone on the trip) didn’t get a picture and had me throw another in.  I’m not looking for love, not even a little, but now I guess I’m going to find it :-).  

The Trevi Fountain.  Huge.  And very beautiful.

 On Saturday, we visited Vatican City, went on a tour of the Museum, saw the Sistine Chapel, and visited St. Peter’s Basilica.  The Sistine Chapel was beautiful and the Museum was filled with sculptures and paintings with fascinating stories behind them.  For example, in the middle of the famous square of the Vatican, where crowds gather to see the Pope, there stands a huge monument, a tower.  This tower is hundreds of years old.  When discovered, the Pope had it brought to the square.  Since the tower is made of solid stone, it took hundreds of men with ropes to lift it to a standing position.  The Pope ordered absolute silence in the audience for fear that if the men got distracted, this relic would come crashing down and be destroyed.  The penalty for speaking was death.  As the men began lifting the tower, the ropes begin breaking because it was so very heavy.  A fisherman in the back of the crowd realizes the problem and has the solution, so he risks his life, breaks the speaking ban, and yells “Wet the ropes!” knowing that this would reduce friction and allow the ropes to hold together.  This saves the statue.  After the tower is safely in place, the Pope approaches the man who spoke.  Believing that now he would surely be punished, he prepares to accept whatever punishment the Pope has for him.  However, the Pope thanks him for the advice that saved the monument.  The Pope tells the man that whatever he wanted would be his.  The fisherman’s response? (I’m paraphrasing of course)  “I live in a small town with an abundance of palm trees.  It would greatly honor my village if, this year, the palm branches for Palm Sunday be cut from my village.”  And his request was honored.  As a matter of fact, it is honored to this day.  Every year since, palm branches for the celebration have been used from that fisherman’s village.  This was just one of many fascinating stories of the origins and backgrounds of different statues and monuments throughout the Vatican.  

St. Peter's Basilica.  The tall tower on the right with a cross is from the legend of the fisherman.

 On our trip, we also saw the Mouth of Truth (another fascinating legend, but for sake of space, you should probably look it up yourself) and many other buildings, fountains, and structures that are very old and very beautiful.

Cleaning up after the first day at the soup kitchen.

Also, to go on the trip, we had to incorporate a service project into the week.  So for two days, us 6 seniors and the two chaperones volunteered at a soup kitchen.  We worked by signing people in, handing out food, cleaning tables and serving those who came through.  I worked cleaning tables and refilling water jugs and, when the patrons could speak English, conversing with many of the hundreds who came through.  It was hard work, but also nice to see a different part of Rome, to hear Italian (a language I love and hope to learn fluently at some point in my life) and speak to many different people from different walks of life. 

 

 If you ask me my favorite part, I quickly respond “The Colosseum or the gelato”.  Gelato is Italian ice cream.  It is incredible.  As a group, we had some every single day, often more than once a day.  The food was amazing.  The trip was everything that I have hoped about Italy.  Experiencing it with the awesome people in my class was so much fun.  I am so incredibly thankful for that opportunity, and it will be something I never will forget.

Abena, Miss Kershner (one of the chaperones), and I with gelato!!

Inside the Colosseum.  The sandy colored flooring shows what the floor would have looked like back when it was a center of entertainment for many Romans.  

Isn't this carving beautiful?  Only one problem though.  It's not a carving. This is actually a completely flat painting on the ceiling of a room in the Vatican.  The artists used light and dark paint to create the illusion of depth.  They were quite skilled, don't you think?

These "Roman soldiers" are found in various tourist locations throughout Rome.  This one is proposing to Abena, saying they should run away together.  Next to Abena is Setor, who the soldier threatened to beat up, mistaking him for Abena's boyfriend.  It was highly amusing for the rest of us.

Me, with my hand in the Mouth of Truth.  The legend is that the mouth used to close on the hand of anyone who told a lie while their hand was in the Mouth.  The story goes with it is long, but very interesting.  So, I recommend you look it up when you get a chance. 

We didn't spend much time here, but this is the Pantheon.  It was HUGE.  Each pillar weighs 60 tons.  It was enormous and very beautiful.  Very old as well.

From left to right:  Abena, Samantha, and Mr. Crosby.  We were on the metro, the Roman subway, which we took to the city every day since our hostel was about 45 minutes by car outside of the city.

Inside the Vatican. This statue, though lacking a head, arms, and missing most of its legs, so inspired Michelangelo that he took it and kept it in his office for two years, studying it.

My good friend, David and I.

Our Faith is Gone

Faith - note the position of the tail - almost always like that.

Sorry, folks.  Couldn't resist that title.  Actually, Noah's friend, Armand, suggested it for this blog.  The good news is that our faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is not gone and remains strong.  Our faith in our dog, Faith, however has been wavering for some time and resulted in her leaving for another home last week.  As a reminder, Bob got Faith when we thought that Dusty was dying; Bob worked really hard to save Dusty, and she ended up surviving, leaving us with three dogs instead of the preferred two.  However, Dusty and Faith did not get along - Dusty was always fighting with Faith, and in the end it wasn't a nice life for Faith.  So we hope she is happy now in her new home.

Hannah at the Spanish Steps in Rome.

Hannah has returned from Italy and had a great time.  She now wants to learn Italian and live in Rome for a year - at some point in the future.  She is dealing with a serious case of senioritis as she deals with her last few weeks of school, while her peers in the US are almost done with school already or are given the option to not do exams if they have good grades.  She is not given that option and has to go until June 9.  But with graduation, open houses, summer job, and Calvin College all coming up, she has a lot to look forward to.

Noah has to be reminded that he doesn't have the right to senioritis yet and has to wait until next year, although there does seem to be somewhat of a contagious aspect to this ailment.  He took his SAT last week, was accepted to the Summer Academy at Calvin College for the summer, and is looking forward to getting to the States for a few weeks, to have some down time as well as have consistent electricity and water for a while.

As for me, I have realized that, according to Aesop's Fable,  I am more of a hare than a tortoise.  After Bob's death last year (which was seven months following the stress of a new position and a move to a new country), I told myself that the first year of grief was the hardest and I needed to survive that first year.  Which I did.  I survived - I continued in my job, continued living apart from family and friends, continued living in a foreign land, and continued parenting.  Once I passed that first year, I was then left with the question of, "What now?"  What is my next goal?  Surviving is not enough - how do I live?  I've now been told that for some the second year is the most difficult, for others the fourth, others the sixth, and so on.  So I'm looking forward to getting back to the States, having a silent retreat, and going to some grief groups with other widows and widowers who can help me "normalize" what I'm going through.

In the meantime, this week we will be hosting Jeremiah Yongo, the Partnership Manager for Partners Worldwide from Nigeria, who will be here on a learning trip and then will be traveling to Liberia to spend some time with LEAD as well.  Last week, we hosted groups from Grand Valley State University as well as the University of Indianapolis, so the work, the dialogue, the challenge, and the message continues on. 

Blessings to you all this week.