"How fortunate are we, whose home is timelessness; we who have wandered down from fragrant mountains of eternal now to frolic in such mysteries as birth and death a day or maybe even less." - E.E. Cummings
Odyssey- An epic or adventurous journey; an intellectual and spiritual quest.
I like the idea that everyone's life is an Odyssey, a journey through X number of years fighting, wandering, questioning, crying, sharing, laughing, searching... all in an attempt to reach our spiritual home; a kingdom not of this world. Much like brave Odysseus, man tries with all that he has to see "home at last." But it is only through the help of the One, True God, who knew us from a point of timelessness, that any of us should walk through the gates of that kingdom.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Who are we making visible?
As you may catch a glimpse of below, Chris and I began this journey of involvement with Invisible Children (http://www.invisiblechildren.com/) through our students. Year before last, we were both teaching 8th grade at rival middle schools and our students came together to passionately collaborate on an art show to raise money for Invisible Children. It was amazing to witness the fervor and compassion that our young students demonstrated toward youth their own ages who live in another part of the world.
This past school year, I had the honor of moving up with that class of students to Bradley Central High School. As soon as we started school I had many students coming up to me wanting to start an Invisible Children Schools 4 Schools club. So, we started the club- started raising money for the Schools 4 Schools competition- and by the end of a 100 day period, BCHS students won their region by raising $15,404. It was an amazing semester. Through our winning, Invisible Children gave BCHS the opportunity to send one student to Uganda and four students to San Diego this summer to attend an awesome activist conference called the 4th Estate.
Through these experiences we became inspired to apply for Invisible Children's Teacher Exchange Program. We witnessed our students demonstrating great passion to provide a voice for the voiceless in the world. For over 25 years a war has been waged in Central East Africa by a rebel army called the LRA, led by warlord Joseph Kony. During this time over 30,000 kids ages 5-14 have been abducted and forced to fight and kill. Just as our students could not hear this story without being compelled to act, we could not hear this story without being challenged to reach out as well.
Through every travel experience we have had, we are always changed in a great way. Many people have been asking us as we were getting prepared to leave for Uganda, "Is this a mission trip?". Well, that question is a very tricky one. You see, Chris and I believe that our whole lives are called to be a mission for the love and servanthood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, every aspect of our lives is a mission... our classrooms at home, our rafting trips, and our teaching in Uganda this summer. We hope that you will not interpret our blog title as a righteous endeavor to take some sort of special knowledge to a developing country and make their poverty and plight visible to you. Rather, we are travelling to Uganda as educators and as learners, most of all we hope to embody what Christ compels us to be- the servant of all. We hope that we will not only make the beautiful stories of Ugandans known to you, but that they will bring out beautiful things in us as well... that our eyes may be opened to a greater understanding of humanity and of God.
There tends to be a great poverty in Western civilization... a poverty of the spirit in which we believe that there are no needs we can't meet on our own- the goal is to be an island unto ourselves. Few of us believe that we need those on the margins of society as much as they need us. However, God desires to rescue each of us from our own brand of poverty. We need the economically and physically vulnerable to teach us that we are also vulnerable. We need "the least of these"- the Lazuruses of the world- to help us see ourselves, and God's kingdom, differently. It is good to remember that despite our economic security and relative power to affect change in the world, we are as poor in spirit as anyone. We are not anyone's savior; just two more vulnerable human beings. To remember this truth is to be rescued from our own self-sufficiency and from an inflated sense of our own self importance. We know that the experiences that we are about to have teaching and living in Uganda may be painful and beautiful all at once, which is often what it feels like to be ushered a step further into the kingdom of God. (Note : most of the ideas in this paragraph were taken from my recent reading... "Economy of Love" by Shane Claiborne).
This past school year, I had the honor of moving up with that class of students to Bradley Central High School. As soon as we started school I had many students coming up to me wanting to start an Invisible Children Schools 4 Schools club. So, we started the club- started raising money for the Schools 4 Schools competition- and by the end of a 100 day period, BCHS students won their region by raising $15,404. It was an amazing semester. Through our winning, Invisible Children gave BCHS the opportunity to send one student to Uganda and four students to San Diego this summer to attend an awesome activist conference called the 4th Estate.
Through these experiences we became inspired to apply for Invisible Children's Teacher Exchange Program. We witnessed our students demonstrating great passion to provide a voice for the voiceless in the world. For over 25 years a war has been waged in Central East Africa by a rebel army called the LRA, led by warlord Joseph Kony. During this time over 30,000 kids ages 5-14 have been abducted and forced to fight and kill. Just as our students could not hear this story without being compelled to act, we could not hear this story without being challenged to reach out as well.
Through every travel experience we have had, we are always changed in a great way. Many people have been asking us as we were getting prepared to leave for Uganda, "Is this a mission trip?". Well, that question is a very tricky one. You see, Chris and I believe that our whole lives are called to be a mission for the love and servanthood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, every aspect of our lives is a mission... our classrooms at home, our rafting trips, and our teaching in Uganda this summer. We hope that you will not interpret our blog title as a righteous endeavor to take some sort of special knowledge to a developing country and make their poverty and plight visible to you. Rather, we are travelling to Uganda as educators and as learners, most of all we hope to embody what Christ compels us to be- the servant of all. We hope that we will not only make the beautiful stories of Ugandans known to you, but that they will bring out beautiful things in us as well... that our eyes may be opened to a greater understanding of humanity and of God.
There tends to be a great poverty in Western civilization... a poverty of the spirit in which we believe that there are no needs we can't meet on our own- the goal is to be an island unto ourselves. Few of us believe that we need those on the margins of society as much as they need us. However, God desires to rescue each of us from our own brand of poverty. We need the economically and physically vulnerable to teach us that we are also vulnerable. We need "the least of these"- the Lazuruses of the world- to help us see ourselves, and God's kingdom, differently. It is good to remember that despite our economic security and relative power to affect change in the world, we are as poor in spirit as anyone. We are not anyone's savior; just two more vulnerable human beings. To remember this truth is to be rescued from our own self-sufficiency and from an inflated sense of our own self importance. We know that the experiences that we are about to have teaching and living in Uganda may be painful and beautiful all at once, which is often what it feels like to be ushered a step further into the kingdom of God. (Note : most of the ideas in this paragraph were taken from my recent reading... "Economy of Love" by Shane Claiborne).
Monday, June 14, 2010
Making Them Visible Art Show!
This is a slide show of pictures from the "Making Them Visible... the Youth of Bradley County Rise for the Youth of Uganda" Art Show. The students who put on this show were 8th graders from Ocoee and Lake Forest Middle Schools in Cleveland, TN. They did an incredible job! The final count for $$$ raised was around $2,300!
Click on this image to link to an album of pictures! Enjoy the photographs of the art! It's amazing!
A special thanks to Beth Miller for photographing the event!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
President Obama Signs the LRA Disarmament and N. Uganda Recovery Act
History has been made! At 5pm, this past Monday, President Obama signed the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act into law! This is a huge step toward the restoration and healing of Central Africa. He now has 180 days to implement a multi-lateral plan that will include the arrest and trial of Joseph Kony, the evil leader of the LRA.
President Obama noted the overwhelming movement of "young people" who have made phone calls, written letters, created blogs, websites, organizations, etc. Your voices have been heard... you have given a voice to the voiceless... you have made them visible! And I am so proud of all of you... never forget what you have been a part of!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Thank you, Bradley County!
A million words cannot express the gratitude that the students feel about the support from the community at the art show! The art show was a phenomenal success! The students' art looked amazing, and the program was incredible too! The students from both schools did an awesome job. We are so proud of you!
As of right now, $2,086.00 was raised for Invisible Children Schools for Schools!
That is huge! Thank you for your support! We hope to have pictures and video up asap!
A special thank you to our sponsors...
Santek
Wright Brothers Construction
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
New Venture Realty
Trees and Trends
As of right now, $2,086.00 was raised for Invisible Children Schools for Schools!
That is huge! Thank you for your support! We hope to have pictures and video up asap!
A special thank you to our sponsors...
Santek
Wright Brothers Construction
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
New Venture Realty
Trees and Trends
Sunday, May 16, 2010
A HUGE Thank You!
Thank you so much to manager, Jennifer Carlton at Trees and Trends... they blessed us with all of the decorations and easels (on loan) for the art show! Thank you soooo much!
Today is the day! It's going to be wonderful! :)
Today is the day! It's going to be wonderful! :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A Special "Thank You!"
The students at Lake Forest and Ocoee Middle would like to send a shout out to local artist, Jesse Wood! He and Beth Miller (photographer) came and spent precious time with the students. Jesse did an incredible job encouraging the students with their artwork. He also shared some beautiful stories about life, and most of all, the students had a whole lot of fun! Thanks again, Mr. Wood.
p.s. Beth took awesome photos!
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