For the Love of God

Do you ever think about orphans?

Orphans are just children. Sweet children. They have no parents. They have no way to provide for themselves. There is no one to answer for them, stick up for them, or look out for their well-being. And they are only CHILDREN.

Adriano - Lighthouse Boy

How scary and lonely that must feel for a seven year old. The world is scary enough when you have a home, a family, and an income. I've taken those things as granted all my life.

We met two orphans in Haiti, brothers MacKenzie and Robinson, that survived together in the woods for two weeks after the earthquake killed their parents.

My encounter with these precious Haitian orphans made me finally realize the following : A. There are orphans. B. They need love. C. They are rather helpless.

Remember this verse about what God sees as pure and faultless religion?

James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Just something to think about!


Here's pictures of sweet Haitian orphans just being kids:

Lighthouse kids playing with their new soccer ball

"Climb on Cee'Jay" was a popular game

These beautiful girls live at a state-run orphanage that houses over 120 children.

Orphaned nuggets with bubbles

Reggie and the Pop Bottle Boys

If you got my recent newsletter, you may have seen a section about the last night we were in Haiti.

It was glorious! After dinner, all 18 boys started drumming away with their empty pop bottles and spoons, while shy Reggie transformed into a show stealer!

This video doesn't convey how loud it was, or how happy and focused all the boys seemed. Notice the two boys on the floor behind dancing Reggie. They were banging out rhythms on a cooler.


Did I mention that this was spontaneous and that, according to our host, it happens frequently? I love a culture with rhythm in their souls!

Thanks to Myles Beeman for taking this video and letting me share it!

Another Way to Say "Welcome to My Country"

Have you ever been carried like a baby across a raging river by a Haitian bodyguard wearing a rainbow speedo?

I have.

Oh yes, let me set the stage:

We are on our way to visit a rural village outside of Port au Prince, Haiti. To do so, we need to cross a river, swollen and fast because of recent rains. Truly, it looks intimidating.

As my American friends start to roll up their pant legs, I step away from them, down the bank, to take some photographs. Click, click, new angle, click. I remove my eye from the viewfinder only just in time to see what is about to happen.

In the river, only a few feet away, is Marc, our bodyguard.  Marc is muscular beyond reckoning and walks with a strong-man’s swagger. But now, Marc no longer is wearing his pants. Though I try not to notice, his speedo-style underwear is rainbow stripes in color.

What? Where are his pants? Why is he walking toward –

And I am swept up into his arms, cradled like a child (or fire rescue victim), seemingly as light as a backpack. Marc carries me this way across the turbulent river without even stumbling.

Half-naked Marc carries the females through all four river crossings that day.

They didn’t put that in the brochure.

Oh Haiti. Oh butch people. So was Marc being a foresighted gentleman? Or a bit of an exhibitionist? Either way, my shoes stayed dry.

So did his pants.

Here are some pics from the village we visited that day: 

Pick your Poison

At mid to high range, coastal, Chinese restaurants, you are greeted by tanks upon tanks of live entrees.

Yes, you literally get to point and pick your evening meal. Our host took us to this restaurant in the downtown area of Fuzhou, China. Being a born and bred midwestern girl, I couldn't even name half of the creatures in the murky tanks. When my host gestured to the whole room and said, "what for dinner?", all I could do was smile and say, "fish!", and trust the rest to luck.

That night we feasted on warm corn juice, boiled whole flounder, seahorse soup, veggie jello pizza (my best guess), and beef tail. Not too bad considering my earlier generalization!

The seafood chefs at our restaurant in Fuzhou

Dinner a la live crabs

The chopping block : Public viewed fate of all seafood previously pictured

Travelista Tip #2

Do what the locals do.

Sometimes, when you are in a country where you cannot speak the local language, the best move is to follow the lead of those who can understand their circumstances.*** Develop an eye for the body language, movements, emotions, and habits of those surrounding you. Then mimic them. This will allow two advantages : 1. You can respond to situations without truly understanding the situations. 2. You can blend into the scene more successfully, attract less attention, and get a better sense of the true culture.

Case Study:
Finally it is time for me to leave Fuzhou. Climbing onto the Apollo Hotel bus is the first leg of my trip home. The "Airport Bus" leaves every 20 minutes for Fuzhou Changle International Airport, and is already packed to the brim. Again, I am the only foreigner.

BUMP.

I compare driving in China to stampeding in Africa, and now I am about to reep the ramifications. 10 minutes later, our bus gently collides with a green taxi, on a 4 lane road, in the middle of an intersection. As the taxi passengers bail and run best they can to the sidewalk, our bus driver shuts down the bus, grabs his cell phone, and exits. I can feel stress tempting my stomach for control, but I watch the other bus passengers. We all have the same destination, and we all have deadlines.

At first, my busmates talk quickly and lean to see the impact point. When the police arrive, one man grabs his bag, ready to make a rapid get away. I don't know how this works, or what will happen next. Suddenly a passenger at the front of the bus speaks, and the whole bus settles. Around me, everyone's eyes glaze back to patience, and their agitation subsides. No one leaves. They are content to wait, and therefore I wait.

15 minutes later, another Airport Bus pulls up in front of us. We deboard, grab our bags, reboard, and continue, just a little off schedule, to the airport.


***Please note, this strategy only applies when there are many locals surrounding you. Don't do what individuals do. Do what the masses do. (You can assume that the masses are doing what is generally best...you cannot assume the same thing about an individual!)

Wolf girl at the bus station

3:30pm, January 17, 2010, Songbai Bus Station, Xiamen

I am waiting at the outskirts of Songbai bus station. My boss has gone to a ticketing window with a written request to get seats on the top level of the bus that will take us back to Fuzhou...His success is unlikely.

I stand with all of our baggage like a fortress surrounding me. It is winter for this part of China, and all of the Chinese are in coats and sweatshirts. Even the merchants of cheap food around the edge of the bus station are bundled. I, however, am in a 3/4 sleeve fashion jacket. Winter for this part of China is still about 30 degrees warmer than the weather back in Cincinnati. I barely feel chilled.

Suddenly, one of these merchants is at my side. It is a man above 40. He is speaking to me, but I do not understand. He beams with a gleaming eye, and I recognize that he is amusing himself. Uncertainly I smile back, and the smile encourages him. Lo and behold, he reaches out and strokes the top of my forearm!

I am accustomed to attention of various degrees while traveling because of my youth and gender, but actual physical contact is very rare. Sensing my discomfort, the merchant speaks quickly to me and again strokes my forearm. He then proceeds to lift his own sleeve and stroke his forearm. As he meets my eyes again, hoping for some comprehension, he laughs and gives me a big thumbs up.

Two possibilities occur to me. This merchant might be complimenting me on my skin tone and quality. More likely, however, he is impressed, if not shocked, with the amount of hair on my female forearm.

It's true the difference between our hair quantities is dramatic. My dark winter hair is visible from 10 feet away, but in terms of hair, this man's arm more closely resembles my forehead. The Chinese are notoriously hairless, and likely, this Chinese man is admiring my body hair in terms of strength and masculinity.

In China, I am wolf girl.

Ode to Nancy Drew

I apologize for this entry; it's a bit of a misfit in a travel blog. HOWEVER, it was Nancy Drew that first inspired me to adventure and exploration. She taught me not to be afraid! So, enjoy my Ode to Nancy. (Book cover images courtesy of Amazon.com)

I never idolized movie stars. I never had much faith in sports heroes. My pastors, teachers, coaches and other role models were important but never beyond my own understanding. From all outward appearances, I have been an independent, peer-pressure resistant, and capable individual. I am now 26, and hindsight is 20/20. I did have an idol. Her name is Nancy Drew. 

From the ages of 7 to 14, I saturated my brain with the Nancy Drew stories. I soaked in her perfection and wholesomeness.  I basked in the convenience of her innate wisdom and supernatural ability to know exactly what to do in every situation.  Everyone loved and trusted Nancy Drew, and she led a life of adventure and surprise. Nancy’s biggest fault was her over-developed sense of humility.

This model of female of perfection became my idol. I ached to be as adored and capable as Nancy. Unwittingly I began to define my success in terms of relational and situational perfection. (Is this similar to how girls can idolize Barbie physically? Maybe.) My life became unfulfilling without an adventure surrounding every new acquaintance. Because Nancy was poised and beautiful (and only her sidekicks were chunky or boyish,) I linked success with external appearances. Somehow I got trapped in a mental cycle between the need to be overtly optimistic and personal critiques of my inability to be everything.

But Nancy instilled other things as well. Girls can be capable AND feminine. The brain is a girl’s biggest asset to solving cases (also, life situations). Leadership requires kindness and sacrifice. Success is not exclusive of humility. A little bit of karate knowledge can save your life. If you get a bad feeling, you are probably about to uncover a dastardly crime.

Nancy, for better or for worse, you have made me who I am today.  Your blue convertible, shapely legs, and random survival knowledge have set a standard for me that I will never reach. I will forgive you however, because YOU caught my attention and admiration. Instead of adulterous movie stars, drug dependent athletes, or self-serving leaders, I idolized a smart, young girl who loved her friends and had her priorities straight. 

Thank you Nancy Drew! By driving me to moral and relational perfection, you helped me avoid more dangerous personal and cultural pitfalls.  I still admire you, and hope your purity and logic can survive the literary future. 

...Can’t you just mess up once though? Go ahead; snap at Ned. Tell Beth she’s being an idiot, and tell George to put on a dress.