So. It's been ages and months since my last post here (shame!), and far too long. There's been so much going on, professional and personal, that I don't even think I'm going to try and catch up. But I am going to try and do a better job of posting here over the summer.
Personally, I'm struggling with being such a nomad--living out of a suitcase especially. I love Texas and I love Liberia, but from April to September this year, I'm never in one place more than a month. I miss all of you up in Canada, especially -- my roots, you know who you are. Looking forward to a family reunion, an acoustic concert-fundraiser, and most of all a week in the deep woods on a river with my brother Scott.
This is an in-between season, a winding-down and a gearing-up at once; this is an exhausted last leg of the race and a jumping off, to boot. Please pray for me: for the energy to keep it up, the focus to stick with what's in front of me, the faith to stay light on my feet, and the wisdom to do it better.
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{My schedule, just so you know, once and for all:
in Texas from now 'till July 18orso;
in Canada through the first week of August -- don't miss the big concert in Huntsville on July 24!
in the U.S. (all over the place) through the end of August;
An excerpt from J.K. Rowling's commencement speech to this year's grads:
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But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people's lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world's only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.
Flew back up to Zwedru yesterday, thanks to the kind folks at the UN, to see Bobby and Jefferson, my two pals with the nasty burns. I sat with them and hung out for an hour before we were ready to begin cleaning their burns, and immediately I saw their greatest need wasn't TLC in an accent they could hardly understand, but entertainment. They're 8 and 12, and they are bored out of their minds lying on the ground keeping the flies off themselves. I had my iTunes shuffle with me, which I hadn't used in ages anyway (who knows what era of music is being mixed inside...), and MAN did their eyes light up when they heard it! It was too cute for words, really--especially when they began singing along with the Marley tunes...
Last week Cramer, Chad and I flew up to Zwedru, in the far corner of Liberia, to assess three orphanages that the government didn't even know existed. Because of the remote location we had our doubts that we'd ever be back or have the chance to help, but we went anyway in the hopes that putting them on the map would help them secure some assistance.
At the second orphanage we assessed, I met a young boy named Bobby--about 11 years old--with severe burns covering 20% of his body, from his armpit down to his ankle. He was lying naked on the dirt floor, purple disinfectant paint poured over him each day, a caretaker twirling a towel over him to keep the flies off. I spent about an hour with Bobby, just talking, trying to cheer him up, mind racing to find something I could do to ease his pain. The burn was only a week old at that time, but his bravery was astonishing. I can't imagine the kind of pain he must have been feeling, combined with the humiliation of lying prone all day in what I would guess used to be their dining area.
Two days ago, Bobby called me with an absurdly cheerful 'hello'.
Today Mariel spoke with a plastic surgeon at the largest hospital in Monrovia, and he said he'd like to see Bobby in person ASAP. I spoke with our friends at the UN and MERLIN to see whether he can and should be transported. On Friday we're returning to Zwedru to consult with the physicians there and, if necessary, make arrangements to fly him down to Monrovia next week.
Please pray for Bobby. No one wants to subject him to the hours of intense pain that the flight would cause him, but we also want to make sure we get him the best care available.
Yesterday we saw the AFM off from her tug, and I got a couple of last hugs in from the folks. Always a treat to be back on the water, and for a quick second I almost wished I was onboard--but you should've seen her begin to list side to side, even in still water! You could almost feel the crew turn green...
Thanks to Uncle Cramer for this bit of ridiculosity. I swear I'm not NEARLY as egotistical as Cramer would have you believe...But here it is, anyway. Just the basics of where I'm at and what I'm up to, set against a BEAUTIFUL Liberian traffic jam.
So last week I foolishly promised a personal update. Now I have to provide one. To change things up, and to make a personal update a little more personable, Uncle Cramer's going to help me construct a polished video this week, and I'll fill you in on my recent personal struggles and triumphs in that medium. For now, I'll just give you the spoiler: I've been very healthy and extremely healthy since returning to Liberia. Mary Margaret and I are getting the hang of this long distance relationship nonsense, and work is taking up the other few minutes of my day's thinking.
More to come very soon. I hope you'll hit me back with all your news and happenings, big or small...!
