final entry

hi all. home sweet home will be my final entry to this blog. however, my plan is to start writing more frequently on my original blog. follow along if you would like at http://www.urperipheral.blogspot.com. thanks.

home sweet home

an orchestrated journey
led me to your door
where i pulled aside
a blue piece of fabric
and entered your home.

there were three
or four small rooms,
mud floors,
and walls made of
anything flat.

i noticed an appealing
simplicity about you –
content with the
necessities of life
and needing nothing more.

a smile graced your face
and i found you
fully present –
just as interested in me
as i was in you.

claudine
was your given name
and it suited you well,
but i came to know you better
as hospitality.

the air was sweet
about you –
and welcoming –
and i found myself
feeling at home.

anxious

it's three in the morning and i can't sleep. i'm assuming that there is subconcious energy and anxiety with everything going on in the united kingdom, and the fact that i'm supposed to be traveling through that region of the world tomorrow with two of my friends.

i'm amazed that so few can have so great a power and influence on the world - in a negative capacity. influencing the way that people act. the way that people think. and the way that people feel.

and yet i'm encouraged to know that there are also individuals who seek to influence the world in a very different way. they are powerful, but power is the last thing that they seek.

so i pause to ask myself, what kind of influence am i having? (not looking for responses here.) and what about you?

troubled

i saw death
being pushed
on a chugadoo
today

it's wrapping
bright -
demanding
attention

yet it maneuvered
through the hustle
and bustle of life
barely noticed

it seemed a
commoner
among its peers -
somewhat ignored

and that's what
troubled me
and required that
i take notice.

musa (part two)

it's puzzling
to me,
but it appears
that the
taking of
your flesh
has made
room for
an abundance
of life.
you are small,
yet i look
up to you.

merliel

she is
tender
and gentle,
yet when
i pick
her up
she becomes
as stiff
as a board.
she is happy,
but it's
obvious
that she
hasn't
been held
much.

overcome

i was overcome
by love today.
it touched me,
pulled me,
grabbed me,
and squeezed me.
it took the
appearance of
many faces
and wrapped
its numerous arms
around me.
and although
i've walked away,
i can still feel
its embrace.

chance

my clean hand
touched his dirty cheek,
and the dust of our lives
became one.

the african road

walking
riding
carrying
pushing
speaking
listening
working
playing
buying
selling
happiness
sadness
joy and
despair.

there is
a comfortable
commotion
along the
african road.
and although
some walk
alone
there is
a sense
of togetherness
and community
with each
stride.

princesse

jambo.
jambo sana.
jambo.
jambo sana.
jambo.
jambo sana.
we both
smile.

samire

her eyes
looked away,
but her smile
never stopped
staring.
and as she
grasped
my hand,
i found
words
unnecessary.

a visit to the orphanage

the sound
of the drum
and the shuffling
of feet

hands and arms
in motion
and heads
gently swaying

their bodies
moved
to the rhythm
of the beat

and as they
praised
with words of
exaltation

i sensed
my soul
both captivated
and engaged.

untitled

i held life
in my hands today.

its hands
were dirty
and it
smelled
of urine
but it felt
good.

circumstances
had yellowed
its eyes
and muddied
its face
but it felt
good.

time
had tattered
its clothes
and stained
its teeth
but it felt
good.

evil
had bent
its limbs
and stolen
its abilities
but it felt
good.

for within
this life
was the
essence
of love -
pure
and real

and nothing else
seemed to matter.

francine

a beautiful, sixteen year old girl who asked that i take her to america when i return. an intense experience to say the least. but when she returned the next day with her mother, her mother's blessing, and her three siblings, it intensified even more. she wanted me to know that she was serious. and she wanted me to know that her mother had approved. what does one do with that? obviously, i cannot bring her, but the experience has forced me to contemplate many things.

i wonder what was going through francine's mind? what were her siblings thinking? what was her mother thinking? still processing. still thinking.

musa

a passionate and energetic four year old boy who shocked me the first time i saw him. he has a foot with amputated toes, a leg amputated just below the knee, and an arm that has been amputated at the elbow. his physical condition was the initial shock, but the ultimate shock was hearing that the amputations had been done in the village as an easy solution to a problem that could have been fixed another way. had musa been treated earlier and properly, he could be running around on both legs instead of crawling on a badly healed foot and stump. yet he is filled with joy and happiness and lights up when he sees those that care about him. a sad and amazing story.

apology

hello. i want to send a sincere apology to all of you who are following along as i have been having problems connecting to the internet. so many experiences and stories to share. the following will be just a few.

touch

yesterday was my first full day in goma and much of it was spent working with the children at the hospital and its surrounding area. the conditions here are much like i expected. there is much poverty, but also a great sense of community. people walk up and down the roads collecting the things that they need to live the best lives that they can. there are soldiers here and there patrolling the roads. motorcycles are everywhere and provide needed transportation for those without. there are bundles of sticks being carried to use as a source of fire. there is water being carried for use in drinking and cooking and washing. babies are being carried on the backs of mothers and sisters and aunts. or in the arms of fathers and brothers and uncles. there is talking and laughing and crying and a whole host of emotions. there is hope. and there is struggle. there is life. and there is death. an amazing place.

working with the children was a great and incredible experience. we made musical instruments and then danced and sang as loud as we could. energy and hope and happiness were present. communication seems to be a major barrier for me, but hopefully, i'll learn quickly and in the meantime, smiles will have to do. the only thing that i can honestly say that has taken me by surprise was my reaction to some of the physical conditions of a few of the children. as i was working with the second group in the afternoon, i noticed a few of the kids crawling around. and then i saw one of the little boys (perhaps three or four) with a foot that looked like a stump of flesh. it took me a moment to realize that it was his foot. and then i noticed that his other leg was missing from the knee down. his story is not clear to me yet, but it may have been the result of being on the wrong end of a rebel's machete. there was also a little girl who had hands that were slightly misformed or disabled. from what i've been told, she was caught in a fire that the rebel's had set to her village. both parents were lost and a few years later, she is now receiving treatment. and there were others. a couple of the kids have polio - which has robbed them from the ability to use their legs.

i'm still processing how this makes me feel, but i will say this. touch is such a wonderful gift that we've been given. to reach out and touch these children and to have them touch back creates an incredible sense of relationship and has also created a bond. i long to touch these children more today. whether it's a gentle touch on the top of their heads. a firm touch as we shake hands. a hug. or a snuggle. may i have the opportunity to touch these children today. but more importantly, may i find myself being touched as well. touched deep within by their hands, their eyes, their hearts, and their souls. i long for their touch.

divine

it's been a couple days of long and exhausting travel, but there have definitely been some divine moments. and it started early on with my traveling companion ron. he was the gentleman that sat next to me on the flight from chicago to london. an amazing man with so many amazing stories. we instantly connected and quickly found a common denominator in the continent known as africa.

ron has traveled the world over and has an amazing story. and what's exciting is that his story isn't over yet. he has been in at least thirty of africa's countries over the course of fourteen years of service and has developed a deep love for the continent, the culture, and the people. and he has a genuine and pure heart.

london was also divine. i was able to make my breakfast reservation at the cinnamon club, an upper-scale indian restaurant and enjoyed the entire establishment to myself. spicy vegatables on grilled bread, toast and jam, a small salad, orange juice, tea, and the times. all of this at a table by the window where i could overlook the activities of a quaint little sidestreet. the day also allowed me the time to visit westminster abbey, walk the streets, peruse the stores and surroundings of picadilly circus, take in the tate modern and the tate britian, and arrive back in time to fly to nairobi, kenya. a great day, but exhausting.

i am currently in nairobi and will be leaving shortly for kigali, rwanda. then on to goma in the drc. thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers and questions and challenging words. i am so appreciate of all of you who surround me. cheers.