What are your hopes for 2021? Do you have dreams, hopes, possibly a list of goals? Or have all those things become pointless amidst a pandemic and other worries? A goal can be intimidating, even insinuate arrogance or the illusion of "I can do everything I set my mind to".…
This week I saw another headline about Covid-19 and how it is hard on the schools. I thought of the effects of climate change and of the mess we call politics. The weight of it all seemed to get to me. But then I thought of the privilege I have…
My parents partner with a small NGO in Uganda, to provide vocational training to impoverished young mothers. To support them, my mom has made hundreds of bars of soap to sell as a fundraiser. Some soap was sold, but with Corona, we didn't have time to sell all of it.…
I traveled back to Germany last week. The airports in Seattle and Frankfurt were almost completely empty, I've never seen anything like it. I was the only person in line for security checkups and boarded a plane with no more than 60 people. I had room to stretch and watched…
I went to Uganda last week to visit a small NGO I am involved in. In my last post, I described some travel impressions and some of the projects we do there. But when you put all these projects together, what do they add up to? They change lives. For…
Normally, the 3000-soul town I study in is not exactly lively. But once a year, the Christmas Market changes that picture entirely: The vendors open their booths, music plays, and hundreds of people crowd the streets. Our seminary participated in this event, and I was there with them. I sold…
We finished up the projects that we started. We added a door to the chicken coop. Sylvia's mom will no longer have to worry about her birds getting stolen. She and her family are all very happy! We also taught the women how to use the tools to build a…
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon creating a collage sign. Today, that sign was out on the annual Christmas market down in the village: I, and a few other students set up a booth there, so we could get in touch witht the locals a little. We sold cotton candy, handmade…