The account of friend in Haiti

A friend of mine is currently in Haiti serving at an orphanage for a few months. She is presently in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and was there when the earthquake took place. Here are some excerpts from her journals that share some of the realities of being there during and after the earthquake. As you read it, please pray for the people there. At the bottom are some ways you can help:

The Internet is still down, and I don’t know when we will have it again, so I thought I would start a sort of journal just so I don’t forget to tell you things.

Yesterday, Jan 12th, the earthquake struck at 5:15 pm. I was on the internet, hoping Ian would sign on and try video chat with me when all of a sudden everything in the room began to sway, then the shelves started to collapse. Corrigan and Shelley were in the kitchen doorway with the black babies so I went to the front of the house to find the white kids. The house stood, but several huge cracks in the cement walls are now visible.

We looked out the gate and saw that neighbors’ walls had collapsed, anything that was cheaply made without rebar had fallen into the already rough streets. This meant that all the neighborhoods in the ravines were demolished. Shelley and I hopped in the car to see if we could help any of the ladies in her beading program who lived down there. We first stopped at one of the boy’s homes, who lives with the Clays. The house and neighborhood that his mother lived in was completely toppled over. Several children had head bumps and bruises, but one woman in particular had the back of her Achilles tendon sliced through and the skin was just sitting there in the dirt. To slow the bleeding she had packed the wound with coffee beans. So, having seen that an orphanage just up the road was starting a makeshift clinic, we took turns carrying her up and out of the ravine. From there we went back to the next ravine, where many of the ladies who do the beading program work. By now it was almost total darkness, but we crossed the little stream to see the houses of our friends were still standing, although the houses of many other had crumbled right beside them. Many had already been reported dead. Miraculously, the new home for the girl, who had attempted abandonment of her baby that morning, was still standing.

Assuming all of the people we were looking for would be making their way to the Clay’s home, we returned. What devastation lay around us, and yet I could not help but praise God that so many literal walls had crumbled in only a few seconds of earthquake and prayed for spiritual walls to follow soon after. It was a strong reminder of the frailty of Satan’s power and the unfathomable strength of God’s. Haitians have said that ten years ago, they were still poor, but no one had walls around their homes. Today Haitians live in fear of one another and every building has a ten-foot wall with barbed wire or broken glass cemented into the top. Every store that I have entered has had a minimum of one armed guard in the parking lot, probably with no practice at firing the very scary, very illegal looking weapon slung over their shoulder.

On the way home we learned that the strength of the earthquake had been a 7.3, which would not seem so impressive in the states where quality of design is typically appreciated, but here in Haiti, quality over expediency is a rare thing indeed. Not only had our favorite grocery store, the one with the different cheeses and unique sauces not to mention I’m sure over 200 people inside, had crumbled, but so had the Palace, the central point of Haiti’s government. It was said downtown was in rubble.

Turning onto our street we heard the sound of music, then saw the Clay’s gates wide open. Corrigan had turned the natural disaster into a block party, bringing out his sound system to blast praise music, starting up the grill for spaghetti and calling out to anyone who needed a place to rest and eat, to come in and grab a plate.

Shelley’s eyes filled with tears in appreciation for Corrigan’s heart echoing Christ. Beatrice, a Haitian woman who has a heart for other Haitians, had walked her children the half-mile to the Clays, but when we arrived, she asked Shelley to please take her in the car to find her husband. I stayed behind this time, watching babies, slicing bread and dropping everything (not babies) to ride out the after shocks. As the night progressed, we accumulated a crowd of about 20 people. We slept in the paved front yard, dragging pillows, cushions and mattresses outdoors for our new and old friends to sleep on.

That night Shelley maybe had a full five minutes of sleep, thanks to babies, a man who thought 11:30 would be an excellent opportunity to deliver a Haitian sermon on Jesus’ coming, Jackson’s midnight vomit and various other interruptions. I slept through most things other than the dogs sitting on my head or licking me and I think I held Jackson for a little while after he puked.

At 6:15 the roosters were crowing like it was any other day. We awoke and went to find a little boy’s grandmother. He said her leg was broken. The neighborhood she lived in was also demolished and Shelley and I tried to administer as much first aid as our little box would allow. One girl’s finger tips were hanging on by strands of skin, so I had to wash those out and then put the stuff that stings on . . . that was a bit frustrating considering the language barrier. We rebandaged a few and I thought about John Wayne giving me his diatribe on the evils of band-aids and if you want something to heal quickly, air is the best thing for it. So we told them we would come back tomorrow to wash their wounds one more time and unwrap them. We brought the grandmother home with us and after placing her on my mattress in the front yard I started cutting away at her blood encrusted bandaging around her ankle. Let’s just say it was gnarly, but I kept snipping, no matter how often she called on Jesus to return. There was a gaping hole in her ankle that I eventually washed out and rebandaged.

From there Shelley went back to the makeshift clinic to relieve them of people with wounds they couldn’t treat any further, like broken limbs. We kept the mattresses out on the ground, fed, splinted, rebandaged and drugged all of our patients. Shelley even found some heavy duty pain relief in a pharmacy near by that you use a surringe to shoot it in the buttocks. Everybody was pretty mellow at around 3:30 in the afternoon, so Kristlyn put on rice and beans on the outdoor grill and made a huge pot full for the now 30 people in the yard.

Some pretty convincing cloud cover came over in the late afternoon, so Shelley and Corrigan put up a tarp for everyone to sleep under. The earth was still grumbling with after shock, so we tried to figure out sleeping arrangements as best we could. Corrigan, Keziah, and Zebedee slept in the car. Richard took Ember on his mattress outside and Shelley, Jackson and I slept in the front room with easy access to the door. Besides being eaten by flies and mosquitoes and the occasional earth tremble it was a more peaceful night than the night before.

January 14th - Priority one – baths - especially the little ones - smell like pee and that’s bringing on the flies. So Shelley bathed and clothed about 8 little ones, not including her own. Kristlyn made oatmeal for the crowd and I used up my hard boiled eggs on Clay kidd-o’s who needed some protein.

After breakfast, I rebandaged four people while Shelley got laundry going, both in the machine and having a few Haitian ladies doing it by hand. We washed all the sheets and all the clothes of our people, most of which were soaked in pee. It’s pretty clear that one little boy is broke his leg and he’s such a moaner, so while I was changing his bandages, (his muscle tissue was popping out) I spoke firmly to him that he was going to break his lungs and then he’d really be in trouble if he didn’t quit screaming like a little girl. He needed to breath, so everyone around him started taking deep breaths for him to follow. I’m definitely not a nurse, and I have little to no bed side manner when all the person is doing is causing a scene. . . but you know, I really think that is just part of the culture to be so . . . voluble, in times of pain.

So, after all bandages were changed, it was time to bathe the girl with the broken leg. Richard lifted her up and I boiled some water, so she wouldn’t be so cold in the regular water. We had made splints out of chair legs for her, so we undid the wrap holding her leg straight. She was soaked in urine and had day old bandages that were stuck in her wounds. So we soaked the bandages to loosen them while I wiped her down. She screamed for a good portion of removing the bandages, but seeing how she was a little girl, I couldn’t get too upset for her screaming like one. We got her out of the bathtub, rebandaged her cuts then rewrapped her leg with the chair leg splints. We couldn’t find any of the larger diapers, but we did find one size 3, which is what Shelley’s one year-old daughter wears. The girl we put the diaper on is 6 years old, but she is so skinny that it stretched to fit. Shelley had picked out a red dress of Keziah’s to give to her, so we put that on her and carried her back outside.

While we had been bathing, Shelley had been sanitizing the mats and mattresses with our little bit of Febreze anti-bacterial and washing off the plastic sheets, so the little girl had a clean bed to return to. Lellin began making black beans for rice on the grill. This morning we learned the police station and prison collapsed, with the news that all of the policemen and all of the prisoners had been killed. Shelley learned that the city was digging mass graves just one block up the road from us, so after lunch we went and photographed the uncovered bodies. The holes were in the cemetery, but that didn’t make them any less disturbing. We were told a truck was going around picking up dead bodies from the side of the street to dump the bodies in the holes. I’ve got the pictures if you ever need a reason to throw up or cry.

Corrigan had been out all morning trying to run errands, but nothing was open. He dropped off one of our ladies at the makeshift clinic, because the skin flap on her Achilles either needed to be cut off or sutured. He then took photos of the Caribbean Market that had collapsed and tried to find food, but no grocers were open and no one from the Province had brought produce down to sell on the street. The only thing open was the gas station up the road and Corrigan said the atmosphere was riotous. His car was hit twice, just passing the gas station, as people were trying to cut him off to get in line. After he figured out food was not an option, he dropped by his school to figure out when work would begin. He was told the school is closed indefinitely as most of the upper class will be leaving Haiti in the next week or so, because they can, thus the school won’t have anyone paying tuition. The school is now turning itself into a relief center for when relief arrives for food, water and medical supplies. They think the earliest things will start up again is 6 weeks.

The radio tower is down, which is why the Clay’s Internet is down. We are going to try and get a message out to you and my parents that I am okay through another ministry that has Internet connection, but that may not happen again for another day or two. We are beginning to realize that we only have enough food to last us another 4-5 days before we run out, so your prayers are appreciated. We did find a huge bag of rice and a small bag of beans to feed the people in the yard.

Today we are going to work out, I think we missed cardio yesterday, so we’ll do that tonight, and yoga tomorrow. This will probably be very entertaining to the Haitians, but you do what ya’ gotta’ do. The Clay’s TV smashed during the quake in the front room, but I think we can just use my computer to watch the workout. I got Ian’s reminder that he loves me at 9:45 this morning on my phone. That was good to see, although I would definitely trade that reminder for a phone call right now. I’m hoping flights will be resuming their regular takeoff, but I’m glad I scheduled those extra few days in Orlando to return to Vicenza, in case I have to wait a few days to get out of Port-au-Prince.

This afternoon I wrapped a woman’s hand that was sliced badly in three places. She had rubbed all her wounds with coffee grounds, which had soaked up the blood, but the clinic wouldn’t take her because they would have to spend too much time cleaning out the wounds before they could suture anything, so they sent her to us and I got tasked with soaking, poking, and being the all around bitch that had to get the coffee ground out of her infecting skin. In the middle of cleaning, I remembered from the movie Roots that on slave ships the white people would throw buckets of salt water on to the slaves to cleanse and disinfect their wounds, although I remember the slaves shrieking like banchees, it was worth a shot. So I made some salt water in a pitcher and poured it over her hand into a bucket. It definitely made her go nuts, but the coffee beans started to come out and the wound’s puss began to wash away a little more. Then I made her soak a little but longer and all of this was communicated through hand gestures and then her yelling at me in Creole, which I took to mean it hurt badly. So I would nod, frown, and point her hand into the bucket. I went through about 50 q-tips, scraping the chunks of coffee out and all I could think was that the reason I didn’t try to become a doctor was because I couldn’t hold my lunch in anatomy class, and that was with cats! Irony and the blessing of Christ’s promise that I can do all things through Him who strengthens me have made this another exhausting day.

Shelley just got back from scouting for food, so she drove the woman back over to the clinic where hopefully they can do something for her now. She showed me a picture album that she had in her purse, so I’m guessing she’s someone who actually lived in a house and the home must have collapsed. She lost her 3 month old baby in the quake, and did not know where her husband was.

Links to practical ways you can help:
Gain
World Vision

"Hold Me Near" - Enter the Worship Circle

Hold me near when I am restless
Hold me near when I am bitter
Hold me near when I'm rebellious
Hold me near until the end

Hold me near when my heart is broken
Hold me near when I'm in a wreck
Hold me near when I'm jealous
Hold me near until the end

But as for me, my feet almost gave out
I nearly sold my heart
It's good to be held by my father
It's good to be where you are

haiti

Here are a couple pictures, but you can find more here at the BBC:

Surely you've heard about the tragic earthquake in Haiti the night before last. As I walked the beautiful streets of Paris, I was struck by our desperate need to be rescued from this world from it's tragedy, death, and hurt. This is a much more in-your-face bit of reality of the fact that we don't live in a world that is as it should be. A children's hospital was destroyed in the disaster, the poorest of the poor were killed as well, people going about their daily business whatever that may be will never awake to see another day,... dark, dark death. While this is much more clear, I think the reality in which each of us lives on a daily basis, sometimes more clearly than others, is full of the walking dead. Somehow I want my heart to be quickened to see the needs of those in my midst and to also continue to have real hope of a world without death, tragedy, injustice, or hurt, a world where all things are made right. As I was processing life, I was again reminded that this world that I long for does in fact exist and that it will come to pass. While we live in a broken world, dreadfully broken on all levels, that merely points to my need for one greater than me. And I think it also calls us to action, to be light in a broken world and to really be the hands and feet of hope and light. We may be far removed from Haiti, but, one, we still can do an awful lot for them and, two, there are people in need just around the corner from us. It's a bit sobering...

A song I was just listening to as I was thinking back about my completely wonderful time in Paris:

"No Limit" - Enter the Worship Circle

Your love has no limit at all
Your love has no limit at all
Your love has no limit at all
It has no limit at all

You don't treat me like I deserve
You don't crush me heavy handed
You don't leave me alone in this world

'Cause your love has no limit at all
Your love has no limit at all
Your love has no limit at all
It has no limit at all

And you know how I was formed
When the wind blows out before
Like a flower after winter's storm

Your love has no limit at all
Your love has no limit at all
Your love has no limit at all
It has no limit at all

You don't treat me like I deserve
You don't crush me heavy handed
You don't leave me alone in this world

Lyrics from a song that I was just listening to which I think is great:

"Orphan Song" - Enter the Worship Circle

We are the orphan boys and the forgotten girls
We are lost and far from home
We are the fatherless, born of dust and nothing less
We are lost and far from home

But there is no love like yours in all the world
There is no love like yours in the universe
There is no love that heals my broken heart
There is no love like yours at all

I've heard about a foreign land
About a son and his great big dad
And I'm making my plans to be there
They say it's a beautiful place
Full of big white open space
And I'm making my plans to be there

But there is no love like yours in all the world
There is no love like yours in the universe
There is no love that heals my broken heart
There is no love like yours at all

And these roads have familiar names
This town has not changed
And I'm finding my way back home
You call me daughter, you call me son
You call me back into your arms
I'm finding my way back home

'Cause there is no love like yours in all the world
There is no love like yours in the universe
There is no love that heals my broken heart
There is no love like yours
There is no love like yours
There is no love like yours at all

Last night I was walking up the eiffel tower and then dining right in front of it at this amazing restaurant on the Trocadero. It was very surreal, as was my whole time in Paris this weekend with a good, good friend. I had some great time to reflect and to relax, had some amazing food (really incredible), hit a bit of the sales and got some great finds, had fun time with my friend, and felt like I was a princess for the weekend. Not to mention, that I was in Paris, which I love, and even made some friends along the way from around the world speaking a smattering of very bad french, spanish and english.

Salmo 120

Psalm 120 is the first of the 15 Psalms of Ascent. I just wrote a bit on my spanish blog if you want to read it. Sorry it's in Spanish.

I think this song is great. I have for a long while. And from time to time when I am more melancholy I especially like it, so anyway, here you go:

"The Worst Is Being Alone" - Don Chaffer

"'Aaron, have you ever had a burning in your chest that made you just want to be free.' It was a warm afternoon when she asked him this as they sat on the shore of the sea.

Well, Aaron just tugged at his hair and took a very long time to reply. By the time that he spoke, she'd forgotten she'd asked. She was lost in the clouds of the sky.

He said, 'Carrie I don't think I've ever wanted as much to be free as I've longed to be known. But of the things that I hate as I look at my life, the worst is my being alone. Oh, the worst is my being alone.'

The rest of his words he kept from her ears 'cause he thought she might not understand. And she didn't reply. She couldn't figure out how cause the heart in her heart had been failed. Oh of all the things known that he could have spoken that day, he chose one from deep down inside. Without intending her to, he caused her to confess the false confidence in how she had loved.

'Aaron I don't think I've ever wanted as much to be free as I've longed to be known. But of the things that I hate as I look at my life, the worst is my being alone. Oh, the worst is my being alone.'

As they headed home, neither of them could speak a word. And they held their own spirits today, but at the pulse of the wave they both turned around thinking someone was calling their name. Oh, someone was calling their name."

Psalms of Ascent

I've been doing a Bible study on the Psalms of Ascent. Here's what wikipedia has to say about them:

"Song of Ascents" - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.

The song of Ascents appears in Hebrew and English on the walls at the entrance to the City of David, Jerusalem, Israel. Song of Ascents is a title given to fifteen of the Psalms, 120–134 (119–133 in the Septuagint), that each starts with the ascription (Hebrew: שיר המעלות, Shir Hama'aloth‎). They are also variously called Gradual Psalms, Songs of Degrees, Songs of Steps or Pilgrim Songs.

Four of them (122, 124, 131 and 133) are claimed in their ascriptions to have been written by David, and one (127) by Solomon, the rest being anonymous. Some modern scholars do not believe that these ascriptions can be taken literally, although they give evidence that helps in dating of the Psalms and identifying their original use.
The probable origin of this name is the circumstance that these psalms came to be sung by the people on the ascents or goings up to Jerusalem to attend the three pilgrim festivals (Deuteronomy 16:16) or by the kohanim (priests) as they ascended the steps to minister at the Temple in Jerusalem.

They were well suited for being sung, by their poetic form and the sentiments they express. "They are characterized by brevity, by a key-word, by epanaphora [i.e., repetition], and by their epigrammatic style.... More than half of them are cheerful, and all of them hopeful."

I'll have to blog some of my thoughts, but this is the beginning of it.

Feliz Reyes!!!

Happy Kings' Day (day of the three wise men)! According to tradition there's one from Asia who I think is named Gaspar, one from Africa named Baltassar, and then a white one from Europe or somewhere named Melchor. Kids pick one from which they ask gifts. Gaspar and Melchor are usually the favorites. Random facts...

I need to blog some of my thoughts and reflections, but the past three days a friend and I have been enjoying the calming air and having NOTHING to do except relax and hanging out on Mallorca, one of the Spanish Balearic Islands. During this time I realized how much I need to make sure I have more time than I've had the past few months to just BE. Time to read, time to hang out, time to watch tv or to be around while others do, time to sleep or just wander,... time.

Paris, here I come! I'm not quite sure why but I've been wanting to go to Paris all winter long and now am! A friend just happens to have to work there and so I decide to drop by for a couple days. A few days later I met a girl who lives south of Paris with her family and we decide to meet up one day there to hang out and I also realized a good, good friend and her husband just moved there this past monday, so Paris here I come!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year's wherever you may be!!!

my ham!

In Spain, it's traditional that your job gives you a Christmas basket filled with wines, sausages, cheeses, sweets & turrón, and a leg of ham (or a pata de jamón).

Well, yesterday I got a call as I was driving to pick up my roommate from the airport to say that they needed to know when I'd be home so they could deliver a ham leg to me. I was estatic! I've been dreaming of getting a ham leg for a couple years now and this one was one of the best, a pata negra (black leg). They run fairly expensive but are the best ham around, cured ham that is, like proschutto. Anyway, I just googled "how to cut a jamon ibérico" which you can follow along on here. Friends are coming over for New Year's Eve and we're going to break into the JAMON!!!

Have a great New Year's Eve!!!

Christmas is time for... fireworks? and... costumes?

Okay, so this picture is definitely an exaggeration, but is what it sounds like right now outside of my apartment. I actually thought it might knock off one of my window boxes it was so loud and so close.

The reason for all the commotion is of course... CHRISTMAS! Close to my apartment there is a restaurant that is apparently the happening place to go out with friends or co-workers for a Christmas dinner. The night is then of course not over until a few fireworks are shot off, Feliz Año is shouted, and most likely there are a few more stops afterward. It is somewhat humorous to me, as there are often costumes, wigs, maybe even masks accompanying the fireworks and joyous celebration.

Technically, all of this is for the 28th of December, which is the Día de los Innocentes (or the equivalent of April Fools' Day, although technically it is to honor the innocent children that were martyred, if I have my history right, by the Moors back in the day) but in Madrid it is all of December.

So when you go to the many Christmas markets around town, you can pick up some gifts, some figurines for the Nativity Scene, or more correctly your display of the entire town of Bethlehem (generally they include Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the animals, shepherds, wise men, functioning windmills, a man making bread, running water, a guy pooping (who is about as essential as Mary, Joseph and Jesus), and a myriad of other adornments) AND tinsel hair of varying colors, colored wigs, masks (both scary and famous people), silly string, firecrackers, incense, and a Christmas tree.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth... And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:14-16

Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67-69)

blueberries!!!

YUM!!! So I came home sopping wet this afternoon because I decided that my winter hat would be enough for the sprinkles coming down. True, but enough time even in light rain can get one decently wet. Fortunate for me, I was pretty well bundled up.

I came home in a somewhat bad, frustrated mood mainly because I couldn't find what I was looking for for the conference backdrop on Dec 27th, I was wet and a little under the weather anyway, and feeling a little overwhelmed.

It was then that I remembered the BLUEBERRIES! A friend who came to visit recently brought some dried blueberries from a friend who had remembered that that is what I had said I missed from the States. I prefer the fresh ones, obviously. But since that wasn't quite an option, the dried ones from Trader Joe's were VERY much appreciated.

So, I made some blueberry pancakes and remembered that I have a million and one reasons to be thankful and happy, even on a cold, rainy, frustrating day.

some spanish news...on abortion

Photo: "Every Life Matters" protest by a million Spaniards concerning the controversial abortion bill

Recently in Spain there has much debate over the abortion laws. Most recently a new law approved by parliament and sent to senate that has been widely opposed by some. It would make the current law less strict. And there is talk of a future law that would require medical students to learn the procedure.

I personally agree with the quote below that it is not a question of politics but of humanity. In the western world we are so often concerned over the rights of animals and human rights, but the rights of an unborn child are ignored and seen as just a mass of unwanted flesh. Somehow at 22 weeks, or 8 months, I think it would be hard for anyone to deny the fact that it is a baby in the womb (particularly if it could survive outside of the womb) and yet he or she can still be aborted. And, for the argument about the woman's rights, all the women I know who have had an abortion would attest to the fact that women who abort suffer physically and psychologically and for years after the fact.

Anyway, I know this is an extremely polemic issue. Here are some snippets from new articles from this past year and below are some full articles (all from CNN, NYTimes, and BBC News).

"The current law allows terminations in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy only in cases of rape and in the first 22 weeks in cases of congenital disorder. However, a woman can abort at any time if her mental or physical health is at risk — an exception cited in about 97 percent of abortions in Spain, according to Empar Pineda, spokeswoman for the Spanish Association of Accredited Abortion Clinics."

"The new law in Spain, which the government is in the process of drafting, would make abortion available on request in the first 14 weeks, and it would allow women as young as 16 to seek one without parental consent. Also under the law, a woman could abort in the first 22 weeks in the case of congenital disorder and after that if continuing the pregnancy put her life at risk."

"“We truly cannot give in to this,” he said of the new legislation. “It is not a question of politics, it is a question of humanity.”

The Spanish Episcopal Conference has rented billboards in three dozen cities on which they displayed a protected Iberian lynx next to a crawling baby with the words, “What about me? Protect my life.”

Anti-abortion groups and conservative regional governments have joined the protest. The regional government of Valencia, led by the Popular Party, is preparing an anti-abortion law that would, among other things, promote a network of surrogate families who would take in or support single mothers-to-be.

Thousands of people in Spain and Latin America turned out on March 29 for a protest organized by HazteOir, a conservative advocacy group. The group’s president, Ignacio Arsuaga, said the government should enforce the existing law rather than loosen it.

“This government likes to say it defends women’s rights,” he said by telephone. “But women who abort suffer physically and psychologically.”

"Abortion is carried out by a medical practitioner in a public or private clinic with the express consent of the pregnant woman under the following circumstances:

1. To avoid physical or mental harm to the mother (in this case two specialists must consent to the abortion going ahead)
2. If the pregnancy is the result of rape or an act of incest that has been declared to the police. The abortion must however be carried out within the first 12 weeks.
3. If the baby is severely physically or mentally handicapped. The abortion must again take place within the first 22 weeks. In this instance two specialists from an approved health centre plus the doctor in charge must certify that the foetus will suffer from its severe defects if allowed to be born.
4. In the case of an emergency that puts the life of the mother at risk, the abortion may be carried out without the express consent of the doctor and without that of the mother.

All voluntary interruptions of pregnancy carried out in conformity with Organic Law No. 9 of 1985 must be reported to the Spanish national health authorities by the Ministry of Health of each Autonomous Community on receipt of a form filled out by the doctor performing the abortion. The woman is not required to supply her name.

If one of these four circumstances exists, the Spanish Social Security (National Health Care) will pay for the termination.""

SEVERAL NEW ARTICLES - PRESENT & PAST

Spanish Parliament approves abortion bill -By Al Goodman, CNN Madrid Bureau Chief, December 17, 2009 11:24 a.m. EST

Madrid, Spain, (CNN) -- The Spanish Parliament approved a controversial bill on Thursday to make it easier to get an abortion in Spain, and sent it to the Senate.

The ruling Socialists and smaller-party allies amassed 184 votes against 158 from the main opposition conservative Popular Party and its allies.

Since 1985, abortion has been decriminalized in Spain, but only in matters of rape, or when the health of the child or mother is at risk.

Abortions have doubled in the past decade in the traditionally Roman Catholic country, from nearly 54,000 in 1998 to 112,000 in 2007, the most recent year for available data, according to Spain's Ministry of Health.

The Roman Catholic church here and the main opposition conservative Popular Party have blasted the government's bill to make it easier to get an abortion and give it legal backing.

The bill would permit abortions through 14 weeks of pregnancy, with few questions asked. But the most controversial section, according to many politicians and analysts, was a Socialist proposal to permit abortions for 16-year-olds without prior consent from their parents.

In recent negotiations to win enough votes, the Socialists agreed to soften that proposal. The version approved on Thursday would require 16 year-olds to get prior consent from their parents, unless such notification is reasonably considered to create a potentially violent conflict within the family.

Tens of thousands of people marched last October in Madrid against the abortion bill, under the theme "each life is important." Many leading conservative politicians attended, including former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

They say the proposed law throws open the door to more abortions. A protest organizer, Benigno Blanco, told the crowd "this debate won't end until there's not a single abortion." Blanco was a senior official in Aznar's government.

But the bill's supporters say the abortion measures are part of a broader national strategy on sexual and reproductive health, including education and access to contraceptives, which aims to prevent unwanted pregnancies in Spain.

The Socialists have called the conservatives "hypocritical," accusing them of doing nothing to completely outlaw abortion during their eight years in power from 1996 to 2004.

A group of women shout and hold placards as they take part in a protest march to oppose the government's


Spain's drops controversial abortion measure - AFP, Thu Dec 10, 1:26 pm ET

MADRID (AFP) – Spain's ruling Socialist Party agreed on Thursday to amend the most controversial of its abortion reforms, one that would have allowed girls of 16 to end a pregnancy without parental consent.

The measure had been condemned by both the conservative opposition Popular Party as well as some Socialist lawmakers.

At the demand of the centre-right Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee on Thursday approved a new version of the law that does not include the measure, political sources said.

However, the new legislation would still allow girls of 16 and over to undergo abortions without their parents' consent if there is "certain danger of family violence, threats, pressure, abuse, family exclusion or distress."

The new version of the proposed law would also allow doctors to refuse to carry out the procedure if they register as "conscientious objectors" to abortion.

The PNV said it would vote in favour of the bill "as its demands have been incorporated."

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero governs without an absolute majority and relies on the support of smaller parties such as the PNV in order to pass legislation.

Zapatero's cabinet approved the draft law at a cabinet meeting in September despite strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and the PP.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Madrid on October 17 to condemn the measures in a demonstration organised by the Spanish Family Forum, a coalition of Catholic groups.

Under the reforms, abortions would be allowed on demand up to the 14th week of pregnancy, and up to 22 weeks if there is a risk to the mother's health or if the foetus is deformed.

Women could also undergo the procedure after 22 weeks if the foetus has a serious or incurable illness.

The existing law, introduced in 1985, a decade after the death of right-wing dictator Francisco Franco, only allows abortion in cases of rape, foetal malformation and when a pregnant woman's mental or physical health is deemed to be at risk if the pregnancy goes to term.


PAST ARTICLES

Big anti-abortion rally in Spain
Pro-life protesters turned out in numbers
Saturday, 17 October 2009 22:42 UK - BBC News

More than a million people are said to have taken part in a march in Madrid to oppose government plans to liberalise Spain's abortion law.

Several dozen centre-right opposition party joined the demonstration, which was backed by Roman Catholic bishops.

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero wants to introduce abortion on demand.

At present, a pregnancy can only be terminated in mainly Catholic Spain under specific circumstances.

The government wants the procedure to be available to all women up until the 14th week of pregnancy.

Most controversially, the draft law currently before parliament would also permit girls aged 16 and 17 to have an abortion without their parents' knowledge.

It is the latest in a series of ethical issues which have pitted the Catholic right against the government, which has legalised gay marriage and made divorce easier.

Police estimates put the crowd at 250,000, but the regional government said that over a million had turned out, with the organisers claiming a turnout of two million.

'Every life matters'

The march brought together more than 40 religious and civil society groups calling for the government to withdraw the draft bill.

"This new law is a barbarity," said one protester, Jose Carlos Felicidad, from the southern town of Algeciras.

"In this country, they protect animals more than human beings," he told AFP news agency.

A broad cross-section of Spanish society were represented, says the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Madrid - old and young, parents with babies, priests, nuns, immigrant families and organised groups coached in from all over the country.

They gathered in the heart of Madrid under an enormous blue banner the height of a two-storey building emblazoned with the simple message: "Every life matters."

The crowd stretched all the way up the city's main avenue.

The demonstrators would have been hoping that lawmakers at the parliament nearby were listening, our correspondent adds, because it is they who in due course will vote on this controversial legislation.

Respect and rights?

Spain's existing law, dating from 1985, allows abortion in cases of rape and when there are signs of fetal abnormality.

Spanish women can also end a pregnancy if their physical or psychological health is at risk. In practice, the last category has been used to justify the vast majority of abortions - of which there were 112,000 in 2007.

The government says the new law is about respect and rights for women, and that anyone wanting to terminate a pregnancy will first be explained the alternatives - including state help for young mothers.

It also claims its proposal will make abortion safer - by ensuring the procedure does not happen beyond 22 weeks of a pregnancy.

In recent years shocking cases have emerged in which doctors performed abortions on women eight months pregnant, with the justification that their mental health was under threat.


Spain plans abortion law changes
Thursday, 14 May 2009 17:28 UK - BBC NEWS

The Spanish cabinet has agreed to liberalise the country's abortion laws, allowing abortion in most cases up to 14 weeks of pregnancy.

The proposals must go to parliament, where Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero lacks a majority.

His deputy, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, said changes were necessary to preserve the "dignity of women".

Anti-abortion groups have condemned the proposals and the Roman Catholic church has started an anti-abortion campaign.

Under current law, introduced in 1985, abortion is allowed in cases of rape up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 22 weeks in the case of fetal malformation.

The most important thing about this law, what it seeks, is to protect women's dignity.
Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega Deputy Prime Minister

It can also be performed at any time when a pregnant woman's mental or physical health are at risk from carrying the baby to term.

Currently most abortions in Spain are justified on the basis of psychological harm to the mother.

Under the proposals, as well as abortion with no questions asked up to 14 weeks, the procedure would be permitted up to 22 weeks if two doctors certified that there was a serious risk to the mother, or fetal malformation.

An abortion after 22 weeks would require a panel of doctors to certify that the fetal malformation would mean the baby would not live, or the fetus were diagnosed with an extremely serious or incurable disease.

"The most important thing about this law, what it seeks, is to protect women's dignity.

"That is its spirit, from beginning to end," said Ms Fernandez de la Vega, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The proposed changes follow other liberalisations made by Socialist Prime Minister Mr Zapatero, including legalising gay marriage and easing divorce laws.

The Catholic Church has condemned the abortion changes, with protests held earlier this year.

Here is a link to an article about the full abortion shown on Spanish TV in 2007. It's obviously quite graphic.

As is generally the case when I get excited about a book, I have just begun. I am 25 pages into NT Wright's book, "Justification" and am thoroughly enjoying it as I have other NT Wright books I have read. I'll probably add some more excerpts and maybe some additional comments as I continue. Although all that said, it may be a bit before I finish as I am babysitting at a friend's house and trying to quickly read through this book, knowing that they have yet to finish, so if I don't finish tonight I'll have to wait a bit.

"But the real point is, I believe, that the salvation of human beings, though of course extremely important for those human beings, is part of a larger purpose. God is rescuing us from the shipwreck of the world, not so that we can sit back and put our feet up in his company, but so that we can be part of his plan to remake the world. We are in orbit around God and his purposes not the other way around." NT Wright, p. 24, Justification

I am amazed and overjoyed! One, my apartment is almost clean. This Friday I made a bunch of cookies for Saturday, which was the cookie making class I gave for our church's Christmas open house with storytelling and various themed classes. It was a whirlwind - one hour to make and decorate cookies in cooking show style (i.e. without an oven, things magically appearing, etc.,). After that I dashed off to a youth meeting to follow up the EJE conference we had a couple weeks ago and arrived back home around 11:30pm with my car poorly parked, knowing that I would later have to move it and find a legal spot (which I did around 1:30am). Suffice it to say, my house was a disaster. So, it's nice to have that mostly done. I LOVE when my house is clean!

Two, last night a friend and I bought tickets to Mallorca for a couple days between New Year's and Kings' Day! Mallorca is one of the islands to the SE of Spain and somehow we found great tickets and a hotel that costs 65 Euros (for 3 days, the total). AND a good friend of mine is going to be in Paris for business and I found cheap tickets, so I finally get to go back to Paris for the weekend (which I'd been hoping to do this Christmas/New Year sometime).

Three, I've been listening to Handel's Messiah, which I love, and looking up the passages that go with each movement (although the lyrics are straight from the Bible) and enjoying reflecting on the meaning of Christmas.

Four, I was pleasantly awakened this morning at 5:30am to SNOW!!! It was beautiful!!! It has now pretty much melted and the rain that came latter didn't help, but it was nice for the few hours it lasted.

In the bleak midwinter...

"In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart."

"In The Bleak Midwinter" Christina Rossetti, 1872

the farmer and the dell?

It is 1:30am and I should be asleep. My roommate leaves tomorrow on a plane for the US for Christmas and I am driving her to the airport nice and early. And yet I am not asleep. And neither are my neighbors (which in part why I haven't yet hit the hay). Upstairs I keep on hearing a kid's toy play "The Farmer in the Dell" in Spanish of course and accompanied by a 3yr old or so's voice. Now the TV is also on upstairs, or at least I think it's upstairs, and there are also adult voices. At least the little girl is no longer crying. And then next door are two old men talking in deep gruff voices. That is a bit more normal, but it's been awhile since I've heard such a lively night like this. 1:30am in Madrid and time to get some shut-eye.

Thanksgiving & Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation in 1863

Proclamation of Thanksgiving
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She wrote, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary that he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

While this is a bit late coming, these words of Lincoln are powerful and thought-provoking as much in 2010 as they were in 1863. Happy belated Thanksgiving! I'm thankful that we have a day set aside to step back and to remember all the things and people for which we are thankful and also Him who has made us and all these things and people.

Note: George Washington also has a famous Thanksgiving speech, which can be read here on a friend's blog.

decorating!!!

I've been thinking on and off about decorating my apartment and while I probably won't we able to actually do so until Christmas, I at least have a few more ideas...

...estanterías, or bookshelves, made from old, brown crates. fun in part because we found a guy who sells crates (versus having to find this many in good shape on the street) for cheap. also fun because i'll get to design it and such.

... a floor lantern for the hallway, possibly two, one at each end, for when we have guests over. it's kind of a long hallway, but i hate leaving the lights on and wasting the electricity. plus candles are always more enchanting.


















... i'd also love a little corner in the living room with a soft, comfy chair to curl up in with a book. or maybe a hammock, although that would probably take up a lot of space.

... lots of textures, pretty earthly but also pretty. hmm...

... paint is the thing i haven't quite figured out. I wouldn't actually mind a couple shades of brown with maybe some earthly colors to accent (either real colors or whites and greens and blues and maybe the right color of coral or pink)... i really have no idea.

... i'm thinking of moving the huge bookshelf/buffet to the entryway of the hall to make more space

... the entryway needs a major overhall. i'd love to get a lot of morroccan lamps and such to make it very inviting and magical. the main question is the cost and where to find cheap, morroccan lamps. maybe i just make to take a trip down south soon. :-)

... and i think the entryway definitely needs a coat of paint, possibly a more vibrant color...

... and then there is a bookshelf that could be painted. i would totally strip it, but that is a long, some what toxic process. so... that also has to be decided, depending on where it ends up.

so... those are my rambling, random thoughts on redecorating as of late. not to mention some of the remodeling we're going to request from our landlord. i'd so love love love a new kitchen, or at least new cabinets and stove/oven. one that actually has a temperature gauge in the oven instead of just having to guess by the size of the flame and then knowing it will take longer and possibly have to be tinkered with and possibly turn out unevenly heated... i so have kitchen envy of the place we stayed in on the surf trip. cooking was so much more simple.

if i had my druthers i'd have a marble counter top. that's unlikely, but a girl can definitely dream.

“It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.” – Mother Teresa

wearing your heart on your sleeve

i just got off the phone with a dear friend of mine. she called to ask if i was okay. she noticed that yesterday afternoon i was a little down, or so it seemed. and she was right, although i didn't quite realize it 'til i was on the train to the airport.

i SO appreciate her asking, which expresses to me that she sees me and cares. she didn't have to call and i wouldn't have given it a second thought, but she did.

and apparently it was way too obvious what i was feeling, unbeknownst to me, because on the train on the way to the airport the girl riding with me, who i don't know very well (i just met her on friday) asked me the same thing, if i was doing okay. i was, but it occurred to me in that moment why i was upset. it was nothing, just a commentary that someone made about a certain subject that i happened to be sensitive about that day, probably all in jest. i knew it was nothing, but for some reason continued to run it around in circles in my head.

it is so nice to have good friends. and while i don't mean to wear my heart on my sleeve, sometimes it is nice to be asked if you're okay when you're a little upset. (although there are also times where i wish that no one knew how i felt.)

singleness, babies, weddings, longings,...

hmm... right now i'm actually in a great mood, so this actually has nothing to do with my present emotions.

recently weddings and babies have been on my mind quite frequently, in fact more frequently than i wish. it seems like everyone and their brother is having babies and getting married this year. since september i've been to two weddings, i have another one in just a week, and a girl who is also in madrid working with me is getting married next summer. as for babies, most of my friends now have at least 2 kids. fortunately, for my sake, there are still a couple other single friends around, but the list keeps on shrinking.

the girl in madrid who is getting married is the one whose wedding somehow affects me more than any other one has in a very long time. she came here last january on staff, this summer met her fiancé, and a month later they were engaged. while i know it isn't true, i feel like it's unfair, that somehow i've put in my time and deserve it more. (obviously, it's not something you "deserve" or "don't deserve," nor something that comes to you when you've earned it, but that is on an emotional level how i feel about it. i mean I want to get married and have kids too. when is it MY turn? that is again my emotions speaking, not my brain.)

then there have been several thoughtless things that people have said. i think it was primarily to poke fun at us (not thinking that it could come across as being hurtful), but a married guy at our meetings this weekend said (again i think in jest) that we just need to seduce a man; that that is the secret of who gets a guy and who doesn't. he said that is obviously an art, as the man needs to think he is doing the work, but he needs to first be enticed. he said it has nothing to do with looks or what a girl is actually like, but all about physical attraction and the girl pursuing the guy. while i think a girl obviously can't go hide inside a burlap bag, i strongly disagree. but then again i'm the one who is single. this guy's remarks infuriated me and at the same time made me feel hurt, as if he was saying that it's my own fault that i'm single. and made me want to survey all the guys i've ever liked and ask them why either nothing ever happened or it didn't work out. is it my fault? i think the answer is no. no, i haven't done things perfectly, but i also think that some of the relationships which haven't worked out have had little to nothing to do with me. honestly i think that we weren't the right two people to go together and/or the guy had no idea what he wanted (and sometimes i didn't either). the fact that most of the guys i'm talking about are still single too seems to support my point. (and they've definitely had some women pursue them or clearly express their interest in them.)

well today is a new day. on one hand i have no idea what to do with all this stuff. and on the other hand, while i would love to have someone to wake up to, to be with me through moves, through think and thin, to have a family with, to make decisions with, and i'd love to hold a little baby in my arms that is mine, i one trust that someday that may happen and on the other hand know that it will be okay if it doesn't, that the Lord will meet me in whatever situation i may find myself. He will give me the grace and strength i need for each day. for i know, despite my emotions at times, that i have a God who walks with me, who is my help and the one who cares for me and loves me and who is with me through the ebs and flows of life. my God loves me and chooses to bless me and protect and provide for me apart from what i deserve or "earn." that is so nice to know.

today i am resting. i got back last night around 11pm after a weekend of meetings in barcelona, which by the way went well. staff from around spain and students met to plan a retreat we have in march about discipleship. it was fun to watch mel, a student from madrid, as she gave input and processed both stuff she's been learning and things we talked about there. there were supposed to be several students from across spain, but in the end it was just mel.

today, i'm resting, which today means watching a movie, blogging, cleaning & doing laundry, going to the gym, journaling & spending time with Jesus, and maybe going for a walk or something. later on this week, a team from n. california gets here to help with our english immersion weekend & a thanksgiving dinner (and just to see what we do) and a friend of mine from st. peters is also going to join us, which is really fun!

as i rest, i'm also thinking through some things i need to do this week. and also things i'd like to do. one thing i'd really like to do is make a plan for redecorating the living room, entryway and hall. it's been awhile that i've wanted to do this, but it seems that i've only made time to take baby steps. if not before, christmas seems like the perfect time to work on it a bit more. some other things that need to get done are Christmas gifts (some of which i'd really like to be handmade), ordering some books from amazon, finishing some sewing projects, cleaning, updating my ministry website, etc., so... i just finished my movie and need to tackle both the laundry from the trip and my room that has seen the effects of being way too busy and being in and out of town a bit too frequently.

julia

I love Nora Aphron films! Julia and Julia definitely again is filled with great lines, similar to You've Got Mail also by Nora Aphron. It's absolutely wonderful!!! And it's made me think both about blogging and about possibly setting some type of goal/challenge. The second Julia decides to cook through all of Julia's French Cooking book in a year and blog about it. It also makes me want to buy Julia's book and learn to cook french food and to cook it well. Hmm...

As for goals, the things that come to mind are running another marathon, which would be great fun, really, or something along those lines. We'll see...

war and peace

So, I've been trying to think about war and a Christian's response to it - and the various positions held by believers over the years. It's not like I haven't thought about this before, but having watched Thin Red Line and knowing that we're going to discuss it tonight, and the fact that there are strong christian undertones, i'd just like my thoughts to be a bit more cohesive before i have to say them out loud (and to preferably not just be verbally processing).

Some of the big questions from the film are:

Where does the evil in the world and in us come from? What happened to the light and to the good in us and in the world?

Why is there war? Is war ever just? What is the right response of one who follows Jesus to war? How do we reconcile an individual response to evil and a government & country's response to it? Is it right to bring about justice through violence?

What about the beauty in the world and in people? Where does that come from? Why do we sometimes see it so clearly and other times does it seem so dim?

Anyway, there are many more questions than just this. And I honestly wish the film had more fully developed each of the characters. There are lots of vignettes and just brief touches with various characters so you are left with little thoughts and a lot of questions about even what they are trying to convey, what the movie is trying to convey, and what the various characters think.

So, in thinking about all this, here are a couple links I found through a google search that were helpful (Although I still have more questions than answers, they at least gave some more food for thought. And I DON'T necessarily agree with all that is written in these links.):

http://www.leaderu.com/humanities/demy.html

http://fromthestacksonmydesk.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/christian-response-to-war/

http://allkindsoftime.blogspot.com/2005/05/ive-read-good-deal-on-christian.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Red_Line_%281998_film%29

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120863/quotes

http://www.counterpunch.org/mcdowell02122003.html

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/war-and-peace

I'd love any thoughts you guys have too about this.

thin red line

I just watched Thin Red Line for our film night & discussion tonight. I'm not quite sure what I think of it yet and am thinking a bit about war and peace and how knowing Jesus affects the way I should rightly think about all this. I'll have to blog after I've sorted though my thoughts a bit more. But there are some interesting quotes below from the film.

"There's great evil. Where's it come from? How did it steal into the world?

What seed, what root did it grow from? Whose doing this? Who's killing us, robbing us of life and light, mocking us with the sight of what we might have known?

Does our ruin benefit the earth? Does it help the grass to grow and the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you too? Have you passed through this night?"

"War to any noble man turns them into dogs, poisons the soul."

"How do we get to those shores, those blue hills? Love, where does it come from? Who put this flame in us? NO war can put it out and conquer it. I was a prisoner, you set me free."

"How did we loose the good that was given us? Let it slip away, scatter carelessly? What's keeping us from reaching out and touching the glory?"

"One man sees a dying bird and... that death has the final word. Another man sees the glory and something shining through it."

"Everything a lie. Everything you hear, everything you see. So much to spew out. They just keep coming, one after another. You're in a box. A moving box. They want you dead, or in their lie... There's only one thing a man can do - find something that's his, and make an island for himself. If I never meet you in this life, let me feel the lack; a glance from your eyes, and my life will be yours."

"Darkness and light, strife and love, are they the workings of one mind, the features of the same face? "

All this has made me think of some C.S. Lewis quotes about man, life, war, peace,... I'll have to look them up and post them later.

justice?

Here's a link to an article on a friend's blog that has some very poignant quotes about the recent execution of a serial killer. It reminded me of some of the conversations we've had after our film night after dark movies like No Country for Old Men or the like.

Asturias

This past weekend we headed up north to BEAUTIFUL Asturias to surf. To be honest, not a lot of surfing actually happened due to the huge waves, strong under toe, and rough waters, not to mention the rain and sleet. We did some, but did a lot more just hanging out, exploring the rocky cliffs by the beach, climbing a little, running into the cold water while it sleeted, eating good hearty food, and just being together. It was great! There were 15 of us and I think we all got some good exercise, but were just refreshed by getting out of the city, getting to take some risks & adventures in the water and rocks, just hanging out and being, and by the incredible views. I'm again reminded that I think I need to do this more often; just take off and go somewhere fun and beautiful and to get out of the city now and then.

some perspective on life

A friend recently reminded me: "You can't ask for strength for tomorrow, you can only ask for strength for today. Matthew 6 tells us how we can't bother worrying about tomorrow - how we only get enough grace for one day at a time, we have only our bright hope for tomorrow."

Today as I looked at a few things that are very much out of my control and hands and felt completely overwhelmed, angry, and frustrated, I then thought, "Hey, wait. If you have no control over this, why are you so stressed out by it. You can't control it, you just have to both trust that the Lord will be with you, whatever may happen, and that He will give you grace for now and for the future." My friend's words came to mind and 99% of the stress I felt moments ago has dissipated. Everything is back in perspective.

Ironically I read Psalm 121 and yet hours later had forgotten some of the simple truths there which were exactly what I needed to remember. :-)

a few little thoughts

one, I love doing campus ministry in Spain. somehow it makes me come alive just being on campus, but even more so actually talking to students about things that matter, or being in their midst when this happens.

this week we're repeating an outreach we did last year called, "What do you see?" (although it sounds way better and catchier in Spanish.) basically we've advertised for a few weeks on campus with fotos and the phrase, "What do you see?" and we've also just put plain black or white flyers with the same phrase. this week we've had tables up on campus with 50 fotos that they can choose from to answer questions about life, the world, hope, brokenness, God,... they answer with pictures, which actually makes them more honest and more willing to answer deep, personal questions. they then have the option of telling us in words why, but either way it gets them thinking. and to me it seems obvious that a picture is worth a thousand words. somehow a picture sticks with you longer. so, i'm excited. it's been to hear students talking with their friends about deep things and it's been fun to see them come back and bring friends just to find out what they would have chosen and why. i've been in some of the conversations, but the majority i've just been a fly on the wall.

today in the midst of another long day, basically 6-7 hours standing up and interacting with people, i was looking around and remembering how much I love just being on campus. recently we've been organizing activities and getting things going, so while i've been with students, i haven't actually spent as much time on campus. it's been nice the past few days. it reminded me again why i love what i do.

it's very much a side note, but it's also been curious, or interesting, to see the huge change in fashion this year. the past few years there were quite a lot of dreads and hippies on campus and then just normal euro trends. this year we've taken a huge swing back to the 80s. big hair is in. the hippies are much more hard core in their dress, with dog collar bracelets and such. tons of heavy metal or hard core band shirts, tons of black, but all black. lots of bleached hair. lots of leggings and leather pants. lots of aviator glasses. i've been people watching and told tyler (a friend on the campus team) that i can picture people stepping out of back to the future, fame, flashdance, dirty dancing, family ties, etc., it's definitely euro-80s, with a bit more style than the US counterparts, but it's still 80s all the way.

i have some good reflecting i was going to blog, but i need to run out the door. so i'll have to do that another day.

happy times...

last night we had our first of the semester english night. (we have them about once a month.) unfortunately it coincided with the champion's league soccer match between real madrid and milán, so many of our regulars weren't here. (and double-ly unfortunately, madrid lost.) but we still had a nice little group and had a great time. it was also fun because a few study abroad students dropped by to lend us a hand, which was much appreciated.

and after we opened some lambrusco to celebrate bekah's recent engagement. it was fun hanging out for a bit and i felt loved. a peruvian friend of ours was over and she said that she wants to possibly move to canada after finishing here degree to get a master's in law somewhere else. it was late and i was tired, so i told her she needed to move to missouri, not canada, and of course proceeded to spout the greatnesses of missouri (which unbeknownst to many, who are very mistaken about our fine green state, are quite great). i mean the pure number of rivers to go canoeing on, the BEAUTIFUL green hills, good places to hike and explore, i could go on. granted we don't have a huge mountain range, but missouri is far from flat. granted we have no beaches, but we do have lakes and rivers and caves...

so, i'm in the room with dave who's from delaware, bekah from cali/colorado, chery who's from colorado, and zadith from peru. they start to tease me, which i think if done properly is one of the best ways to show love. somehow we then started to talk about bears and their abundance in canada (with a bit of exaggeration), the movie "grizzly bear," and other reasons why zadith would be much better not in canada (definitely very tongue in cheek). so, i don't fully remember the context (i mean this was somewhere around midnight on a wed night.) we begin to talk about rivers and such and i very matter-of-fact-ly state where the missouri river begins and ends (clearly in colorado) and that i thought i remembered learning that it flowed backward or something like that. they only half believe me and start to talk about how convincingly i can talk about just about anything i really have no idea about and how this is exactly the same way i try to twist the rules on games at times. (i think this was around the time that i said, "no, i'm pretty sure i am right. but i guess i really have no idea. (which i guess is a common phrase of mine.)" dave and bekah both then said, "yeah, we already knew that." so i then wanted to prove the validity of what i had just said so went to find the atlas someone randomly gave me for my birthday this past year. sure enough the missouri river starts right where i said (not too hard, since it's in st. louis, where i'm from) and goes west up between iowa and nebraska, turns west across nebraska, and then, oh.... somehow they continued to talk and all i said was, oh.... and then told them what i had been right about and then the BUT... :-) the missouri river actually ends in south dakota or around there, not in colorado (but close, right?).

anyway, i share all this to say, they then talked about the many dawn-isms that exist and i relished in the fact that it's true that they know me well and that they appreciate the little things that make me me (and definitely are things very opposite from both dave & bekah).

i guess it's just nice to feel known and loved. :-)

"Thou God of all grace,
Thou hast given me a Saviour,
produce in me a faith to live by him,
to make him all my desire,
all my hope,
all my glory.

May I enter him as my refuge,
build on him as my foundation,
walk in him as my way,
follow him as my guide,
conform to him as my example,
receive his instructions as my prophet,
rely on his intercession as my high priest,
obey him as my king.

May I never be ashamed o f him or his words,
but joyfully bear his reproach,
never displease him by unholy or imprudent conduct,
never count it a glory if I take it patiently
when buffeted for a fault,
never make the multitude my model,
never delay when thy Word invites me to advance.

May thy dear Son preserve me from this present evil world,
so that its smiles never allure,
nor its frowns terrify,
nor its vices defile,
nor its errors delude me.

May I feel that I am a stranger and a pilgrim on earth,
declaring plainly that I seek a country,
my title to it becoming daily more clear,
my meetness for it more perfect,
my foretastes of it more abundant;
and whatsoever I do may it be done in the Saviour's name."

from The Valley of Vision

tunes

I've been wanting some new music to add to my itunes and pulled out some stuff i listened to at my brother's. I've been loving the Dark Was the Night compilation as well as some of the artists featured on it such as Grizzly Bear, Beirut, Sufjan Stevens, Tune-Yards and some others of whom I'm forgetting the names.

twins, part 2

Ironically after that last post Teo woke up crying and this time wasn't soothed by laying him back on his tummy, finding his chupete/binkie, and patting his back. He was screaming, so I picked him up and took him in the other room to rock him a bit. I laid him down and Tomás soon after starts to scream and then the both start in together. Teo was awake, but only whimpering and Tomás was full out crying. And of course then both pacifiers fall on the ground (in the dark, mind you). So I turn on the hall light to get some softer light into the room, find the pacifiers, start to sing to them and alternate back and forth until both are sleeping soundly. whoo... I go back into the living room and getting some work done, some letters written. And this happens two or three more times, although the last time it almost seemed that Teo's crying was merely supportive or empathetic crying for Tomás. Poor little sick babies. They are super congested and almost wheezing when they breathe. They are coughing and yuck, their head is filled with congestion and mucous. I'm sure the feel horrible and I hate when I have a cold and can't breathe and thus can't sleep. Poor little guys. All in all they are super sweet little guys and even in crying and such are really easy kiddos. So, just after the last crying duo, the babies are sound asleep and I start back to the project I was working on, 1am, and the parents get home. They had a nice time out and I am just praying they get some sleep tonight (unlike last night). I then had my 45 minute drive home and then the search for a parking spot, but it was nice (other than being a little tired). Sweet dreams little mellizos.