While planning for our year, both in advance and on-the-go, TripAdvisor became our sixth family member. We poured over reviews and suggestions of restaurants, apartments, hikes, hotels, trains, and self-guided tours. As a school writing assignment, we even studied what makes a good review and...
ColorFull
posted by S
I had the most beautiful ice cream cone the other day. The rain was just stopping, and the Kyoto street colors were accentuated by the wet. Red lanterns, dark wood, carefully arranged potted plants, flocks of bright umbrellas. As I savored both the green tea color AND flavor, I remembered...
Rwanda Gallery
posted by S
We had an incredible week in the “Land of a Thousand Hills” — beautiful land and beautiful people who have touched us deeply. Some highlights to narrate our (quite large) photo gallery: A day visiting World Relief staff and projects around Kigali — staff devotion, Dr....
Led Together
posted by J
This was my view of E’s brief walk with a young man named Geoffrey this afternoon. Scenes like this have led to some great writing the boys have been producing in World School. I’ve given them some fairly broad topics to tackle about our recent experiences in Rwanda and Kenya...
Goodbye, Again
posted by S
Earlier this week, we said goodbye to dear, long-time friends Alex and Sherilynn and their three kids as we left Tanzania. In our last few minutes together, we had a frantic 10 minute dance party, took some crazy PhotoBooth pics, and sniffled our way through hugs and goodbyes. Good times,...
Morning Glory
posted by J
Get out of bed, Jerusalem! Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight. These were the words I happened to read this morning from Isaiah, as we woke up to brilliant sunshine today in Musanze, Rwanda. Adding to the morning glory, the daughter of our current hosts was reciting this poem to the...
Number Eight
posted by J
My first soccer practice was at E. Rivers Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. I jumped out of my mom’s car and then ran pell mell down a steep, tree-lined hillside to the soccer field below. It’s a vivid memory still. The number on my jersey that year was number 8...
Memorial Message
posted by J
We’re told that the Rwandan genocide essentially touched EVERY Rwandan in some way. S and I struggle with how it’s to touch us. Above, is a photograph taken from The Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. Those long cement rectangles are mass graves for the remains of hundreds and...
An Angel Sings With ...
posted by J
I tried to explain the Rwandan genocide to our boys in a few minutes this morning. They really tracked with the information — from colonial rule, to the creation of Tutsi and Hutu labels, to civil war, to mass murder … but they stopped me when I started talking about...