Guard your heart and your mind...Be careful what you see little eyes, Be careful what you hear little ears....

I hope you are well and that in reading this posting there might be some interesting food for thought, and that you take it with peace, in the way I am intending to share it. 

Intro....
"Be careful what you ask for", is a common, often light-hearted warning,  you've likely heard before. It might have been when you were a kid and wishing you didn't have a brother (to annoy you so much), or when you were tired of your colleagues at work and wishing you had more time with your family. Well, I have good news for you, all those times that we've silently or not so silently wished for more down time in life, that time is here. I know I have both thought and spoken the words "if I could just pause the world and catch up on activities A, B, and C, that would be great". Well, I would say this time in history is about as close to that as any of us might ever get, this side of heaven.

What have you been doing with this time?

While I want to both start and keep this post a light-hearted and yet heart felt conversation, I hope to share some stimulating and perhaps challenging personal thoughts. I completely believe that we are in a notable time in history, but also a pivotal one. The current global reaction to this most recent 'new' virus presents many opportunities, along with the challenges, both big and small. There is the choice in front of each of us as to how we respond in our behavior, but perhaps also more importantly, what we choose to feel and think about what is happening. Actions taken now will have a major impact on the future. Leaders decisions about lock-downs will have far reaching consequences on the global economy. Individuals' choices of personal behavior can literally have life and death consequences. This is not me saying everyone should stay home for months on end and never go out etc.

Rather, my point is one that can only be grasped upon internal reflection. Are you aware of what is driving your daily behavior? Your decisions, even while they seem to be outwardly limited? Your choice to mentally embrace or take action out of fear or freedom will not only have both immediate and long term implications on your situation, but these choices create patterns in your head and heart which will have an impact far deeper and lasting than might be realized. I know because I have lived this before. I've been faced with the choice to fear and respond out of that fear, or to choose into truth, that I do not know what might happen, but my good Father, God, does, and He is victorious, working everything for good. As I often here from a norcal church team of pastors, and strongly agree with - if the outcome is not good, it is not the end.

I speak from a place of great frustration surrounding the poor risk management of global leaders, nausea toward the media choices of what and how to print in today's society, and sadness at the choice of many people to live in fear instead of truth and with a spirit of authority. Yes, I know many of you reading this post are not followers of Jesus Christ, and from that perspective I completely believe that some of my points are not resonating with you, but if you'd like to live in freedom, and grow in peace and hope, go ahead and pick up a Bible and start reading, check out https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2021;&version=NIV, or just start talking to God and see what He says back to you. For those of you who know Christ, this is a golden opportunity for you to choose joy and lean into the peace that passes all understanding.

1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Do not misunderstand my comments here or in this post. I am not belittling death or any other loss being incurred by the current pandemic, or suggesting to disrespect authorities or the law. I am trying to share thoughts from perhaps a new perspective to you based on my own personal growth living in war zones and with deadly diseases, militia groups, and even local military groups ravaging the communities around me. I too must again make my choice to stand in solidarity with those already grounded in faith and hope of good things to come, and that the sickness and evil in this world is NOT as we are intended to live. We are designed for greatness. We are were created in the image of the almighty God who can, who will, and who is, working what the evil one intended to destroy, our good God is able to make beauty, glory, and hope come out of it.

Personal Context

I am a thinker, much more than a feeler. I take action far more based on reason and logic than on my emotions (this of course has it's positives and negatives). This tendency has definitely contributed to my ability to work in challenging environments, war zones with death and destruction very near to myself and those I am entrusted to lead and care for, centers for deadly disease outbreaks, areas in famine and great distress, and  communities with general insecurity from sometimes unidentifiable yet incredibly hostile and active well armed groups. I have not only worked in these places, but I have been a key person of the risk management team(s) (think, security and safety team). I recognize well that my experiences are unusual and I have practice at living in uncertain times, evaluating contexts, and accepting what I can control, and being able to 'make peace' with the fact that I do not know control everything that I wish I could. But that decisions and actions still must move ahead.

A miniature lesson in Risk Management 

Point one, think about what is going on around you, gather known facts, decide what you can do in your control and leave the rest.

While all of this may be different from your background, I absolutely believe that you are capable of living without fear both today and during whatever might happen tomorrow or next week, next month, or next year. Think with me for a moment from a purely head-centric point of view. Some Ebola stains kill 90% of those infected, most recent outbreak was closer to 65%. Cancer is responsible for 1 in every 6 deaths, Cholera kills, at the low end, at a rate of 20% of those infected, current rate in our situation is well below 5%. Strictly statistically speaking, risks of serious illness/death are relatively very low (Again, I am NOT saying this does or should undervalues those who do get sick/die). But my point is not to do a stats analysis on the worst case scenario happening and then simple carry on. My point is that when there is a risk of something bad happening, it is very possible to work over the problem to understand if and what real dangers might exist and how to best manage, avoid, or transfer those risks. While ever person does this intuitively, I know many do not do it consciously.

This above, is your first lesson in Risk management, if you have never had one. You do this constantly in life, but may not realize it. When you choose to put on your seat belt in the car, you are mitigating the risk of death in a car accident by choosing to wear the safety belt. By not traveling to Sudan in the middle of an ethnic conflict you are avoiding the risk of harm by the decision not to go. By driving your child to school instead of putting them on the school bus, you avoid the risks of him getting bullied on the school bus, but you increase the risk of him being involved in a car accident by his increased time in a car. Of course there are many, many other factors at play in these decisions. Which is exactly the case with this pandemic. There are many factors at play. There is not single, certain, perfect decision for a nation, a state, or a household. Risk management is about understanding what factors matter, when, that context is key, and that risks ARE different for different individuals, families, countries, etc.  

Point two, take action, or not, based on truth, not on fear. Consider the plight of other nations apart from the current pandemic to help you put things in context.

Aside from the headcentric commentary above, if you are in a developed nation, I encourage you to consider what it is like for the billions of people who live in contexts where deadly diseases are a far more regular part of life than in the western world. I encourage you to deeply question the messages and how especially western media is communicating about the current 'crisis'. Consider, how you might be responding if 99.9% of the current western new articles were not only focused on the virus and its consequences, but rather they continued to cover other stories and events around the globe?

When was the last time you read or a news story not related somehow to the pandemic? Next time you turn on the TV, scroll through the internet or click on your phone, see what you can find. I say this as a genuine challenge. I myself am constantly searching around for unrelated stories, because make no mistake, there are many things still going in the world. You may not agree, but to me the media has been consumed beyond reason and often fear-mongering during recent weeks. What is this doing to our hearts and minds? What has it done already? Who are you becoming and what are you believing by reading and listening to this? What if we stepped back and considered the bigger picture?

You are a child of the King of Kings, you have authority over this earth and everything in it. You have the power to chose life and truth. Are there bad things in the world? Yes. But everything in your life as a believer is able to be worked for good by the Creator of the Universe.

We are each on our own journey toward eternity. We are given the gift and opportunity to accept great freedom and have the choice each moment to keep it or let it be stolen by the evil one, via lies we accept, or fear we allow to stay in our hearts or mind. I speak these things from personal experience, of times when I know I have let lies take root in my mind and control my actions in ways I should not have allowed.
There are times of great struggle and yet, each moment is an opportunity to live in freedom, grace, joy, and excitement as what is to come. I chose truth, and faith in what God tells me --even if I do not see it or feel it. Because He knows, and He is good, and He is truth, He is God and I am not, He has already claimed victory and I know I am on the winning side.

1 Peter 5:8

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

2 Corinthians 10:5 

We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Part 2 of 2: (Still) Off beat and seeking stillness...

Sunset in Sonora

Hi all,

If you did not yet have a chance to read last weeks blog posting (and part one of this) please feel free to do so before jumping in below. Or not. As you like. But if you dive right in I take no responsibility for your confusion, if you read the first part on the other hand, I take full responsibility for your confusion. Cheers!

Do you know yourself? May seem like a totally unrelated question to music, stillness, and being out of sync as I was speaking about last week, right? Well, it's not. Do you know yourself? God knows you. You should be the one on this planet who knows you best. Do you? Do you take time to know yourself in Him?

Maybe you're not so into the God thing, again, another topic, but really, when was the last time you were still? To be. To listen to the STILL small voice inside? Don't get me wrong, I know this is not easy. It is not easy to find the time or metaphorical space (or often even a physical place) to be still. On the occasion that I get myself to physical place in which I would like to be still, I then face the challenge of my active brain. At times I wish I could open my head, take out my brain and stop it running. We, or should I say "I", I am so wired, have so trained myself to go-go-go---GO faster! Than when I try to say stop - at best I need a cool down lap (or two) before I can be still. Really still.

Sunset in Sonora, CA

This afternoon God was playing with clouds and sun outside and kept on inviting me to come join. It took me a couple of hours to answer the call and take a seat on the deck glider swing. To watch the sunset, with the long low light across the hills in front of me and the sun popping out of the high clouds to turn the hills and trees gold before setting behind the next layer of clouds that were blowing by. As I sat and was trying to read (wanting to make my stillness productive of course) each time I looked up my gaze lingered longer and longer before looking back down at my book.

It was spectacular.

I sat and listened to robins flittering around (no, 'flittering is not a real word, in case you were wondering), geese over head, a very distant plane motor, a train many miles away honking, the cows, horses, and dogs at least a mile below me in the valley enjoying the last bit of sun on them. A flock of robins swished down from the roof over my head, making the sound of dozens of falling arrows.(Because I am very familiar with the sound of dozens of falling arrows - haven't you seen Lord of the Rings?) If I were the reactionary type I might have feared something was falling from the sky as I heard the loud swishing sound before seeing what it was.

Sunset in Sonora, CA, USA

Stillness is remarkable. To be, when so much around us is doing. To know our place and our value because we know ourselves (ching- back to the starting question, did you catch that!?) and our purpose from time spent alone, with God, in nature (or whatever refreshes you with something real in a world so full of superficiality). Doing 'nothing' as life is always turning and teaming around us. It is when others are dancing and I am sitting still that it is the most challenging to disconnect, and yet often the most essential. The challenge of putting down and walking away from the phone, stopping the language lesson, eating dinner later than normal, or skipping my movie night to make time and to escape it all. In times that seem the most difficult, it can be the most critical and life giving moment to sit in peace and stillness.

Aaaand, again. 

Because dancing a dance is not tracing or copying someone else's footsteps, nor is running a race, or building a edifice. To dance a dance one goes forward as the other goes back, running a race requires you to stay in your lane and do your utmost to complete that race to the best of your ability, conquering the mental battle of self before you can ever accomplish the physical race. And constructing a building requires different tools, skills, over a long time frame, with a variety of workers doing his or her part at a particular stage. It would not work if the framer, electrician, roof man, and plumber were trying to do their part at the same time. Each works in their own stride, own time, with their own constraints, to complete his or her individual best work, which in turn contributes to an even greater end result with benefits multiplied from the smaller contributions of each engaged person.


A very good articulation of this I read recently:

If we overextend ourselves beyond our personal calling and don't prune (quit) our activities that are fruitless, we use the capacity we do have on things that don't really matter. Thus, we undermine our divine responsibility and derail our destiny.(pg140)Poverty, Riches and Wealth

Lovely Yosemite Falls

In general I love my off beat life, not only what I do and how I do it, but the very fact that it is different from so many others. This is true for each of us (I hope). There is great value in many things in our lives, but what if we became better at BEING a human-being instead of trying to be a human-doing. The pit of self worth that will never be filled by hundreds of likes on Instagram, shares on Twitter, forwards on emails, can be filled in stillness, truth, knowing you are deeply valued and profoundly loved by a heavenly Father. Grounding ourselves in our incomparable and priceless worth to the King of Kings.

I'm all about action. (Dang it, did I just completely undo the whole post with that comment?!) I mean, I am about muscle memory and visual and physical reminders of important things. :) Put a stake in the ground, a physical one, that you can return to, because it is from that place of certainty, of having taken the time to know oneself, knowing one's value and purpose, that one can change the world.

Because  music always sounds better when someone plays on the up beat and the down beat (together, yet distinctively different and individual) and it is those who are strong enough to set a new beat who change the direction of the song, which then shifts the mode of the room, and carries out to new melodies in the streets!

I hope to have another post for you next week, but don't have too high of expectations. I am already setting records with two weeks in a row!

Until then, May you fill your mind with stillness and the streets with new melodies,
Jessica

Off beat and seeking stillness...(Part 1 of 2)

Ok, a question for you, how often do you take your phone into the bathroom with you?

I suspect the answer is more often than we even realize any more.

Kabul, Afghanistan sunset

We are apparently so stretched for 'time' in our lives that either we are trying to be efficient by multi-tasking while in the bathroom doing whatever it is we might be doing in there OR perhaps we are so addicted and dependent on our phones and the often falsely inflated sense of self-worth they bring to us by giving the impression we are always needed and thus busy, or by being noticed via likes, that we simply cannot bare to part with them for even a few minutes.

When I was working in DRCongo last year, much of the time I was managing one or more phones that any staff member could call, in case of an emergency. And while there might be 'emergencies' similar to those in the western world, it was more likely to be a situation of insecurity that was threatening or endangering staff , which would be the reason I would get a call. For much of the time I managed 3 different phones. (Don't ask why 3, that is another post about humanitarian aid workers, and how many and why they carry all their phones.) I had the 3 phones on my person nearly 24 hrs a day. My staff (and my seamstress) knew I only wanted clothes with pockets in them to ensure I never set down and walked away from a phone. Yes, I took them into the bathroom with me. I slept with them charging, sitting by my pillow so I wouldn't miss any communication during the night (lets hope they never prove doing that causes brain cancer). The only time I didn't have them was while taking my bucket shower in the small shower room. This was only because there was no where to put them in the room where they would not get water damaged.
Do I think this was healthy to be so attached to the phones? No.
Do I think it was relevant and necessary, in that specific context? Absolutely.

Montreux, Switzerland sunset

Did it have a psychological impact on me? Yes, without question. Even a physical one, trying to carry them around all the time gets exhausting. Play any of those ring tones now and my pulse increases. Take my phone to far from me now and I'll occasionally get concerned I may have missed a text that causes a life threatening situation. Eeks, not a good feeling.

That is obviously an extreme and out of the norm situation. It may be that the reasons I behaved that way would not be commonly repeated, but arguably there are many people with similar behavior, facing similar effects on their life, without much awareness, or perhaps just without much concern of the impact on themselves. The assault on our senses and competition for our attention and time is very real for each of us, no matter where we are in the current global context.

Goma, DRCongo Sunset

If I consider my own life, and how many of my choices have led me down a very different path than my average peer, it could be easy to think that my off beat life brings up uncommon problems. Though I must say the comment is not entirely untrue, I think my effort to find peace and stillness and the challenges there in are on pare with so many of you, who also have challenges in finding these things.

Taking a snapshot of my life and surroundings at any particular moment, you would likely find that I indeed appear out of sync, an odd fit for my environment, or off beat with those around me or from others in my age bracket.

When I go east, many peers get married, when I go west they are having kids. When I go to a gym class in the middle of the day it is only retired people there, when I get on a 2nd plane to get to a far away place there is a striking change in the composition of the cabin population, shifting from daily transiting, suit-wearing business men to - everyone else. When I am out of the country living in a war zone, people still ask the typical questions of someone else of a similar age, "have you met someone? Are you married?" Lately, it is less often that and more often the leading question of 'how many kids do you have?', the assumption being - at my age of course I would be married. One airport passport controller got so far in his own assumptions that he was telling me I had 10 kids and I wishing me a good visit with my husband during my visit to South Africa - neither of which I have of course. Back in the US it is no longer weddings I am going to in person, but rather the exposure of baby photos on social media, which seem to drown out the existence of any other concurrent reality. As each of us walk our path, the variety of lives crossing creates beauty, and as I look at my own life which seems so off beat with so many others, it is actually the off beat which enhances the actual beat. For the musicians out there, we need music both on the up beat and the down beat to make real music.

Keeping this mix of lives, and paths in mind and the remarkable cacophony of music that comes from the variety of beats, I want to bring us back to the challenge of finding 'space' to be still. To listen well for the next right step in life, or simply to find time to thank God for blessings, reflect back on joys and challenges in the everyday life, so we do not wake up at age 64 and wonder where life went and what happened to us.

Kandahar, Afghanistan Sunset

The modern world has merry-go-rounds on whole sale all over the place. Of course they are not sold directly, but rather piece by piece until you have your very own, never ending, never stopping merry-go-round for life that is very challenging to step off of without injuring oneself. There are mostly good pieces, but some bad mixed it, making it all the more difficult to extricate. The pole of late night binge TV show watching is some how holding up your energy of connecting with people outside your comfort zone- part of the roof. And the principle stay away from quick fixes for your health led to strong makings of a horse seat, but it has yet to be put together. Round and round we go with no planned break in between rounds, or even a walkway to step off and back on easily. Of course this is not the way everyone lives. But it is the dominant way of life withing our current cultural. So if we are not running our own merry-go-round, we may find it very hard to interact with those around us who are going round and round.


Humanitarians are presumed to be pouring into others every minute of every day. And while many of us would love to do that if any of us had the capacity, in the end, we are all human too and need self care. It is not just humanitarians who project this selfless image, or indeed attempt to live it out to the degree possible on this side of heaven - but also many parents, teachers, pastors, administrators.  This weariness of giving of oneself from one's own resources is real for so many people, so much of the time. How recently have you heard a friend, colleague, or neighbor share about having some 'strange' reaction, medical condition, allergy, or whatnot that you catch yourself thinking, 'ya, sure how much of that is made up in their mind?' Well, maybe it is in their mind, maybe there is a physical unusual manifestation of some kind of the stress they are working through. Either way, they need rest. They need peace. Their body needs stillness, at least for some period of time.

Diego, Madagascar Sunset

One advantage to my off beat rhythm of a life is often a sense of freedom to make unusual decisions. When most people around me either don't comprehend my decisions anyway, or just know me well enough to know that being on my own beat, with unpredictable choices, is to be expected. I usually receive far less societal resistance if I take 3 months off a formal work contract, than if the guy down the street came home to his family and said 'hey, I think I am going to take a couple of months off to sleep, think, pray, and be refreshed.' He might get a good laugh out of his family followed by confusion as he tried to convince them he was serious.

Yes, of course, I understand that money makes the modern world go round, and some people's decisions are indeed guided only by their financial obligations or entanglements, this is another conversation. I am discussing those of us who have reasonable flexibility in life circumstances, who still, in spite of freedom to choose differently, simply consciously or unconsciously go round and round on the merry-go-round to some degree. Those who never bother to get off, stop their head from spinning, and take a walk around the proverbial fair; to see other rides, people, or places. Or even enjoy our own merry-go-round we have spent so much time and effort to build, from a different, more grounded angle.

Beni, DRCongo sunset

Come back next week for the conclusion of this already very long blog posting...

I always love to hear from you too. 
Please give feedback, comments, even questions below, might even be able to incorporate into part 2 for next week!

Goma, DRCongo sunset

[Post originally written mid-2019, but not posted until now] I bet you thought I disappeared......

Hi all,

Will you be surprised if I start the typical way, by saying `it has been a while since my last post`?

Because it has been a while since my last post. :)

As usual, I feel I have too much and nothing to say at the same time. I sit here in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo on a Sunday afternoon, having spent most of the morning trying to sleep through the local Sunday morning services going on, eventually giving up my efforts and moving on to catching up on signing documents that were processed and awaiting my signature while I have been away the past two weeks.

I think it might be best to take some time to give you an idea of my context, both in the moment, but also a bit broader as well. This post may seem a bit bland, but may still be a bit informative if one wishes to better understand the context and some jargon of aid work.

I think each of us in our own way both feel our life is ordinary and extra-ordinary. Let me elaborate. As we go through life, how often do you have someone ask you to explain what your life looks like?  Ok, maybe not so often for some, but if someone asked you this, what would you say? I imagine that you might find it challenging to explain to some random person who had no basis for understanding your life, what it was really like. There are after all, many layers to our lives and selves. Thus, in the spirit of wanting to share and perhaps have some fun with providing more information to those who may not be directly involved in humanitarian aid work with a bit more insight, so when next you ask someone (me, or someone else) working in aid work about it, you might hearken back to this and other posts to give you some grounding on which to build your conversation(s).

Random view along the roadside.

 More simply put, we all get tired of answering certain repeat questions in our lives and so lets talk about one phrase that could, can, does, lead to a lot of questions and confusion. I often find it challenging to relate to friends and family what field life is like and even to explain the dynamic of what a particular individual means when he or she says `field life`.

For example, if you ask someone at the HQ (ahh, right there, see, this is culture, abbreviations. The aid world, NGOs are known to be over users of abbreviations. Whether this is due to laziness or efficiency is arguable.) (FYI, HQ = headquarters, NGO = non-governmental organization, aid world = Humanitarian aid global community, FYI = for your information :))

Ok, we should be good to continue now. As I was saying....if you asked someone at HQ what field life is, they would likely mean the main office in any particular country of work (or any office actually) in some far flung nation where their colleagues work. In my current country of work, the main office would be considered the Goma office (not the capital, but still the main base in DRC). If you speak to someone working in the Goma office and they refer to the field, they are talking about one of the offices further away from the main entry point of the country. So when speaking with people when one is physically in Goma, who refers to the field, it is a reference about both geographical location, but also an inference as to the level of difficulty (and time it takes) to actually arriving at the office. Thus, one option in my context would be the Beni office, where I am currently based.

To get here, one can fly into Goma and take a small UN plane north to Beni. Or, one can fly into Kigali in neighboring Rwanda, drive 3-4hrs to cross the boarder into Goma and then do the flight north. There are overland routes, but due to a variety of groups of militia/rebels on the road around in eastern Congo, it is not advisable to travel the ground routes in many areas. If one prefers to travel via road you will exit DRC into Uganda go north or south (depending on if you are going or coming from Beni), and then re-enter DRC at destination city.

If you speak to someone in Beni about working in the field, this will then be referring to our team members who go by land cruiser or motorbike for several hours, or days in some cases, out to small communities to work directly with beneficiaries. Even among this group of people, still, there may be another leg to travel, and again referred to as those going to the field to work. So you see, such a simple phrase as field work, can take on a great many meanings, depending on who is saying it and where he or she might be physically and geographically sitting when saying said phrase.

In many cases, those at one level, often give an extra measure of awe and respect to those at the next level of field work (those who are "further out", in the field, as it were), due to the fact that general comfort decreases and insecurity increases as you go "further out".

So of course, at this point, when I say that I work in the field you all know what I mean, yes?

For me, I work in the field, at the Beni office level, which is extreme to some while also being not as extreme as others. When one considers field living, it is pretty comfortable, especially when one considers the local context and the average life of our neighbors.

[Note, this is where I give you a visual/mental picture to grab on to for this particular level of in fieldness. You're welcome.]

Lounging on a porch across from my bedroom, near the front gate.

I can paint the picture for you. I sit here in a walled compound, with plenty of razor wire around it, some green areas- minimal, both a generator and the updated humanitarian approach of solar panels and batteries for power can both be seen and heard at times. We drink from large 20 L containers of bottled water, boil water if we wish to have a warm bucket shower, and wonder of wonders have (most of the time) flushing toilets. We cook with a gas burner (yes, those things most people use when they are roughing it when camping, or not at all) attached to the gas canister a meter away (if you dont know what a meter is I will let you look that one up). They say the full gas canister should be several yards away from the open flame, but who really has tubing that long and a place to put the canister outside of the kitchen room? Just put it on the other side of the room and call it good.The guard is more aptly called a gate keeper, except when they are not [a gate keeper] and let random people into the compound and then get fired (true story). Which was the case last weekend. Generally to have one^s own room is a luxury and in community living, depending on the mix of ethnicities  and cultures you have living together all space can be considered common space, unless specified otherwise. Even then, you take your chances.

Wifi, yet essential for work and sanity, can still be hard to come by, and having expectations that this will always work at those critical moments is a foolish hope and one that will regularly be dashed. Washing of clothes generally happens by the local mamas who are local women employed to support our busy lives with cooking and cleaning for us. (Have not doubt, they are highly valued and capable women, let me tell you.) Of course if you have any expensive, delicate or  meltable clothing items you want to hide these away so they are not completely destroyed via the hand washing (not delicate cycle) and ironing that takes place after the line dry outside to ensure no unfriendly larva are living in the clothes and thus transfer to you upon wearing. Taking the personal hand washing and drying your things inside approach, is advisable for the a fore mentioned items which require greater delicacy.

Privacy, noise, calmness, volume controls on sound systems, all seem to have time and place in the world I grew up in, yet I have found, quite often, that one's need to adapt is of the utmost importance.

In western cultures, privacy is highly prized, understood, and generally easily given. In many developing countries, community living is the norm, large families, or large mixes of families due to many deaths, as well as small land plots, and limited funds for sound proof houses, etc. all play into  a sense that someone is always around and always watching. The close living conditions are not stopped by mere walls or some razor wire. The school out the back of our compound somehow always seems to have children in it playing, singing, or chanting their lessons (do they EVER go inside?!). The church a hundred feet away, by turning up their sound system to distortion, is typical in giving a warm welcome to all who which to come and participate, and even to those who wish to stay home and participate because there is no need to move from one's home if you can hear the entire service within a mile radius. Having said that, I am very grateful that they are not as other typical local churches in several ways.

My room. Yes, I have a sink in my room and it is awesome.
No, the bars on the windows do not mean I am in a jail cell.

First, they seem to begin their services at the reasonable (and consistent) hour of 9am, instead of 7am or 5am as many churches have it. Secondly, the main singer actually seems to be quite nice and there is an actual band which generally seems to know the songs and play well together (together being the  key word in that sentence). This is also not the norm, as it is more often recorded music blaring out, generally crowd and music in competition to overwhelm the other when it is only the neighbors who end up being overwhelmed. Additionally, our neighbor church seems to take breaks between songs, so you can remember yourself during the breaks, and lastly, their sermons seem to be well communicated, opposed to someone yelling angrily, as loud as possible into the mic. In the end, there are a lot of cultural differences, which do not encourage my appreciation for a generic local church service, but the times I have the courage and motivation to go, I always find something to appreciate about them. In this case, I can enjoy the good voices and music, and reasonable timing of it all, usually only from about 8 or 9am to 11 or 12, which occasional additions for several hours in the afternoon.

There of course are other local noises, such as the heard of goats passing outside while I type, and more often than not the humm of the generator in the back ground. In our case as well, we have managed to have a pet cat - kitten, who you never really know is there until she decides she is hungry and whines around trying to find the most sympathetic and kind-hearted team member to feed her (or the biggest sucker. All in how you look at it). The cat some how makes me think of children who are clever enough to manipulate their parents, knowing who and when will be the most vulnerable to his request. As the cat always knows who is going to give in first and hand her some food instead of allowing her to strengthen her hunting skills and make herself useful around the compound by rat and mouse catching. (I can let you guess where I fall on the scale).

Indeed, I am not sure if I have enlightened you or simply run out of breath before you fell asleep from boredom, but we have arrived at the conclusion of my stream of consciousness for the moment. Congratulations on your survival.

As this has been a catch up post from more than 6 months ago, I hope to bless you with a more updated post very quickly, indeed, perhaps even several additional posts in the near future. But do not get your expectations too high.

Just another day on the road. 

For the time being, let me say how grateful I am that you would bother to read this far and I hope it has added a bit of joy and zest to your day - if only to offer a distraction from whatever was a less desirable task in front of you in comparison - which assisted in my writing holding your attention this long. :)

Until next we meet. Blessings.
Jessica