Buried Alive!

My friend Gamil sent an interesting article about what is happening to those suffering with AIDS in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The BBC (British Broadcasting Company - the best source of international news available) reported that people are being buried alive. Buried alive!

There is fear they might contract AIDS because of the stigma associated with the disease or they simply don't want to care for them.

You can read the report for yourself at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6965412.stm

I plan to visit the Asia district in Jan/Feb with my new job. Today, I spoke with the Regional Director of that district to see if we can do anything in PNG. He has made some contacts with government officials there in the past who are interested in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We will likely schedule a meeting with them to see if we can begin some programming there. Please pray that we will be able to bring hope to this nation, as well as truth and light to those who are afraid. Pray that the political powers in PNG will be receptive to our message.

Perfect Fit

I've received a lot of phone calls and emails wondering how I'm doing. How's the new job? The new town? The answer...Great! I feel at home already. The job is just right for me. It allows me to pursue my passions - sharing the love of Jesus in a practical way and working toward an end to preventable disease globally. I get to be involved in politics and policy on a national level. I get to strategize daily. I get to do interesting work that impacts people's lives around the world. I get to work with fascinating people who have done amazing things and are lots of fun to talk to. For the first time in my career I have found an organization I plan to stay with long-term. There is a lot of growth opportunity here so I'm certain my career can progress without having to relocate. In fact, they have a policy that states they prefer to promote from within first.

The town is amazing. It is a college town with all the fun activities and quirky little things colleges bring. It's in the mountains. Which provides beautiful views, clean and crisp air, and fun outdoor activites. The people are so nice. I can tell you that in my experience, southern hospitality isn't a myth. It is very real and wonderful when you are adjusting to a new city. I moved in to my house with no furniture, nothing but me and some clothes. I am now the recipient of an air mattress, a blanket, a pillow and two sets of towels. My landlord also did not like hearing about the conditions I was living in (I call it camping with a roof and shower), so she had her husband bring over a table, some chairs and a microwave. Once again, I am relying on the kindness of others for my survival.

My first weekend here without Kenyon I hung out with some co-workers. We participated in the art crawl on Friday night (kind of like First Friday's in KC, but smaller). The next day we went to a neighboring town for their Art in the Park event. It was very much like the Brookside art fair, except in a cute mountain community. That same weekend I visited a church I really liked and participated in a well attended dinner party that evening.

This is my second weekend here. Last night a group of us went to a callipso music show at the university. It had been raining all day so it was kind of like taking a visit to the beach without leaving the cool mountain air. Another coworker and I spent today exploring - we checked out the farmer's market, ski shops and resorts, and two neighboring communities the other direction from our town. I've already got my calendar full of fall activities - an apple festival and something called the Wolly Worm festival where people race worms up string. I can't wait! I've also scoped out the location where Kenyon and I will pick out our Christmas tree. There are Christmas tree farms all over this place, but I had to search out a "choose and cut" location. Good times to come...

Kenyon should arrive next Saturday. Our stuff should follow him a day or so later. I can't wait to show him all the restaurants I've discovered and introduce him to the wonderful people I've met. Remember, we have a three bedroom house so if you are looking for a mountain vacation...we are located in a prime destination.

technological advance?

So, I've been working three days on a borrowed computer. Friday I was issued my laptop. When I'm at work it connects to my larger monitor and keyboard through a docking station, meaning it wouldn't seem any different than a normal computer during working hours. So, I took my new laptop home with me this weekend to become familiar with it and make sure the off campus network connections are working. The network and wireless connections had problems, but I was able to access something unusual. This new laptop has a feature I've never seen, never ever. I'm told it is something available on new models and I'm the first person at SP to have one. What is it?....Are you curious?...Well, I'll tell you. It is a fingerprint sign-in. Yeah, that's right - I use my fingerprint to activate my laptop. I still have the option to type in a login and password OR I can just slide my finger across the fingerprint reader and I'm in. I had to set up this new finagled contraption. Once that was done I tried it out. I got in. If Kenyon had been here I would have had him try to see what happens when it is not my fingerprint.

The reader works kind of like the scanners at grocery stores with lasers and stuff, it's just smaller to fit on my laptop. Crazy, isn't it? I had to share! I'd only seen this kind of stuff on TV and in movies, I've certainly never had to use it myself. I feel like I've reached the stage in life where I can start saying, "Back in my day...." Like, back in my day we didn't use computers. We used typewriters and when you wanted to move a sentence to another place on the page you had to re-type the whole page! And, back in my day we didn't even have this crazy thing called the Internet. Back in my day, you had to remember and type in your login and password, we didn't have those fingerprint readers to login in to computers. Back in my day...

On the map...

I've received text messages from all over the nation. People who had never heard of the city I moved to have heard about it over and over and over again recently. Why? Because our college football team was supposed to lose to Michigan, but instead we won. We made football history with a gigantic upset. This is a college town, signs were everywhere. This is just one of many - "Michi who? Way to go ASU" There were t-shirts made up and all over town the next day advertising the win. People still haven't stopped talking about it. We even made the cover of Sports Illustrated. The game this weekend has a sold out crowd.

Want in on a little known fact? The player who made the final play is soon to be part of the Graham family. He is engaged to Franklin's daughter.

I had a Franklin sighting my first day at lunch. I didn't speak with him, but I did see him in the flesh. I hear that is a rare occurance since he travels so often.

Road Trip

Kenyon and I are taking our first road trip together. We are driving from our home in Kansas to North Carolina. We will drive the entire state of Missouri and when we get to Tennessee we will stop to visit some friends who live just outside of Memphis. The next day we will drive the entire state of Tennessee into North Carolina. Once we pass the Missouri border we will be in parts of the country neither of us have ever seen before. What an adventure! Please be praying we will have safe travels and will be successful in finding a place to live in our new hometown.