Yard Sale!

This weekend Kenyon and I are hosting a yard sale. We've been able to liquidate quite a bit of our stuff through classified adds at my work.

Kenyon's truck holds the record of going the fastest. We posted the add around 2pm on a Thursday and by 6pm that night we had the money in hand and the truck was gone. Whoosh!

The Bose radio we had holds the record for being the most desirable item. I can't even count the number of inquiries we had for that item. Frankly, it was overwhelming! The winner was the night security guard who left money on my desk with a note...being willing to leave cash without the exchange of assets puts one at the front of the pack.

The lady who bought our bed didn't need it until the end of the month. Thankfully, because we needed a place to sleep. She was moving the end of July and didn't have space for the bed until then. Out of the kindness of our hearts we offered to "store it" for her in the meantime. Smile!

Saturday we are hosting a yard sale to liquidate some of the remaining items, what doesn't go Saturday will likely be donated to Goodwill. If you are in the area, stop by. We still have some furniture remaining, lots of household items (kitchen and decorating), some of my precious book collection and so much more. It's kind of scary getting rid of all this stuff. When we return from overseas we will basically be starting over. Yikes!

friends of your youth

When I was in high school I was assigned the book All the Kings Men for homework. It is an interesting story of political corruption. The storyteller in the book talks about "friends of your youth." These are people who have known you a long time. These are people with whom you share a rich history. I am blessed with a wealth of rich friendships in my life, many have been going strong for years. One friend has known me longer than anyone - DeAnn (pictured here).

DeAnn was one of the first people I met in high school. I was new to the school. All of my friends from grade school and junior high went to another high school. We met over a note a boy had written and given to her over passing period. As young girls that is a very bonding experience!

DeAnn and I went to different colleges, but we stayed in touch. For over a decade we have lived in different states, but that distance has not broken our bond. A lot has changed over the years, but our friendship remains. The good thing is, our husbands get along. So, we can go to dinner or hang out and the years melt away when we are together. There is usually a short catching up period at the beginning of our meetings, but after that it's like no time has passed. I look forward to a day when our kids will play together.

Ahhh, friends of your youth. Everyone should have some. Have you had friends for a significant period of time? How long have you been friends and how often do you get together?

just read: Making the Impossible Possible

I love books! Books are my favorite gift to give. Books are my favorite gift to receive. Of all the things we've had to liquidate in this move, the hardest for me to let go of was my book collection. My dream house will have a room of floor to ceiling books with a chair for me to sit in and read, I'm willing to compromise and even take a corner of a room.

Every year for my brother's birthday I send him a book. Usually, it is my favorite book I read that year. Recently, for no particular reason at all, my brother sent me a book with a very thoughtful inscription.

The book is titled: Making the Impossible Possible. It is about one man's journey to overcome poverty from inner city Philedalphia. What I love about his story is that he didn't have to leave his neighborhood to overcome his circumstance. Rather, he had to change his mindset. He changed how he viewed himself and what he had to offer the world.

I work with those suffering in deplorable conditions of poverty around the globe and what I've found is that poverty has less to do with resources available and more to do with a belief about oneself. Poverty is bondage. Poverty is overwhelming. Poverty is depressing. Poverty can be handed down from one generation to another. But, poverty can be overcome no matter how bad it originally seems. How? Well, I can tell you that in my experience it doesn't happen by throwing mass amounts of money at the problem. Rather, it starts by challenging people to see their life differently. Bill Strickland creates moments of beauty as a motivator to individuals to make a better life for themselves. In my work we ask them to see themselves as children of a living God who created each individual for a unique purpose. I believe to the core of my being that each person on earth has something beautiful to offer the world, it just often goes untapped.

To me, Bill's story is an encouragement and inspiration, not for the obvious reasons of what he's accomplished, but, rather because he was able to accomplish such success in his own neighborhood by changing how he viewed himself. His circumstances didn't change, but his perspective did.

Do you believe poverty is the product of a resource deficit, or a lack of a solid foundation in the world? I believe the latter and my work is aimed at providing that foundation as a launching point for a new life.

My hometown: Santa Fe

You ask, I'll answer

A few months ago I posted an opportunity to ask me anything. I received a few questions from the "you ask, I'll answer" post. To read the Q&A visit here, here, here, and here.

I was recently visiting family and was asked a question more than once. Once they heard the answer they encouraged me to post the answer on my blog, because the women in my family believe inquiring minds want to know the answer to this question. If you are male, I recommend you stop reading now - for your own good. Men, just come back tomorrow when I post a different topic.

What is the question?

When you're traveling, what do you do when you have your monthly period?

Well, that is one of the physical challenges of doing this job as a woman. I'm female and with that comes some issues men don't have to deal with. Try as I might, I cannot pee while standing up and just whip it out on the side of the road. As a woman, I must find privacy (and safety) in order to pee.

As a women, I menstruate monthly and with that comes complications. As often as I travel, there is no way to schedule around it. PMS makes me tired and I must rest as we travel from place to place instead of using that time for work. Before my period I have difficulty remembering stuff, at those times I must write everything down because I cannot rely on my brain for information. I pack muscle relaxers for cramps. I pack tampons and pads at all times, just in case. When needed, I carry these things in my day pack. Finding a toilet isn't always an option, at those times I must use the bushes and carry dirty things with me until I find a fire and can burn the items. That's the reality of the job for women.

The thing that is hardest to get used to is that I must announce it to someone, usually my male translator, so we can make frequent stops on my behalf throughout the day. In this work one must get over any embarrassment they have over bodily functions. For instance, if someone is stricken with travelers diarrhea they often announce it at breakfast. I've had the good fortune of avoiding diarrhea with the exception of my first international trip almost 20 years ago. This is the nature of the work. It may not be normal everyday conversation for most, but it is normal in this line of work.

If you have a question you'd like to ask, click here.