Encore: Whirlwind Tour

In the coming weeks, I will be re-posting some of my favorite posts from the past six years on this blog. Yes, I have had this blog for nearly SIX years! I have revisited some of these posts lately. It is interesting to me how much life has changed. For those who are new around here, it will give you a glimpse of the journey. I am calling this series "Encore." If you'd like, you can vote on your favorites.

Best of 2008

Here is one of the nominees from February 2008. This is one of my all time favorite adventures. The photo is from a rural part of Indonesia. That destination left me feeling like I had lived a National Geographic experience. Notice the number of days on the road and stops along the way. I lived in a state of sleep deprivation for over two-years. It must have been the adrenaline rush that kept me going!


I just returned from a whirlwind tour of Asia (beginning in Africa). In 21 days, I visited Uganda, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and India. Whew! The longest I stayed in any one hotel was two nights. I took 31 airplanes and was in countless time-zones. Though the trip was absolutely exhausting, it was also completely unforgettable. I can't possibly share all of the stories from the trip, but I just had to share this picture.

This man greeted us at one of our stops. He lives in a remote village in the interior of Indonesia in the area of Papua (different than Papua New Guinea). There are two options to reach the village; Option One: trek through dense jungle along steep mountain ranges for days, or Option Two: take a helicopter. We chose to ride in a heli (my first helicopter ride). I've only seen men like this on National Geographic specials, never in real life - until now. He's got all the accessories - dreadlocks, face paint, the pig tusk through a giant hole in his nose, beaded necklaces, his spear, and yes, the most important accessory of all, the penis gord. It was described to me as "accentuating his manhood." I imagine it can't be comfortable. The killed a pig in our honor, gutted it and opened it up for cooking in the hot rock oven. What an experience! I can hardly believe I lived it!

I visited this area because these rural people, who were previously so isolated, are dying in mass from AIDS. It is estimated that they will loose an entire generation to this disease. We aim to do something about that and will begin work in these villages this year. I will likely return in October for a scheduled training event. Simply unbelievable