Staff Photos

A few weeks before Christmas, the Program Department at camp asked me to come take some photos of the camp staff.
 

 

While I was very excited about the opportunity, I was pretty nervous too.  I normally take photos when no one is looking, you know, they are playing, or sleeping or hitting a piñata.

These were suppose to be real portraits of each person, a group shot of each department, and a full staff photo!  Yikes!  Oh, and did I mention these were going to be a Christmas present to each staff person and the group shots were going on the website?  Yeah.

Noah was a big help in just directing everyone so I could focus on the actual taking of photos.  The day and the light couldn't have been more perfect.  And really, I think they turned out pretty well for someone who just sorta guesses at what they are doing.  

Some Thoughts from the Other Me

So a little remembered part of me is that I was an English major in college.  This sometimes gets lost because for most of my teaching career (can you call it a career when it lasted only 4 years?) I taught History.  If you were to ask my students, they would tell you I force feed them a whole lot of literature in the midst of their history classes.  Sometimes they would roll their eyes at me when I would pull out the primary source book (primary sources, for those of you who don't know, are documents or artifacts that were created during the period  you are studying.  ie, the Declaration of Independence.  What?  You haven't read that?  Do.  Please.  It isn't that long, and I promise you can do it.  Really.)

You can't separate the literature of a period from everything else that was happening.  You need to read it in order to get a better sense of what was happening.  Everything from the diaries and journals of people, to newspapers articles, to novels, to short stories.  They all are influenced by the culture, politics, and religious ideas and in turn influence these things.  And really, this applies to all the arts.  There is no way to separate the art be it visual, performing, or written from the time period it was created in.  Think anti war music of the Vietnam era (que Edwin Starr with War).  Not only would I make them read stuff, but we would look at the visual arts and listen to the music of the times.

Wow.  That was sorta a rabbit trail.  Ok, so that wasn't really what I was going to tell you this morning.  Just consider it bonus I guess.

Now on to what I was really trying to say.
I have been reminded lately how important it is to take time to digest the arts.  This is something that has fallen by the wayside for me.  It might have a little something to do with these darling little creatures that have invaded my body, home, and heart.  I was just telling Noah the other day that I am just now feeling like I have some energy to read and study some again.

I have been reading a whole lot of Willa Cather lately.  My English teacher friend rolls her eyes at me and says, "of course you would like Willa Cather."  Without getting too nerdy English major on you, Cather is a early 20th century writer in the vein of Henry James. 

Right now I am reading The Song of the Lark, about the development of an musical artist.  In one of the sections, the main character spends some time at the Art Institute of Chicago and Cather mentions several pieces that impact Thea.  Curious about one in particular , I googled "The song of the lark" and found this at the Art Institute of Chicago's website. 

As I looked at this painting this morning here in McDonald's, I got a little more of this character that Cather created.  Thea made just a bit more sense.  And the feelings that Cather was trying to convey resonated a little bit more with me.

It's good to digest the arts, and feel the impact.  God has made us creative, and it's so good to take a moment or seven and revel in that.  Even if all you have is an image on a screen in a north woods McDonald's.

Go

VOTE

From My Time Out Walk

This morning Noah sent me on a time out walk.  Yeah, I was that cranky and overwelmed.

Game Night

Last night we had a date night at the Bakers.  It was so nice to be around other adults for the evening!

We laughed, ate, talked, played Pictinonary and laughed some more.  And then it was over all too soon. 

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

Just grab My hand.

And Another...

When I was about 12 or 13 my mom brought home a book by a woman named Elizabeth Elliot.  It was called Through the Gates of Splendor.  She had picked it up at Baker Book House, in the used and out of print section.  The story of five families willing to lose everything in this life so that the Auca (now called the Huaorani) people of Ecuador could hear the Truth about Jesus Christ captivated me.  I think I read it in a day.  If you don't know the story of Jim and Elizabeth Elliot and their fellow missionaries, run to the bookstore, or kindle store or wherever it is you get your books these day and READ IT!

My copy is from 1958 and has that smell that only old books can have.  It was a big part of how God directed my path towards Latin America.  A few years later, my mom brought home another book, The Savage My Kinsman.  This was the story of Elizabeth, with her 2 year old, going to spend  time with the people that had killed her husband.  That book shaped a lot of my thoughts on how a missionary should approach a people, about being a believer, a woman, a writer.  Again, run to your nearest book place, be it audio, real, electronic, whatever.  Read it!


Through high school and college I devoured anything by Elliot. Some are falling apart at the seams, many of my copies are from that same Baker used bookstore.  If you live in Grand Rapids, the Christian publishing headquarters of the world (not joking, Zondervan, Eerdmans, Baker, Kregel, all there) check it out.  Amazing treasures await you.

Are you starting to understand why my son's name is Elliot?  And can I tell you how excited both Noah and I were when we were able to listen to David Howard, the former president of LAM, former LAM missionary to Columbia, founder of Urbana ,who is also Elizabeth Elliot's brother and Jim Elliot's college roommate?  Yeah, when we discovered he was an LAMer, we realized we were at the heart of what is going on in Latin American missions.

It wasn't until I started to reread The Savage My Kinsman this weekend that I realized another area where I was shaped by these books. Cornell Capa was a photojournalist with Life magazine in the 50's.  He was sent to Ecuador right as the events in Through the Gates of Spender were happening, and he took some pretty compelling photos. 

He also taught Elizabeth how to use a camera and told her to photograph what was important to her, "her daughter, and her Indians," to use the camera as "an extension of her eyes".

When I read that again on Sunday, I stopped.  That's what I have been trying to do.  Take photos of things I care about, to show people where God has put us, what He is doing, and to convey a moment with the emotional impact of what is actually happening.  To show people for who they are, not just what they are doing.

Maybe in heaven I will get a chance to say, "thank you" to Jim and Elizabeth.  They were simply following what God was directing them to do, but it impacted not only the  Huaorani, but the life a girl in middle America.

My New Look

This is how my family has seen me since last Wednesday.  I think I am in love with my new camera.  One particular lens is amazing!  While doing research on it, a friend of mine mentioned this one (a 50mm f/1.8) to me because I take so many photos in low light (living in the woods) with no flash (it's not that I am so much against flash as I hate the effect I always get with it, so unnatural and washed out but with bad shadows and it's just gross). 

So anyway, I have been so impressed with how much better the photos from our house have turned out!  So exciting!  These were from this morning while the boys were eating breakfast.  It's dark and gloomy outside and with our dark pine paneling, I would have never been able to get images like this before!  It makes it look like I know what I am doing! 

I know it's more about the person taking the photos than the camera, and I was able to get some really good images with our other one for a long time, but boy, I can't believe the difference!  Noah has been having fun too.  The other night he was taking photos and said something like, "man, I can see how this could get addicting!  It's so fun!"  Yep, told ya.

Hillbilly

I have a confession.  I am a closet Appalachia/Bluegrass music fan.  I know, I know, but something about that banjo and the dulcimer.  You know, like the music in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

Someday I would love to research the origins of it.  The Music, not the movie.  The inspiration for that is Homer.  Noah laughs at me when I say stuff like that.  But I am serious.  You know, when I have brain space again.  If I would have to guess, I would say there is a fair amount of Irish influence.  Think of it, with all that fiddle.

So this afternoon after succumbing to the bananas that were starring at me (I'll be gone all day tomorrow, the least I could do is leave them a batch of banana bread muffins), I turned on our "local" public radio station and was greeted by the banjo, fiddle, and a little duclimer.  I must admit, I felt a bit hillbilly.  But I kinda like that feeling on a Sunday afternoon.

And as I mixed and mashed, I looked down ans saw I was dressed for the part as well.  Here I was, listening to the banjo, tapping my toes, and I also had on my apron made out of a 1930's feed sack.  The one from a Purian chick starter feed bag.

Hillbilly I tell ya.

Confessions of a Nerd

I am a nerd.  No doubt about it.  Last night at our staff Christmas party, Forrest got the complete works of School House Rock.  Ok, that's not really what it's called, but you get the point.  I am pretty sure, since he only understood that it was a new DVD to watch, that I was more excited about it than he was.  And the complete works!  Every song!  All arranged by theme?  Amazing!

I had an old VHS copy of History rock that I watched when I was a kid and then subjected my poor history students to (I think they really did enjoy it, because I heard them singing several songs a couple of times), but as happens with VHS, it's getting a bit worse for all that wear.  So, now to have ALL of the songs, all on DVD!  Be still my heart!

I really indulged Forrest this morning.  We watched all the Science ones as well as all the Grammar.   That's about 2 days worth of TV for him.  I can't wait for him to see "I'm Just a Bill" and "Elbow Room".

Because the Camera is Dead...

Here are a couple of photos from the archives.
The one of Noah is probably my favorite of him as a kid. So cute.


I think I still have this look on my face when I go grocery shopping.

Lessons from the Berry Patch

Early, early this misty morning, I headed out by myself for the nearest berry patch, 45 minutes away. I knew that I would pick much faster without the two darlings in tow, so I managed to get a babysitter for a few hours in exchange for a couple of quarts of berries.

I had been dreaming about this all week, a few hours of quiet in the early morning, picking raspberries. Time just to think and ponder and get a supply of some of the yummiest berries on earth.

Here's what I learned in my few hours alone.

1. Caffeinated coffee is powerful! I don't usually drink the leaded kind. Wow!

2. Sometimes you have to look at the patch in a different way to see all the good ones that you have been missing. Sometimes that requires an uncomfortable position or two.



3. Don't be afraid to get a few scrapes or mosquito bites...it's worth it!

4. Music is my poetry. "And we know what love is because He loved us all the way to kingdom come." (Rich Mullins)

5. Always take a moment to eat a couple of berries, enjoy the quiet of the field, the birds, and the mist.



All in all it was a wonderful way to spend the hours from 6-9:30. I think I might just need to go back Monday.

Politics, Coffee, and Solitude

I don't like to get political on this blog. I feel like there is enough in life that divides people, they don't need to start hating me because I disagree with them on this, that or the other thing that really truly doesn't matter.

But there is a lot going on Honduras right now. Some have called it a coup, some are saying it's the government functioning as it should. Without getting too political here, it seems to us that it's the latter rather than the former. Here's a decent article about it BBC. But either way, pray for the country. It's in turmoil, and often times that leads to people not thinking clearly. Individuals are smart, people en mass are stupid and usually do stupid things.

Here is an email we got yesterday from a couple who are near San Pedro Sula, in the north. (I know that was a lot of hyperlinks. Sorry, now you know what my students had to deal with all those years!) (Oh, and what my poor children will have to deal with. Pray for them now.)

The president of Honduras has been doing things and commanding others to do things that are against the Honduran law and Constitution for the last few months. The Supreme Court of Honduras ruled these actions unconstitutional. His goal has been to change the Constitution to allow him to stay in office another term, and he has openly admitted this. The General of the Armed Forces, the Supreme Court, The Vice President, Congress, and all top officials(of Honduras) we are aware of are in support of the action taken “against” the president. This morning, the president was arrested. The Associated Press, the BBC and other news sources are reporting it as a military coup, though we don’t really agree with that. Our perspective, after investigating as much as possible, is that the government is following the Constitution and basically impeaching the president.

Of course, we don’t have all the information, but we do not see the government acting out of line. But, of course, we don’t see everything. It seems to us that the whole government is trying to follow the Constitution and the President is not. If you understand this better than we do – especially those who live here, Lisa, Alfredo, Dorian… please let us know.

This is how we are praying:

- Pray for the people in small towns like Pinalejo. There are a few people in support of the president here, but most are against. People here take politics very seriously and there is the possibility of violence against those they disagree with. Pray for peace.

- Pray for the Supreme Court to make wise choices in support of the Constitution. Pray for peace.

- Pray for the President of Congress, who would be the one to take charge if the President remains detained. Perhaps we are misunderstanding his motives and HE is trying to take over. Pray for peace.

- Pray for us to have wisdom about how all of this may affect us. Jen is here on camp with us, and we have plenty of food to last a good while. J And our garden is producing. J We are just waiting to see what happens.

Here is another article from another missionary in Honduras. It's a bit long and in depth, but it's good. Read it. And pray. Despite what Simon and Garfunkel say, no man is an island. As John Donne said,

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." (Meditation XVII)

Ok, let's move on to something else, shall we? Just for fun, guess where I am right now? You are not going to guess right, so I will tell you. I am at McDonald's in Mio, BY MYSELF! (See, you were wondering how I could write such a long, intellectual post with so many references and hyperlinks about topics other than toys, flowers, or food. Now you know. I can have more than one thought at a time.)

I left this morning with just the computer, a book, and not a single diaper or graham cracker. Mama needed a few hours of solitude, and since the closest thing we have to coffee house around here is Micky D's, that's where I wound up. The coffee is ok, the music, tolerable (forgot my headphones), but the solitude is delightful! I left around 7:30 so I don't waste a lot of Noah at Home time today. It is very nice not to be interrupted in normal correspondence and writing by a request to play Little People, Roads, or to be nursed. Not that I don't like all those things. Ok, Little People is getting old, but I know all you mama's get what I am saying.

So, for a few hours, I can be Liz more than Mama. Which we all need every so often so we can be better Mama.