Kim Phuc

Hello all! We've been meaning to update the blog for a while now, but life surely has been busy. Duncan will be doing his own update this weekend about his recent hair-style change :)

I, however, thought this weekend's guest speaker at North Avenue merited an entry.

Kim Phuc is the little girl in this Pulitzer Prize winning photo from the Vietnam War. Her anguish, skin afire with napalm, became the face of the innocent who suffer from war. Her village was bombed in 1972–Kim was literally in the middle of the bomb, her clothes burned off from the napalm. Kim explained that water boils at 100° C... napalm burns under the skin at 500°C. She, amazingly, survived. She was in the hospital for more than a year and underwent nearly 20 operations to begin the process of healing. She had to endure years of painful physical therapy, and still to this day suffers with pain and health issues as a result of the bombing.

This is film from that bombing, you'll see Kim running down the street. The other children you see are her brothers and cousins. Her grandmother comes out holding one of Kim's cousins, whose skin is literally hanging off from the napalm.

This is really hard to watch.

But this is what war looks like.

And not only was Kim dealing with physical and emotional pain after the bombing, but Kim was used by communist Vietnam as propaganda–pulled out of school, which was one the only things that made her feel like a normal child–and told what to do, monitored and watched for all of her early life. Finally, when she was married, she and her new husband defected to Canada on their honeymoon.

This is a woman that certainly has a lot to complain about. If anyone has a right to harbor hatred and resentment in that this could happen to an innocent child, only nine-years-old, it's her.

But Kim discovered Jesus when she was 19-years-old. And the Gospel answered questions that she could not. And as she read about this amazing Jesus, she stumbled upon the passage from the Sermon on the Mount: But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-28). But this seemed impossible to her. Certainly, this would not apply to her, considering the circumstances.

But today, Kim travels the world sharing a message of forgiveness. She did forgive! When speaking at a Vietnam memorial service, Kim met a veteran involved in ordering the air strike on her village, and she forgave him right then and there.

She says, "I had to change my heart or die from hatred." And offered the illustration of black cup of coffee. This, she said, was her heart. And every day she had to poor out a just a little bit of the black coffee, until her cup was empty. And God refilled her cup with his love, joy, peace, compassion, forgiveness. She practiced every day in her prayers naming all of the people who had caused her pain. And then she got it, she understood forgiveness. Wow. She says now her "heart is cleansed, and it seems like Heaven on Earth."

"Forgiveness is more powerful than any weapon of war."

This woman is incredible. She is so full of joy, more than any person I have ever met. This was amazingly unexplainable to me, other than God really did fill her heart with his peace and joy.

Kim is now an advocate for children of war, largely focusing on children in Uganda.

If you missed it, you can listen to Kim's talk here.

Prayers of the People from January 24

The transcript from the prayer I offered yesterday at the 11 a.m. service (a few people asked to look at it). I think I'm going to keep praying it throughout the week.

Mighty God,

We come before you today humbled by your awesomeness.

You laid the foundations of the earth, marked its dimensions while the morning stars sang together, and all the angels shouted for joy.

You shut the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, made the clouds its garment, brought the proud waves to a halt.

Indeed, Mighty God, you are in control of all creation.

We recognize this even in light of recent happenings in Haiti.

Though we don’t understand this pain and destruction, you have shown that are in control.

And it is our prayer that you are working even the devastation now upon Haiti into good.

We know the pain in Haiti breaks your heart, and it breaks our hearts now.

You have told us to rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because you have poured out your love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

This is the prayer we pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters,

That they would find a way to rejoice in their suffering,

And you would turn that joy into hope.

And indeed, for all those here in the congregation, in our city, our nation, and our world, who today are suffering, that through your amazing love, suffering would yield hope.

We pray for Haitian leadership, that you would raise up the righteous to bring restoration and reconciliation to Haiti.

We recognize in our own lives the times that you have broken us down, only to make us new creations. We pray for those among us today who feel broken down… who are facing deep fear… who are know at rock bottom…

That you will fill them again with life, hope, and peace.

We pray, Mighty God, that you would fill us with a fearless spirit to face our own suffering with joy.

And we pray that this joy would spread, multiply, and bring joy to the lives of the people we interact with, even today.

Jesus, you told us that nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, that there will be earthquakes in various places, and famines—but that these are the beginning of birth pains,

Birth pains signifying that a time is coming when men will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

And for this, we join with creation groaning for your return, for your kingdom here on earth, when all things will be reconciled and put right.

We thank you, Mighty God, for becoming a humble servant and offering your own life for our eternal salvation, that we may see the day when you do reign in great power and glory.

We pray this in the mighty and healing name of Jesus Christ…

Snow Day!

Today had some highs and lows. With the snow came class cancelation for Duncan. On a normal Friday, this would mean we get to spend the day together! However, there is a Officer/Staff Retreat at North Avenue this weekend, so I had to traverse the icy roads and get a few things ready for the retreat today. Unfortunately, on the way to the car, I, of course, slipped on the ice and slid down the few steps from our front door to the parking lot. While I am okay (other than a sore back side), I did manage to dump my tea all over myself. This was sad for many reasons. One, my tea was good, and then gone. Two, some of the tea hit my new coat. I think I got most of it off, but I think it's going to require a good dry-cleaning. Three, I fell on my new purse and ripped a seam a bit... and of course, it was covered in tea. It's in the dryer now, and I'm hoping I can hand-stitch it into repair. But the situation is still sad. However, as I am okay, I guess I can't complain too much.

On try to leave the apartment number two, I brought Duncan with me. So I guess we did spend the whole day together! I'm nearing the end of "Not For Sale," and it's just an incredible book. So, I think I'm doing a good job on the Book List. Here's the upcoming reads:

JAN: Not For Sale
FEB: One Hundred Years of Solitude
MAR: Pillars of the Earth
APR: East of Eden
MAY: The Red Tent
JUN: Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs
JUL: Brother Karamazov (will probably stretch longer than month :))
AUG: The Prodigal God
SEP: The Cost of Discipleship
OCT: Anna Karenina
NOV: Simple Church
DEC: Pilgrim's Progress

Some of these might switch in order, but that's the list!

Lastly, today is the birthday of my awesome dad. I love him so much, and I'm glad to be able to celebrate him today!

What has the world come to?

This is the question I keep asking myself with every page I turn while reading "Not For Sale." I walked out into the living room tonight and said to Duncan, "How is God okay with this?!" to which my wise husband said, "He's not." Then I replied, "Why won't Jesus come back? Aren't things bad enough now?" to which Duncan, again so wisely, responded, "that statement could be said for any day in history." Touché, husband, touché. I guess this seminary education makes you more rational about these things... or something.

I'm only halfway through the first chapter in "Not For Sale," though NFS did do an amazing presentation at North Avenue not too long ago. The book is just making the plight of modern-day slaves more real... real people, with real names, and real emotions, and incredibly devastating stories. So, while I'm too far into the book yet, I recommend it. Get it on Amazon here. Check out the Not For Sale website here.

I'm also recommending you check out NightLight Jewelry (here), an organization built around bringing hope through employment and outreach to sexually exploited women in Thailand... see the pretty goods below! And thanks to Mom for gifting some pretty earrings to the Meadows women this Christmas from NightLight!

On a lighter note, Duncan and I don't have cable, so our TV viewing options are limited. We do get some NBC Sports channel. The event we've been watching, perhaps too much of, is the ski jump. It's amazing! Picture tiny men speeding down a huge hill at 60 miles per hour and then jumping 400 feet!! Oh my, they actually land on their feet. We can't pull ourselves away! It has brought much joy to the Meadows home this week.

And lastly, I realize that I haven't stuck to my commitment to ending each post with a photo of Moki, so just refer to this older photo:

This is close to the Moki pose we have deemed "Reverse Meatloaf." Meatloaf is when a cat is laying on it's stomach with all its legs tucked under the body... so it looks like a meatloaf. Yes, you get it. Reverse meatloaf is when cat is laying on back with arms tucked into belly (note, above photo Moki is not in correct posture as legs are not tucked in). Pretty much every time I have looked over at Moki this past week, she's been in reverse meatloaf. It's always funny. Every time. More photos to come soon!

Recommendations

One of my unlisted resolutions was to update the blog more so that friends and family could keep up with us better.

So, here is update #2 of 2010, already!

One of Duncan's Christmas presents was a cookbook I picked up at Ten Thousand Villages: Global Vegetarian Cooking:



We tried our first meal last night, and it was delicious! Mushrooms with yogurt (okay, when I first read that, I thought, ew! But it did sound like something Duncan would like). This is a Kenyan dish in which "tomato and yogurt flavors complement each other, and mushrooms go well with the sour taste."

I picked up all of the fresh produce on our grocery list this week at the Dekalb Farmers Market. YUM! Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Heat the oil in a heavy pan and sauté the 1 onion, finely chopped, before adding the 1 lb of finely chopped mushrooms. Increase the heat and fry them for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the four (we only used two large) tomatoes and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and let the mixture stand to cool for 2 minutes.

When ready, stir in the 1 cup of yogurt or buttermilk and add salt. Return the pan to the heat and cook gently without boiling (or the yogurt will curdle) for 5 minutes or until the ingredients are well combined.

We ate ours with bread and tortilla chips, though we think next time we'll serve it over rice or pasta. The final product is stew-like in consistency. Though the recipe calls for finely chopped, we think we could do bigger pieces as well. This is a simple, inexpensive meal that will serve 2-4. Enjoy!

My second recommendation is a book that anyone remotely interested in poverty alleviation needs to read: When Helping Hurts. Available on Amazon.

This book outlines some essentials in poverty alleviation, the way we interact with the poor, and how to help the poor "reconcile the four foundational relationships so that people can fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work." This an interesting and eye-opening read for anyone, but especially recommend this book for anyone involved in short-term missions.

This book was recommended to me by friend and colleague Phil Cobb who is the Urban Ministries Coordinator at North Avenue. You can read his blog here to see what's happening in Urban Ministry at North Ave.

We'll be trying some other new recipes this week and will pass along anything else that is yummy!

We're ready for you, 2010!

Happy New Year!

We were lucky enough to usher in this new decade with dear friends, the Youngs. It was a low-key celebration, but a great way to start the year!

We officially started 2010 this morning with breakfast at Thumbs Up Diner after a walk into downtown Decatur. By the way, if you haven't been, Thumbs Up has the absolute best breakfast in Atlanta. Indeed, Kav's omelet, complete with spuds, cheese, veggie sausage, and pico de gallo, is like a slice of heaven of earth. Then, add a side of cheese grits and a coffee-hot-chocolate-whip-cream combo, and you've nearly hit unspeakable euphoria! So, yes, this was a great way to start a new year!

And of course that walk into town counted towards the new year resolution to exercise more.

Speaking of resolutions, we have a few: for Whitney, to exercise more, read my Bible more, and do a better job of not over-scheduling myself. For Duncan--Find a hobby (perhaps related to exercise, boxing is a possibility), do more for others, do more for self, and be more assertive.

2009 was a wonderful year for the Meadows: full of friends, family,faith-growing, and new passions found. Looking ahead in 2010, we hope all of this will continue! We both have plans to stretch ourselves in new ways, and the year is slated to include a chaplaining experience for Duncan and a trip to Africa for both Meadows. We'll be celebrating year two of marriage, and we're moving ever closer to that "next chapter" of life, though we still aren't quite sure what that will be. We have a few ideas, but announcements will be made later this year (maybe even later this month!).

Thanks to all who have made 2009 so great!

Whitney (and Duncan)

Christmas with Jamila and the Kids

So, last night Duncan and I delivered some wonderful Christmas gifts
from mom to our extended African families. Enjoy the photos :)

Senayit opens her Christmas bag!

Roma is excited about the baby doll.

Dawit loved the motorcycle!

Demadi was most excited about the candy.

All the kids together!

Whitney and all the kids (yay!)

Possibly the cutest baby ever.

Dawit had a lot of fun last night :)

Of course, we must end with a Moki photo. She wants to be a Christmas present this year!