Life Journey

A Too-Exciting Trip

I loved Zanzibar so much, I convinced Daniel we had to return to swim in the Indian Ocean again before returning to winter. With an early flight, we could get there by noon for an afternoon swim. So we booked it!
…

 

 

On the way, I noticed a huge amount of liquid spewing over the wing… no, from the wing! It’s a very large gas leak! Daniel returned to his book; I started praying. In case we don’t make it, the plane is Fly540 5Y-BSS, and ask VISA if I get death benefits on flights booked with my credit card.

…

 

 

We did land safely. Now 4 people (who look like the ground crew) are climbing up & down a ladder inspecting the wing, as they if plan to continue the flight. Daniel seems not at all concerned, whereas I will follow him later (preferably by boat) if he gets back on that plane!

…

 

 

Wow. The replacement plane was even scarier! I never saw such a small commercial plane! we practically had to flap our arms to get airborne!

…

 

 

 

 

 

 

That early morning flight ended up taking 3 planes and all day. But wouldn’t you agree it was worth it?

 

The view from our beach bungalow onto the softest, whitest beach I’ve ever seen.

 

 

 

 

 

New Friends, New Tools

My heart just burst tonight with joy and pride as the staff of Life Concern, Paidha, Uganda, shared a closing dinner with us after two full days of visiting their projects. We ate in candlelight because the power was off, and the ambiance was so warm that I looked for the light switch when it came back on so I could turn it back off.

Before dinner, I spent four very difficult hours showing them WordPress and getting their first website (a free WordPress blog) set up. I say painful because we were surfing on a GPRS modem – a wonderful technology that allows you to surf anywhere you can get a cellular signal – but it was so slow we despaired of being able to do anything but post one test page and one test post before fatigue, frustration, and then a power failure led even this stalwart group of peacebuilders to call it a night. The connection did not even allow one picture to upload, but I’m sure with (copious amounts of) time and bandwidth they will succeed in sharing their inspiring stories on http://lifeconcernuganda.wordpress.com.

The sincere appreciation they expressed made be proud to have been able to contribute something so valuable to them, and grateful for the opportunity to do so. This is exactly the reason that I keep sharing technical knowledge with resource-strapped NGOs in Africa, especially when the needs are so great. They had attempted for years to start a website, but technical knowledge and lack of funds prevented them from doing so. They shared that paying for a website would have cost millions of shillings (one million shillings is about $500), and who knows if the technology would have been easy and sustainable enough for them to manage fee-free after that?

Thank goodness some funders discovered their work offline and supported it anyway, because the impact we saw on the ground was amazing. Yesterday they distributed bicycles, T-shirts and boots to their “Community Messengers of Peace,” comprised of ex-poachers and others who now ardently protect wildlife  and intervene on resource-based and other types of conflict in their communities. (An alternative source of income remains an outstanding need.)

We visited two of their high school peace clubs, and were sincerely impressed with the inspiring music, dramas, and creative fundraising initiatives the youth shared. They planned and budgeted to start a school canteen to enable them to become self-sufficient and provide scholarships, training, and youth exchanges for members.

I was grateful for the very generous gift of time Life Concern staff, especially their Director William Anyolitho, shared with us, taking us as far away as Paraa to see some of these initiatives. They truly are having an impact that appears multiplied like the loaves and fishes compared to the resources they have. I look forward to finding a gift of time myself so I can edit and post the numerous videos I was able to take to share their work more vividly. Look for them on their new blog!

Ugandan Idol

What a perfect day. It started with some phone calls to confirm meetings, and evolved into an impromptu audience with the Chairman of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of ICTs, the Director of Broadcasting Infrastructure at the ministry, and a long-anticipated reconnection with Amos, my friend who is doing amazing work with street children in Kampala. To top it off, we watched Ugandan Idol live under the stars in a parking lot, with amps, lights & speakers.

Daniel, who rushed us to get us there at the published start time, was introduced to “African time” – it started about 90 minutes later. But it was a great chance for another impromptu meeting, this time between Amos and a young man who helped Amos get off the street back in the day – they had a very touching reunion, and we were all touched to discover connections between us – Samuel and Daniel both work with the disabled, and Sam and I both love L’Arche and Jean Vanier (where Samuel has worked and I have visited a mass).

I hope that Chris, whom we also met for the first time today, will be able to help Amos upload the photos and videos that he is learning to take (with the camera we brought him) on the blog I’m going to help Amos start. Chris uses his IT skills to help the organization we’re visiting tomorrow with their work, and is eager to learn how to use WordPress. We’ll have time to talk shop on the 8 hour bus ride to Paidha tomorrow.

What a wonderful intersection of stories.

Heaven on Earth

I’m going to stop looking for heaven on earth — it’s here in Zanzibar! I’m writing this post overlooking a palm-tree lined white sand beach. The tide is going out, and at low tide the sand will extend 1.5 km from shore. When it comes back in the evening and gets heated by the sun, the water will be 27C – so warm you can run in without hesitation & float for hours. I may be the world’s biggest chicken for cold water, so that’s quite an endorsement! In the Mediterranean it took me 20-30 minutes to submerge, and that was by no means arctic!

Yesterday Daniel & I drove 90 minutes north, through light forests, farmland and villages to dive off Mnemba Atoll, the island’s best dive spot. 6 young boys were eager to help load the tanks and gear into a local wooden boat. I felt like we were in another space and time – our ecological footprint almost nil, as we ate local fruit and chapati, and used an outboard motor until we floated over the reef. The dives were wonderful! We saw trumpet fish, huge groupers, a huge octopus almost camouflaged in the reef, eels, schools of emperor fish, big yellow polka-dot fish, small black polka dotted fish, just wonderful colours! And I can tell you about it while I upload the photos to the Internet on highspeed. This is truly the best of both worlds.

Our resort is rustic; we have a bungalow made of wood, ignateous rock and a thatched roof, which is perfectly comfortable in the constant breeze. The paths are sand and the food local fish and fruit. Electricity and plumbing add modern comfort, but as soon as we step outside we see Zanzibaris going fishing in dugout canoes, women fetching huge loads of cultured seaweed, entrepreneurs selling massages and carvings on the beach, and it feels timeless. I can’t think of a more perfect spot to check email and develop websites.

Fairy Chimney Land

You’ll never imagine where I’m writing this post. I’m snuggled inside a volcanic cone-shaped cave, toasty warm from the fire while it’s a drizzly 5C outside, in Cappadocia (see a picture of our suite). It’s an amazing region, rich in “fairy chimney” formations, which have been used as homes, churches, and monasteries since at least the 11^th century. The cave I’m in has 4 stories of rooms, all hollowed out by hand in the 5th or 6th century. We could have a huge party and sleep 10 easily here – it’s much bigger than my Toronto apartment! We wish you were here with us! Some of the other caves are just simple rooms. It’s a historical area, protected from new cave development or changes.

Yesterday we visited 11^th and 12^th century byzantine cave churches. They were very small, often used by monk and hermit communities of less than 20 people. I was just in awe of the carved apses, altars, and 800-year old paintings, artistically and spiritually beautiful, and most of them beautifully preserved. One had 15 paintings of the life of Jesus; some celebrated Saint George, Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine. A Greek Orthodox priest with his friends sung a hymn in the “dark church,” which was the largest with the best preserved paintings. It was very moving.

I read of more Biblical places that I’ve been in Acts 20: Miletus, where my favourite Roman theatre still remains. I climbed its many steps to the top, and walked under its arched second-story roof that reminds me of the corridor in the SkyDome where you can buy drinks. A Turkish family waved to us when we were on the ground and asked us to take their picture, and some Kurdish girls spontaneously gave me a fresh cotton-branch bouquet; they were taking a break from a back-breaking day of cotton picking in the ruins in their backyard. On the way out of the village I met the girls, their teenage friends, and old women who were picking cotton in the hot sun. I asked to pick up a bag of cotton to test its weight – those fluffy balls were 60 lbs! What a hot, hard job, and only women were picking. The traditional life was so evident in the simple homes, each with its own olive tree and goat. I love the Turkish hospitality, which is so warm and genuine.

Living out Acts

I’m reading Acts – very appropriate while we’re touring of Turkey. In the last month, we’ve visited 3 of the 5 places mentioned in Acts 18 alone – Athens, Rome, Ephesus. Cesarea is 70 km from where I am now in Turkey.

Today was a very special day, especially for Daniel. He is a fan of Rumi, the 13^th century mystic poet, and planned a visit to Rumi’s city, Konya, especially to see it. The visitors to his museum were all clearly moved by Rumi’s work. One man was outside the gates, fervently praying; two women sat in a corner of the museum, reading Rumi’s poems. Daniel read me some of the poems on the way into the city, and while I knelt and prayed in the adjacent mosque, my hair covered in the women’s room, I experienced a deep sensation of the light of love exploding in my chest, as one of the poems called us to notice and nurture. There is a very special spirituality here. I believe it’s because of the message, of love and peace, and the seekers’ prayers.

Making Friends

The highlight of today was meeting a new friend, Mustafa, while asking directions to a restaurant for brunch. He kindly dropped what he was doing to walk us to his favourite spot 10 minutes away, then joined us for tea. Such is the hospitality we experience daily.

Turkey is amazing!

We’re in Turkey now, our first full day. If possible, I may love it more than Greece – 2 more weeks here will reveal the verdict. Great food, warm people, warm weather… I must say, Toronto seems very far away. The morning started with a visit to the Blue Mosque. I removed my shoes and donned a veil, and joined a throng of other visitors to see the site. The exterior architecture is the most impressive feature.

A Turkish man took it upon himself to guide us around the mosque in return for a visit to his carpet store. He wouldn’t accept a tip, but was handsomely rewarded as Daniel & I decided on two carpets to bring home over cups of tea. Then we immersed ourselves in the history of the Hagia Sophia, the 4th century church which became a mosque during the Ottoman empire. It was huge, with some Christian mosaics preserved or restored – I imagine restored, as depictions of people are forbidden in a mosque. We had a wonderful time taking photos and videos in the Grand Bazaar, and squeezed in a little shopping as well. Where on earth will I wear those harem pants???

So we truly enjoyed the start of our Turkish adventures.

Memories of Italy

Since leaving Greece two weeks ago we have been touring Italy, mostly visiting small, walled Tuscan villages. The countryside was beautiful! We also spent 4 days in Rome, and short visits to Florence, Naples and Capri. Pompei was quite impressive, and the Roman forum & colosseum quite subdued after the Acropolis.

Listening to a sung mass from the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica was a highlight, moving me almost to tears. I was blessed by a priest there; then I blessed my mother. St. Paul calls all Christians “priests,” and our best work is to bless others, so I was pleased to fulfill her request for a blessing (prompted both by her open faith and fatigue after two hours at the Basilica). But my best blessing was to meet family in Italy – on my mother’s first visit to Europe, and my sister’s second in over twenty years. We planned our trips to overlap in Tuscany.

We’re off

And we’re off on our amazing adventure. Stay posted for our stories…