Running Around

Sometimes between my shifts at work, I go to walk/run around in some of the more impressive neighborhoods in Saint Louis. I'm not a person who strives for wealth or prestige, values which many people consider these neighborhoods to represent.. but my sense of well-being is often greatly affected by my surroundings. Saint Louis as a whole has a sort of ironic beauty about it; crumbling urban decay, images of the past mixed with the present, authenticity mixed with commercialism. After a while it weighs on your senses. I love the sense of vitality and well being that comes from being surrounded by things that blossom and grow. The neighborhoods that I have been exploring are amazing, in this sense. They are full of old houses, towering trees, and front lawns covered in huge flowering gardens. What if we worked to make the rest of this city like that - full of restored houses, flourishing gardens, towering trees.. and we could all run around all day ;)

Summer Moments

Some of the moments I most savor during the summertime are simple ones..

Playground moments.
Swimming pool moments.
Helping little girls learn to play baseball moments.

One of my all-time favorite summertime moments is from several years ago when these kids were so little. They each gathered handfuls of sticks and ran in a line through the backyard pretending they had wings...

Here are just a few summertime moments.. These days they are way too few and far between.

The Birthday Girl

Baby girl turns 8 today... It seems so crazy. We had her birthday party yesterday at Creve Couer Lake, where we got to play baseball, go bike riding, and had a "real adventure." I'm so glad I've been able to celebrate every single birthday with you, Hannah girl.

The Top of the Live Long Year

A few weeks ago, I read the book Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit. So sweet and innocent, with beautiful prose... The book begins by describing the first week of August as the very top of the year, before the descent into the long winter. Each year, the first week of August finds me taking time to savor the greenness of each leaf, to listen to the cicadas, and to breathe in the hot, steamy summer air... because I know it's all going to fade very soon. I don't particularly enjoy changing seasons. It's all very sad to me. So here's my sloppy rendition of the way the book begins:

Enjoy the first week of August; it's nearly over already...

First Anniversary Photos!

I've been going about trying to revamp this blog, so right now it's a work in progress. David and I just celebrated our first anniversary though, so I need to post about that!

These pictures are VERY selfy-esque... Our dear friend/neighbor/photographer is at home in Indonesia right now, so we put my camera on self timer and improvised. The pictures are taken at the beautiful Wayside Community Garden in historic Normandy MO.

Here are some cute David extras...

Amanda, Jonathan and John's Sierra Leone Thanksgiving

I have been friends with Fatu for several months now. I get to watch her little grandson while she goes to English classes, and we always laugh because he cries for her the whole time she is gone.

Fatu speaks very limited English, but I really wanted the chance to get to know her better. Several weeks ago I asked her if my friends and I could bring a Thanksgiving celebration to her family's house. She was so excited, and so was I!

Fatu lives with her son and daughter-in-law (and their children) who arrived in Saint Louis seven years ago. She came several years later to join them. They are all from Sierra Leone, a tiny country in Western Africa that has been recovering from a brutal civil war that lasted for over 10 years (1991-2002). A discontented revolutionary army, with the help of outside aid, attempted to overthrow the government in Sierra Leone and ignited a civil struggle that displaced over 2 million people and killed 50,000.

My friends Amanda, Jonathan, John came with us to spend the evening with this family last night. We were able to share some traditional American Thanksgiving food and try some traditional Sierra Leone Cuisine! Fatu explained to me that on holidays in Sierra Leone, everyone goes to the beach, shares food, dances and swims together in the ocean. Sounds like a perfect holiday to me!

Friends, as we give thanks this week please remember to extend the things you are thankful for, such as loving friendships, community, good food, and laughter with ALL of our neighbors :)

(The Refugee Connection program operates through Oasis International Ministries. If you are interested in getting involved, visit www.oasisinternational.info, or just let me know!)

Thomas and Stacie's Bhutanese Thanksgiving

Last night I was able to introduce my friends, Thomas and Stacie, to this wonderful family from Bhutan. The parents fled Bhutan over 16 years ago, and all of their children were born in refugee camps in Nepal, where they spent their entire lives prior to relocation in Saint Louis. 

Many people have never even heard of Bhutan, let alone the refugee situation there. Here at Oasis, we meet newly arrived Bhutanese families all the time.
The political situation that occurred in Bhutan has to do with ethnicity and culture. There was an ethnic group in Bhutan who were the descendants of Nepali migrants. These people still practiced Nepali culture in Bhutan even though they were Bhutanese citizens. In the 1990s, the government of Bhutan decided that the Nepali ethnic group was a threat to their country's ancient culture and identity, as they saw globalization occurring in other countries nearby and around the world. They stripped the Nepali ethnic group of their citizenship and told them they had to go "back" to Nepal or essentially face the possibility of being killed. Many fled to Nepal, but the Nepali government wouldn't grant them citizenship there either. Most of the Bhutanese refugees arriving inSt Louis have spent over 20 years living in refugee camps in Nepal.

This family welcomed us into their home, even though their English was limited and they weren't sure why we wanted to come and share food with them. We were able to share the American tradition of Thanksgiving with them as we learned about Nepali traditions and festivals. We were able to ask many questions about Bhutanese/Nepali culture with the help of their teenage daughters, who giggled through the process of trying to translate. They shared about religious traditions and shared Hindi and Nepali music videos with us. When we asked if they could teach us to dance like the people in the videos, they said we should just go take lessons. (Which I actually think would be pretty fun..)

Before we left, we all make a big sign with pictures of things that we are thankful for:

Friends, as we give thanks this week please remember to extend the things you are thankful for, such as loving friendships, community, good food, and laughter with ALL of our neighbors :)



(The Refugee Connection program operates through Oasis International Ministries. If you are interested in getting involved, visit www.oasisinternational.info, or just let me know!)