settling?

its pretty much official.
dave and i have found an apartment.
its a bangin' 2 bedroom
for a relatively good price for SD.

i'm kinda takin' the leap
b/c i have no idea what i will be doing.
maybe a job with IC, maybe not.
so let the networking begin, i suppose.

at this point, yes...i'm waiting...
to hear from the powers that be at IC,
yet again.

i've applied to be the Recruiter/HR Coordinator.
nice title, huh?

since i've been back from Uganda, i've been in the office a few times to help out with some tasks that i'd probably be doing in the position i've applied for. right now, the priority is hiring roadies for the fall tour and i'm not exactly sure when its going to be a priority to fill the Recruiter/HR Coordinator position. but this is round two in going for an HR position with Invisible Children.

It seems that being involved with IC is probably the best thing that could happen to one person, but it can also be the death of that person. Due to the amazing environment and mission of IC, to come right out of school and begin working for such an organization is difficult. Mainly because Invisible Children is similar to an organization that you would want to work your way up to b/c of its solidarity and holistic approach to its mission, both stateside and in Uganda. But, with receiving a position without much professional experience and then after your time with IC, where do you go? Do you give in and move on to some corporate blah blah blah or do you create something all your own that has the favored characteristics? hm. this is something to ponder on. this is what you would call, "IC Withdrawl"...

So...do I want a job with IC so that I can continue to be involved in this subculture and ground-breaking humanitarian work? duh. But...if I don't get the job, where does that leave me?

Searching. Not settling.

back in sd

i'm back.

today for some reason has been the toughest day.
not because of jet lag and not because of culture shock.
simply because i'm alone.

this is a good thing,
but still a tough issue to chew on.
i'm alone in the roadie house.

a house that involved so many conversations,
so many laughs, prayers, and tears.
so many life-altering relationships.
and now it is empty.
ready and willing for the next community of people,
but never will it inhabit the same.

i don't know why this has hit me all of a sudden...
maybe this is my culture shock.
to go from all of us being together to a few of us in Uganda...
to me.

its good to be back. to continue to be at the mercy of God.
to be blessed.
to be loved.
to be challenged. financially. spiritually. physically.

i'm crying to God today for contentment and joy.
for a void to be filled that still has yet to be filled.
for direction and certainty (but i know certainty in my life is rare).
for obedience.
to feel unconditional love.

day 5

internet is a sparse thing here in Gulu. well...power is rare period so the opportunity to sit down and update you all has not come to me until now. trust me, once i get back to the states i will post my written journal entries for each day before this.

so much has happened within these 5 days that it seems so much longer. where to start? i'm not sure...so i'm just gonna type:

we stayed in an IDP Camp last night (Koro Camp). we were privelidged to be hosted by the bracelet makers of Koro. Sean and I stayed with Martin and his family. This evening very well was the most awkward but beautiful experience. The most surreal aspect of the night was when Martin and ourselves were sitting around chewing on some sugar cane listening to the radio in the moonlight. I was startled when I heard the words LRA and Joseph Kony on the announcement. It was basically an announcement about the state of the peace process and the fact that Kony again refused to show and sign the final peace agreement. Martin's face was just perplexed but definitely not stunned. If you can imagine the picture of kids screaming and crying, smoke billowing in the air, the moonlight and lightning in the distance, and us...sitting around each other in silence listening to the news. Erie.

but, needless to say...we were taken care of...so much Acholi food and so much attention to just us, the kids who travel around America telling the stories of the Acholi tribe. kids doing what we are supposed to in life. know. live. tell.

more updates will follow but for now this is enough.

day one

you can consider it day one, i suppose even though we traveled for nearly two days to reach Kampala, Uganda. Yea...Uganda. I cannot believe that I am finally here. A lot of emotion has been building up to this moment. This moment of actually being in Africa. I am siting at an internet cafe in the heart of Kampala at Garden City Mall. I just converted my dollars to shillings and am ready to go. In a few short minutes, we are headed to the US Embassy for a meeting with the ambassadors. Crazy, right? They wanted to meet with the Americans that work for Invisible Children. Easy enough.

Its beautiful so far. The people, the land, the heart of this place. After the Embassy, we are traveling north to our actual destination of Gulu where the IC offices are. Its about a 6 hour van ride on crazy bumpy roads. Looking forward to it. The unknown.

slow down

..."slow down!" i tell the world.

the world looks at me and smirks,
it of course says, "are you kidding? keep up!"

the story of our lives, i suppose.
ok...well i can't speak for everyone
but this is the story of my life as of late.
God has been tossing experiences at me...
and i've barely had any time to sit
and realize the magnitude and the goodness
in each thing, each person, each conversation.

tour has just ended.
tonite was our last screening at UCLA.
3 months of touring...
3 months prior of booking...
and then 3 months prior of waiting...
have come to an end.

an end.
a thing that happens to be reoccurring in my life.
but, then its friend follows...a beginning.
weird how this beginning just began.
weird how this "end" may not even be the end.
am i making sense?
regardless, i'm on my way...
to what? we'll see...

one year anniversary

it was a year ago today.

a conversation.
words.
thoughts.
emotions.
the inevitable.
it happened.

i'm not sure how to adequately reflect
on this past year.
i mean...how do you actually measure
what good reflection is or isn't.

my world for sure has been rocked
since last St. Patrick's Day.
a lot of highs and certainly
even more lows.

i definitely don't know
what this next year has instore.
my hope?
restoration. reconciliation.

orange county

i've definitely come to learn
that it is almost
impossible
to keep up with blogging
while on the road.

our tour to orange county
has been jam-packed with
all sorts of events.
from basic college screenings,
to benefit events, and to art showings
we we're pretty much all over the place.
i don't think i have mentioned pink berry...
but we found something...better.
yogurt land. frozen self-serve yogurt.
.30 an ounce.

aside from yogurt land,
we met some solid folks
through out orange county.

i'd probably have to say
at this point
the most challenging aspect
of tour
has been affirming people.
i have just recently realized
that one of my love languages
is most definitely not
words of encouragment or affirmation.
i normally always internalize my
affirmations for others,
but never realize in the moment
how essential it is to verbalize these words
to an individual.

we are now a little over 5 weeks into tour
with 7 left.
we've been in the Inland Empire
for about 5 days which i will
attempt to brief you on later.
but we are on to Vegas soon...

check out this video that my teammate
andrea made post orange county.