One Tough Mother...

I love my mom for she never ceases to amaze me.

This past weekend I traveled to the Sandhills of Nebraska to celebrate Magnus’s birthday with family and friends. While visiting, my brother-in-law, Aaron, took my mother and I out to see his new Harley. It was great!

As I stated, my mom never ceases to amaze me. Why? Well, there are a number of traits about my mom that I have grown to appreciate over the years. She is…
1) …the most patient person I know
2) …occasionally goofy (see Bag Lady reference, “Ode to a 39er” November posting)
3) …not afraid to take chances. Case in point: when she was asked if she would like a ride on Aaron’s new Harley, she simply replied, “Sure!”

I do hope to live life much the same way.

Susie Derkins...

It has recently come to my attention that a Valentine’s cartoon I posted may have been perceived as being directed towards a specific person. No malice was intended. Sorry for the confusion.

The Endurance...

Today has been one of those days.

I am tired. Over the past 15 years, I have moved enough for several lifetimes. In this time span, I have had more than 60 address changes. For those who are mathematically challenged, that averages out to be one move every 3 months for 15 years.

I have been blessed with amazing adventures, and I am very grateful, but these adventures have come at a heavy price. I have become envious of those who are able to return time and again to a land they have previously called home or have an adventurous friend or spouse to share their lives with. I can make no such claims.

My moves are always new, always on my own. The friends I make will always be cherished, but they are rarely ever seen again.

I am thankful God has been at my side through thick and thin, but my faith is running on little more than fumes when I contemplate the future. Graduation will likely mean yet another step on my own to serve God.

This leads me to a question I have been wrestling with: is an obligatory step forward in faith better than staying in the boat?

South Pole, Antarctica
December 31st, 1997 and January 1st, 1998

Stupendous Man to the Rescue!!!

Not much happening in my neck-of-the-woods on this particular holiday. Potential Prospects: ZERO.

Instead of dwelling on the lack of women in my life, I thought I would share the best and worst of Valentine’s past.

1998 BEST VALENTINE’S DAY!
As is tradition with me, no woman was involved in making this particular Valentine’s Day so memorable. Instead, it was what I was leaving behind.

For two months of my life, I was simply cold. That all changed on Valentine’s Day 1998 when I left the South Pole. I will always thank God for that special day.
Temperature at the Pole: -80 (wind chill)
Temperature on the coast (McMurdo): +25 (NO wind chill)

That’s a 100+ degree difference!!! I swore when I left The Ice I would never again complain about the cold.

2005 WORST VALENTINE’S DAY…
Last year at this time was the worst of the worst. I started my preliminary exams last year on Valentine’s and I was stressed beyond what I thought was possible. I remember one of my committee members sharing with me that she could not have been able to take on the semester I did. Thankful that’s done.

All in all, this year’s Valentine’s falls somewhere in between.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep..."

I'm back at it!

Many of you may remember that last year around this time I was helping with a shoe drive for Afghan women. For a number of reasons, I wasn't sure if I would ever again take on such a project. That has all changed since Christmas.

I have now become the middle man for a project to supply laptop computers for disabled school children in Uzbekistan. Today I was able to save the project nearly $1,700 in shipping fees through persistent efforts. God is so faithful.

My host brother from my Peace Corps days, Tolik, is in charge of the project. In his words:

"The Online School for Disabled Students is a unique school which offers students with disabilities to study high school program online. Using computers with Internet access, students will be able to learn online, communicate online, share online and collaborate online.

Internet School for Disabled Students project is a distance learning educational projects which aims to give high school education to students with physical disabilities, and those who can not attend usual high school because of the health problems. The Internet School for Disabled Students will be available for students from 2 to 11 grade. Project participants will be able to receive education based on the national standards involving use of ICT in the following fields: creative and language arts, science/ environment/ math and culture and society."

This is an ambitious project. The school will "open its doors" this September in the city of Bukhara. The plan is to expand this to most major cities of Uzbekistan in 2007, and all of Central Asia by 2008-09.

You can learn more about the project at: www.school.iearn.uz