das wandern

2010-03-01T11:02:00.000-05:00

i've changed.

i'm sorry.

knsayres.wordpress.com

2010-02-19T03:45:00.004-05:00

im exhausted. the images remain in the camera.
its one of those moments where i need to process the world, before i process those images.
im afraid. im fairly sure that i failed as a journalist on this occasion: i didn’t ask the questions, didn’t get the difficult images. but sometimes you just have to be human.

there is chance’. she is seven years old—tall, with a tiny scar under her left eye. i have no idea what kinds of horror shes seen. a child of the war in the congo. an orphan. raped, abandoned.

fourteen children are sitting in the small sitting room, watching a film. she’s sitting in the corner, head in her hands. she wont answer questions. she wont look up.

but she doesn’t fight when i pick her up, put her in my lap. she curls up against me, and reaches for my hand. and she holds it tightly.

i know that ill never understand these stories. never be able to show the beauty of these children in photographs. ill never do truth justice. but isn'nt it more to love? i want to learn to love.

2009-12-30T03:42:00.005-05:00

sanyati, zimbabwe

sanyati baptist hospital continues to serve hundreds of patients each day, even with chronic shortages of water, electricity and essential medicine. with the economic crisis in zimbabwe, the bush hospital lacks even basic supplies like mattresses and ceilings.

the week i was there, a shipment of medicines from baptist global response arrived. these medicines have allowed the hospital to continue treating patients, even when the rest of the country has shut down.

baptist global response hopes to complete a renovation of the facility in the near future.

a woman with a broke hip lies near her open bible in the inpatient ward of the hospital.

the hospital chaplain prays with a patient.

the children's ward quickly became my favorite place at sanyati. here are three of my closest friends there: benhilda, basil, and the baby.

a mother comforts her young son who is unable to move from his bed.

a man gets his vitals checked before he sees the doctor. one doctor provides care for hundreds of clinic patients each day, as well inpatient care.

(i dont have my notebook. i'll (maybe) update the captions with names later.)

2009-11-06T13:45:00.001-05:00

(a beautiful poem, from a true and beautiful friend)

instructions upon entering darkness

You must hibernate:

Gather food,

Hold your rosary,

Hope (try to).

Always surround yourself with books,

not to read (necessarily)

But to remind yourself that some things

do last

and new stories are retold.

Transformation with time.

Don't talk too much,

Lips need slumber too.

Learn to listen,

Ears need constant vigilance.

Pray,

Only then will you know inherent value.

Drink wine with friends who don't

rush your pain.

Believe that humility rarely shows

up without humiliation.

Turn your face to the sky:

The earth will continue to rotate around an axis

toward the sun's rays.

Winter is coming,

Spring will come after.

The deep sleep will be aroused...

It will.

A frozen river still rushes water deep within.

And when the ice does thaw,

don't forget.

The sea was parted, the walls were tumbled,

the way was prepared.

Remember--for this will come again--

Just as the leaves fall, fertilize and recloak

the oaks of righteousness.

rebecca mcneil smith

2009-10-14T20:32:00.001-04:00

a poem i love. which, i think, could also be appropriately titled, how to be alive.

How To Be a Poet

by Wendell Berry

(to remind myself)

Make a place to sit down.

Sit down. Be quiet.

You must depend upon

affection, reading, knowledge,

skill—more of each

than you have—inspiration,

work, growing older, patience,

for patience joins time

to eternity. Any readers

who like your poems,

doubt their judgment.

Breathe with unconditional breath

the unconditioned air.

Shun electric wire.

Communicate slowly. Live

a three-dimensioned life;

stay away from screens.

Stay away from anything

that obscures the place it is in.

There are no unsacred places;

there are only sacred places

and desecrated places.

iii

Accept what comes from silence.

Make the best you can of it.

Of the little words that come

out of the silence, like prayers

prayed back to the one who prays,

make a poem that does not disturb

the silence from which it came.

2009-10-14T13:15:00.000-04:00

more photos of the street boys in nairobi.

2009-10-02T15:43:00.001-04:00

You who are God’s servants are living in a foreign country, for your own city-state is far away from this city-state. Knowing which is yours, why do you acquire fields, costly furnishings, buildings, and frail dwellings here? Anyone who acquired things for himself in this city cannot expect to find the way home to his own City. Do you not realize that all these things here do not belong to you, that they are under a power alien to your nature? The ruler will say you do not obey my laws, either observe my laws or get out of my country, Take care lest it prove fatal to you to repudiate your own laws. Acquire no more here than what is absolutely necessary. Instead of fields, buy for yourselves people in distress in accordance with your means.

-Hermas, 140 AD

2009-08-30T08:49:00.005-04:00

remember that time sam went to college?

this is when sam drives.

when sam pretends to be a lazy hippie.

when i take a gratuitous self portrait.

when sam makes her crazyface.

when sam pretends to be literate.

when sam is pretty.

when dad is displeased.

when mom is happy.

when sam tries to electrocute the baby.

hannah at dinner. (sam and hannah have known each other since they were tiny babies in memphis.)

papaw. (papaw was our next-door neighbor/grandfather growing up.)

taylorday. (a friend ive known since i was about two.)

mother and daughter. (laura and layla at dinner.)

sam and hannah.

2009-08-23T06:05:00.003-04:00

lesotho, part 3

john stokes the coal fire one evening when the temperature drops below freezing.

therron reads and reflects on a sunday morning before church.

the guys have a ton of time for reading. it is like a winter sabbatical, surrounded by beauty and the company of good thinkers.

john plays football with some of the village children before church.

john holds a young girl as they wait for her parents to get home.

2009-08-22T02:36:00.001-04:00

lesotho, part 2

i think this is my favorite image from this coverage. therron shows a young girl how to blow a dandelion.

john and therron work in the corn fields with a local pastor.

john throws an ear of corn into the harvest pile.

john plays with a little boy, swinging him around in circles, before church on a sunday morning.

john and therron spend some time talking to a man on their way home from visiting shepherds at the top of the mountain.

2009-08-21T02:04:00.006-04:00

lesotho, part 1

while i was in lesotho a couple months ago (difficult to believe it was a that long ago), we met three men serving as "winter missionaries" serving in a remote area of the kingdom.

john, drew and therron spent their summer living in a village in the mountains. they went with a commission: "be jesus in that place."

no electricity, no running water and very cold nights. they spent their days working in the fields with the men, playing with children from the village, helping build gardens. at night drank tea and hot chocolate, reading the saints by candlelight: merton and tozer and lewis and all of the rest.

the guys lived in the small house next to the local baptist church.

drew, wrapped in a sleeping bag and several blankets, sleeps on the floor of the small shack. on sunday mornings, the guys sleep in, reading and enjoying some down time before church.

the guys share morning coffee and reading on a very cold sunday morning.

the guys hike up a mountain early one morning to spend time with the shepherds who stay there.

drew and john make their way back down the mountain

more tomorrow. (maybe.)

2009-08-19T18:31:00.001-04:00

Please Call Me By My True Names
Thich Nhat Hanh

Don't say that I will depart tomorrow --
even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.

The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
of all that is alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart
can be left open,
the door of compassion.

2009-07-26T15:23:00.000-04:00

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"

a letter, from my friend eunice.

2009-07-24T15:35:00.005-04:00

Dear friends,

My names are Eunice Ng'ang'a and am a volunteer with Colours of the Cross-Nairobi Street Kids Ministry. We basically make an effort to try and reach out to the street children.
I would like to introduce to you the late Antony Maina aka Maish.
Maish met his death on 23/07/2009 at Riverside(a back street nairobi downtown) at around 11am after he was hit by a matatu (minibus) that was trying to overtake while standing on the side of the road. he died while being rushed to hospital.His body is lying at they city mortuary. i went over to see him this afternoon-it was very hard!this may not be new to some of us on the conditions of city mortuaty and would not want to go into details of what a saw.We are trying to reach his parents and relatives and i wish we could move his body to chiromo as we venture into this,the conditions are much better there. Maish ran away from home at least 6yrs ago after his mother died and his father remarried.his step mom was however not so nice to him and he ran way.after being on the street for sometime he realised life was harder there and decided to go back home but the reception he got made him think otherwise and he opted to be on the street.Before he met his death we had a chance of hanging out with him and his friends every day for one week for atleast 2-3hrs in the company of his friends.when we(my friend Kristen and i) interved him on friday 17/07/2009 he expressed his wish to go back home ask for his parents forgiveness and hopefully go back to school(std 6). Maish has had a lot of shortcomings as well as making many wrong decisions in life but if you had a chance to interact with him he was agreat kid!there is so much to say about him.however at a tender age( about 17yrs) he never got the chance to correct his mistakes but he was sorry about it all!as we give him a decent send off please remember the at least 20 young boys(between 10-18yrs) and 1 girl(13yrs) at the base where he stayed(riverside).this not mentioning all the other countless street kids all over this country and the world at large.

If you feel compelled to join us as we purpose to give Maish a decent send off please write back (eunice_ngng@yahoo.com) or call me on 0723 741 704.

In Christ,
Eunice.

(facebook link)

eunice shares with with antony and massai one morning last week.

antony poses for a photo at riverside, where the boys stay.

nairobi, kenya

2009-07-23T17:24:00.005-04:00

this is peter, called massai. someone was trying to take his glue, and
they pushed him into the fire. he burnt his bare feet, and was lying,
doubled over, screaming "why, why, why". the government official came
and beat him with a stick, because he wouldnt be quiet. here, one of
the other boys is trying to comfort him.

all my hope is in this:
jesus christ has not forgotten peter.
jesus christ loves peter.

2009-06-25T13:24:00.001-04:00

binghampton, memphis

marquianna and qui qui practice a dance in the front yard.

new baby ken-- naps on the bed while his older brothers and sister play outside.

keneshia yells at God, "God, you bring on the rain! just bring it on!"

tay tay drinks water from the hose on a hot summer day.

2009-06-21T12:08:00.000-04:00

you should at times go out

you should at times go out
from where the faithful kneel,
visit the slums of doubt
and feel what the lost feel;

you should at times walk on,
away from your friends' ways,
go where the scorned have gone,
pass beyond blame and praise;

and at times you should quit
(ah yes) your sunny home,
sadly awhile should sit,
even, in wrong's dark room,

or ever, suddenly,
by simple bliss betrayed,
you shall be forced to flee,
unloved, alone, afraid.

elizabeth daryush

2009-05-20T11:45:00.000-04:00

do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as ever you can.

John Wesley

2009-04-18T04:28:00.003-04:00

india (cont.)

pastor r (standing, right) was persecuted for his christian faith by radical hindus in his village. they beat him, and tried to drown them. when the tsunami hit in 2004, he asked a missionary to bring help to his village, even to those who had tried to kill him. now he has several ministries in the neighborhood, and a good relationship with the hindu leaders.
here, he prays for a hindu woman who tried to commit suicide after her husband and son abused her.

2009-04-17T14:46:00.002-04:00

india (cont.)

a man in a village on the coast

2009-04-11T13:12:00.002-04:00

people love you the most for the things you hate
and hate you for loving the things that you cannot keep straight
people judge you on a curve
and tell you you’re getting what you deserve
this too shall be made right

children cannot learn when children cannot eat
stack them like lumber when children cannot sleep
children dream of wishing wells
whose waters quench all the fires of Hell
this too shall be made right

the earth and the sky and the sea are all holding their breath
wars and abuses have nature groaning with death
we say we’re just trying to stay alive
but it looks so much more like a way to die
this too shall be made right

there’s a time for peace and there is a time for war
a time to forgive and a time to settle the score
a time for babies to lose their lives
a time for hunger and genocide
this too shall be made right

I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door
I join the oppressors of those who i choose to ignore
I’m trading comfort for human life
and that’s not just murder it’s suicide
this too shall be made right

(about once a year, i rediscover derek webb. he sings truth. if youve not heard, you can download his album the ringing bell for free on noisetrade.com)

2009-04-11T02:03:00.002-04:00

india (cont.)

tsumani relief gave a small fellowship voice in their community and increased their church from 12 members to over 100.

2009-04-10T07:38:00.004-04:00

india (cont.)

five years after the tsunami, families are still living in temporary housing. the livelihoods of the men in this small fishing village are now threatened by a resort being built nearby which will block their access to the ocean.

2009-04-09T08:18:00.002-04:00

india

a small fishing village on the southern coast of india was destroyed by the 2004 tsunami. the destruction can still be seen along the beach almost five years later.

2009-04-07T01:35:00.002-04:00

andaman islands, india

a young boy is blessed by a priest during puja, a hindu ritual, in a temple in the andaman islands.

2009-03-26T17:50:00.001-04:00

jakarta, indonesia

2009-03-25T17:09:00.001-04:00

You are Christian only so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in, so long as you emphasize the need of conversion both for yourself and for the world, so long as you in no way let yourself become established in the situation of the world, so long as you stay unsatisfied with the status quo and keep saying that a new world is yet to come. You are Christian only when you believe you have a role to play in the realization of the new kingdom, and when you urge everyone you meet with holy unrest to make haste so that the promise might soon be fulfilled. So long as you live as a Christian you keep looking for a new order, a new structure, a new life.

Henri Nouwen

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

2009-03-19T13:19:00.000-04:00

street boys
nairobi, kenya

2009-03-17T18:57:00.001-04:00

more images from barthelemy's family.

2009-02-23T16:33:00.003-05:00

(2 february 2009, jakarta)

the yearly high floods have come into the homes, the poor neighborhoods, bringing disease and hunger.
bagus is almost eight years old. for four days, he has in the floor of his family's home--hallucinating with high fever and chills. he hasnt eaten or drank anything since friday. christians here have offered to take him to the hospital, to pay the bills for his family. but his mother has refused. "we do not deserve that kind of care. we are poor, worthless. only rich people deserve that care. "finally, today, his mother was convinced to take him to the hospital. please pray for wisdom for the doctors. please pray for a full recovery.

(4 february 2009, jakarta)

the doctors found that bagus was suffering from dengue fever, which can be fatal if not treated. he is still in hospital, and doing much better.

praise god for his mercy.

2009-02-13T08:24:00.003-05:00

street boys

nairobi, kenya

the number of boys living on the streets has almost tripled in recent months due to drought and famine in kenya. edward (first photo, right) was hit by a car on saturday. his mouth was crudely stitched, and this morning he was lying on the concrete ground, crying in pain.

some ibuprofen, bread and milk isnt enough.

2009-02-01T10:29:00.001-05:00

possibly the most disturbing thing i've seen.

2009-01-26T17:15:00.005-05:00

christ academy, cont.

barthelemy, a refugee from dr congo, has begun a school for refugees and orphans in githurai slum, nairobi. in addition to running christ academy, he lives with his own three children and fifteen orphans, in a two-bedroom flat. he says that he himself grew up without parents to care for him, and he has a burden for these children. he desires to love them as his own, and give them the gift of education.

2009-01-24T05:15:00.004-05:00

2009-01-18T15:08:00.003-05:00

christ academy
githurai slum, nairobi

2009-01-16T01:57:00.001-05:00

street boys
nairobi, kenya

2009-01-10T13:28:00.004-05:00

more from ethiopia

2008-12-30T04:47:00.001-05:00

ethiopia

2008-12-24T15:15:00.005-05:00

ethiopia
coffee ceremony in a mountain village

2008-12-07T03:41:00.003-05:00

last night, i sat alone in the oshwal auditorium in nairobi, surrounded by strangers:

and the glory of the lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see together; for the mouth of the lord has spoken it.

we all listened. we heard. the gospel preached in music and word and glory. there is something mystic in the repetition of the chorus. you can fall into meditation, and there comes the moment you understand. when the knowledge, the truth, makes the leap across the synapses, and changes you. there is physical power, energy beyond atomic, in the words themselves. or maybe in the spirit.

and he shall purify
and he shall purify
and he shall purify
and he shall purify

jonathan opinya sang about darkness. i could hear the knowledge of darkness in his voice. the knowledge with which we are all born. the longing for light, for something true. and when the chorus began:

his name shall be called
wonderful
counselor
the mighty god
the everlasting father
the prince of peace

i felt it. i smiled in spite of myself, almost laughed in the joy of the promise. even the drums couldnt keep in their exultation.

and the angel told the shepherds, fear not. (for they were sore afraid.) they must have known the hopelessness of their estate. the joy in the good news for them, was a savior. they knew they needed a savior. that they must be saved--saved from the hell built with their own hands, from the shackles and slavery of sin and fear.

but, praise God! there were good tidings of great joy.

rejoice, oh daughter of zion.
rejoice greatly.

there was the moment. the halleluiah chorus. we all stood, a few at first, some awkwardly, glancing around the faces watching until the entire room was standing.
we all stood together, like king george II, singing.

hallelujah! for the lord god omnipotent reigneth.
the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our lord, and of his christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
hallelujah.

it was a moment of glory. strangers, united in joy and glory and truth for a moment in measureable time. i don’t need einstein's theory to tell me that that moment will last for ever, and ever. as all moments do. everything is eternal.

and this morning, i feasted on the same Christ. the Christ whose kingdom has come, and who shall reign for ever, and ever.

and i realize more each year how much i need that sacred meal. i need to feel the ground beneath my knees, i need to hear the sound of the breaking bread, “his body, broken for you” i need to let the sweet taste of the wine linger in my mouth “his blood, spilled for you” as we give thanks together. i need to hear the priest, speaking the very truth, words of life, foundations of the earth, over me. amen. amen. amen.

christ has died
christ is risen
christ will come again.

2008-12-04T17:31:00.008-05:00

i think the lack of blogging, writing, is mental laziness. or perhaps insecurity. there are so many people here, on the internet, these days. and--i care what you think of me.

but i want an account, a history. something true, and transparent for this chapter.
i wrote awhile back that this life (this life) is a testimony of god's faithfulness. it is more true every day.

so, as a preface, this is where i am:

i am living in nairobi. there is too much empty space in my flat. i spend a lot of time on the fire escape. and, when the music and moment overtake me, i dance in the hall.

i am settling into a strange pattern of life: weeks of airplanes, motels, unfamiliar currencies, unfamiliar faces, strange stories and strangers, joy.
then home is a chaos of exhaustion, loneliness, gluttony, insomnia, emotion and work.
then, again. and again.

all my hope must be entirely in his faithfulness. i have none.

2008-11-30T12:47:00.003-05:00

thomas merton, conjectures of a guilty bystander

Magnificent lines from Barth:
"Everyone who has to contend with unbelief should be advised that he ought not to take his own unbelief too seriously. Only faith is to be taken seriously; and if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed, that suffices for the devil to have lost his game.”

-Dogmatics in Outline

This is one of the great intuitions of Protestantism. And, of course, from a critically Catholic viewpoint, one can find fault with it: but why? To say, "only faith is to be taken seriously" can be understood in the light of that Christian--and Catholic--humility which puts all its trust in God. Our "good works" are necessary, but they are not to be "taken seriously." The Catholic dogma of justification never told anyone that he had to take his good works seriously in the sense of trusting completely in his own righteousness, for to take one's good works seriously is to be a pharisee. Only faith is to be taken seriously because only the mercy of God is serious. And if we put too much emphasis on the seriousness of what we do, we not only make the judgment of God the most serious reality in our life, but we are in fact judged: we are judged as men who have taken seriously something other that His infinite mercy. He who takes mercy seriously will hardly sin seriously. He who takes his own works seriously will not be kept, by that seriousness, from sin. It is pseudo-seriousness. It is not good enough.

What about unbelief, then: if faith is to be taken seriously, it follows that unbelief is also serious. No, because in taking faith seriously it is God who we take seriously, not ourselves, not our faith. I do not take faith seriously as something which i definitively possess, but I take seriously God Who gives me faith and renews that gift, by His mercy, at every moment, in spite of my unbelief. This I think is one of the central intuitions of evangelical Christianity, and it it something which we all must learn. It is something, too, which many Protestants have themselves forgotten, becoming instead obsessed with faith as it is in themselves, constantly watching themselves to see if faith is still there, which means turning faith into a good work and being justified, consequently, by works. "To believe is to be free and to trust in Him quite alone" and to be free from every other form of dependence and reliance. This is true freedom, and from it springs the capacity for every good work, for it removes all obstacles to love in our hearts.

2008-11-26T06:35:00.003-05:00

lusaka, zambia

the pastor of apostolic faith mission church (left) dances during sunday morning worship

2008-11-22T03:49:00.003-05:00

lusaka, zambia

cynthia has been sick since 2005. since her husband died, she and her son, duma, have lived in her mother's two room house in the city. her eyes are tired, and the doctors are unable to tell her what t is that makes her and her son cough and burn with fever. we visited and prayed with cynthia, her brother, mother, and son. pray for them all.

2008-10-18T16:55:00.000-04:00

a slice of life, from nairobi:

this afternoon, i took a walk down the street to get some grilled maize. on the way home, i noticed two girls following me. i greeted them, and one hurried to catch up. she looked at my maize, and declared, "you have maize!" i agreed. and we walked on. a few minutes later, she asked me if she could have it. i told her no, but offered to share some. so i walked on with two very surprised girls, and ate maize, each of us picking out kernels with our fingernails, giggling. when i made my turn toward home, the girls waited at the corner, shouting goodbye. as i neared my flat, i heard "holy, holy, holy." i stopped in the street for a few minutes to listen. when it was over, i walked toward the source of the hymn, and was surprised to find a small anglican church on my street. i walked in, met the pastor, thomas, and we talked for awhile. the small church was built in 1927. he invited me to tomorrow's service.

2008-10-17T13:59:00.006-04:00

nairobi, kenya

{korogosho christian center}

virginia makes a special treat for the children, bread with butter, and jam

recess at korogosho

teacher miss nazarene at korogosho

children in class at korogosho

students learn a trade at korogosho

{children in nairobi}

{baptist children's home}

cynthia

{street kids}

to be honest, i did not go to photograph the street kids today. i went to get to know them. but i feel i need to share this one photo, and story. this is jon. he is 15. his mother died in an accident in 2003, and his father died of sickness in 2006.
jon had been living with his uncle until january, when the post-election violence spread to his village. both jon and his uncle fled, and were separated. jon never found his uncle, or any other family. he has been living on the streets of downtown nairobi for 10 months now.

please pray for jon. pray that our father would have mercy on him, protect him from the many dangers of the streets, pray that he would have enough to eat tonight, and somewhere warm and safe to sleep. pray please that god might provide him with a home, and a family.

post scriptum: photographers, feel free to critique. my photography, of late, is no, no good.

2008-10-05T11:58:00.003-04:00

nairobi, kenya

first road trip: rift valley

2008-10-04T07:19:00.002-04:00

nairobi, kenya

monica and mary sell their fresh produce at the hawker's market

2008-09-28T12:31:00.004-04:00

davidsonville, maryland
(on my way to kenya.)

sunny and snuggles

david and casey

"no flash photography, please."
(half-hearted attempt.)

2008-09-20T21:54:00.002-04:00

memphis, tennessee
(reminiscing)

who am i?

"i am photographo. a french-russian exchange student who likes caviare sundaes and cadavers." (also, there is hangwoman.)

2008-09-17T15:57:00.000-04:00

memphis, tennessee

3116 family portrait

2008-09-08T21:32:00.000-04:00

atlanta, georgia

mom and dad (version 2.0)

2008-09-07T22:23:00.002-04:00

atlanta, georgia

2008-09-06T21:14:00.003-04:00

atlanta, georgia

ryan academy winter solstice feis
(irish dancing)

2008-09-03T19:00:00.000-04:00

a litany:

One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
All: Have mercy on us
One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
All: Free us from the bondage of sin and death
One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
All: Hear our prayer. Grant us peace.

One: For the victims of war
All: Have mercy
One: Women, men and children
All: Have mercy
One: The maimed and the crippled
All: Have mercy
One: The abandoned and the homeless
All: Have mercy
One: the imprisoned and the tortured
All: Have mercy
One: The widowed and the orphaned
All: Have mercy
One: The bleeding and the dying
All: Have mercy
One: The weary and the desperate
All: Have mercy
One: The lost and the forsaken
All: Have mercy

One: O God -- Have mercy on us sinners
All: Forgive us for we know not what we do
One: For our scorched and blackened earth
All: Forgive us
One: For the scandal of billions wasted in war
All: Forgive us
One: For our arms makers and arms dealers
All: Forgive us
One: For our Caesars and Herods
All: Forgive us
One: For the violence that is rooted in our hearts
All: Forgive us

One: For the times we turn others into enemies
All: Forgive us
One: Deliver us, O God
All: Guide our feet into the way of peace
One: Hear our prayer.
All: Grant us peace.

One: From the arrogance of power
All: Deliver us
One: From the myth of redemptive violence
All: Deliver us
One: From the tyranny of greed
All: Deliver us
One: From the ugliness of racism
All: Deliver us
One: From the cancer of hatred
All: Deliver us
One: From the seduction of wealth
All: Deliver us
One: From the addiction of control
All: Deliver us
One: From the idolatry of nationalism
All: Deliver us
One: From the paralysis of cynicism
All: Deliver us
One: From the violence of apathy
All: Deliver us
One: From the ghettos of poverty
All: Deliver us
One: From the ghettos of wealth
All: Deliver us
One: From a lack of imagination
All: Deliver us
One: Deliver us, O God
All: Guide our feet into the way of peace
One: We will not conform to the patterns of this world
All: Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds
One: With the help of God’s grace
All: Let us resist evil wherever we find it

One: With the waging of war
All: We will not comply
One: With the legalization of murder
All: We will not comply
One: With the slaughter of innocents
All: We will not comply
One: With laws that betray human life
All: We will not comply
One: With the destruction of community
All: We will not comply
One: With the pointing finger and malicious talk
All: We will not comply
One: With the idea that happiness must be purchased
All: We will not comply
One: With the ravaging of the earth
All: We will not comply
One: With principalities and powers that oppress
All: We will not comply
One: With the destruction of peoples
All: We will not comply
One: With the raping of women
All: We will not comply
One: With governments that kill
All: We will not comply
One: With the theology of empire
All: We will not comply
One: With the business of militarism
All: We will not comply
One: With the hoarding of riches
All: We will not comply
One: With the dissemination of fear
All: We will not comply

One: Today we pledge our ultimate allegiance… to the Kingdom of God
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To a peace that is not like Rome’s
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the Gospel of enemy love
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the Kingdom of the poor and broken
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To a King that loves his enemies so much he died for them

All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the least of these, with whom Christ dwells
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the transnational Church that transcends the artificial borders of nations
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the refugee of Nazareth
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the cross rather than the sword
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the banner of love above any flag
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the one who rides a donkey rather than a war-horse
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the revolution that sets both oppressed and oppressors free
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the Way that leads to life
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To the Slaughtered Lamb
All: We pledge allegiance
One: And together we proclaim his praises, from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power
All: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb
One: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb
All: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb

Jesus For President Litany of Resistance

2008-08-28T18:00:00.003-04:00

for all the people who think this girl is me.

this girl is not me.

this is a young girl from afghanistan.

this is me with a young girl from afghanistan.

not the same person.

2008-08-27T11:25:00.003-04:00

afghanistan

2008-08-24T14:27:00.005-04:00

dubai, u.a.e

47°C in the sand dunes

2008-08-23T16:00:00.006-04:00

addis ababa, ethiopia

Holy God, holy Mighty, Holy Living,
Immortal, who was baptized in Jordan
and crucified on the tree of the cross,
have mercy upon us, Lord.
Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Living,
Immortal, who didst rise from the dead
on the third day,
ascend into heaven in glory, sit at the
right hand of thy Father and again wilt
come in glory to judge the quick and
the dead, have mercy upon us, Lord.
Glory be to the Father, glory be to the
Son, glory be to the Holy Spirit, both
now and ever and world without end.
Amen and Amen, so be it, so be it.

O holy Trinity, living God have
mercy upon us.

2008-08-11T20:19:00.001-04:00

washington, d.c.

(from the weekend)

2008-08-10T21:37:00.002-04:00

bowie, md

2008-08-09T23:50:00.001-04:00

washington, d.c.
contortionist cousins

2008-07-30T18:54:00.003-04:00

abidjan, cote d'ivoire

fbc powell rehearsal for the no-talent talent show

alexis

2008-07-25T18:36:00.003-04:00

abidjan, cote d'ivoire

2008-07-24T18:12:00.005-04:00

abidjan, cote d'ivoire
nine-year-old caleb negotiates my bride price with a man in the city.

2008-07-23T16:22:00.003-04:00

abidjan, cote d'ivoire

(for adon and eli.)
((next time i'll take pictures of taxis and airplanes.) )

2008-07-22T17:14:00.004-04:00

falako, mali

chief of falako
(9 july 2008)

2008-07-21T17:58:00.006-04:00

abidjan, cote d'ivoire
mother and new child

( photo by emily peters)

2008-07-20T16:34:00.005-04:00

abidjan, côte d'ivoire
(photos of sweet children, for rachelle)

2008-07-15T17:09:00.001-04:00

beneco, mali

my african namesake,
miriama fumba

2008-07-08T17:49:00.002-04:00

bamako, mali

2008-07-05T10:37:00.000-04:00

i head out this morning for a month-long trip to west africa.

i will be covering some food distribution in villages in mali, and then heading to cote d'ivoire for some more coverages, meetings and a little bit of tutoring in french.

please pray:

for discernment

for wisdom and understanding

and

for not-lost luggage.

2008-07-02T20:11:00.002-04:00

michael
starbucks, richmond virginia

kuba, kuba
richmond, virgina

monument office
richmond, virgina

2008-07-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

we do not understand the wickedness of our hearts;
nothing but the power of God in the gospel can deliver us.

the moleskine, 27 january 2008

2008-06-29T21:48:00.001-04:00

downtown charlottesville, virginia

we don't have to save face, pretend to feel or be what we are not (yet) in order
to represent Christ. we must be genuine. we must be honest with ourselves, with God,
with others. that is integrity. if Christ is real, and true, we need not be liars to bear
witness to Him.

let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.

the moleskine, 22 april 2008

2008-06-28T15:39:00.001-04:00

pony pasture at the james river
richmond, virginia

the true church sings spontaneous praise down by the river.
the moleskine, 16 may 2008

2008-05-18T20:10:00.000-04:00

tonight marked the last day of the first week of field personnel orientation in virginia. the week has been hectic, to say the least. most of our hours are scheduled, from sunup to sundown. i am a bit overwhelmed with the sheer number of new faces, and new ideas.

tonight, we all gathered together to participate in a mapping ceremony. each family unit was asked to place a photo of themselves on a large world map, and share a prayer request for our time in orientation.

my prayer is two-fold:
one, that God might have mercy on my family.
and
two, that the Spirit might guide me in all truth.

i also ask that anyone lifting me up in prayer may petition the father, that he gives me a broken and humble heart. my heart is much inclined to arrogance. pray that He continually brings me low.

to all my brothers and sisters by common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

2008-05-10T23:46:00.000-04:00

If thou could'st empty all thyself of self,
Like to a shell dishabited,
Then might He find thee on the ocean shelf,
And say, "this is not dead,"
And fill thee with Himself instead.

But thou are all replete with very thou
And hast such shrewd activity,
That when He comes He says, "This is enow
Unto itself - 'twere better let it be,
It is so small and full, there is no room for me."

Sir Thomas Browne