Yes please!!

I can't comprehend this right now.

http://www.resolveuganda.org/node/972

EPIC FAIL.

Invisible Children gets some free advertising off the freeway today...thank you flat tire!

Figuring out how we are going to raise the car on the axel...

Brennon hard at work...figuring out how we are going to change the tire. Apparently, we drove out from San Diego without the proper tools to get the spare tire down...and accidently threw out the blocks we need to raise the car to get the tire off...

Of all places to get a flat tire...

Faith and Adam posing with our flat tire...

Charleston: Beautiful, historic and romantic.

Charleston. Beautiful, historic and romantic. Out of all the cities that we have visited on this tour, Charleston is by far my favorite. We got into town around 1:15 PM yesterday. I was able to meet up with a friend of mine that I met when I went to China last summer. His name is Jonathan Tice, and he is in the Coast Guard here in Charleston. He was one of the people that went on the Global Project to K-Town, China.

Jonathan picked me up and we drove around town a bit before we found a place to have lunch. I had some blackened chicken, cabbage and potatoes, followed by a coca-cola chocolate cake! It was delicious! After that we went to the ocean, which was amazing because it was the first time that I saw the Atlantic Ocean! After that we stopped by his house so he could change into "civilian" clothes before we went to dinner with my teammates. We met up with Adam and Brennon (Faith had the day off) and walked around until we met up with Courtney from UNC Greensboro. She and her friend drove down to spend the weekend with us! We ate at Mellow Mushroom...which was delicious!! After that we went back to Jonathan's house and hung out with his roommates. Jonathan was really nice and gave me his room (he slept in his roommates rooom), and the boys slept on the couch. His bed is the most comfortable bed in the entire world. I was pretty convinced that I would not have the ability to get up in the morning. Somehow, I did.

Jonathan had duty this morning, so he left the house around 6:30AM. We were still sleeping! He is going to come to our screening tomorrow at John Wesley United Methodist Church. Today, ,we met up with Courtney and went to the beach again. It was like 80 degrees, and really sunny. The boys went swimming and I found some sweet seashells. It was so nice to spend the day in the sun!!

Tonight, Faith, Courtney, her friend and myself are going on a ghost tour of Charleston! I am really excited and I cannot wait. We leave for the tour in 15 minutes, so I am getting really excited! I wish it was going to be a little darker outside, but you can't win everything in life! ha.

I am going to meet my grandmother on the 4th. Like literally meet my grandmother. I know I saw her once when I was 8, but I don't remember her at all. I have no idea what she even looks like. She is really excited that I am coming too. I will get to spend three days with her. (Invisible Children gives us three days off at some point). The last time we talked on the phone, she told me that she loved me and it seriously brought me to tears. I don't have any memories of her saying that to me. It was pretty incredible! I had to get off the phone quickly because I didn't want her to know that I got all teared up! lol Anyways, pray for me, I am a little nervous!!

Well, I hope to get you all some pictures soon. You are going to love it! OOOOOH! Jensen shipped me my computer, so I should be getting it sometime this week. THEN I will be able to upload a lot more pictures whenever.

A little glimpse...

Adam made me wear a hate in an effort to "model" how amazing it looks on...and convince people to buy it. I said I didn't like wearing hats, he replied with "Well, we should have one girl wear it and one boy wear it. I'll wear one, and since you're the only girl...you get to wear one." Thanks Adam.

Selling Merch. outside a high school after school. I don't know how legal it was, because we were in a parking lot across the street. We got asked to move...

Penn Station=the most delicious subs in the entire world. One of our contacts father owns the sub shop and invited us to lunch. I had a pizza sub, and you can tell that I loved it!

We went to a rave...in the Library at Elon University. People were dancing on the circulation desk and on the computer desks.

A student sold Invisible Children Support slips to raise money for Schools for Schools

So, I realize....

I realize that I have not posted much lately. With that said, I would like to explain myself. I finally started my section of tour and I feel like we have been non-stop on the go! Don't get me wrong, I love every moment of it, and I LOVE meeting all of my new friends, but it does leave little time for posting blogs. Don't worry, I am still thinking of all of you!

This morning my teammates and I had the privilege of waking up at 4:00 AM and driving two hours to Charlotte, NC where we did a screening at Charlotte Catholic High School. The school is beautiful, and the students were so helpful! I had so much fun hanging out with them at their club meeting after school. No wonder this school won the trip to Uganda last year, they are hard, dedicated workers!!!

Tomorrow my teammates and I are going to an AVEDA Institute here in Charlotte. This is a Cosmetology school...which is great because we are hoping to get...a facial? I hear the other roadies are getting them!!

Anyways, I miss all of you, and I am looking forward to Christmas with the family! I will post some new pics this weekend.

-Christa

Jamestown Adventures

So, we are almost halfway through the tour, and I am starting to miss everyone so much! Let's see, some things I miss the most.

1. Sleeping in. December 20th, I am sleeping in until noon!
2. My family. I miss my whole family. Albert, mom, Blake, Amber, Susan, Marc, my dad, Karen...the list goes on.
3. Cooking! I really miss cooking. I miss meditating while I cook.
4. My dog Shiloh, and Cat Samantha. I don't miss Dory, she is evil and she can run away.
5. Having time to put makeup on. Even if I don't wear it, I miss having the time to do it if I want.
6. Jensen. Duh!
7. HEROES! Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and every other TV show
8. Knowing what is going on in the world
9. Dancing...with Tessa!
10. My BMED crew. I really miss them right now. I wish Anna could come home!!

BUT all of the amazing people we meet, and the amazing story we get to tell far outweighs all of these. I am looking forward to coming home, but I am also excited to be here, working with Invisible Children. I start my section of tour on Monday, and I can't wait to meet all of the people I have been working with to get these screenings set up. It is going to be so great to put a face with the name!!

Ok, so today my team and I finally got a MUCH needed day off. Usually, on our days off we just work the entire day. I am sure we should have just worked all day, but we needed to spend some quality time together as a team and bond! We went to Jamestown and Yorktown...AMAZING! Oh, we have a new teammate on the Mid Atlantic Team. I would like to introduce you to Shaniqua (AKA Furbs, Furbalicious, Furbalic, and Furby)

Furbs getting ready to fire the cannon in Jamestown

Me! Getting my gear ready to take my post!

Me and one of the men who work on the boat

I'm joinin' the Continental Army Mom.

This is why I am NOT traveling through time to be a soldier. No medicine to numb the pain, scary instruments and a crazy doctor who drills holes in your head! YIKES!

While we were walking back to the exit, we stopped in the Native American village to look around. We met an "actress" who told us all kinds of crazy ghost stories about Jamestown. She has seen a ghost before! NUTS! She told us about six different stories. INSANE! It was so fun, and we all left a little creeped out. Oh, I secretly took pictures inside the museum, even after I was asked not to. I am a teacher....I have a duty to make my students' education solid...and amazing!!!

-Christa

Sign the Citizens Arrest Warrent of Joseph Kony

Here is some more information about my trip to Uganda and what I encountered along the way...

On September 17^th I returned from a 10 day journey to northern Uganda with 12 other Roadies to gain a deeper understanding of the Schools for Schools program. On the third day of the trip, I had the opportunity to spend an entire day at my partner school, St. Mary’s Lacor.

By the first break in the school day I had made a few friends. We sat in the courtyard and talked as the girls flipped through the pages of my notebook, exploring a small part of my world while I sat in the midst of theirs. A hush came over the girls and one asked, “Madam, what is this?” as she pointed to notes I had taken during my Roadie training about the LRA. My heart skipped a beat as I searched for a way to explain why I had information about the LRA in my notebook.

Barbra in front of St. Mary's Lacor

I gathered my thoughts and explained to my new friends that in addition to working to rebuild their school, Invisible Children is actively trying to bring an end to the war the LRA has been perpetrating for the last two decades. There was a long, awkward silence as the girls stared down at the number of people who have been murdered and abducted by the LRA since December. After some time, a girl named Barbra looked directly at me and asked how we planned on doing this. “We are asking American students to ask President Obama to help to bring an end to this war. We believe that if we get enough students to do this, he will listen,” I replied.

After another long silence, Barbra said that she wanted to write to President Obama herself. When I returned to the school the next day, Barbra greeted me with the three page letter she had written to the President. I tucked the letter away and took a few photos with her before I had to leave to visit another school. That night, the other Roadies and I gathered together to read the letter. My heart broke as she told of how the LRA had attacked her camp, killed her family and abducted her when she was only 12 years old. While she was lucky enough to escape her captors, Barbra’s life has been forever altered by the LRA.

The more I thought about Barbra’s letter, the more I realized that she speaks not only for herself, but for the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced by Joseph Kony and the tens of thousands who have been killed and kidnapped in four different countries. While Barbra is back in school, thousands of others in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan and the Central African Republic are still living under the constant threat of attack by the LRA. Here at IC, we believe this war will continue unless we let our leaders know that we will not rest until they do something about it. If you agree, please take a minute to add your voice to Barbra’s and sign the Citizen’s Arrest Warrant of Joseph Kony. (www.wewantobama.com).