Yes, I live in a van.

My home for the next few months!

So, in case you missed the memo, I currently live in a van. Yes, I said that correctly, I live in a van. Right now, my home is parked in front of Mrs. Potter's Coffee shop in Louisville, Ky. We are still here tearing up the town and spreading the word about Invisible Children. I never stop thinking it is funny when we get weird looks from drivers on the freeway when they see our van. I can only imagine what they are thinking when they see the words "Invisible Children." Someone told me that while they were on the road last spring, a woman asked her if the van was parked in front of the church to "abduct our children." I like to think I would have replied with a simple, "Yes ma'am. I am here to abduct your children, where are they so I can throw them in my van." But, I doubt I would have the courage. I can still pretend.

This past weekend my teammates and I stayed in the most amazing, beautiful house I have ever seen. It was built long ago, AND was part of the underground railroad. Does it get any cooler than that? The family that we stayed with was so kind! They took us out to dinner, bought us ice cream and even let us do our laundry there! Did I mention that they have a hot tub...with a TV built in! Amazing. We watched part of the Notebook while we were relaxing in it. I love my job.

On Saturday my teammates and I had the chance to clean our van out. It took us about four hours...and we were working the entire time. I think that is a testimony to how messy the van was...BUT! It is clean now, and that is all that matters!

Last night we stayed at the home of a student who attends University of Louisville. His name is Eric, and he made us some delicious burritos for dinner. He was busy writing a paper last night, so my teammates and I got a chance to catch up on some work, and watch "Garden State." I have never seen the movie before, it was interesting. I love the soundtrack though, great music. We woke up at 6:15 this morning to get to a screening at J. Graham Brown School (or just Brown School). I met a senior, (Alec) who is interested in studying Social Science at a University in New York City, and he wanted to know everything I knew about going to college. He impressed me by saying that he had read some Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"...I have only read short excerpts from it, and I am a teacher!!! I told him he needs to become a teacher because he loves Political Science so much, and cares so much about other people. After we left the screening I was really excited about working for Invisible Children again because I still get to be a teacher in many ways!

Does this look familiar? When I was at Lacor Secondary School a student told me that he was afraid of my Blue Invisible Children bracelet. He said it was "witchcraft." I thought it was funny, and laughed it off. I went to a museum one day in Kampala and found this. It was supposed to bring healing to the person who wears it. I had no idea that bracelets were actually modeled after a Ugandan style.

I do believe that this sign says "Do not go beyond this point." Andrew and Josiah must have missed the memo. This is at Murchison Falls in Uganda. Right now, it is the most powerful waterfall in the world.

This is a video of the women from the Mend factory singing a "Welcome" song to us. We had the honor of visiting them, and listening to them sing! Enjoy, I love it!

Mend is an amazing program that Invisible Children has in Gulu, Uganda. There are roughly 13 women employed by Invisible Children to make our handbags and messenger bags. The premise of mend is that the women are "mending their hearts while they mend bags." All of the women who work for Mend were abducted at one point, and became child mothers (this means that they became a mother before the age of 18). Somehow, these women managed to escape and came home to seek refuge. Unfortunately, they were unable to find that because people looked down on them for having "Rebel" or "Bush" babies. No one will marry them because they are tainted, or seen as unworthy.
Invisible Children has helped them by teaching them seamstress skills, and investing our love and resources in them! While they work for Invisible Children they receive savings, investing and budget training. These are skills that will allow them to continue to provide for their children, even after they leave employment with Invisible Children. The women of Mend are beautiful, dedicated mothers who want a chance at success like everyone else. Check out mend.invisiblechildren.com for more details. After November 1st, you will be able to watch a video on the websitie about each woman and learn her story!

Sorry sir, you have to leave that gun in your car to get coffee

After a screening at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN my teammates and I treated ourselves to a few hours off and went to a coffee shop. To my amazement I learned that I would be unable to bring my firearm inside with me while I sipped by cup of hot chocolate. I was really disappointed, because I generally carry a loaded gun with me everywhere I go...Ok, maybe I don't, but it still blows my mind that this had to be posted outside the coffee shop. Do I have to ask why this rule was made, or is it safe to assume that the rule was made because they had problems with it in the past. I don't know, either way I felt like I had officially traveled through Tennessee at that point!

My teammate Adam and myself safely enjoying our drinks at the coffee shop

duPont Manual High School, Louiville, KY.

This morning my teammate and I made the 3 1/2 hour drive from Franklin, TN to Lousiville, KY to put on an after school screening of Invisible Children's "The Rescue." There were about 161 students at the screening, and some teachers who were giving them extra credit, but I will pretend that they wanted to be there out of the compassion they hold in their hearts! :) ha. I did the tranition between the video and the update video, and of course messed it up. Eh, I am still learning right? I said something backwards, then had to correct myself, then tripped over my words and forgot what I was saying. Everything came across clear, I just had to restate what I was trying to say. Yesterday I did amazing, today not so well. I'll pick it up.

My teammate Adam setting up the merch table at duPont Manual High School

Afraid I was going to get locked out of the school, I thought it would be a good idea to use my cell phone as a door stopper.

Later this afternoon my teammates and I drove through downtown Lousiville to find a Strbucks to work in. WiFi, gotta have it. We settled on one right off of Muhamed Ali Blvd. I LOVE the downtown area. It is so beautiful and exciting. The architecture is so beautiful, I feel like I am living in the 1920s. I want to be a flapper, gah! haha. I had to se the bathroom, but the Starbucks was connected to a hotel. I walked through the hotel to find the bathroom and discovered that there was a "Hooked Rug COnvention" going on in the ballroom. I quietly laughed as I passed a table of women who were all over the age of 65...I think I made a hook rug when I was 10?

I went to the bathroom and there was a crowd of women standing outside the door staring at a guys who must have been about 20 years old cleaning the mens room right next to the ladies room. I stopped, "What the heck are they doing...?" Yes, they were gawking at the young, unsuspecting boy cleaning the bathroom. Poor kid. I marched into the bathroom laughing, again! When I came out I stopped to take a picture because I really did not think that anyone was going to believe me that there were conventions for hooked rugs. But seriously, it was hystyrical.

The entrance to the hooked rug exhibit

Fourth Street Live...I don't know what that means, but I am assuming that it is a trendy place to be. Love Louiville.

Right now I am at a students house from the high school we were at this afternoon. Her parents made us dinner, and are letting us do laundry. I am so excited! Tomorrow I have to leave the house here by 6:30 AM at the latest to get to a high school around the corner. I should be putting on tree screenings in the morning in classrooms, then two screenings in the afternoon as assemblies with my teammate Adam. Faith and Brennon are going to Central High School in the afternoon.

I am excited because we will get some time off this weekend, which means we will be able to get some work done. Time off doesn't really mean time off. It really means work days to do the work we cant do when we are doing screenings. My dream right now, to sleep more than 8 hours...I don't see that dream coming true in my immediate future. I suppose I will just keep on dreaming!!!!!

Miss you all! :)

Oh, here are some pictures from Uganda! :)

I am excited because we will get some time off this weekend, which means we will be able to get some work done. Time off doesn't really mean time off. It really means work days to do the work we cant do when we are doing screenings. My dream right now, to sleep more than 8 hours...I don't see that dream coming true in my immediate future. I suppose I will just keep on dreaming!!!!!

My new friends, Barbara, Esther, Jackie and Concy. I spent the day with them at St. Mary's Lacor learning about their school.

Lunch! Beans, Cabbage and Rice.

This is where Concy, Barbara, Jackie and Esther sleep with 61 other girls.

The foundation for the new girls dormitory. It is going to be beautiful and will house almost 200 girls! Much better than 65 girls in ONE room. There will be 12 girls per room, and each of them will have a closet. This is almost unheard of in this region.

This is my friend Paige who is a Great Lakes Roadie. She and I were on our way to eat dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant.

Hiking through the bush?

Our tour guides. Local boys from the village near Ft. Patiko. They loved seeing their pictures on the cameras. Some for the first time ever.

Need I even comment? BEAUTIFUL!

That would be the Nile River :)

Dickson County High School

Yesterday the Mid Atlantic Roadies were invited to share the incredible story of Invisible Children with Dickson County High School in Dickson, Tennessee. We hopped into the van at 5:45 AM to made the ride out to Dickson. We were so pumped for the screening that 5:45 AM did not come soon enough!

We arrived at the school, met Jacklyn one of the most amazing gals ever, and started to set up for the screenings. We split our team into two groups and went to present in classrooms. We shared The Rescue documentary, Roseline, Emmy, and update videos with all the classes we visited. We had a lot of fun meeting new supporters of Invisible Children and hanging out with some amazing people.

My teammate Faith doing what she does best! Having fun with the amazing people we meet!

I was really surprised by myself today. Though I have seen all of these DVD's countless times, I still get choked up when I watch them. I remember at one point today I was watching Emmy and I had to sit down in the back of the room because it was so difficult to watch. The stories of Invisible Children are so real, and so powerful I never stop feeling those emotions rise up inside.

Jacklyn's amazing posters for the evening screening!

I had so much fun spending time with Jacklyn tonight! She set up this great benefit show with singer named Merry Ellen Kirk. She did an amazing job, and helped attract a good crowd to the screening of Sunday, a boy who lives in a Displacement Camp in Northern Uganda. Check her out, she is pretty much amazing. AND she has a new CD out! The students were really interested in Invisible Children, and the staff were so welcoming. I loved Dickson County High School.

Merry Ellen and the Mid Atlantic Crew after the screening

Jacklyn made the team and myself some goodies for the road! She got us t-shirts with Africa on them, beautiful thank you notes and goodie bags with some needed items: hand sanitizer, air freshener for the van and of course, color crayons to brighten our world! We spent about ten minutes taking some rockin' jumping pictures in front of the van before the team and I headed back to Nashville for the night!

The rad gifts that Jacklyn gave to each of us! How did she know I needed chapstick?

EPIC!

Jacklyn and myself wearing the awesome shirt she gave me after the concert.

In True Invisible Children Fashion

Have you been sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for an update? I don't mean to keep you waiting, but the suspense makes this a lot more fun, right?! So, I have officially been back on the road with Invisible Children for five days now. It has been such a great adventure readjusting to life in America, and becoming a part of my team again. The days are long, rushed and filled with tasks to catch up on, and keep up with. I live for the the screenings and spending time with the supporters we meet along the way!

Are you hungry for an update? I don't want to overwhelm you, so I will give you just a taste of the first day in Uganda. On September 6th 12 roadies left the intern house in San Diego on an adventure we knew nothing about. We were given our plane tickets and sent to Uganda, not even knowing who would be at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda to pick us up. We traveled by plane for a total of 24 hours and had two layovers. One in Detroit, MI and one in Amsterdam. Though the plane ride was long, I had a ton of fun with my fellow roadies as we explored the new airports and discovered the world's most comfortable chairs!

6:30 AM and we are on our way to the airport in San Diego!

In the Amsterdam airport on a 4 hour layover

After the long flight we made it to Entebbe and were greeted by Andrew Morgan, a person who works for Invisible Children in the Gulu office. He made a makeshift sign that said "ROADIES" with a ball point pen (this is true Invisible Children fashion). It stood out from among the computer printed signs, and welcome notes others had. He welcomed the jet lagged crew as we jammed into two small vehicles and made our way in Kampala for the night. We stayed in a pretty cool hotel, which was more of a hostel than hotel. While we were staying there we met two girls who were finishing an internship with a Health Education NGO; they were from England.

The hotel we stayed in in Kampala.

Getting ready to jump into my cozy bed for a GOOD nights rest!

We rested our heads and enjoyed a good nights rest under mosquito nets. We woke the next morning refreshed and ready to go! We met with Jolly Okot briefly before boarding a bus to Gulu. What was supposed to be a 4 1/2 hour drive became something more like 5 1/2 or 6 hours! The roads are not paved, and were littered with pot holes! The ride was bumpy, and people got car sick, but over all it was an adventure. I saw the Nile River for the first time in my life, and snuck an illegal picture of the bridge...oooops!! Finally the roadies and I made it to the Invisible Children intern house in Gulu where we met with Patrick and learned about the many projects going on at our schools.

Left to Right: Josh, Travis and Leah getting ready to travel 6 hours by bus to Gulu.

It was a beautiful day as we crossed the Nile River

The partner school for the Mid Atlantic is called Lacor Secondary School (sounds like La-chor). This school has 250 students that attend it, and many of them live on campus. Right now, the school has told Invisible Children that what they really need is a dorm for girls ON campus. I don't want to give too much information now because this is classified information researved for my next blog!!

A little bit of a teaser: Lacor Secondary School

Keep checking in for updates on my trip and the Mid Atlantic journey!!

T-1 hour and 15 minutes!

Good morning everyone! It is 4:45 AM and I am finishing my laundry for Uganda...living in a house with 60 people makes it hard to get laundry done in a timely manner. Hopefully my clothes are dry before 6:00 AM, I still have a load to finish washing and then drying *fingers crossed.* I am still in disbelief that I am going to Uganda. People keep asking me if I am excited, and I don't really know how to respond. I am excited, deep down inside! Right now I am just tired, and ready for that uncomfortable plane seat so I can get some sleep. I have been up for 23 hours now, and would like to get some sleep in!

We worked a long day in the office today. It was fun getting to see everyone one last time before we left for Uganda, and the open road. Kenny, one of the people who works in the office, got someone to donate pizza for the whole office and lunch. It was awesome.

So, about the trip. We honestly have not been told much about it. I know we might do all the things I listed before, but that is not guaranteed. I have no idea what to expect, which I suppose is good in the end. I am really looking forward to seeing my sister school (Lacor Secondary School) and meeting the students that attend the school. I know it is going to be amazing. The school was destroyed in 1997 (I think) by an LRA attack where a lot of children were abducted, and many others killed. Since then, kids stopped going to school because they were so afraid of being abducted. Now, because Invisible Children has been rebuilding the school site, and the LRA has moved out of Northern Uganda the kids are going back to school, in a safe and comfortable environment. I love that Invisible Children believes in investing deep rather than wide. This school is going to be a strong, lasting site where students can be educated her for generations. Instead of building an inexpensive building that may not be standing in five years, they have invested in well constructed, solid buildings. Sustainable relief at work.

Well, I am nearing the last hour and I should go and get my things together. I don't know when I will blog again because I am not sure about internet access in Uganda, but I will do my best to send a hello if I can.

Last Day In The Office

Today is our official last day in the office. I can't believe that I have been here for a month. I feel like the days have flown by, and have all meshed into one. I leave for Uganda in just a few short days. That is insane. I am going to Uganda on Sunday, no big deal...right? It still blows my mind that God chose me to go on this adventure. It has been the most humbling, and challenging experience of my life...and I have not even left for tour yet. I am surrounded by some of the most amazing people I have ever met, and consider myself blessed to be their friend. I am going to miss all of them while I am on the road.

BUT! I get to hang out with my teammates! That is really awesome. You should all visit my blog that I will keep for my contacts while we are on the road. It is www.midatlantic2009.blogspot.com. It is great. I will attach a photo of my teammates so you can see how great they are for yourself.

We got our van assigned to us yesterday! It is van number 14, and it rocks. We got the orange Invisible Children sticker! I will post a picture of me and my teammates in front of it soon. This is going to be an amazing adventure! I can't wait to meet my contacts, I already love them!

I miss everyone! I miss you Jensen <3>

I will do a little blog before I leave on Sunday...this is going to be insane! Please continue to pray for the safety of our team, and that we all stay healthy. We are only there for 10 days, and it would be a bummer for someone to get sick!

You can't go to Africa without going on a Safari!

I am working in the office right now, and probably should not be blogging. It is 7:37 in the morning and I could not be happier to be awake right now! Who knew that I could ever enjoy waking up at 5:00 AM, and smile about it?

I leave for Uganda in four days! I am so excited. I go to get my shots today. Well, actually shot because I am only getting yellow fever. Luckily, because I went to China last summer I don't need anything else! That worked out quite nicely. I just want to send a thank you out to everyone who has been pitching in to help send me to Uganda. All of this would not be possible without you, and none of it would be possible without the most amazing God in the entire world, and his desire to seek after me, even when I want to run the opposite direction! haha

My teammates leave to traverse across the country one week from today. They will be driving to Tennessee starting next week, and I will meet up with them on the 17th of September. They are picking me up from the airport and literally driving with me to a screening at a University that night. It is going to be so awesome...I will be fresh off the 24 1/2 hour flight/travel time, wearing dirty smelly clothes from Africa and depending on the availablilty of showers...without a shower! It is going to be so amazing!

Please keep me and your team in your rayers and thoughts! There will be four of us traveling in a van for 2 1/2 months, and we will need all the patience and grace that we can muster. Oh, and of course keep all of us going to Africa in your prayers as well. There will be 13 roadies traveling there together, and our week is filled with events. As far as I know we are going to visit a displacement camp, spend a day in the life of a mentor, spend a day in the life of a student, visit our sister school (mine is Lacor, and we are raising money to build a girls dormatory), maybe go bungie jumping over the Nile or rafting down the Nile...and going on a Safari...you can't go to Africa without going on a Safair! :) I can't wait to be there, I have no idea wht to expect, but I can expect that it is going to be amazing!

I miss you all!

-Christa