.bestsellers...new and old.

This past week I've been able to sit inside reading all day without feeling guilty because of the stifling heat and I've been lucky to find a few captivating books to keep my attention.

I borrowed Emma Donoghue's Room from the library and quite literally couldn't put it down.  I devoured it in two afternoons and decided to take it straight back to the library just so someone else could have the pleasure of reading it (I usually take my time to return books which is not a good habit, I know).  I checked it out because I pretty much just wanted to see what all the hype was about and it's definitely one of those books that deserves the attention it's getting, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was turned into a movie very soon!  For some readers it might be a bit morbid but I'm always up for a little challenge.  I highly recommend to anyone looking for one of those books you just can't put down and trust me, it won't take much out of your life to read but it'll stay with you for a while.

I've currently picked up Markus Zusak's The Book Thief which is an old YA Lit bestseller and was suggested to me quite a while ago.  I'm so glad I finally got around to picking it back off the shelf because it too is an interestingly original work, weaving poetry and prose in a truly accessible way for young readers, but touching on some difficult subjects and cultural commentary.  When the narrator is Death, what else would you expect, right?  I could see this being taught in a thoughtful high school classroom.

Some other titles I'm interested in checking out soon:

[I saw this one today while browsing the tables at the bookstore and thought it would probably be interesting.  I'm becoming more interested in creative nonfiction lately, especially after taking Feminist Memoir last quarter]

[The school where I teach will be using Dave Eggers' new book as its common text this year so I'll definitely be checking this out soon!]

As always, happy reading!  What have you been reading lately?

.the power of laying on hands.

I've been wanting to write about this experience since we returned from vacation, and after reading more of Barbara Brown Taylor (yes, I'm a little obsessed) I've found the words and motivation to share my experience with laying on of hands.

Scott and I stayed at a small bed and breakfast within walking distance of downtown Savannah and while there we talked with the owner, an older man in his late 70s enjoying the everyday "chores" of life which included replacing the fresh magnolias in the parlor and walking "Gordie," the master mutt of the house.  In the mornings we would have delightful conversations with Robert over granola, fresh fruit, and coffee, and he suggested almost every restaurant where we dined during our trip.

One morning when Scott and I mentioned we attend an Episcopal church in Ohio he told us about a Thursday morning service held at the Episcopal church on the next block from the b&b.  We decided we would go to the intimate gathering having missed church at home and found it to be both delightfully simple and complex at the same time; simple in its small chapel setting and complex because of the extra liturgy we were not necessarily used to.  But though we might have fumbled with the booklet and tried to rise up from the prayer benches without a loud creak (we tend to always do that for some reason), I was moved by the blessing and laying on of hands in the middle of the service.  Each person in the small gathering went up to the alter and kneeled while the priest laid his hands and gave blessings to each of us.

I had never really done this before but I have to say I absolutely loved the intimacy and I felt that these hospitable southern "Savannah-ians" were part of my close family afterwards.  We all kneeled at the front and bowed our heads, listening to the quiet murmurs of the priest as he gave his blessing to each one.  His voice grew louder as he made his way down the line, drawing closer to Scott who was kneeling next to me.  After each blessing we replied "amen" in unison.  When he came to me the priest placed his hands softly on each side of my head, resting them right above my ears.  But what was amazing was that Scott and Robert laid hands on either of my shoulders so that in that moment I felt enveloped in Christian love and fellowship, more than I could have ever imagined from such a small gesture.

In her memoir, Leaving Church, Taylor writes, "By offering people a place where they may engage the steady practice of listening to divine words and celebrating divine sacraments, church can help people gain a feel for how God shows up - not only in Holy Bibles and Holy Communion but also in near neighbors, mysterious strangers, sliced bread, and grocery store wine.  That way, when they leave church, they no more leave God than God leaves them.  They simply carry what they have learned into the wide, wide world, where there is a crying need for people who will recognize the holiness in things and hold them up to God" (166).

In that moment among "mysterious strangers," I gained "a feeling for how God shows up" in the small things - in the soft touch from strangers, in a brief hug from a friend, and the holding of hands during prayer.  Though physical touch is sometimes something we often shy away from in our culture, it's sometimes in those soft, brief moments we stop and "feel," sensing God and recognizing holiness.

.finding altars in the world.

As some of you know my blog used to be called "A Room of My Own," referring to Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own (1929) and the importance for women to have money and space of their own to create and write.  But in the last few months I have discovered the writings of Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest who has recently left the Church.  I've yet to find out why exactly but I'm reading her memoir Leaving Church so surely I'll find out soon.  But I'm sure it has a little to do with what many of us find frustrating about Church -- it's not what God intended.  I started with An Altar in the World which is a delightful read that profoundly touched me in so many ways. It's broken down into sections/chapters that deal with different areas - or altars - in the world where we can worship God.

She attests that we do not necessarily need a building with a steeple (see all the people); instead, "the last place people look is right under their feet, in the everyday activities, accidents, and encounters of their lives. What possible spiritual significance could a trip to the grocery store have? How could something as common as a toothache be a door to greater life?"(xvi).  She ponders these questions and many others, and in reading this philosophy I've tried to better notice and pay attention to the "acorn underfoot," hence the name of the blog.  I'm not sure if I've done a very good job putting this new attention to work, but I'm certainly trying to be more aware/thankful/content/knowledgeable of the small things underfoot and in my day-to-day.

What has been so amazing about this book is that it has always seemed to help me in the times I've needed it most.  The sections are divided into "practices" - - "The Practice of Waking Up to God," "The Practice of Paying Attention," "The Practice of Walking on the Earth" - - and I simply kept the book on my bedside, reading it section by section and not on any particular schedule.  I'd go several weeks without reading it and then get the feeling I needed to open it again and it always seemed the next section referred to something going on in my life.

When I got to "The Practice of Encountering Others" I had been struggling at that time with "encountering others," and her words of encouragement helped me be more aware of my struggles and apprehensions.  "At its most basic level, the everyday practice of being with other people is the practice of loving the neighbor as the self. More intricately, it is the practice of coming face-to-face with another human being, preferably someone different enough to qualify as a capital 'O' Other - and at least entertaining the possibility that this is one of the faces of God" (94).  I had never really thought of the simple day-to-day encounter with others as a way of expressing love for God and practicing "loving thy neighbor as thy self;" the simple act of looking someone in the eye or listening to their story is a way of living out a commandment.  Perhaps you might have thought this all along and maybe I sound quite silly, but I'll admit I needed a little reminder of this and got it at just the right time.  I won't say I've even improved in this area but I'm definitely more aware and trying to work on it.

Another "practice" that came along at just the right time was "The Practice of Living with Purpose," which discussed vocation.  At the time I read this section I had just agreed to start my own Mary Kay business thanks to my friend Ellen who has been doing it for over six years.  Ellen has come to be a dear friend in my life and I'm sad that she'll be moving to Texas in two weeks.  One reason I started was I saw what a blessing she is to so many women (including myself), because she's good at her job and (more importantly) she loves it! She brings joy to others in sitting with them, talking and listening to their stories, and pampering them for an hour or two.  In a way she lives out this idea Taylor poses in taking time to slow down, look in the mirror, and notice the soft lines left from years of smiling, the shape of the eyes, or the feeling of skin.

I had been apprehensive about starting a Mary Kay business (and I'm still working on my goals and finding my "purpose" with it) but I'm thankful for saying "yes" to the opportunity.  Taylor begins her section on living with purpose listing all the jobs she's ever done in her life, both paid and volunteer.  And then she writes, "I have no defense for this largely frivolous list except that every job I have ever worked has brought me into contact with a crowd of people I might never have discovered any other way.  Every job has required me to learn things that have opened up whole new dimensions of reality to me.  Every job has revealed some ability I did not know I had, just as it has exposed some clumsiness I was pretty sure I had" (108).  In her honest reflection of her job experiences I find comfort that whatever job I decide to hold (and I hope to have many in my lifetime) I will find purpose and learn more about others and myself.  As I'm still trying to set goals for my small business and learn what it is I'm wanting to "get out of it" it might not necessarily be my choice what I get out of it, but what God wants to show me about myself or others along the way.

"Every one of these tools gave me ample opportunity to choose kindness over meanness.  Every one of them offered me the chance to recognize the divine in human form, inviting me out of myself long enough to engage someone whose fears, wants, loves, and needs were at least as important as my own," she writes (111) and I'm truly excited to see where this "ample opportunity" takes me.

You might not agree with all of Taylor's philosophies and you might definitely shy away from reading about a priest who has left the Church, but I definitely recommend An Altar in the World if only to help you practice the little things in life, paying attention to the things around you, and knowing that "even something as small as a hazelnut can become an altar in the world" (34).

.vacation in Savannah recap: part 1.

For our second summer vacation as a married couple Scott and I chose Savannah, GA as our destination of adventure.  Scott had never visited the "host city" and I had only been when I was younger so we enjoyed exploring together, eating southern cuisine, browsing eclectic shops and galleries, and reading on the beach at Tybee Island, "Savannah's beach." (these are the first batch of photos...more to come!)

[The bridge going to Savannah]

[The B&B where we stayed, walking distance from the galleries, cafes, and shops downtown]

[The Lady and Sons  - Paula Deen's restaurant]

[Heading to dinner our first night - we had shrimp and tilapia tacos at the Kayak Kafe]

.women, violence & Rhianna.

One of the blogs I frequent is called WIT: Women in Theology, and it usually includes an array of posts about gender, feminism, Christianity, theology, etc. And since there are several women bloggers who contribute they tend to be interestingly different in subject matter and form.  I'm a little behind on my reading but this morning one of the recent posts really caught my eye and I thought I'd share it here.  It's a post discussing the contradictory rules for women and violence in the media, particularly looking at Rhianna's newest video, "Man Down,"portraying a girl who shoots her rapist.

To me, Rhianna is a particularly interesting artist because I always seem to keep her music on when I hear it on the radio (because the music is pretty good) but I can't stand how sexualized she allows herself to be (I'm particularly thinking of her performance of "What's My Name" on SNL; I wanted to scream: "stop gyrating already and just sing!).  Even though I know many people - some feminists included - would argue that Rhianna perhaps chooses and is in control of the image she presents to the media and public, I think it can also be argued that she is buying into the over-sexualized female object, becoming a poster-child for the objectified woman.  I let my students argue about this in my ENG 101 classes last fall and it was very interesting how quickly both the guys and gals agreed that it might not have been her choice to become a sex object, although now she's playing her part quite well.

What I found so compelling about the WIT post was that it discussed the implications of the song/video she duoed with Eminem, (don't get me started on him) "Love the Way You Lie," and how there is a contradictory "double-standard" for women and violence in the media (hence the title of the WIT post).  While her rap duet with Eminem was clearly violent it was the man acting out his frustrated, passionate love, which is clearly okay since, as the WIT writer concludes, no one seems to have a problem with it.  On the other hand, "Man Down" has received criticism because of its implications of "premeditated murder."  Here's the double standard - - it's okay for men to be portrayed in a violent manner because they're just showing their obsessive love  and affection, but it's bad for women to commit a violent act toward someone who has raped them (at least as far as this media argument goes).

In the same ENG 101 classes mentioned earlier I had my students watch "Love the Way You Lie,"(a video I'm sure many of them had seen already on VH1 or MTV) asking them to analyze and critically assess the messages portrayed through image and word.  It was amazing to see college freshmen thinking critically about sexualized images of violence that I'm sure they had never considered before (and I'm really hoping they carried these considerations out into the world with them - specifically their dorms).

So for those of you (feminists included) who feel that Rhianna is just taking control of her body and liberating herself from "good girl" roles "gone bad," I have a real problem with Rhianna, but I do agree with the WIT blogger's comments that perhaps this time, at least in regards to her newest video, she might be getting a bad rap.  

*[I didn't discuss the racial implications of the post which discussed the similar messages present in Rhianna's song and Martina McBride's "Independence Day" but that is definitely an interesting topic/problem to consider as well.]

.The Kite Runner.

Thanks to two of my students from this spring quarter I moved Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner up on my summer reading list, and boy and am I glad I did! I know I'm a bit late in catching on to all the enthusiasm, popularity, and hype it received but it's better late than never, right?  It's been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long because I just hadn't found the time to devote to it (I actually picked up my copy in a FREE BOOKS bin at Scott's school - can't beat that!)  Truth is, it didn't take much time to read because I quite literally couldn't put it down and consumed it in just two days!

Needless to say I highly recommend it as a summer read (if you've not read it already, of course, and if you have I'd love to hear your thoughts on it).  To me, it was so powerfully written because of the honesty of the narrator.  He knew he had done wrong and he is quite unsympathetic for much of the narrative.  I told my husband while we were reading together on the porch, "Gosh, I could just slap him," referring to the narrative, Amir.  And I loved it, too, for the same reason one of my students expressed, "It's filled with wise quotes that stay with you long after you've put down the book."  I couldn't have put it better myself!

The two students I referred to earlier are both originally from Afghanistan and were such joys to work with.  During our one-on-one conferences I felt like I was talking to my peers, rather than students, because of their maturity and understanding of the world.  In one part of the book the narrator says that he feels like a tourist in his own country, and both students mentioned this line as one that stuck out to them as Americans who have since travelled back to Afghanistan and Pakistan, experiencing a similar feeling.  For me, it helped me understand the wars and controversies in the Middle East (if only a little better) because it made it a more personal story, one that affects fathers, sons, brothers, wives, daughters, husbands...

Add it to your reading list - you won't be dissatisfied! But a little word from experience: don't go watch the trailer because it gives a detail away that you'll want to read first.  Although now that I've finished I can't wait to watch the film!

.out in the sticks.

Today Scott and I ventured out to one of the Metro Parks to see Patrick Dougherty's "stickwork."  Scott got the opportunity to meet Dougherty in April and hear him give a talk at the Dayton Art Institute.  He bought his new book so I'd already seen a lot of his work.  But it's nothing like seeing it in person.  For more information or pictures of his work the New York Times had a very interesting article about his log cabin home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Here are some pictures from our excursion.

.Visual Analysis.

One of the assignments for our ENG 101 students requires them to write a visual analysis.  I was very excited to begin searching for some visuals for the service-learning class, centered around the African refugee experience/social work/interest.  So here are just a few of the ones I found (I kind of got carried away and I have two whole pages of links, but I'll probably be weeding through some).

Brilliant friends and readers, please give some feedback/analysis of one (or more) of these visuals! I'd be interested in reading what you think about them.

[People in Need ad]

[Keep a Child Alive - this one has already caused quite a bit of controversy]

[Advertisement for End Poverty 2015 campaign]

[Millennium Promise Organization]

[Care.org]

.summer reading = fall course planning.

Even though my summer break could start any moment (if I would only finish grading that small pile of portfolios) I can't help thinking about the service-learning classes I'll be teaching in the fall.  So I've been reading like a madwoman trying to find some good material for my students.  Since the class will be mainly focusing on the African refugee situation I've begun reading Dave Eggers' What is the What and I think I've already found the excerpt I'll be sharing with my students.  I also plan to assign a chapter from Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and Little Bee by Chris Cleeve (if you haven't read them I highly recommend both!)

My professor of the Writing and Social Activism class suggested two other books that I'll be checking out soon: Say You're One of Them? by Uwem Akpan and They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Benjamin Ajak.  And The Lost Boys of Sudan documentary is currently sitting on the coffee table ready to be viewed.  If you can't tell, I'm very excited about the course!

***

This weekend I watched The Stoning of Soraya M. and even though it wasn't necessarily "enjoyable" to watch it was very powerful; the women and their stories have stuck with me.  I don't understand how we live in a world where this kind of violence still occurs and where women have no rights whatsoever. It's often easy to forget about these kinds of atrocities but they need to be in our reflections and prayers.  I only first learned that stoning was still in practice in my Women's Studies class in undergrad - yes, not until I was 19 did I learn that women are still punished unjustly for crimes by stoning (before then I only knew about it from the Bible when Jesus says, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7)  - it's not acceptable that our culture can turn such a blind eye to this issue.  Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is another issue I did not learn about until college, and I know that high school might not be the place for this kind of education, but young people - women especially - need to be aware of these occurrences around the world.

.Block Party for the Refugees.

Last night we had a block party for the African refugees we've been working with this quarter.  It was held in their neighborhood and it was a huge success!

[Scott counting the jump ropers]

[There was lots of sidewalk chalk drawing hop-scotch, bubbles, and jump roping for the children and corn hole for the adults.] 

 [Gathering around the table]

 [An interpreter aiding Jenny in talking to the women about the sewing circle she will be starting this summer.  So exciting!]

[This is one of my students that I've often talked about in my posts]

 [You apparently can't have a block party for African refugees without these African donuts.  Several of the women made these sugary balls of deliciousness, and as you can see from the pic, they were gone pretty fast!]

 [This guy made the goat kabobs and they were also delicious! He kept going around telling people they were almost ready and saying, "You will love them!" They were gone pretty quickly too]

[Enjoying goat kabobs with friends]

 [Playing hopscotch]

 [Dustin is one of the students in the class and he's standing with the refugee he worked with most of the semester]

 [In her nice dress for the party!]

 [One of the ladies who made the delicious donuts and Charlotte, one of the other students in my class]

[The man on the far left in the colorful jacket is Mugo and he is the leader of the tutoring program.  Jenny and Charlotte are other students in my class who tutored and the man on the right was a student in our tutoring group; he's going to begin attending Wright State as part of the LEAP program this summer and he's very excited!]

It was such a great experience to be a part of Dr. Lamping's "Writing and Social Activism" class this spring.  I've been truly blessed in getting to know the students and learning about social activism through grant-writing and service-learning.  I'm excited to share these experiences with my students in the fall and continue working with these families, and new families who arrive.  The party was also a great success thanks to the refugees who welcomed us into their neighborhood, sharing their food and music with us.
**thanks to Jenny P. for sharing some of her pictures!

.Exciting New Journeys.

This past week I received lots of good news so I thought I would share it here.  First, this past winter I was part of a group of grad students researching "high risk" college students, trying to come up with ways to better integrate and prepare them for their freshman year in the hopes of improving the retention rate at our school.  These "high risk" students are often defined by several factors: first-generation, low ACT/SAT scores, students with low GPA, and low-income.  Over the course of a few months (which included lots of reading, researching, and wrestling with program ideas) we came up with what has now been called the "Wright State Academy."  The Pilot of this program will begin in August and go for five weeks, ending in September.  One of the other TAs and myself were given the positions as instructors for this program and I'm super excited about it! Not only will it be a fun, enriching experience, it's also going to look great on the resume!

Second, as you might have read in some of my recent posts, I've been working with a program downtown tutoring refugees from different parts of Africa.  One morning, after sharing my experiences with my ENG 102 class, I decided I would try to incorporate it in my ENG 101 classes next quarter.  I got the ball rolling by asking permission from our TA advisor and then setting up a meeting with the service-learning office at our school.  Within a few hours (literally, I got emails back within moments) I started the planning process, trying to figure out the logistics of having freshmen tutoring refugees in English.  I think it's going to be such a life-changing experience for these students (it certainly has been for me!) and I'm so excited to share it with them.

Needless to say, over the next couple of months I will probably be writing about my experiences, both of planning and undertaking both of these new journeys, and I know I have a lot more to read and learn about refugees and service-learning so I hope to share it here. Right now I've got a service-learning tutorial to attend in June and I'm excited about looking for reading material for my students since the whole class will be centered around the refugee experience.  Already I've been considering A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and What Is the What by Dave Eggars.

In other news, I'm really going to miss my ENG 102 students once this quarter is over (which is in another week) but I'm very excited about summer break.  They've definitely been a breath of fresh air after the uninterested, unmotivated class I had last quarter and I've enjoyed getting to know them and read their argument papers.  I had them write me (Dear "Mrs. M.") letters again and we all seemed to enjoy it!  And for their argument papers they definitely chose topics they were passionate about and engaged in.  This past week I had them present 3-5 minute Creative Argument Projects (CAPs) on their chosen topics and they've done some fabulous work using Prezi, MovieMaker, and PowerPoint.   

Also, this coming week for our last meeting of the Writing and Social Activism class we're throwing a block party for the African refugees in their neighborhood.  I talked about it a little bit in a previous post, and I can't believe it's here already.  I'll definitely share pictures and a follow-up.  Oh, and I'll let you know what goat tastes like...should be interesting!

.spelling "Jesus" and meeting the women.

Last week at the African refugee tutoring I walked in to find "R" waiting for me and was greeted with, "you're late!"  We quickly sat down and I got the Scrabble flashcards I brought.  But first we had to sort through some stuff for his job and it seems I will be making a trip with him to the bank sometime soon to make sure they're putting all his paycheck in the right place; he said the man told him the bank might have to take a fee out - why can't people just be honest?

"R" is still learning his letters and even though he can carry on a conversation in English really well he cannot read words and cannot correctly indicate certain letters.  We listed the alphabet with the cards and then went over their sounds and started making words.  The first word he wanted to know was "cute" - he said some of the girls at work were calling him "cute" and he wanted to know the difference in comparison to "beautiful."  The next word he spelled was "love," and then he wanted to know how to spell, "Jesus."

I have to say it made me a little nervous when we started spelling it out because our professor has stressed that we're not there to "convert" them, so I didn't want her to think I was stepping out of bounds as far as the rules went for our class.  Later I felt pretty silly for having a second thought about spelling it with him; he was the one who asked.  In another post I talked about him asking to go to church; we tried to take him this week, but he called early Sunday morning and said his boss called him in to work.  He had called five times on Saturday wanting to set up the plans for coming to church with us; I hope it will work out soon.  He seems very eager!  I will ask him what kind of church he would like to go to and he replies, "Any church! Any church!"

After the tutoring, he and two other students packed into my little VW Bug and we drove to their neighborhood a few blocks away (they walk to the center because most of them do not drive).  Some of the other women from our class had taken several other students home so we all arrived in the neighborhood together and met Mugo, the leader of the tutoring program.  We're planning on having a block party for the neighborhood before the quarter is over and so we walked around meeting the women (usually only the men attend the tutoring because the women stay home and cook and take care of the children).  We went to the front door of all the houses and were met by smiling faces, women inviting us into their humble homes (and I mean humble - one house had a hole in the roof and it still puzzles me that there were people living in it - others had up to 11 people residing in them).  They had us sit on their mismatched furniture and we asked them what kind of food they liked and would want for the party.  Most of them said they liked goat, chicken, rice, kasava leaves and fruit.

Many of the women sat out on their porches together enjoying the warm weather and others were hoeing the garden in one of the vacant lots.  They wore t-shirts or tank tops and brightly-colored wraps as skirts, and some wore head wrappings. The women seem less "Americanized" than the men, and it's probably because they're not out in the public as much; they stay home with the children and do not go out to work.  However, some of them do have jobs as cleaning ladies so perhaps they just choose to keep the traditional dress more so than the men. But everyone wore a welcoming, warm smile and we left them with friendly waves (most of them could not speak very much English so Mugo did most of the talking/translating, but a smile need not be translated!).  I felt like we had made new friends that we would be seeing again in a couple more weeks.  We plan to bring the food to them a couple days before the party and they will fix it (this may seem odd that we're hosting the party and they're cooking the food, but Mugo said they wouldn't have it any other way).

I'm very excited because Scott will be accompanying me this week and helping tutor the children since he's finished with school for the summer.  I cannot thank God enough for sending us this wonderful opportunity and to have these people be a part of our lives.

.The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search for His Disabled Son.

Today as I was driving to school, listening to NPR, they were interviewing Ian Brown, author of the memoir The Boy in the Moon about his now fifteen-year-old son, Walker, who has an extremely rare genetic mutation called cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome (CFC).  There are thought to be only a little over a hundred people around the world who have this disease.

As he was describing the mutation and the rituals they had to undergo when Walker was living with them (he now lives in a home with other children) I was eager to read more.  Brown particularly questions, and struggles with the question, of what these children (most who cannot speak/understand language, eat whole food, or be potty-trained) give to society; how do they benefit from living?  This not only comes down to a money question since it obviously takes a great deal to keep them institutionalized; it also comes down to what are these people getting out of life other than pain and suffering?  Brown asserts that his son does have days of crying, but also days of laughter.  And he described his favorite picture of his son lying with his sister, Hayley as she read a Dr. Seuss book to him aloud.  Though he can't understand, Brown said that Walker enjoyed the rhythm of the story and the attention his sister was obviously giving him; he was experiencing joy from something so simple, something many of us would take from granted.  In this way, Brown says these children and adults have plenty to teach us!

Likewise, he acknowledged the argument that these children and adults will be unable to contribute or become part of the larger society.  He asserted that they have their own societies/communities that we have to be allowed into rather than the reverse.  Though they cannot speak/understand language, it seemed from his interview they can communicate somewhat, specifically with each other.  I was amazed when he told about his wife and daughter dropping off Walker at his school after having taken him home for a few days.  He described his son seeing two girls he had become friends with and pushing his mother and sister out the door, as if to say (in Brown's words), "Get the hell out of here, I've got things to do!"

I really recommend checking out this moving story.  You can read a four-page excerpt here, and listen to the interview here.

.Who's teaching whom?.

This past week during our weekly "visit/tutoring/growth into better adults," whatever you might want to call it, during our hour of tutoring African refugees, I worked for the second time with a 29-year-old man from Congo who only has one arm (a soldier came into his home and shot him when he was 19).  The last time I worked with him he seemed very distracted and a little frustrated, but I felt much better about our second week together.  What always amazes me about these weekly classes is that as soon as the students walk in, they look for the person they worked with last, so as soon as R walked in the cafeteria he saw me, walked over, greeted me, and begin taking down the chairs for us to work at our table (we've started fist-bumping since he seems not to enjoy hand-shaking, which I like almost more!).

We sat down at a table together and I could tell he was a little worried about something.  It turned out that he had missed work because he was confused about his schedule.  I ensured him that I was sure it would be fine if he just called the place where he works and apologize.  It didn't seem to help much, but we started the night's lesson, which happened to be how to use a phone book.  I'm always amazed at how different things might seem to those who've only been here in "the good 'ol U.S. of A" for short periods of time.  A phone book is something we know from children - we know how to look up the restaurants, doctors' offices, toy stores, and yet this was something he clearly was not comfortable with.  After browsing several categories that would probably never come in handy his phone rang and he proceeded to talk to someone, courteously excusing himself from this "life skill" lesson I was trying to teach.   Before I knew it the phone had been placed near my ear and I was talking to his boss who was hurriedly rambling out his hours for the next two weeks.  I quickly jotted them down and told her that he had promised to try harder in keeping up with his hours. (But honestly, the way she was mumbling the days and times so fast I don't see how he, as an ESL speaker, could understand when I was struggling to keep up!) I don't blame him one bit!

When I gave his phone back I quickly drew boxes with the days of the week, trying desperately to draw something that looked remotely like a calendar.  He immediately turned it around to face him and said, "I like this!"  Aha! Something I could really teach him, how to keep a planner!  If that's not a "life skill," what is?  So I told him how he could mark his hours under the boxes with the days labeled at the top and even mark them off when he was done (ugh! so American - mark off the days so you'll feel like you've accomplished something).

The rest of the time was spent going over traffic signs (because he really wants to get his drivers' license) and making family trees together.  I started finding that if I didn't talk, he would just keep right on talking, telling me about his family, his life in the Congo vs. here (he loves America and American food especially) so I let him talk. He told me about one of the biggest differences he saw between America and the  Congo:"Here, war is soldier and soldier, there they come in at homes...they could come in here" and he gestured to the door.  I shuddered.  He told me how when he was 19 years old a soldier came in his home and shot him and his father - his father didn't survive.  And as if that wasn't enough, it nearly broke my heart when he said, "English is hard.  I need English friends."  He said everyone he's around speaks in another language and his mother wants to speak their language from Africa when they're home.  Then, something amazing happened...

He leaned over and asked, "Do you go to church? Man, I need to go t'church."  Technically, we're not supposed to talk about it with them - we've been warned several times not to try and "convert" them, but I was comforted knowing he was the one who asked.  I told him my husband and I do in fact go to church but that it was pretty far away from where he and his mother live.  So I told him we could come pick him up and take him to a church downtown on Saturday evening since he works on Sundays.  I just couldn't believe how serendipitous this all was.  Before he left he urged me to write down his cell number so I could call and take him to church.  I hope it all works out that we can take him, but either way, I learned so much about him and myself in that hour working with him.

I've been thinking lately how God miraculously places things in our paths so we can be prepared for them later.  I read a book when I was in college, thanks to my mother, called Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust about the genocide in Rwanda, and now I'm working with these refugees who have seen and experienced things like Immaculee, and I honestly don't know if I would have known how to approach this situation, or at least I might not have felt as connected, if I hadn't read about her experience with war coming into her home and neighbors rising up against one another.  I just feel so blessed that these students are a part of my life.

And yet another blessing that I found out today: one of the other students we've been working with went in for a meeting today at our school and got a position in the LEAP program, designed for non-English speakers to take college classes and learn English along the way.  We got an email from our professor saying he was overjoyed and that he kept saying he wouldn't have this opportunity if not for this class.

"Blessed are the poor in spirt, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth...Blessed are the pure in spirit, for they shall see God..."