#ive been back from africa for like 3 weeks now but coming back here makes me shy LMAO

[yourgospel]

hi

[superrichlads]

“I always work off the motto of, ‘if you think you’re working hard, there’s always someone else who’s working harder’… there is nothing easy about the sport or music industries, and you have to work so hard to be successful.” - Niall Horan

On The Loose: released official fourth single from Flicker, including a radio edit, lyric video (rip), official video, behind the scenes video, Basic Tape remix, Slenderbodies remix, acoustic version, acoustic video, and vertical video So Long: performed unreleased song on piano throughout Flicker World Tour dates Mirrors EP: released on vinyl for Record Store Day 2018 Seeing Blind: released acoustic video, live video, and radio single in Australia Finally Free: released song for Smallfoot soundtrack and live video recorded at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles Flicker (song): released as a radio single in the Netherlands Flicker featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra: released live album in Ireland, featuring nine songs including an official live version of previously unreleased song So Long

81 tour dates: across Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, playing arenas, amphitheatres, state/regional fairs, and large theatres Featured opening acts & special guests: including Wild Youth (Killarney), Julia Michaels (Europe), RuthAnne (Dublin), Lewis Capaldi (Glasgow), Hailee Steinfeld (London), Maren Morris (NZ, Australia, the Americas), Jayda (Manila), Ming Bridges (Singapore), Sugar Me (Tokyo) Setlist: featured 14-15 original songs and 3-4 covers Regular covers: Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen), Crying in the Club (Camila Cabello), Drag Me Down and Fool’s Gold (One Direction) Covers for select tour dates: Dancing in the Moonlight (Thin Lizzy - Dublin night 1), Where the Street’s Have No Name (U2 - Dublin night 2), Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty - Greek Theatre LA, Red Rocks & others), New York State of Mind (Billy Joel - Jones Beach Theater, Long Island), Life in the Fast Lane (Eagles - final September tour dates) Filmed Red Rocks show: for potential future release Top 50 worldwide tours of 2018: selling more than 445,000 tickets

BBC Biggest Weekend: played a six-song set on the second day of the festival in Swansea Reputation Tour: special guest for Taylor Swift’s first night at Wembley Stadium, performing Slow Hands together RTÉ Concert Orchestra special: performed nine songs from the Flicker album for broadcast in Ireland, later broadcast in France & South Africa Sounds Like Friday Night: performed acoustic version of On The Loose & interview  New York State Fair: played the headline show on the final day of the fair Official livestream: of Flicker World Tour Amsterdam show, in partnership with Live Nation, for a global streaming audience Late Late Show: performed Slow Hands on London episode Virtual reality concert: made London Flicker Sessions show available on MelodyVR platform

Sounds Like Friday Night: interview on BBC RTE: interview with Eoghan McDermott, as part of RTE Concert Orchestra Special The Project: interview on Australian TV The Voice Australia: guest mentor with Delta Goodrem Today Show: interview on Australian TV Sunrise: interview on Australian TV Studio 10: interview on Australian TV Late Late Show: guest on London show, brief appearance on show in October

TalkSport: co-hosted breakfast radio show in January & September Dubai Desert Classic: played in Pro-Am with Rory McIlroy and a competition winner, and participated in a golf clinic, helping two of his Modest! Golf clients gain entry to the pro event US Golf Masters: ambassador for Drive, Chip & Putt competition Ladies golf: signed Maguire sisters to Modest! Golf, announced Ladies event for NI Open in 2019 Ryder Cup: played in celebrity match & Team Europe ambassador BMW PGA Championship: played in Pro-Am with the winner of a BBC Children in Need charity auction Sky Sports British Masters: played in Pro-Am Interviews: ESPN, SkySports, BBC Radio 5, Golf Channel, Bunkered, Ladies European Tour, The Irish Times, Golf Magic, among others LUFC: provoked an infamous Twitter clapback from Leeds United Modest! Golf: supported four players who have secured tour cards for 2019

Irish referendum: supported the yes vote to legalise abortion March for Our Lives: supported cousin’s participation in march for gun control US politics: publicly denounced Trump (again) US mid-term elections: urged US citizens to vote

Horan & Rose: hosted the second edition of the charity gala & golf event, upping the total money raised for charity to £1.5 million to date Charity t-shirt: released second charity t-shirt raising funds for Cancer Research UK and the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation Rays of Sunshine: hosted teens at Flicker World Tour London soundcheck & show, donated Jingle Bell Ball Santa shirt for charity raffle Charity auctions: donated items for multiple fundraisers, including a signed guitar & VIP concert experience for a Grammy auction raising $4,500 for Musicares Foundation; signed boots to a Small Steps charity auction, raising £1,130; signed artwork; signed guitar to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation auction, raising €4,000 Anti-bullying Week: supported efforts to stop cyber-bullying on Twitter Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr: supported Brazilian football superstar’s work providing education for kids in Praia Grande, Brazil World Cancer Day: supported Cancer Research UK’s Unity Band initiative LauraLynn Hospice: spent time with kids in hospice care before Flicker World Tour Dublin show

BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw: how real are these Niall Horan ‘facts’?, can Niall Horan remember his own lyrics? BBC Radio 1 Biggest Weekend: when Niall Horan met Shawn Mendes BBC Radio 1 Biggest Weekend with Matt & Mollie: Niall Horan answers questions he’s never been asked before EW: Niall Horan listens to Dua Lipa, Springsteen and more on tour - check out his exclusive playlist Billboard Pop Shop podcast: Niall Horan on new song 'Finally Free,' 'disappearing' after tour to work on next album & 8 Years of One Direction MORE FM: Niall Horan talks about his “intimate” connection with NZ The Edge afternoons with Jono, Ben & Sharon: Niall Horan talks about being mates with Dan Carter The Edge 30: Niall Horan says NZ is his favourite country to perform in Nova 969 Smallzy’s Surgery: could new Niall Horan music be on the way? Nova 969 Smallzy's Surgery: Smallzy’s backstage tour with Niall Horan Nova 969 Fitzy & Wippa: exclusive chat On Air with Ryan Seacrest: Niall Horan recalls best Flicker World Tour moments so far FUN 107 The Michael Rock Show: Niall Horan surprising secret to great hair Walk 97.5 Christina Kay: interview Coup de Main: interview - Niall Horan on his upcoming NZ show, recording live, and honesty in writing ‘Flicker’  Coup de Main cover story: interview - eye to eye with Niall Horan GQ Italia cover story: Niall Horan: my life after One Direction George Ezra & Friends the podcast: Series 2, Episode 1 Zeit Leo: "I get restless very quickly." Singer Niall Horan has a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder. How music helps him, he tells here.

GQ Italia: Music Issue cover shoot Paul Smith: guest at Paris fashion show and spent time with the designer in his studio Revista GQ: Niall Horan is, right now, the only person who knows how to wear a shirt with undershirt as it’s done in 2018 Fashion Bean: best-dressed men of the week

US RIAA certifications: Slow Hands 3 x platinum, This Town 2 x platinum UK Official Charts certifications: Flicker x gold Australia ARIA certifications: Slow Hands 5 x platinum, Flicker x gold Canada Gold/Platinum certifications: Slow Hands 5 x platinum, Too Much To Ask x platinum Chile certification: Flicker x platinum Songwriting awards: BMI London Pop Awards Song for Slow Hands, BMI Los Angeles Award Winning Songs for Slow Hands & This Town  Spotify milestone: Flicker surpassed 1 billion streams in June 2018 Billboard #1s: achieved his 9th solo Billboard chart number 1, with Too Much To Ask reaching #1 on the Dance Club Songs Chart Billboard Year-End 2018: achieved album, song, radio, social and artist entries on the year-end charts US radio: On the Loose became Niall's fourth Top 20 single on Hot AC radio, and fourth single to chart on Mainstream Pop, Hot AC & AC radio formats, reaching #22 on pop radio Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Finally Free nominated for Original Song - Animated Film RTE Choice Music Prize: Slow Hands nominated for Irish Song of the Year iHeartRadio Awards 2018: winner of Best New Pop Artist & Best Lyrics (Slow Hands)

April: using soundchecks to come up with ideas October: wrote a tune on the piano November: ‘3 days into making tunes and it’s feeling good !!!!!’, ‘exciting watching ideas come to life in the studio’, in the studio with Julian Bunetta & John Ryan in Los Angeles I / II / III / IV, RuthAnne Cunningham tells CelebMix she will be writing with Niall for NH2 December: ‘exciting week of writing’, writing session with Jamie Scott, Mike Needle & Dan Bryer in London, ‘very much in writing mode’

Everyone loved Niall: and Niall loved everyone, but especially Hailee Steinfeld, whom he quietly dated while avoiding the media circus which often surrounds celeb relationships.

Soundcheck Q&A and Meet & Greets: made fan engagement a central part of his Flicker World Tour experience Golf events: made time for fans who came out to see him play at pro-am events Maintained boundaries: called out fans for taking creep shots & obnoxious behaviour Calmed audiences: and looked out for the wellbeing of fans at his shows, especially in Latin America Twitter & Instagram: read and responded to fan tweets and questions with a mixture of sincerity, gratitude, brutal honesty, and humour Jade: made one young fan’s night (/life) by inviting her up on stage to dance at the Allentown Fair show

Baby Marit: melted hearts everywhere offering reassurance to two new dads

[nancy-kenyablog]

Milk

Milk has become a major issue. Africa drinks chai. Hot creamy weak sweet tea. Here at the museum we drink it and serve it all day long. You get a visitor, you shake hands, you ask how they are and you serve chai. That’s how it’s done. Sometimes you are serving one person and sometimes 20. And of course you must have a cup of chai if they have a cup of chai. This ritual is proving to be milk intensive.

At first we were buying milk in little plastic bags at the store about 45 minutes away. We kept running out and Jessica and I didn’t like the idea of the plastic bags. Everybody we know has at least one cow. Most have many more. So we decided to strike a deal with a local to buy milk from them. This process took several meetings and much negotiation. We thought we had it handled and this week it all seemed to be going smoothly. Children arrived every morning, usually two small groups, with a gourd of milk that was sufficient for a full day. But last night we ran out. When we asked our cook and chai maker why he said that the price we agreed to pay is not sufficient and they are cutting us off. So all of those meetings and negotiations didn’t actually create a workable solution and it’s back to the drawing board.

Some of the problem is probably language issues. Misunderstandings are bound to occur when the parties in question don’t speak the same language and the interpreters have their own agendas. But there is another component and this is the one that keeps coming up in a variety of ways. Scarcity. These people are coming from a place of need and not having and they look at us – white people- as the haves to their have nots. Who could blame them? They aren’t stupid and they aren’t completely unexposed to the wider world. They know about malls and Teslas and fur coats. They sometimes think they want all that stuff. They would at least like the option of having the option. Of course they have no idea what that stuff does to humans. They have no idea how polluting in every way that stuff is. They just know that we represent the world of money and things and they want some of that from us.

The first time I became aware of this was one day after working my ass off at the museum moping floors, picking up trash, washing dishes…… whatever. As we were leaving just before dark I came upon a group of women drinking chai just outside our gate. I felt like collapsing on the spot and begging for an IV drip of the stuff. This was in the beginning of my time here. I was exhausted everyday all day. There was too much to do and I was still recovering from jet lag and all of the inoculations I had to get before I left the states. One of the women asked me if I wanted some chai. I said yes, please and she said 20 bob. I didn’t even know what 20 bob was but I quickly got the drift – money. I didn’t have any money. I had given what I had to Jessica in the morning to buy food to feed the workers. I thought, what the fuck???? I worked my ass off all day AND spent all my money to feed you guys and now I cant get a little cup of chai when I’m ready to pass out…… What kind of world have I ended up in?

I might have continued in that vein if I weren’t so exhausted. Thankfully I just got in the car and tried to relax while we drove 45 minutes on the worst bumpy roads I had ever been on to that point (I’ve been on much worse since) back to our simple little hotel where there wasn’t much but there was a shower and a bed and it was clean and I was grateful. Looking back from my more seasoned perspective I can now see how truly fortunate I was to have that little hotel as a buffer in my first 3 weeks. After that initial honeymoon period we moved into the museum. Now, the museum looks amazing and it is amazing and beautiful and all that a museum is meant to be….. on the surface. But it’s also a pretty tough place to live. We have running water but it’s swamp water and it’s down by the outhouse which is an awful place you never want to go and it’s not that close. We have bugs and bats and monkeys to contend with and now apparently a hyena has shown up. It’s dirty around here. It’s hard to get as clean as I want to get with a sponge bath and a sponge bath is all I ever get. I’m feeling more like a Maasai every day.

But I will never know the scarcity that they live with. I might be getting a taste of Maasai life but I am not Maasai and I have no idea what it is like to have always lived this way. I very nearly gave up in the early days of living in the museum and I could have. I have a backdoor. These people have no options. These are the conditions they live in and there is no way to get to the mall or even the sweet simple little hotel that I had the extreme good fortune of staying in for my first three weeks in Kenya.

It’s easy to fall into a certain “volunteer” mentality. Like I’m here doing CHARITY ya’ll. I’m here on my own dime and I’m actually paying to be here and do all of this work that I am not getting paid for. Shouldn’t you ingrates be thrilled to give me a cup of chai? Shouldn’t these people who this museum was created to serve be thrilled to give us unlimited quantities of milk? We give them chai whenever they visit. Is there no justice?

Well, That’s it for this blog post. I have no answers. I’m doing my best to feel my way through it without judgment. I can see it from their perspective and I know that my perspective counts too. I reckon there will be more meetings and as usual I am thrilled to not be on the hook for decision making above my pay grade. I’m just a volunteer and as such I get the option of bowing out of such high level negotiations.

I’m just hoping that whatever plan is put in place provides me with a cup of chai whenever I want one. Keeping it simple like that helps me to stay focused on what there is to do that I can do and there is plenty of that.

[romancatholicreflections]

26th January >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on

Luke 10:1-9 for the Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops  

and

Mark 3:20-21 for Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time.

Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops  

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 10:1-9

Your peace will rest on that man

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 10:1-9

The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his pay. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

Reflections (5)

(i) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Timothy and Titus were two of Paul’s closest co-workers. Paul was arguably the most influential member of the early church. He was hugely influential in his own time, and his letters have shaped the life of the church down the centuries. Yet, for all his significance, he was keenly aware of himself as dependent on the gifts of others. He had many co-workers, men and women, on whom he depended. They were as significant for him as he was for them. He didn’t simply have a working relationship with people like Timothy and Titus; he had a sense of real communion with them. That comes across with regard to Timothy in today’s first reading. Paul writes to him, ‘always I remember you in my prayers’. His communion with Timothy found expression in prayerful remembrance. As he remembered his associates in prayer, they must have remembered Paul in prayer. We have an image here in microcosm of what the church is called to be. As members of the church, we are in communion with each other, a communion which is the fruit of the Spirit. One of the ways in which we give expression to this communion is by praying for each other. Like Paul, we are aware of our dependence on others within the church. Within this communion of faith and love, we each have something to give to each other and much to receive from each other. We are members of one body, the body of Christ, and, like the physical members of a human body, we are mutually interdependent. In the gospel reading, Jesus did not send out the seventy two, one at a time, although that might have been the best way to cover the widest possible area. He sent the seventy two out two by two, in thirty six groups of two. Jesus wanted no one to work alone; he knew that each would be dependent on the other. He also encouraged each pair to become dependent on those to whom they preached the gospel. They were not to bring a haversack of food because they were to rely for hospitality on those to whom they preached. Today’s feast of Timothy and Titus reminds us that the Lord can work most powerfully through the many, rather than the one, provided the many are in a communion of faith and love.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

In the first reading this morning for the feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Paul begins by telling Timothy that he always remembers him in his prayers. Paul was very convinced of the value of intercessory prayer. He frequently told people that he remembered them in his prayers. We all appreciate being remembered in other people’s prayers, and other people appreciate it when we let them know that we are praying for them. This is one of the ways we give expression to what the church calls the communion of saints, the deep bond between all the baptized, including the bond between those of us on our pilgrim way and those who have come to the end of their earthly pilgrimage. It is because of that aspect of the communion of saints that we pray not only for the living but also for the dead. In praying for each other, we are being reminded and reminding each other that we need each other on our journey towards God. We need each other’s prayers; we also need each other’s witness. In our first reading Paul praises Timothy’s sincere faith but he reminds him that his faith has its roots in the faith of his mother and of his grandmother. We need the faith of other if our own faith is to endure. Our efforts to live the faith and to witness to the Lord make it easier for everyone else to do so as well.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Yesterday was the feast of the conversion of Saint Paul. Today is the feast of two of Paul’s closest associates and co-workers, Timothy and Titus. Paul needed associates to do his work. Jesus too needed associates to do his work. That is why we find him in today’s gospel reading appointing seventy two and sending them out ahead of him; it wasn’t enough just to appoint the twelve. Indeed, as he sends out the 72, he asks them to pray to the Lord of the harvest for even more workers for the Lord’s harvest. Indeed, the Lord needs us all; we are all called to be his co-workers, proclaiming by our lives that, in the words of Jesus this morning, ‘the kingdom of God is very near to you’. If the Lord needs us to share in his work, we, in turn, need each other’s support if we are to respond to that call of the Lord. In the first reading, Paul refers to the faith of Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Without their faith, Timothy would not have been the man of faith he was. We can all point to parents, grandparents and various other companions on the pilgrimage of life, without whom we would not have come to faith in the Lord. As Paul needed Timothy and Titus, and Jesus needed many workers, we need each other’s witness if the gift that God gave us in baptism is to be fanned into a living flame, in the words of today’s first reading. We ask the Lord to increase our faith so that we can be a support to one another in the living out of our baptismal calling.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Today we celebrate the feast of two of Paul’s most important co-workers. Paul was the great apostle to the Gentiles, but he was very aware of how dependant he was on the support of people like Timothy and Titus. Paul never saw himself as a type of ‘lone ranger’. It was Paul who gave us that image of the church as the body of Christ with a great diversity of members, each with their own gift of the Spirit, each member with a vital contribution to make to the life of the church and at the same time dependent upon the contribution of everyone else in the church. This is how Paul saw his ministry. He was aware of his own gifts that the Lord was asking him to share with others and he was equally aware of his dependence upon the gifts of others. Paul’s vision of church was anticipated in Jesus’ own practice. Jesus did not work alone. Shortly after he began his public ministry, he called people to be with him, to share in his work, to become his presence to others. This morning’s gospel reading reveals Jesus’ awareness that the rich harvest of the Lord needed many labourers, all of them working together. When he sent out people in his name, he did not send them out alone, but, as the gospel reading tells us, he sent them out two by two. Jesus and Paul laboured with others; we too are asked to do the same. We serve the Lord of the harvest in communion with each other, ready to share our gifts that the Spirit has given us, and open to the gifts of others that the Spirit has given them. We follow the Lord and work in his name together, ready to give the Lord to each other and to receive the Lord from each other. At the beginning of the first reading, Paul reminds Timothy that he has received the gift faith from others, from his mother, Eunice, and, before her, from his grandmother, Lois. Paul then calls upon him to give to others the gift of faith that he has received from those before him, not in a spirit of timidity but in a spirit of courageous witness. This is a message we all need to hear today.

And/Or

(v) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Today we celebrate the memorial of two of Saint Paul’s closest associates, Timothy and Titus. In today’s first reading, Paul addresses Timothy as a third-generation believer. He refers to the faith that came first to live in his grandmother Lois, and then in his mother Eunice, and then in Timothy himself. It seems that Timothy caught the faith in his home. The same is true for many of us. Our own faith owes a great deal to the faith of our parents and grandparents. The same could not be said of Paul. His parents and grandparents were Jewish. It was his life changing encounter with the risen Lord that brought him to faith in Jesus, probably leaving him at odds with his parents and grandparents. Both Timothy’s and Paul’s experience reminds us that the Lord can touch the lives of people through the faith of family members, but he can also touch their lives in other, less conventional, ways. The Lord is always reaching out to us in one way or another. In the gospel reading, he reached out to the people of his time by sending out a very large group of seventy two disciples with the message, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’. Jesus’ words to the seventy-two suggest that he was aware that this attempt on his part to touch the lives of a bigger number would not always be successful, ‘I am sending you out like lambs among wolves’. Yet, the Lord was never put off by people’s resistance. Whether people accepted or rejected him, it remained the case that ‘the kingdom of God is very near to you’. The Lord is always near to us, and never tires of seeking us out and calling out to us to come to him. He can do this in a whole variety of ways.

-------------------

Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time  

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Mark 3:20-21

Jesus' relatives were convinced he was out of his mind

Jesus went home, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.

Gospel (USA)

Mark 3:20-21

They said, "He is out of his mind.”

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Reflections (3)

(i) Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

Mark suggests strongly in the course of his gospel that a lot of people did not really understand Jesus during his public ministry. One of the questions that keeps coming up in one form or another is, ‘Who then is this?’ In this morning’s very short gospel reading, it is clear that even Jesus’ relatives do not understand who Jesus is or what he is about. When Jesus’ workload prevents him from eating properly, Mark tells us that his relatives set out to take charge of him, because many were saying that he was out of his mind. They would go on to learn on that occasion that Jesus was not open to being taken charge of by his relatives. The only one who was in charge of Jesus was God. Jesus was doing God’s work, and part of that work was to form a new family, a family of disciples, of brothers and sisters of Jesus, sons and daughters of God. Jesus’ own natural family, his relatives, would have to come to terms with that. We are all part of that new family; we are all the fruit of Jesus’ work, a work that people struggled hard to understand at the time. For us who are part of this new family, the question, ‘Who then is this?’ remains a relevant question. We are always struggling to know more fully the Son of God whose brothers and sisters we have become.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading from Mark must be one of the shortest gospel readings in the liturgical year. Yet it is very thought provoking. It declares that Jesus’ relatives set out to take charge of Jesus and bring him back to Nazareth because they were convinced that he was out of his mind. By this time in Mark’s gospel Jesus had incurred the hostility of the religious authorities by his teaching and his behaviour, by his eating with tax collectors and sinners, by declaring himself to be the Son of Man who has authority to forgive sins, by working on the Sabbath to heal the sick, and so on. Perhaps Jesus’ family felt that he was not being very wise, that he was behaving in ways that were foolhardy and risky, and they wanted to preserve and protect him. Indeed, Jesus’ teaching and behaviour would eventually put him on a Roman cross. Yet, Jesus remained faithful to his calling to proclaim God’s kingdom in word and deed, regardless of the personal consequences for himself. He would not be deflected from that, not even by well meaning relatives. He placed God’s purpose for the well-being of others, both material and spiritual, before all else. This is what is referred to in the beatitudes as purity of heart, that purity of intention which seeks God’s will and God’s kingdom before all else. He calls on us to follow him in putting the purpose of God and the well being of others before our own comfort and preservation. That does not come easy to us; our instincts can be more like those of Jesus’ relatives than of Jesus himself. We need the help of the Spirit if we are to be as pure in heart as Jesus was.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

This very short gospel reading from Mark gives us a little glimpse of how Jesus was misunderstood within his own family. Jesus is busily engaged in his ministry and his family come down from Nazareth to Capernaum to take charge of him because they believe he is out of his mind. A few chapters later in Mark’s gospel Jesus is rejected in his home town of Nazareth and in response to that experience Jesus says, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house’. Jesus was taking a path in life that his family did not approve of. Tension within families is something we have all experienced at some time or other. This was a dimension of human living that Jesus also experienced. He entered fully into the human condition, knowing from within its struggles, its tensions, its misunderstandings and the resulting pain for all concerned. He can walk compassionately with us through those experiences because he has been there himself. Jesus did not always go where his family wanted him to go because he was subject to a greater authority in his life, and that was God’s authority. God’s purpose drove him and he was faithful to that purpose even when it brought him into conflict with those for whom he had the strongest feelings of natural affection. We, his followers, are called to remain true to the Lord’s direction, his guidance, his vision and values, even if that means for us what it meant for him, finding ourselves at odds with those who are nearest and dearest to us.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: sjtbclontarf@eircom.net or  frmartinhogan@gmail.com

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

23rd January >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Mark 3:7-12 for Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time: ‘Great crowds from Galilee followed him’.

Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Mark 3:7-12

He warned them not to make him known as the Son of God

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.

Gospel (USA)

Mark 3:7-12

The unclean spirits shouted, “You are the Son of God,” but Jesus warned them sternly not to make him known.

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly not to make him known.

Reflections (12)

(i) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading suggests that there was something very attractive about Jesus. People were attracted to him, not just the people of Judea and Galilee but people from much further afield, from Idumea, Transjordania, Tyre and Sidon. Here was an attractiveness that spoke to people from all directions. These people were attracted by what Jesus was saying and doing. Jesus was revealing the attractiveness of God, and people were allowing themselves to be attracted. In the first reading, there is something unattractive about Saul. When people praise the future king David to the detriment of the current king Saul, Saul becomes angry and jealous. These are natural and understandable human emotions in the circumstances. However, Saul allows his anger and jealousy to get the better of him and he begins to plot to kill David, the Lord’s anointed. In contrast to Saul, there is something attractive about Jonathan, Saul’s son. Holding David in great affection, Jonathan intercedes with Saul on David’s behalf and, eventually, helps Saul to recognize that David is not a threat to him but a blessing. Jonathan revealed something of the attractiveness of God, anticipating Jesus’ fuller revelation of God’s attractiveness. Our calling is to reveal by what we say and do something of the attractiveness of God. Like Jonathan, like Jesus, we are called to allow the God of life and loving mercy to shine through us in some way.

And/Or

(ii) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time (Year 1)

One of the most reassuring verses in the New Testament opens this morning’s first reading. It refers to Jesus as ‘living forever to intercede for all who come to God through him’. We are given an image of the risen Lord praying for all who come to God through him. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Romans, expresses this same conviction. He refers to ‘Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us’. Jesus interceding for all who come to God through him is reflected in this morning’s gospel reading. Mark tells us that great crowds from a very wide area came to God through Jesus. Their longing for God brought them to Jesus because they recognized Jesus as one in whom God was present and through whom God was at work. When they came to God through Jesus they discovered Jesus to be someone who was working on their behalf, healing their afflictions. The letter to the Hebrews this morning is reminding us that the same Jesus, now risen Lord, continues to work on our behalf, interceding for all who come to God through him. His continual prayer for us is prior to our prayer to him. His working on our behalf is prior to our working on his behalf. His prayer for us, his work for us, is a given, and all our own prayer and work is always located within that graced context.

 And/Or

(iii) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

In the beginning of today’s gospel reading Jesus withdraws with his disciples to the Sea of Galilee. He had just experienced hostility from the religious leaders. In fact, Mark had just told us that, because Jesus had healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath in the synagogue, the Pharisees conspired with the Herodians against him, with a view to destroying him. He withdraws from that hostility with his disciples to the Sea of Galilee. Jesus also encounters a response which is the complete opposite to the hostility he experienced from some. People approached him from a huge area, trying to touch him so as to be healed of their brokenness and diseases. The contrast between the two responses to Jesus is very striking. Some wanted to break him; others looked to him to heal them of their brokenness. Those who had no sense of their own poverty despised him; those who were aware of their poverty flocked to him. Every human being Jesus met was poor and broken to some degree; yet, it was only those who recognized their own poverty and brokenness who responded to Jesus. The gospel reading suggests that it is above all the sense of our own need, the awareness of our own poverty, that opens us up to the Lord’s presence to us.

 And/Or

(iv) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading this morning gives us a picture of great crowds of people coming to Jesus. In particular, all who were afflicted in any way came forward to touch him. It was the people who were suffering, who were distressed, who had least going for them, that came to Jesus in the biggest numbers. They sensed that he had come to heal their brokenness, that he had come in a special way for the suffering, the broken, the lost. We too come to the Lord with the greatest urgency when we are struggling, when we are in some kind of distress. Like the crowds in the gospel reading, we reach out to touch the Lord in our brokenness, recognizing him as the source of healing and life. The Lord is as available to us as he was to the crowds of Galilee; he remains strength in our weakness, healing in our brokenness, life in our various experiences of death. We can approach him with the same confidence of being well received as the people in today’s gospel reading.

 And/Or

(v) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time 

Mediators can be very important people, especially in times of dispute. The mediator can bring together conflicting parties who would never otherwise come together. This is the role that we find Jonathan playing in this morning’s first reading. Saul is in conflict with David, although David has no conflict with Saul. David’s popularity made Saul jealous of David; he turned away from David, even though David did not turn away from Saul. Jonathan’s intervention on behalf of David succeeded in reconciling Saul to David, for the time being at least. In the New Testament Jesus is spoken of as a mediator on a couple of occasions. He is the mediator between God and ourselves. Even though God never turns away from us, we turn away from God every so often. Jesus is our way back to God. He came from God to draw us back to God. He draws us back to God by drawing us to himself, just as in the gospel reading, he is portrayed as drawing many people to himself, to such an extent that he was in danger of being crushed. We pray at this Mass that we would allow Jesus to draw us towards himself and, thereby, towards God.

 And/Or

(vi) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time 

This morning’s first reading is the beginning of the tragic story of Saul’s jealousy of the younger David. In his anger Saul saw David as his enemy, whereas in reality David was his courageous supporter. Jonathan, son of Saul and the great friend of David, helped his father to see David in a clearer light, at least for the moment. He helped his father, Saul, to see a side to David that he was completely ignoring. In the words of Jonathan to his father, ‘David has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage’. Saul was helped to see David through the eyes of Jonathan, rather than just through his own angry and jealous eyes. We all need a Jonathan in our lives from time to time, someone who can help us to see some person or situation in a clearer way. Our way of seeing can be very limiting; our emotions can sometimes make us focus on one aspect of a person or a situation to the exclusion of all other aspects. So often we need the perspective of another or of several others. The Lord enlightens us through the experience and the insight of others. We need to keep recognizing the limits of our perspective and to be open to what the Lord may be trying to show us through those who are part of our lives or those whom he sends to us in life.

 And/Or

(vii) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

In the verse immediately preceding the gospel passage we have just read, Mark says that ‘the Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him’. That very ominous verse is immediately followed by the passage we have just heard which states that great numbers from a huge area were coming to him because they heard of all that he was doing. In particular, all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. Whereas some of the religious and political leaders, the Pharisees and the Herodians, were plotting to destroy Jesus, those who were afflicted in any way came to him in their droves. Whereas the former wanted to lay hands on him to kill him, the latter wanted to touch him so as to be made well. It is striking how Jesus’ words and deeds could meet with such strikingly different responses. Those who had power were threatened by him; those who had little or nothing were drawn to him. Perhaps the gospel reading this morning is saying to us that we need to come before the Lord in our poverty. It is not such much our knowledge or our influence that creates an opening for us to approach the Lord; it is much more our brokenness, our poverty, our affliction.

 And/Or

(viii) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading gives us a picture of Jesus with people coming to him, not just from Judea and Galilee, but from much further afield, from Idumea, Transjordania, Tyre and Sidon. This great and diverse crowd had one thing in common; they were all afflicted in some way. The gospel reading says, ‘all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him’. A little earlier in Mark’s gospel Jesus had spoken of himself as the doctor who came not for the healthy but for the sick, for those broken in body, mind or spirit. We all need to go to the doctor from time to time, some less often than others. However, we all need to go to the Lord in our brokenness all of the time. We all belong in that great throng of humanity that made their way to Jesus in the gospel reading, even though we do not always recognize ourselves as belonging to that great crowd. We all need the Lord, because what we receive from him cannot be received from any merely natural source. That is why he calls on us to seek him, to ask of him, to knock on his door, or in the image of today’s gospel reading, to touch him. We keep reaching out to touch him in our brokenness because we have a need deep within us that only he can satisfy. One of the privileged ways we touch the Lord is in the Eucharist, which has been aptly described as broken bread for a broken people.

 And/Or

(ix) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time 

This morning’s first reading paints a very vivid picture of the destructive power of jealously. Saul, the king of Israel, grew jealous of David’s popularity and military success. Even though David wanted to serve Saul, Saul saw David as a competitor and a threat and wanted to kill David. Jealousy clouded Saul’s judgement and made him see David in a way that wasn’t true to the kind of person David was. It was Jonathan, Saul’s son and David’s friend, who helped Saul to see David differently. On this occasion at least Saul was receptive to Jonathan’s more insightful judgement of David. Jonathan helped his father to see more clearly; he helped to heal him of his blindness. The gospel reading presents people coming to Jesus in huge numbers for healing. We are all in need of healing of some kind. We can suffer from a certain kind of blindness, like Saul. We see others not as they are but as we imagine them to be.The strong emotions we feel towards them can distort our perception of them. We often need a Jonathan to help us see more clearly. Sometimes we may be called to be a Jonathan for others, by helping them to see someone with less prejudiced eyes. The Lord needs each of us to be channels of his healing work. He wants to work through each of us to open the eyes of the blind. He needs us to be a Jonathan for each other.

 And/Or

(x) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Mark gives us a very vivid picture of the popularity of Jesus during the early stages of his Galilean ministry. Great crowds from a very large area came to him, from as far north as Tyre and Sidon in modern day Lebanon, and as far east as Transjordania, modern day Jordan. They came to him in their need. In the words of the gospel reading, they were ‘afflicted’, and they recognized in Jesus one who could heal their affliction. It is often the way that we seek out the Lord with greatest passion and energy when we or someone we love is afflicted. Our vulnerability, whether it is physical, emotional or mental, opens us up to the Lord’s presence. When all is well with us, we can go along without too much reference to the Lord. Our relationship with the Lord can deepen in times of personal crisis. It is not that our need of the Lord is any greater at such times, it is just that we become more aware of our need of the Lord when the sense of our own self-sufficiency is undermined. Those experiences of brokenness, which we might lament because of the pain they cause us, can be surprising moments of grace. Saint Paul made this discovery for himself. He came to recognize that what he termed the ‘thorn in the flesh’ he so desperately wanted to be rid of created an opening for the Lord to work powerfully in and through him, as he heard the Lord say to him, ‘my power is made perfect in weakness’.

 And/Or

(xi) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time 

According to today’s gospel reading, ‘all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch’ Jesus. People wanted to get as close as possible to Jesus because they recognized God’s life-giving power at work in his ministry. They recognized Jesus as the Life-Giver, as one who could heal their brokenness. In the first reading, Saul, the first king of Israel, takes on the opposite role to that of Jesus. Far from being a life-giver, he shows himself to be a death-dealer. He grew jealous of the young David’s success on the battlefield, especially when people began to compare David’s successes favourable to Saul’s. The jealousy of Saul fuelled his anger, and his anger led him to resolve to kill David. It took Jonathan, Saul’s son, to restrain Saul’s murderous intent. We are told that Jonathan held David in great affection. Jonathan’s affection for David was a truly life-giving power. Because of Jonathan’s affection, David was preserved from Saul’s murderous intent. In this way, Jonathan showed that he possessed something of the life-giving quality of Jesus. There are many Sauls in our world who are driven by jealousy and anger to bring death to others. There are also Jesus figures to be found, like Jonathan, who bring life to those who are threatened by death. We are all called to share in Jesus’ life-giving ministry. As in the case of Jonathan, that will often mean having the courage to stand up to the forces of death.

 And/Or

(xii) Thursday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

I think we all appreciate it when people say that they will pray for us. We feel a sense of spiritual solidarity with them, which can be very reassuring at vulnerable moments in our lives. In that context, the opening words of today’s first reading are very reassuring. According to the author, Jesus ‘is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him’. The risen Lord himself is praying for us. When we come to God through Jesus we are being assured of his prayerful support. The gospel reading speaks of ‘great numbers’ coming to God through Jesus, people not just from Galilee and Judaea, but from further afield, from Idumaea, Transjordania, and the region of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus is the object of popular attention over a wide area. It is said of this large crowd that they were crowding forward to touch Jesus. One of the ways we touch Jesus today is through prayer. In prayer, we enter into communion with the Lord, touching his presence to us. Whereas the Lord prays for us, we pray to him. That coming together of the Lord praying for us and of our praying to the Lord can create an opening for the Lord to work in a life-giving way in all our lives, just as in the gospel reading he worked to heal people of their afflictions.

  Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: sjtbclontarf@eircom.net or  revmartinhogan@gmail.com

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[mary-gs-travel]

Two Days

How can I describe a months worth of time onboard the Africa Mercy in Douala, Cameroon? I am finding the task impossible, so today I set out to describe 2 days. Let’s start with this Monday.

 A Messy, Magnificent, Manic Monday on the Mercy Ship

 0630 Wake up to alarm. Climb out of top bunk as quietly as possible with a flashlight to avoid waking up my 3 roommates (If they’ve managed to sleep through my alarm). Brush teeth, wash face, and dress into my blue scrubs that I laid out on top of the mini-fridge the night before.

 0645 Walk up 1 flight of stairs to stand in line in dining hall. Grab a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee. Sit in corner and keep head down. Eye contact invites the morning people to engage you in conversation; this must be avoided until the caffeine helps my brain realize that yes, I am, in fact, awake.

 0700 Go down 2 flights of stairs to Deck 3. This is where work begins. I am assigned as Charge Nurse this dayshift, so as I step onto the ward I sign all the Day Crew in and out and make sure all our Nurses have arrived. I greet the few patients that are already awake. I lead the team in a quick prayer, and then we start handover report. I can feel the patient in Bed 10 poking my back through the curtain as we pray, and when I peak around the corner of the curtain I see her mischievous grin.

 0715 Read the notes from the weekend’s Charge Nurses. Our woman in Bed 13 has been ill since Friday with various symptoms that don’t seem to make sense.

 0730 Rounds (check on the patients) with the current surgeon onboard.

 0735 I learn that 1 of our 2 bathrooms for the patients is not draining properly and has flooded. Page the Plumber.

 0740 We’re out of a handful of medications. I scamper over to B-ward to pilfer some of what we need until Pharmacy comes by to restock our supply.

 0745 Go up to Deck 6 for Monday Morning Meeting, where I take notes to relay information given back to the nurses who are on the wards and will miss the meeting. We learn about some places to go and not to go in town and about events that will be happening on the ship this week.

 0830 Return to ward and do rounds (check on the patients) with Medical Doctor onboard. Be interrupted multiple times with questions and news that the second of our 2 toilets is no longer flushing. Send up a mental prayer that the plumber will arrive soon. Bed 4 has a hernia in addition to her childbirth injury. It causes her much discomfort, but our general surgeon is not yet onboard and the surgery schedule for hernias is already full. We can treat this patient’s women’s health issue, but not the hernia. I try to remind myself that treating something is better than nothing, but my insides feel rotten. If this women had proper access to healthcare, like I do in my home country, than she never would have suffered this childbirth injury in the first place.  

 0900 Check in with Nurse Team Leader and ask her all the questions that have arisen over the weekend and the past two hours. Hear the good news that 8 of our patients (5 who have already been discharged and 3 who are still onboard) will be in the Dress Ceremony today to celebrate their healing.

 0930 Watch as a Nurse and Day Crew inform Bed 10 that she will be in the Dress Ceremony today. Enjoy the smiles.

 1000 One of our Day Crew isn’t feeling well. At the Crew Clinic it was found she has a fever, so I sign her out to go home and rest.

 1015 The toilets and vacuum system seem to be working again, thank you to the plumber. One of our Day Crew mopped up all the water and cleaned both bathrooms without anyone asking him to.

 1030 Lab results are in, hand delivered by our Lab Crew. I page the Medical Doctor. Bed 13’s labs are not great, but not worse. Bed 10 has an infection, so after the dress ceremony she’ll need to stay a few more days for IV antibiotics. Two other patients have infections that will require antibiotics. One patient’s culture showed no infection, so she will get to be discharged tomorrow.

 1100 Meet with Admissions, OR and Team Leaders to determine what beds the patients being admitted to the hospital this evening will be placed in.  Today is a screening day for Women’s Health, and we don’t yet know who our admissions will be. Per suggestion of my Team Leader I have 3 beds set aside for admissions, but we won’t know until the last minute who those admissions will be.

 1105 Meet with Ward Supervisor to discuss nurse staffing for the next 3 shifts. She leads us in a mini-devotional before we talk about how many nurses we have and how many we need to take care of our patients.

 1130 Return to ward. Organize Nurse/Day Crew Lunch breaks. The Day Crew already had planned who would go first and who would go second.

 1200 Another Day Crew feels unwell and complains of headache. I send her to the Crew Clinic and hope no one else is going to be sick today.

 1230 Sit at desk and update patient information from the morning into the computer system while fielding questions from Nurses and Day Crew about various patient issues. Make assignments for which nurses will take care of which patients (including our still unknown admissions) on the next shift.

 1250 I say goodbye to our patient being discharged. She is in her early twenties and came to us for a biopsy of a tumor. The results showed that the patient has advanced cancer that is beyond our abilities to treat. She is being sent back home with her husband. While onboard she and her husband received counseling with our Hospital Chaplaincy Team, and we’ve sent her with pain medication to manage her symptoms, but it doesn’t feel like enough. It is not enough. She deserves so much more than this.

 1255 Go up to dining hall to grab lunch before it closes at 1300. Onion Soup and carrot sticks.

 1320 Return to Ward. Check on Patients, Nurses and Daycrew. Find a saline syringe sitting on the Charge Nurse keyboard. Squirt saline water gun style at Nurse Ashley. Watch Bed 10 laugh.

 1330 Find out that I was supposed to send half my Daycrew to a Malaria education session a half hour ago, but it’s too late now to send anyone.

 1340 Bed 13 is vomiting.

 1345 Find Malaria Education for Daycrew flyer underneath my stack of papers on the Charge Nurse desk… oh, that’s where that was. Try to input the last of the shift’s information into the computer before the next shift arrives.

 1400 Shift change. I relay all the information from Monday Morning Meeting. Then we pray together before I give a handover report in the hallway (it’s too noisy in the ward) to the Charge Nurse taking my place.

 1445 Return to the ward. All the patients except Bed 13 have been moved down the E-ward for the Dress Ceremony. I’m exhausted and am not sure if I really want to go sit for the Ceremony, but our Team Leader encourages me to go. “It’s the best part,” she says.

 1500 I’m in E-Ward for the Dress Ceremony. 8 of our Ladies are walking into the ward singing songs of praise and worship. They are dressed in bright colors and look radiant.  Our chaplaincy team has spent the morning setting up the ward and preparing the ladies. We celebrate with them and sing songs of worship. Each lady takes a turn to speak into the microphone and tell their story. They tell stories of loss turned to triumph. Each woman is presented with a gift. I get to present a gift to a patient that we all referred to as our Mama on the Ward. I have never given a gift before during a Dress Ceremony, and I am so honored that I was able to present Mama with hers.

 1600 Picture time with the ladies in their Dress Ceremony outfits. We shared lots of hugs and laughter and joy. This is also the time where it starts to become bittersweet because soon I will have to say goodbye.

 1620 I see a positive malaria test sitting on the counter in the Ward. So that’s why Bed 13 has been so ill.

 1630 I fill in a few orders in charts that I hadn’t had time to do during the dayshift. I say goodbye to the patients in the ward and give hugs to the ladies headed off the ship.

 1645 I walk up a flight of stairs, down the hallway, and into my cabin. Time to sit for a moment and process my day.

 1730 Grabbed dinner from the dining hall. Dinner is a hamburger patty on bread with carrot sticks and a papaya. I took my meal to a conference room where a group of my friends and I watched Agent Carter (we are attempting to watch all the Marvel Movies and some TV shows in chronological order during this field service).

1900 Shower

 1930 Play a round of Qwirkle with friends in the dining hall.

 2100 Climb up into my bed and watch Game of Thrones on Movienight (our online video sharing system on the ship) until I fall asleep.

   And then here is Today, Tuesday, a typical day off.

  0930 Wake up to find 2 of my roommates had woken up and left while I slept. I lay in bed drowsing a little while longer because today I have no where to rush off to.

 1000 My 3rd roommate has left and I have the cabin to myself. I turn on all the lights and use my electric kettle to boil some water to make coffee with my pour-over pot. I play some music without having to use headphones. I drink the Cameroonian coffee that I bought from the grocery store a few days ago. Sadly, it’s not very good. But I drink it slowly while I journal and relax on the couch in our room.

 1200 I get dressed and venture out of my cabin to go look out a window. The sky is grey, cloud covered. I grab some lunch (Onion Soup, again, and a salad) from the dining hall and take it to the café. I eat lunch with friends and then spend the afternoon drinking more coffee and working on this record of my days. People filter through the area and I take many breaks from writing to chat.

 1630 Nurse Ashley stops by my table to say hello. Promises revenge for yesterdays water-gun saline prank.

 1715 Dinner is being served, but I’m not hungry. I grab a plate and wrap it up to save for later because dinner closes at 1830. I change into my Cameroon-appropriate exercise gear (got to keep those knees covered) and head out to the dock. I run some laps around our dock, which is lined with cargo containers and barbed wire that serves as our “Wall”.

 1845 Watch the sunset from Deck 8. The clouds have broken up and every now and then you can see snatches of Mount Cameroon off in the distance.

 1930 Shower followed by dinner. I get a FaceTime call from home and get to see my sister and my nieces.

 2000 Back to my room to finish this.  

 So there you go. A typical day at work and a typical day off.  I felt like these two days expressed the highs and lows of ship life and working in a volunteer hospital. The pros and cons of living in such a tight knit community. The joys and sorrows of the Women’s Health ward.

[umichenginabroad]

GHDI Presents: Pregnant Fish Status

Under two weeks to go, people: this is not a drill.

Jun 14, 2019 at 9:10 AM

Private car on the way to Mole National Park

Man the days do fly by fast when you work all week and travel every weekend; weird. This experience has flown by and I know it’ll only speed up as we get closer to leaving. There’s still a lot we have to do before then for our academic project so it’s not all a walk in the park. I realize that I might not have talked too much about what I’m officially doing here in Africa so let’s jump in. The first part of the project for about three (3) weeks was a needs finding project, doing observations and broad interviews within the emergency department of identify challenges they face in all areas from operations to technologies to lack of education. After developing and refining our list of about seventy-five (75) needs, we sought feedback from partners and mentors and clinicians about the priority of those needs and had a multi-step filtering process to bring that list down to about five (5). From that final list, the three of us selected projects that most interested each of us! Alex and Nai’a are working on a project to better control the flow rate through an IV drip for fluids and medications, while my focus is on a way to safely provide traction for patients with femur fractures. Now we are developing user requirements and engineering specifications for each of the projects to determine what success looks like to each stakeholder involved in the process. That means a lot more talking with clinicians about what they think and soliciting as much information as possible. It’s exciting to narrow our focus onto a more isolated topic instead of trying to find every problem within the hospital.

When I left off last time, I was writing on the way to the eastern part of Ghana, the Volta region (not the Eastern region, that’s something else)! The Volta region is more mountainous than the rest of Ghana and is really known for some incredible waterfalls, that’s one of the parts that got our attention the most. It’s a long drive over, it took us about ten (10) hours each way, which basically takes the day, even when you leave at 6:30 in the morning. We took a private car, the same one that we’re in right now, because it gives us a lot more freedom on the road to stop when we need to or go to cool places along the route because it’s just us and our driver George. George is cool. It’s a little more expensive, but definitely preferred over sitting in a crowded tro for ten hours. The concept of hiring a private driver is definitely more normal here than it is back in the U.S. There are so many taxi drivers that will bend over backwards to drive you around if you have the cash. It can actually be the most convenient way to get around, especially if you’re exploring a larger city, as they usually know the best places to go. I might have talked about this before, but it’s a part of the culture to ask everyone around you where to get food or where this store is or where you can buy this item. I really love that, and everyone is friendly that you don’t feel like you are an annoyance or a burden. Many times they’ll even take the time to walk you there and show you themselves or call their friend that has that item and all it takes is to ask.

We chose to spend three days on the trip to Volta, driving out Saturday, staying Sunday, and coming back on Monday. We had the cocoa trip already committed for that Friday, so we added the day on the other end. We stayed at a really nice small guesthouse type hotel and the owner, Vincent, was so nice. He and his family were the ones cooking us amazingly good food and gave us so many pointers on what to do the following day as we planned to hike up the nearby mountain and explore the famous Wli Waterfalls. We headed out early the next morning to begin the six (6) hour hike up and down with our guide, Wisdom. He made sure we had plenty of water and were well prepared, even though he carried nothing and wore flip flops. As we began, he gave us the most critical words of warning; that by the end we would sweat like pregnant fish; and while we didn’t know what that meant when he said it (how much does a fish sweat? Pregnant fish? Have you ever seen a pregnant fish?), we certainly found out by the end of it as we were sweating buckets for most of the hike. The hike really kicked our asses, there were some really steep sections up and down and our legs were completely useless by the end of the hike. The refreshing pools at the bottom of the upper and lower falls were really nice to cool ourselves off and take some breaks. Wisdom also gave us the option to go a different direction and actually hike through Togo for a bit, which is the neighboring country. If we knew beforehand, we could have arranged to spend a night in Togo learning about traditional African skills, like how to carry a baby on your back with a sheet or how to make traditional food: the more you know for next time. The views were incredible. We got lucky with the weather and it wasn’t sunny and hot, but not too much cloud cover that you couldn’t see the landscape from the peaks, so really ideal for the picturesque vistas. I took around 282 photos (but who’s counting) and it was definitely one of the most fun things we’ve done in Ghana so far this experience.

In walking around the small little town and even venturing over to the border gate of Togo and Ghana, we were reminded again of the unease behind taking pictures. When we are going around the markets and villages and the like, it feels fine or natural to want to take pictures to remember what it looks like or share with family and friends back home, but that has to be done quite carefully here. For many of the people in the background of the picture, that is their daily life, it’s their stand or their shop that’s been in their family for generations and to them there’s no reason at all to take a picture. Some people will give you a bit of a glare, others will literally shout at you to put the cameras away. Nai’a said something like there might be a spiritual part of it, where some think that the camera will remove their soul from their body, which if they thought that, then I could definitely understand the unease. In many different places, there’s just a vibe of “it wouldn’t be right for me to take a picture here”, and it sometimes can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what gives that off. It seems to be a more widespread thing, not just local to a region or area. Alex got yelled at for taking pictures in the central market of Kumasi and I was asked to put my phone away near the border of Togo and in the small village we were staying in last weekend.

On our way home on Monday, it was recommended that we make a stop at a monkey sanctuary! I had never been to such a place before and it was super dope. We bought some bananas before we wandered with our guide into the forest and we quickly found a family of monkeys to take them off our hands. I didn’t realize how big/heavy some monkeys could be... Having them jump up on your shoulder or arm to eat the banana is a bit of a shock! They were really cool and we got some great laughs and pictures so it was worth all time spent.

The road between the Volta region and Kumasi is the worst road I have ever been on. Period. Full stop. Michigan has some terrible road but nothing compares to 60 miles of dirt and rock roads that takes 4.5 hours to get across because you have to go at a literal crawl to keep the car from falling apart. There is no maintenance for roads in most part of the country and everything comes from the government, which might explain why there isn’t any maintenance. It’s very common to see nice homes and nice driveways that lead to a god-awful road. If it were me I would spend at least a bit of money to repair the road I drive on every single day but it’s not really a concern here.

I know it’s been a minute since I started writing this but there’s only a couple more of these coming so it’s falling to the back burner with all the other work we have to do here. Stay tuned for the last couple posts!

Thanks for hanging with me,

Scott

———

Scott Vanden Heuvel

Mechanical Engineering

GHDI Immersion Experience, Kumasi, Ghana

[mastcomm]

Your Wednesday Briefing – The New York Times

Hong Kong limits travel to curtail outbreak

As the number of known cases of the Wuhan coronavirus rose by nearly 60 percent on Monday night into Tuesday, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said the territory would strictly limit travelers from mainland China starting on Thursday.

The move followed days of rising pressure from health care workers, experts and even lawmakers who support Mrs. Lam’s government, and reflected distrust of the mainland as evidenced both from recent protests and the 2003 SARS crisis, in which nearly 300 people died in Hong Kong alone.

Elsewhere, officials in Germany and Japan reported the first known cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus — meaning countries now have to worry not only about quarantining infected travelers, but also about keeping the virus from spreading within their borders.

Toll: At least 106 people have died, China said on Tuesday, and the number of cases increased to 4,515 on Tuesday, from 2,835 on Monday, according to the National Health Commission. The youngest confirmed case is a 9-month-old girl in Beijing.

What’s next: China has extended the Lunar New Year holiday to Feb. 3, and some major cities have gone further, telling businesses not to open until the next week.

Britain declines to bar Huawei

The Chinese telecommunications giant can be part of Britain’s new high-speed 5G wireless network, the British government said, despite intense American arguments that Huawei could be used by the Chinese government as a channel for control and surveillance.

Both the U.S. and China, vying for tech supremacy, had tried to sway Britain’s decision. A Trump administration official said the U.S. was “disappointed.”

The decision did not name Huawei, specifying instead that “high-risk vendors” posing “greater security and resilience risks to U.K. telecoms networks” would be able to provide equipment in some portions of the network, like antennas and base stations, but not parts of the nerve center like servers.

Implications: Britain’s membership in the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group, along with Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S., gives the decision added significance. And it comes as Germany is also deciding whether to work with Huawei.

Boris Johnson’s balancing act: The prime minister is risking a rift with President Trump ahead of negotiating a new trade deal with the U.S., but the potential of 5G makes the gains from a deal look paltry.

How an N.B.A. star dazzled Asia, too

Over his two-decade career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant played an important role in the basketball league’s international expansion.

His stature as an international celebrity, honed by both the N.B.A. and Nike, crystallized during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, when he was swarmed by fellow athletes. In China, he routinely had the highest sales of shoes and jerseys.

Bryant was a frequent visitor to China for basketball camps and promotional stops, and he appeared in commercials, like one with the Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou. He was also popular in the Philippines.

The investigation: All possible causes for the helicopter crash on Sunday that killed Bryant and eight others are still being considered, but the hillsides around the flight’s destination near Los Angeles were enveloped in a nearly blinding fog at the time. The helicopter was not carrying a cockpit voice recorder, and federal investigators aren’t expected to reach a conclusion for months. Here are the latest updates.

Another angle: We spoke to a high school teacher that Bryant considered a mentor and “muse” about their remarkable friendship: “He has left such a void behind,” she said.

Long awaited, Trump peace plan favors Israel

President Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan on Tuesday in the presence of only one party to the conflict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

What Mr. Trump called a “win-win” proposal would give Israel most of what it has sought and create a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty. The Palestinian leadership immediately rejected the plan, which discards the idea of a full-fledged Palestinian state.

Analysts saw the document as a distraction offered by a president under impeachment working with a prime minister under criminal indictment.

The details: The plan would guarantee Israeli control of a unified Jerusalem as its capital and not require it to uproot any West Bank settlements. Mr. Trump promised to provide $50 billion in international financing for the new Palestinian entity and to open an embassy there.

At the impeachment trial: The president’s legal team made its last oral arguments on Tuesday. Senators will now have 16 hours to ask questions of each side.

A vote on whether to hear witnesses in the trial is expected on Friday, with a few Republican senators appearing to favor calling John Bolton, the former national security adviser whose book manuscript corroborates a central accusation: that Mr. Trump tied Ukraine’s military aid to politically motivated investigations.

If you have 6 minutes, this is worth it

Japan’s skateboarders roll out of the shadows

Japan has an Olympic skateboarding team that is likely to win more medals than that of any other country in the first such competition. But most of its members would not dream of taking out their boards on Japan’s streets, where the sport has long been seen as a pastime of unruly children.

This year’s summer Olympics could give its Japanese adherents something new: everyday acceptance.

Here’s what else is happening

India: A state visit by President Trump is planned for late February, according to Indian officials. The visit could be seen as an endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent policies that have deeply divided India and set off deadly nationwide protests.

Belgian king: After a court-ordered DNA test to resolve a decade-long paternity claim, King Albert II, 85, conceded that he was the biological father of the artist Delphine Boël, 51, who has long said she was conceived during an affair between her mother and Albert before he ascended the throne.

Snapshot: Above, a Syrian asylum seeker at a migrant camp in the Turkish-controlled part of Cyprus. The tiny island now hosts the most refugees per capita in the European Union, the result of a loophole within its vexing political situation.

What we’re looking at: These photos in The Atlantic of the locust swarms in East Africa. “For those keeping track of the plagues hitting the planet,” writes Andrea Kannapell, the Briefings editor.

Now, a break from the news

Go: Momcations, a getaway designed for tired mothers, are on the rise. While some see it as profiteering, others say it’s a sign of “the mainstream telling moms they deserve a break.”

Smarter Living: Breaking up with a therapist can be nerve-racking. But doing it with these tips in mind can turn it into an opportunity for growth.

And now for the Back Story on …

Reporting in Wuhan

Chris Buckley, our chief China correspondent, is reporting this week from the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Mike Ives, on the Briefings team, spoke with Chris by phone.

What is it like with these unprecedented restrictions in place?

It may be difficult to envisage just how thoroughly people have retreated from the streets and from public life. I had to cross one of the big bridges across the Yangtze for my reporting. And there I was, on one of these Chinese share bikes that are everywhere, on an almost completely empty bridge, spanning one of China’s biggest cities, crossing its biggest river. And there were just two other people on the bridge.

A lot of people wonder how long the shutdown can last. Even now people are worrying about the jobs they may lose, the businesses that will close, the school semesters that they might miss.

You’ve reported that the anger on Chinese social media is intense.

Yes, and you hear that here as well. People erupt with a kind of anger and exasperation over how it was that this dangerous pathogen was among them but they didn’t understand, in many cases, how serious it was or what was going on until the city was shut down.

But that’s leavened by a sense among many people that the most pressing thing is to get through this crisis — so that as few people die as possible and life can return to a kind of normality as soon as possible.

What else are you seeing there?

You see a combination of reactions when you approach people to talk. First of all, there’s a natural wariness about getting close to anybody. But once you reassure them — you’re outside, at a distance of a good 10 feet — they can be very open and also very generous.

How does that compare to the response you normally get?

The reaction you get as a foreign reporter varies quite a bit across China. But I think these circumstances, where people feel that they — and, in a sense, we — are all in this together, and that you’re there somehow experiencing this as well, make it easier to create that connection.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Melina

Thank you To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about the ripple effects of John Bolton’s coming book. • Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: What causes Pinocchio’s nose to grow (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Jason Polan, a New York sketch artist, produced hundreds of illustrations for the print edition of The Times. He died on Monday at age 37.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/your-wednesday-briefing-the-new-york-times-5/

[pr]

I was tagged by @twothirtyams

FINALLY got around to it HERE:

Nickname(s): Energizer Bonnie. Bon Bon. Bon. The Bonster. Babe (Jake literally has called me Bonnie less than 20 times akdjakanan).

Gender: Lady gal. Tbh I would be agender because I just don't care but along that same vein I just don't care enough to explain that all the time/insist on pronouns. So. Respect to y'all who do. ✌

Height: 5′6″ (I'm the tallest woman in me or Jake's families but also like. Why am I not 5'11"+ akdjakajaj Kaylor's impact….)

Time: 5:47p CST

Where I'm from: Dallas, Texas. (I would specify the suburb but nobody outside DFW seems to kno lol.) Living in Austin, Texas for 21 more days though...

Hogwarts house: SLYTHERIN. Through and through. When I took the quiz at like 15 and got put in the opposite of Gryffindor I cried. But like. Now, I cannot imagine ever not identifying with everything about Slytherin. The ~dark side~ has never ever been appealing to me - I didn't even have an "emo phase" (I thought MCR was scary even) lol but. Ambition and cunning? Hell. Yes. Also Merlin was a Slytherin so. Dab.

Favorite show: Parks and Recreation has taken the top spot for yeeeears - but now it is tied with Crazy Ex Girlfriend. (I base a lot of my identity on kinned TV characters akdjakaj but ANYway.) 30 Rock close 2nd. Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul are 3rd, shockingly. Bojack Horseman an unfortunate 4th but I kin Bojack in a negative way. Always, ALWAYS stan Avatar: The Last Airbender at #5. I have too many to list tbh lol so just check my TV tag.

Favorite animal: So preface: I only like female animals. Akdjakaja. JUDGE me as you WILL. BUT. Other than hyenas, female animals don't RAPE. SO! ANYWAY! Bunnies at a hard #1!!!! 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰 Alligators, sharks, dolphins, elephants, horses/ponies, cows, pigs (lotta livestock akdjakajaba), cats, opossums, cheetahs, big cats in general, GIRAFFES (KK……) - I love animals a lot (from a sanitary distance akdjakajaj)

Favorite band/artist: I will not even count the obvious answer because that isn't fair. Other than her: Paramore/Hayley Williams, Ariana Grande, Lorde, Hayley Kiyoko, Halsey, Bastille, Troye Sivan, Harry Styles/One Direction, Rush (hate you Jake…), the cast of Hamilton and Crazy Ex Girlfriend.

…

...you can't judge me.

Song stuck in my head: Well I'm currently listening to Kung Fu Fighting akdjakaj but other than that Love Kernels has been stuck in my head for OVER A WEEK!!!!

Last movie I saw: Uhhh….tbh I really do not watch enough movies??? Honestly, it might have been Endgame?? God I am sad akdjakakja. Watched Crazy Ex Girlfriend 3× since June tho akdjakana

Last thing I Googled: murphy texas fourth of july concert

Other blogs: I've got a SHIT ton of saved URLs, but other than my temp hiatus blog @kaylor and its side blog @marvelousmidgesusie nah. Too much effort.

Do I get asks:Absolutely not. Never have never will akdjakajaj I'm good with it now.

Why this URL: Not to be like. Dramatic. But. After getting a canon URL previously and receiving 0 validation from it, I started this blog under the guise of like. Having just...a fun URL I can change whenever just to enjoy. So, when the lyrics were leaked, I jumped on this bitch because it was fun! And I'll probably change it again once Lover releases.

Number of blankets: Oh my God. Over 10. Too many.

Followers: Little over 125 I think.

Following: Idk. Maybe 200?

Average amount of sleep: I have been working pretty hard to make it at LEAST 8 - but that never fucking happens aidhakan 7-6 usually and it makes me MISERABLE.

Lucky number: 187, and any combination thereof. I know. Weird. But. On birthday turning from 7 to 8, July 18th (7/18), I decided that was the best day of my life, and that was my number. Do I remember anything about that birthday? Absolutely not. But. The number stuck. It shows up in my life a lot. From random (187 on a bus or on a utilities panel driving by), to mildly interesting (my license plate just has 718 or reblogging/liking things that equal combos of the numbers a lot), to really freakin' weird (the number my mom has had for almost 30 years ends with 0718, my Jake's birthday just happens to be August 17th 8/17). So. Idk. I just wike it.

What am I wearing: Tee from a coffee shop, A&M workout shorts, sports bra, crap underwear, and my heart on my sleeve.

Dream job: For my entire life, it was working in film, most recently being an editor. But within the last few months, in a dramatic turn of events, my ideal job would be doing what @tree-paine does: being the publicist of clientele in media, music, film, sports, maybe even politics. Idk.

Dream trips: Jake and I have an elaborate dream of traveling down the Alps from Frankford to Austria to Switzerland to Mulan and ending in Verona. Additionally, I am desperate to take Jake to NYC, LA, Boston, and San Fran. Would love to visit almost every hotspot in the US (Chicago, Atlanta, NOLA, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, Disneyworld, Colorado, Alaska, etc). Also VANCOUVER, lots of East Asia, lots of Europe, Giza, Jerusalem, South Africa - but I have literally never been out of the country and am TERRIFIED of flying let alone over the OCEAN. UM. I just want to be well traveled man lmao.

Favorite food: LOTTA shit I am NOT picky, but tops for sure: cinnamon rolls, cheeseburgers, pizza, mac n cheese, blueberries, pasta in general, sushi, and Jake's aglio e olio/veggie nachos.

Instruments I play: Lol. As if. I spent almost $300 on a keyboard but have been too depressed to try. Maybe someday. Have also been dying to sing for 23 years…

Eye color: Very, VERY light blue. Whenever I am in public, people lose their SHIT on the daily when they see my eyes. But for me like. Blue eyes be creepy. Lmao. I really want green/hazel eyes but like. W/e. So it goes.

Hair color: Naturally this dark, awful shade of ash blonde. But I've been coloring my hair since middle school, and for the past 5 or so years it has been a natural ginger copper. I dye my brows too, people think it's really because I am such a cracker ass white gal akdjakanakan

Aesthetic: Check my "aesthetic" tag lol. Idk. Peach/salmon tones. Farm animals. Florals. Dresses with sneakers. Women. Taylor Swift lyrics over pastel backgrounds akdjakaj. BUNNIES. Shots with a lot of negative space. Mornings and coffee and eggs and pancakes. Waking up next to Jake. Texas hill country. Cowboy boots worn right. Snow. Christmas. Idk. Just like. Look at the "moodboards" tag too akdjakaj.

Languages I speak: English, do you see my lily white ass akdjakajaj. I can speak Spanglish well enough to get through a transaction or vaguely pick up words but that is IT. Would love to know Cherokee, Korean, German, and whatever the hell Australians are saying tho.

Most iconic song: One time, I had a dream that I wrote my senior thesis on why the song "Red" was on the level of modern icon/classic as songs "Don't Stop Believin'", "Livin' On A Prayer", "Smoke On The Water", etc. I was insistent the opening notes were on the same level as "Immigrant Song" aodaajakaja. And I was SO passionate about it I WOKE UP CRYING AKDHALAJAKKAAJ.

Anyway.

OTHER than that, this is 100% subjective and to me personally but: Tim McGraw because those opening notes are just nostalgic as hell; Out of the Woods because when that leaked I was just starting to get back into TS and I put on my headphones and covered myself in a blanket and closed my eyes to be fully into it and oh my God...it was immersive, I will never forget that feeling; IV Sweatpants by Childish Gambino, because it was the MOST PLAYED SONG OF 2018 on our Spotify akdjakajaj; My Shot/Wait For It from Hamilton because they have both inspired and driven me to feel like I can take on the fucking world; and A Diagnosis from Crazy Ex Girlfriend because it changed my life and I have listened to it more times than I can count.

When I created this account: A few months ago. I am changing my person this year, and starting fresh with how I present my online persona was an important part of that process for me. But I have been on Tumblr on various accounts since 2010/11 lmao.

Best memory: Getting moved to the front row at my first TS concert, the 1989 Tour; so, so many things with Jake, years of memories; getting my bun; reconnecting with Sarah; a lot of SXSW 2018; my 20th birthday.

Best pun: The first thing that comes to mind is a post I reblogged earlier about how Lyra from The Golden Compass does not have a moral compass in the metaphorical sense and I said, "I mean. She has a compass. She quite literally very much has a moral compass." I thought I was funny lol.

Random fact: I finally got diagnosed with BPD! And I've lost 20+lbs this year (getting healthy, it's a good thing)! My closet is color organized by item!

I tag:

@kayspiracy @jake-from-state-farm-school @toastedcoconutchips @vagabonds-and-troubadours @grizzlybairparty @thefuckingstory @pictureofsoph1sticatedgrace @his-dark-memerials @taylorswift

[sealnarcisa]

Kyle Woodward’s final blog post from Southern Africa. My visa issue finally got resolved, albeit with quite a lot of effort and frustration on my part. Unfortunately they couldn't swap my business visa for a tourist visa while in the country and the only way to fix it was to leave the country and come back in. Luckily Zimbabwe is just a 10 minutes drive to the border. It also just happens that the Zambia/Zimbabwe border is right at Victoria Falls. The border bridge is a tourist attraction, where people zip-line across the gorge and bungee jump off the bridge. Walking across the bridge with Victoria Falls as a backdrop was an unexpexted and surreal moment, and i made sure to take my time walking across both ways. It was a much needed stress reliever. The Falls are so close to you as you walk toward the Zimbabwe border post that the mist creates a perpetual light rain. Having not seen or felt rain in 2 months I was very confused at first. Since i got my necessary tasks done on Friday, I decided to go see the Falls properly all day on Saturday. I was going to be a tourist for a day, so exciting! On Saturday I had a relaxing morning and got a shuttle to the Victoria Falls Park entrance. I met another friend from the same hostel, and we hiked all the trails together. The Knife's Edge trail leads you out on a narrow peice of land thats been carved away by the Falls over time. It's the closest you can get to the Falls, and when you get out onto the edge you are completely soaked in a matter of seconds. Its like walking into a category 1 hurricane: the force of the water falling into the gorge creates a powerful uplift of air that shoots the trailing mist straight back to the top of the gorge, creating a barrage of wind and rain. There is no escape, and we willingly walked out to meet it in our bare feet and cheap ponchos. It is one of the best 20 bucks ive ever spent, and somehow my passport didn't even get wet. On our way down a separate trail to the bottom of the gorge, we were ambushed by a massive male baboon. We learned quite quickly that its not wise to carry food or drinks out in the open in this park because of these guys. We dropped our bottles of soda in order to avoid being mauled. It was actually terrifying in the moment but we laughed about it later. It was pretty funny watching this baboon open our soda bottles, dump out a ton of orange Fanta and sit there slurping it off the ground. On Sunday I went to the bus station at noon to catch my bus back to Sesheke, only to find out that the 12:00 bus i had purchased a seat on had left at 10:30 just because it got there early. It was another lesson in how things work out here: Disorder and unreliable public services create enough inevitable inconveniences in day to day life that society has adapted in order to provide quick and easy solutions. One of the bus company managers immediately took my money back from the attendant and drove me in his own car to the outskirts of town where a bunch of vans wait all day to give rides at the same or cheaper rate. He paid the van driver my bus money, I hopped in, and within a half hour we were on the way to Sesheke. We even got there right around the same time my bus would have. I met up with Michael and one of our enumerators in the afternoon and we drove back up to Sioma District for the night. The next day we drove the 1.5 hour journey into the bush to Makande. The drive seems to take forever as we creep along through a narrow sandy track, dodging trees and trying not to get stuck. Even with a 4wd truck it's not easy to get to by any means, yet people live here the same way as those right on the tar road in Lusu, Kaale, and Kalobolelwa. It's a remarkable thing seeing these communities operate with little to no outside aid. The idea that one can create and maintain their entire livelihood from the surrounding natural resources is so foreign to me, as I presume it is for many other 'Westerners'. Your health (ability to perform manual labor) and work ethic (determination to do so) hold greatest weight in village life. Lin, Michael, and I split our enumerators into teams of 2 for the first day of household surveys, then the second day Lin and I finished the rest of the surveys and did reference samples while Michael worked on resource area mapping. It went by so quick that I found myself scrambling on the last day to take a few pictures to remember this experience by. My pictures are mediocre at best, but Im pretty sure I won't ever forget this. Our last night camping in Makande was so fun. We ended the month of work talking, joking, singing, and dancing around our campfire, trading ideas, experiences, and standing on common ground. We also chased this weird goat around that kept walking into our camp. It was the funniest thing ever. No matter how far we chased it away from our camp, it would eventually wander back and stand there just staring at us. If they make another Disney movie based in Africa (shout out Lion King), this goat needs to be the typecast dumb animal comic relief character. The long weekend was spent back in our home sweet home, Sesheke. Michael needed to finish resource area mapping in Lusu, and Lin and i decided to collect more reference samples in Kalobolelwa, so we decided to set up at our usual campground in town. We took one of our enumerators along who wants to study environmental science, and he absorbed all the vegetation and GPS stuff like a sponge. It was a really fun day just walking around, seeing different landscapes, and talking about plants. Since we were officially done with the Zambia field season by the end of that day, we got to be lazy the next day in Sesheke. We walked around the market, bought some food and gifts, learned how to play Zambian rules Checkers, and had a good dinner in town. This past Sunday turned out to be a really special day, and may turn out to be one of the most important for future research pursuits in Zambia. Henry from DNPW allowed us to come along with him into Sioma-Ngwezi NP, where they are working on re-introducing wildlife the next 4 years. They created a fenced-in 100 hectare enclosure for the animals which they use to acclimate them before releasing them into the park. They had about 180 impala and 32 buffalo that they transported there a few weeks ago, and we got to come along on their weekly check up. We got to stand in their pickup truck bed as we patrolled inside the fence perimeter, trying to spot and count all the buffalo and impala. Michael and I came up with another research idea pretty organically as we chatted about the wildlife re-introduction process and the ways they currently monitor wildlife numbers in the park. The folks at DNPW and WWF sound quite keen to begin some research collaboration this coming year with us, and I'm glad Michael and I prioritized time to build those relationships. On Monday we said goodbye to Lin as she headed back to Botswana, then Michael and I drove to Livingstone. Having been in Livingstone last weekend, I already knew what it was like, so it was really great seeing Michael be totally blown away by all the city people, restaurants, shops, and 2 story buildings. We had fun wandering around, getting lost, and eating a ton of really good food. We have a special place in our hearts for Sesheke, but it is by no means a city. The fact that Sesheke ever felt like a city to us speaks to how much time we have spent in remote areas of rural Zambia. We felt like the Zambian village children this time, amazed to see so many white people in one place. I'm writing this on my flight back home and reflecting on all of the new and unique experiences I've had these past two months: flying drones in the Chobe river floodplain in Botswana, digging ourselves out of the sand more times than i can count, being immersed in village life and the language, playing sports with village children in Kapau and Makande, crossing international borders on my own, learning to drive stick in Zambia, and many others. They've all offered an opportunity to learn, challenge my own paradigms, and grow into a more worldly and introspective person. Southern Africa has given me so much, and I am eager to give back in any way an academic researcher can. I am so grateful to Dr. Pricope and all of the KAZAVA collaborators for supporting me and allowing me into their network. Michael gets a special shout out; we started out as two unacquainted grad students working on the same project, but by experiencing all the challenges and joys of a productive field season, we became both an unstoppable duo and great friends. I'm excited to pursue some of the research ideas we have developed in Zambia together. Lastly, for anyone who has not yet stepped foot on the African continent, this is my 5 star recommendation. It turns out Africa is huge and offers so much to the new traveller: the diverse cultures, the wildlife, and spectacular landscapes. I've only seen small parts of 3 countries, but I'm obsessed now. Africa will be high on my list for travelling the rest of my life, and I will do everything I can to get family and friends to experience it as well. Kyle Woodward.

[deutsche-seehund]

29/05/2017

Somewhere outside Namibia

The past few days seemed to have passed so quickly, yet at the same time going through it, it felt like it would take forever to go by. We arrived at our first port, Walvis Bay – Namibia, on the 26th of May morning, only to be told to go to anchorage because reasons. So we basically anchored off at Anchorage number 3 or whatever it was called, because there wasnt anyone there save for this one other multi purpose who seemed to have only 4 containers loaded. 1 on each corner of the upper deck/ hatch covers (2 forward, port and starboard and 2 in front of accomodation, also port and starboard). Anyway, we spent the rest of the day resting up after dropping anchor (9 on deck) because once we berthed it was all hands on deck. For the AB and OS at least anyway. I was relegated to gangway watch from 1730 to 2330, and conversely 0530 to 1130. But prior to my first gangway watch, i was stuck in the ship office with chief answering to the beck and call of the various parties boarding the ship. Immigrations, customs, port inspectors, police, health inspectors etc etc. Sometimes it feels like we are at their mercy. They can just call for you like calling some waiter or waitress at a restuarant.

“You, come here. I want a copy of your ship particulars, NIL list, stores decleration, crew list, vaccination list.” and barely a few minutes later after having to sort through what seemed like a million pieces of paper locating all these documents he calls again and asks where are the papers. All this while i have to serve him with a smile water and soft drinks. I guess thats the price we must pay for doing what we do.

Also, i had my first taste of the 'compliments' system. The immigration officers (if i remember correctly) asked chief about certain 'presents'. With a sheepish look he replied to hold on for a moment while he checked if there was anything. Eventually we handed over a carton of cigarettes to them. That was the only instance i saw at this port because i had to go start my duty at the gangway.  

The stevedores are another group of people entirely. This port didnt seem too bad, but there was this one guy that kept trying to get things from me/us. Water, some form of drinks, cigarettes. Hell he even wanted my boiler suit and jacket. Also quite surprising some other guy asked me for our ship's pass holder, which is to say the plastic holder and lanyard. He said it was good to hold his port pass. Well, i had more in the ship office, but they were spares for us and in the pass box i didnt have any so i just said thats all we have and sorry.

What i dont understand throughout this first stay, and for sure all the future stays in ports is, that why do people want to take things from the ships when they, rightfully (or not) should be giving us things because we are out at sea with no chance of resupply till we get to a port. I was told stories that inspectors would come on board and take cartons of juices, yes cartons, because they never had it before or they like the taste or whatever clown reasons they have. I mean, is it really fair to people on the ship? You take our provisions and other things and what are we left with when we leave port? Especially when we are not resupplying at that port. We go out to sea with reduced food and drink for ourselves? If we had to go back to Singapore from Walvis Bay, lets say (because thats the journey i know, since i just did it) its 22 days or so out in the open sea. And we run out of food? Drinks? Then again thats just my thinking. Who am i anyway? Im just a cadet on a ship for the first time.

Anyway enough of that. The 3 days we spent at port was both long and short, as i have mentioned. It feels short now that we've set sail again (and that i finally feel a bit more rested to sit down and spend time writing these things out), but standing at the gangway doing duty for 6 hours straight felt like an eternity. And thats all there was for my port stay. 6 hours on duty, 6 hours rest. Which usually meant sleeping, no matter what was the time. I didnt get to go out on shore because no one from my 'shift' wanted to go. So i can safely say that the furthest ive been in Namibia was the 4th step on my gangway from my ship.

Also, whoever said that Africa is hot, should actually go to africa. At least the southern part. It was so cold my goodness. It was below 15 degrees everyday we were there, and dropped to anything from 12 to 14 degrees at night. Which isnt so bad actually, except for the fact that the wind will absolutely kill you if you dont dress warmly. Which for us meant long johns, boiler suit and thick jackets. The first night, where i did not have my jacket was the absolute worst night of them all. The wind was relentless in its battering and i had to resort to hiding in the space between the watertight door and inner door to the ships accomodation area. It wasnt that bad in the day, with the sun warming up the air a bit. But i still wore the jacket anyway, simply for the fact that i can hide from the winds this way. Also, it was really foggy/misty, like everyday. Usually clears around noon-ish or so, then picks up again at night. I would delve into meteorology but ill spare everyone and myself included for trying to think about the causes.

For the port itself, it was quite a small port i think. I mean, you cant compare it to Singapore/Shanghai/any top 5 ports you want to put here, but still it feels smaller than what i would have expected it to be. There were maybe like 20 berths in total? And even the cranes are general purpose, none of them were specially fitted for containers. So that meant that if you were unloading containers first, they would attach this special fixture onto the chain block of the crane and when in position, the stevedores would make sure that the container was firmly attached before lifting it off the ship and onto the jetty. Even then, it didnt look anything like what was happening in Singapore (ive been into pasir panjang thrice now. Basically there would be the trailer waiting to pick up the container straight off the crane and drive off, with the next one waiting behind). Instead the container was lifted off the ship and onto the jetty straight away, and just before placing it on the jetty, the stevedores would again remove the twist locks from the bottom section of the containers (twist locks are for holding the container in place while at sea. Its basically a locking mechanism that makes sure that the container stays in place). Then after they check the container number and stuff, they would get another vehicle, like a special forklift cum crane thing that would pick it up and place it onto a trailer that basically just arrived from wherever. In singapore, this process would be maybe 5 minutes start to finish. Here its essentially double the time at least. Then once all the containers that are supposed to be unloaded are unloaded, the crane brings the chain block down to the jetty level, and the stevedores remove the attachment and replaces it with a suitable replacement as to what cargo would be picked up next, i.e. Slings, chain slings, hooks etc etc for picking up the bulk/general cargo. We unloaded quite a bit of cargo here. We unloaded all of the containers on number 4 hatch, and i think some from number 2 hatch as well, and basically emptied out hold 4. We also did some sketchy balls to the walls discharging from hatch 2. Because there was cargo on the deck/hatch cover, on the tween deck and also in the lower hold of number 2. Luckily they were all on the forward part. So we opened up hatch 2 forward part after discharging the cargo on the deck, then discharged the cargo on the tween deck forward in number 2, then removed the pontoon, and then discharged the cargo from the lower hold forward section also. It was pretty risky as there were trucks and some transformers in the hold, to be precise it was 16 trucks. Dont ask me about number of transformers, i dont know. Anyway from the cargo we are carrying, it seems a lot of it is being used to build a power plant and also for construction (trucks w/ trailers). I am quite happy to be a part of this industry for this reason.

We may not be directly involved, but we somewhat enable countries to grow because they are able to get the goods that they need to progress. It may seem somewhat abstract, like what has a shipping company, whose interest is making the most money out of every space they can find on the ship, got to do with the growth of a country?

Chief said this to me before, and i had somewhat similar thoughts about it before (its probably not exactly what he said, since this was like one or two weeks ago and it was about cargo damage or something);

If the cargo doesnt get to its destination on time or in working order, we are affecting someone's livelihood directly or indirectly. We are part of a long chain of a process, and no matter how small it may seem that it is, what happens to the cargo when we are transporting it affects what will happen when we deliver it to the cargo owner.

If the cargo owner is shipping a single transformer that is critical for the project, and it gets damaged because of loading/unloading/sea spray/water leaking into cargo hold or literally anything else that can damage it, it would directly affect its ability to carry out the job. If this transformer was all thats left to power up a whole town or something (dont hang me on this i actually am not sure what a transformer's purpose is), and because it was damaged, it means that the town would not get the power that it needs.

So yeah. Thats one of the reasons why I wanted to do this as well. As small and abstract a part as it may seem, I can take solace to the fact that I am part of a global industry that connects and enables people from different countries to work together.

At least on this multipurpose vessel. Im not too sure about containers yet.

Anyway when we were in port, 2nd officer went out on shore leave and i think at the request of the captain, purchased sim cards enough for 16 people or something like that. The cards gave us 1gb of data and like 500mb or something for dedicated whatsapp messages. And smses, but who uses sms nowadays right /shrug.

So we were able to actually contact people at home and stuff. Which was nice. It helped a lot during the ungodly long hours of duty. I spent most of my data i think downloading my spotify playlists and using instagram, telegram, facebook and stuff. I still had like 300mb of whatsapp data but i dont really use whatsapp that much. I spent a lot of the data sending some pictures and videos that i had that werent already transferred to my laptop.

And that's that. My 3 days in my first ever port in this new journey. Hopefully the time would pass a bit faster now that we are getting into the swing of things.

Im in the process of deciding a new tumblr url, for the purposes of this journal or whatever you would call it.

Now that im back in the open sea with no data, i cant translate properly into german since my german is absolutely shit for all, but i was thinking of salty sea dog, which i guess would translate to something like saltzliches see hund. Oh well. Or i could just go with Deutsche See Hund. Im still deciding.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

26th January >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on

Luke 10:1-9 for the Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops  

    and

Mark 3:20-21 for Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time.

Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops  

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 10:1-9

Your peace will rest on that man

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 10:1-9

The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his pay. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

Reflections (5)

(i) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Timothy and Titus were two of Paul’s closest co-workers. Paul was arguably the most influential member of the early church. He was hugely influential in his own time, and his letters have shaped the life of the church down the centuries. Yet, for all his significance, he was keenly aware of himself as dependent on the gifts of others. He had many co-workers, men and women, on whom he depended. They were as significant for him as he was for them. He didn’t simply have a working relationship with people like Timothy and Titus; he had a sense of real communion with them. That comes across with regard to Timothy in today’s first reading. Paul writes to him, ‘always I remember you in my prayers’. His communion with Timothy found expression in prayerful remembrance. As he remembered his associates in prayer, they must have remembered Paul in prayer. We have an image here in microcosm of what the church is called to be. As members of the church, we are in communion with each other, a communion which is the fruit of the Spirit. One of the ways in which we give expression to this communion is by praying for each other. Like Paul, we are aware of our dependence on others within the church. Within this communion of faith and love, we each have something to give to each other and much to receive from each other. We are members of one body, the body of Christ, and, like the physical members of a human body, we are mutually interdependent. In the gospel reading, Jesus did not send out the seventy two, one at a time, although that might have been the best way to cover the widest possible area. He sent the seventy two out two by two, in thirty six groups of two. Jesus wanted no one to work alone; he knew that each would be dependent on the other. He also encouraged each pair to become dependent on those to whom they preached the gospel. They were not to bring a haversack of food because they were to rely for hospitality on those to whom they preached. Today’s feast of Timothy and Titus reminds us that the Lord can work most powerfully through the many, rather than the one, provided the many are in a communion of faith and love.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

In the first reading this morning for the feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Paul begins by telling Timothy that he always remembers him in his prayers. Paul was very convinced of the value of intercessory prayer. He frequently told people that he remembered them in his prayers. We all appreciate being remembered in other people’s prayers, and other people appreciate it when we let them know that we are praying for them. This is one of the ways we give expression to what the church calls the communion of saints, the deep bond between all the baptized, including the bond between those of us on our pilgrim way and those who have come to the end of their earthly pilgrimage. It is because of that aspect of the communion of saints that we pray not only for the living but also for the dead. In praying for each other, we are being reminded and reminding each other that we need each other on our journey towards God. We need each other’s prayers; we also need each other’s witness. In our first reading Paul praises Timothy’s sincere faith but he reminds him that his faith has its roots in the faith of his mother and of his grandmother. We need the faith of other if our own faith is to endure. Our efforts to live the faith and to witness to the Lord make it easier for everyone else to do so as well.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Yesterday was the feast of the conversion of Saint Paul. Today is the feast of two of Paul’s closest associates and co-workers, Timothy and Titus. Paul needed associates to do his work. Jesus too needed associates to do his work. That is why we find him in today’s gospel reading appointing seventy two and sending them out ahead of him; it wasn’t enough just to appoint the twelve. Indeed, as he sends out the 72, he asks them to pray to the Lord of the harvest for even more workers for the Lord’s harvest. Indeed, the Lord needs us all; we are all called to be his co-workers, proclaiming by our lives that, in the words of Jesus this morning, ‘the kingdom of God is very near to you’. If the Lord needs us to share in his work, we, in turn, need each other’s support if we are to respond to that call of the Lord. In the first reading, Paul refers to the faith of Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Without their faith, Timothy would not have been the man of faith he was. We can all point to parents, grandparents and various other companions on the pilgrimage of life, without whom we would not have come to faith in the Lord. As Paul needed Timothy and Titus, and Jesus needed many workers, we need each other’s witness if the gift that God gave us in baptism is to be fanned into a living flame, in the words of today’s first reading. We ask the Lord to increase our faith so that we can be a support to one another in the living out of our baptismal calling.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Today we celebrate the feast of two of Paul’s most important co-workers. Paul was the great apostle to the Gentiles, but he was very aware of how dependant he was on the support of people like Timothy and Titus. Paul never saw himself as a type of ‘lone ranger’. It was Paul who gave us that image of the church as the body of Christ with a great diversity of members, each with their own gift of the Spirit, each member with a vital contribution to make to the life of the church and at the same time dependent upon the contribution of everyone else in the church. This is how Paul saw his ministry. He was aware of his own gifts that the Lord was asking him to share with others and he was equally aware of his dependence upon the gifts of others. Paul’s vision of church was anticipated in Jesus’ own practice. Jesus did not work alone. Shortly after he began his public ministry, he called people to be with him, to share in his work, to become his presence to others. This morning’s gospel reading reveals Jesus’ awareness that the rich harvest of the Lord needed many labourers, all of them working together. When he sent out people in his name, he did not send them out alone, but, as the gospel reading tells us, he sent them out two by two. Jesus and Paul laboured with others; we too are asked to do the same. We serve the Lord of the harvest in communion with each other, ready to share our gifts that the Spirit has given us, and open to the gifts of others that the Spirit has given them. We follow the Lord and work in his name together, ready to give the Lord to each other and to receive the Lord from each other. At the beginning of the first reading, Paul reminds Timothy that he has received the gift faith from others, from his mother, Eunice, and, before her, from his grandmother, Lois. Paul then calls upon him to give to others the gift of faith that he has received from those before him, not in a spirit of timidity but in a spirit of courageous witness. This is a message we all need to hear today.

And/Or

(v) Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

Today we celebrate the memorial of two of Saint Paul’s closest associates, Timothy and Titus. In today’s first reading, Paul addresses Timothy as a third-generation believer. He refers to the faith that came first to live in his grandmother Lois, and then in his mother Eunice, and then in Timothy himself. It seems that Timothy caught the faith in his home. The same is true for many of us. Our own faith owes a great deal to the faith of our parents and grandparents. The same could not be said of Paul. His parents and grandparents were Jewish. It was his life changing encounter with the risen Lord that brought him to faith in Jesus, probably leaving him at odds with his parents and grandparents. Both Timothy’s and Paul’s experience reminds us that the Lord can touch the lives of people through the faith of family members, but he can also touch their lives in other, less conventional, ways. The Lord is always reaching out to us in one way or another. In the gospel reading, he reached out to the people of his time by sending out a very large group of seventy two disciples with the message, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’. Jesus’ words to the seventy-two suggest that he was aware that this attempt on his part to touch the lives of a bigger number would not always be successful, ‘I am sending you out like lambs among wolves’. Yet, the Lord was never put off by people’s resistance. Whether people accepted or rejected him, it remained the case that ‘the kingdom of God is very near to you’. The Lord is always near to us, and never tires of seeking us out and calling out to us to come to him. He can do this in a whole variety of ways.

-------------------

Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time  

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Mark 3:20-21

Jesus' relatives were convinced he was out of his mind

Jesus went home, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.

Gospel (USA)

Mark 3:20-21

They said, "He is out of his mind.”

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Reflections (3)

(i) Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

Mark suggests strongly in the course of his gospel that a lot of people did not really understand Jesus during his public ministry. One of the questions that keeps coming up in one form or another is, ‘Who then is this?’ In this morning’s very short gospel reading, it is clear that even Jesus’ relatives do not understand who Jesus is or what he is about. When Jesus’ workload prevents him from eating properly, Mark tells us that his relatives set out to take charge of him, because many were saying that he was out of his mind. They would go on to learn on that occasion that Jesus was not open to being taken charge of by his relatives. The only one who was in charge of Jesus was God. Jesus was doing God’s work, and part of that work was to form a new family, a family of disciples, of brothers and sisters of Jesus, sons and daughters of God. Jesus’ own natural family, his relatives, would have to come to terms with that. We are all part of that new family; we are all the fruit of Jesus’ work, a work that people struggled hard to understand at the time. For us who are part of this new family, the question, ‘Who then is this?’ remains a relevant question. We are always struggling to know more fully the Son of God whose brothers and sisters we have become.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading from Mark must be one of the shortest gospel readings in the liturgical year. Yet it is very thought provoking. It declares that Jesus’ relatives set out to take charge of Jesus and bring him back to Nazareth because they were convinced that he was out of his mind. By this time in Mark’s gospel Jesus had incurred the hostility of the religious authorities by his teaching and his behaviour, by his eating with tax collectors and sinners, by declaring himself to be the Son of Man who has authority to forgive sins, by working on the Sabbath to heal the sick, and so on. Perhaps Jesus’ family felt that he was not being very wise, that he was behaving in ways that were foolhardy and risky, and they wanted to preserve and protect him. Indeed, Jesus’ teaching and behaviour would eventually put him on a Roman cross. Yet, Jesus remained faithful to his calling to proclaim God’s kingdom in word and deed, regardless of the personal consequences for himself. He would not be deflected from that, not even by well meaning relatives. He placed God’s purpose for the well-being of others, both material and spiritual, before all else. This is what is referred to in the beatitudes as purity of heart, that purity of intention which seeks God’s will and God’s kingdom before all else. He calls on us to follow him in putting the purpose of God and the well being of others before our own comfort and preservation. That does not come easy to us; our instincts can be more like those of Jesus’ relatives than of Jesus himself. We need the help of the Spirit if we are to be as pure in heart as Jesus was.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

This very short gospel reading from Mark gives us a little glimpse of how Jesus was misunderstood within his own family. Jesus is busily engaged in his ministry and his family come down from Nazareth to Capernaum to take charge of him because they believe he is out of his mind. A few chapters later in Mark’s gospel Jesus is rejected in his home town of Nazareth and in response to that experience Jesus says, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house’. Jesus was taking a path in life that his family did not approve of. Tension within families is something we have all experienced at some time or other. This was a dimension of human living that Jesus also experienced. He entered fully into the human condition, knowing from within its struggles, its tensions, its misunderstandings and the resulting pain for all concerned. He can walk compassionately with us through those experiences because he has been there himself. Jesus did not always go where his family wanted him to go because he was subject to a greater authority in his life, and that was God’s authority. God’s purpose drove him and he was faithful to that purpose even when it brought him into conflict with those for whom he had the strongest feelings of natural affection. We, his followers, are called to remain true to the Lord’s direction, his guidance, his vision and values, even if that means for us what it meant for him, finding ourselves at odds with those who are nearest and dearest to us.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: sjtbclontarf@eircom.net or  frmartinhogan@gmail.com

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[globlenet-blog]

What Happens When A Terrorist Attacks A Trump Property?

https://clearwatergolfclub.com/what-happens-when-a-terrorist-attacks-a-trump-property/

What Happens When A Terrorist Attacks A Trump Property?

The Long Run Based On Trump

Mix-published from TomDispatch.com

Are you able to doubt which were inside a dystopian age, even when remained as four days from Jesse Trump entering the Oblong Office? Never within our lifetimes are we experienced such vivid previews of the items unfettered capitalism will probably mean within an ever more unequal country, since its form of 1% politics has elevated towards the pinnacle of power a bizarre millionaire and the basket of deplorables. Im referring, obviously, to not his supporters but to his picks for that greatest posts within the land. Included in this are a number of generals prepared to bring us right into a new set of crusades along with a crew of billionaires and multimillionaires ready to make America their own again.

Its already a stunningly depressing moment also it hasnt even begun. At the minimum, it calls upon average folks to increase towards the occasion. Which means mustering a dystopian imagination that suits the age in the future.

I probably have that youre as capable like me of making bleak scenarios for future years of the country (to not talk about the earth). But simply to obtain the ball moving around the eve from the holidays, allow me to provide you with a handful of my very own dystopian fantasies, centered on the possibility actions of President Jesse Trump.

There’s already a massive literature practically a library of writings on the unique president-elects potential conflicts of great interest. He is doing, in the end, own, or lease his name to, various towers, elite courses, clubs, hotels, condos, residences, and you never know what else in a minimum of 18 to 20 countries. That name of his, almost always in impressive gold lettering, soars to striking heights in foreign skies over the planet. Nowadays, actually, the Trump brand and it is conflicts are difficult to flee, from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Dubai to Scotland, India, and also the very heart of Manhattan Island. There, within my own hometown, at a price to local taxpayers much like me in excess of a million bucks each day, law enforcement are protecting him in a major way, as the Secret Service and also the military add their heft towards the growing armed camp in mid-Manhattan. They’re, obviously, protecting the Trump Tower the one out of which, in June 2015, to Neil Youngs Rockin within the Free World, he rode that escalator into the presidential campaign, promising to construct an excellent wall, lock-out all Mexican rapists, making America great again.

That tower on busy Fifth Avenue has become fronted by dump trucks full of sand (to assist safeguard the Republican presidential nominee from potentially explosive attacks) and, using the safety from the president and the family in your mind, the key Services are apparently thinking about renting out a few floors from the building at a price towards the American citizen of $3 million yearly, which may, obviously, go into the coffers of the Trump company. (Hey, no conflict of great interest there and have no idea mention the term kleptocracy!) All this will unquestionably make sure that New Yorks most Trump-worthy building, also known as the White-colored House North, is going to be stored reasonably protected from intruders, attackers, suicide bombers, and so on. But a lot of the imperial Trump brand all over the world might not be quite as lucky. Elsewhere, pads will normally be private hires, not government employees, and also the money readily available for any security plans will, consequently, be much more modest.

With rare exceptions, the attention from the media has centered on just one facet of Jesse Trumps conflict-of-interest issues (and they’re rampant), to not talk about his urge to duck what he may do about the subject, or dodge and weave to avoid a guaranteed news conference to go over them and also the role of his children in the presidency and the companies. The emphasis has generally been in the sorts of issues that would arise from the businessman having a branded name visiting power and benefiting from, or selection in line with the money to make from, his presidency. Media reports have generally zeroed in, for example, about how foreign leaders yet others might affect national policy by basically promising to enhance Trump or his children. They set of diplomats who feel obliged to remain at his new hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue just lower the road in the White-colored House or foreign heads of condition reaching out to him via his partners within their lands or Trump brand deals which are now going through in a variety of countries because of his election victory.

The main focus is nearly almost always regarding how to deal with a president who, not less than the following 4 years, could are in position to profit in your mind-boggling ways from his various functions at work (or just in the position he holds, even when he is doing nothing). Making no mistake, that issue might indeed edge Trumps presidency in to the truly dodgy, not saying paradigm breaking, with regards to a brief history from the White-colored House. But dont call that dystopian.

What couple of people (the key Service aside) are planning on may be the ways that conflicts of great interest could take in the new president by threatening to not enrich, but impoverish him (and the children). Mind lower that path and trust me youre instantly in dystopian territory.

Heres a predicament for you personally:

Its April 1, 2017. Jesse J. Trump has been around office for under 2 . 5 several weeks whenever a nattily outfitted businessman seems to enter Trump Towers Istanbul, which soars in to the skyline from the Turkish capital using the name from the new American president impressively done in gold letters atop certainly one of its towers. Once within the lobby, that man, a messenger in the Islamic Condition who managed to get with the complexs private security screening having a suicide vest shackled by his body, blows themself up, killing a doorman, a burglar screener, and numerous residents, while wounding twelve others.

Obviously, Ive never visited Trump Towers Istanbul, and so i dont figure out what safety measures have established yourself there in the middle of that already explosive capital, but because of the Trump projects scattered all over the world, you can pick your personal branded building, resort, or hotel. Which initial explosion would certainly be considered a start. Remember it only cost Osama bin Laden a reported $400,000 to stage the 9/11 attacks and lure the Plant administration into some trillion-dollar unsuccessful wars that will help spread terror movements over the Greater Middle East and Africa. So don’t for any second think the leadership of ISIS (or similar groups) wont see the benefits of delivering such messengers inexpensively to obtain underneath the oh-so-thin-skin from the new American president and embroil him in god knows what.

Picture this too: its 2018. China and also the U.S. are in loggerheads over the Taiwan strait, pressures and feelings are rising again in northern Africa, where ongoing American military assaults in Libya and Somalia only have elevated the pre-Trumpian chaos, plus the heartlands from the Middle East where, despite massive American bombing campaigns, ISIS, once more a guerilla group without territory, causes chaos. Additionally, in Afghanistan, 17 years after Americas second Afghan War started, the U.S.-backed government in Kabul is tottering when confronted with new Taliban, ISIS, and al-Qaeda offensives. Massive waves of immigrants all these unsettled lands still endanger an angry Europe, and everywhere anti-Americanism is rising, not inside a generalized sense, but focused in rage around the American president and the much-beloved brand.

Imagine too as it were growing demonstrations, protests, and so on, all targeted at various towers, clubs, resorts, and condominiums within the Trump stable. And think about precisely what a mixture of threatened terror attacks and roiling demonstrations, in addition to growing anger within the Trump name over the Islamic world and elsewhere, might mean towards the profitability from the presidents brand. Now, consider the Trump towers in Pune, India, or even the 75-story tower in Mumbai, or even the six-star luxury resort in Indonesia, or even the tower rising in Manilas Century City (each a higher-finish Trump-labeled project likely to come online soon and all sorts of, except Pune, at past sites of devastating terror bombings). What’s going to their proprietors do if prospective buyers, fearing for his or her comfort, health, or perhaps lives, start to flee? What goes on once the hotels cant maintain their rooms filled, the condominiums lose their bidders, and also the Trump brand all of a sudden starts to empty out?

There’s, obviously, no be certain that this type of factor may happen, however if you simply pause and think about the possibility, it is not difficult to imagine. Next, consider what you know about Jesse Trump, a guy inordinately happy with his logo and sensitive beyond belief. Now, attempt to imagine as well as in Trumpian terms were speaking in regards to a truly dystopian world here what American foreign policy might seem like if, among the fears of resort-goers, golfers, business types, and so on, that brand started to tank worldwide, if raising individuals giant gold letters over any city immediately ensured either mind-boggling problems or staggering security costs (and, at least, a existence of TSA-style lines for consumers).

IMG 1 TT

Indeed, if the Trump brand starts to go belly up, knowing what we do about the president-elect, we would be almost certain to see a foreign policy increasingly devoted to saving his brand and under those circumstances in the words of former Condition Department official Peter Van Buren what might fail?

Now, that is dystopian territory.

Assassin-in-Chief

Allow me to add another dystopian fantasy as to the clearly happens to be an endless string of these. As it were, lets consider the subject of presidential assassinations. With that I do not mean assassinated presidents like Lincoln subsequently, McKinley, or Kennedy. Things I are thinking about may be the modern presidential urge to assassinate others.

Since a minimum of Dwight Eisenhower, American presidents will be in the camp ground from the assassins. With Eisenhower, it had been the CIAs plot against Congolese Pm Patrice Lumumba with John Kennedy (and the brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy), it had been Cubas Fidel Castro with Richard Nixon (and the Secretary of Condition Henry Kissinger), it had been the killing of Chilean President Salvador Allende inside a U.S.-backed military coup, that was even the first 9/11 attack (September 11, 1973).

In 1976, within the wake of Watergate, President Gerald Ford would outlaw political murder by executive order, a ban reaffirmed by subsequent presidents (although Taxation did direct U.S. Air Pressure planes to explosive device Libyan autocrat Muammar Gaddafis home). Because this new century started, however, the sexiest high-tech killer around, the appropriately named Predator drone, could be equipped with Hellfire missiles and sent into action within the fight against terror, creating the potential of presidential assassinations on the scale nothing you’ve seen prior imagined. Its subsequent missions threatened to produce a Terminator form of the world.

In the behest of two presidents, George W. Plant and Obama, a number of such automatic assassins would enter in the past unique terrain as global hunter-killers outside official American war zones. They as well as their successors, Reaper drones (as with the Harsh Reaper), could be dispatched on mass murder sprees that haven’t yet finish which were largely organized within the White-colored House itself with different regularly updated, presidentially approved kill list.

In this manner, obama, his aides, and the advisors grew to become judge, jury, and executioner for terror suspects (though often enough any man, lady, or child who been nearby) midway all over the world. When I wrote in 2012, along the way, the commander-in-chief grew to become a lasting assassin-in-chief. Now, presidents were given the job of overseeing the removal of countless individuals other lands with a feeling of legality granted them in secret memos through the lawyers that belongs to them Justice Department. Discuss dystopian! George Orwell could have been awed.

So with regards to assassinations, i was already on dark terrain before Jesse Trump thought to ask running for president. But provide the man his due. Little observed by anybody, he might be developing the opportunity of a brand new type of presidential murder not in distant lands but the following in your own home. Begin with his outstanding tweeting skills and also the staggering 17.2 million supporters of whatever he tweets, including numerous people of whats nicely known as the alt-right. And trust me, thats one hell of the audience to awaken, something The Jesse has proven he can perform with alacrity.

In this way, you can already consider him as a type of Twitter hit man. Certainly, his capacity to lash in 140 figures isn’t any small factor. Lately, for example, he all of a sudden tweeted a critique of arms-maker Lockheed-Martin for creating probably the most costly weapons system ever, the F-35 fighter jet. (The F-35 program and price has run out of control. Vast amounts of dollars will be saved on military [along with other] purchases after The month of january 20th.) The companys stock value quickly required a $4 billion hit which, I have to admit, I discovered amusing, not dystopian.

Also, he appears to possess been inflammed with a Chicago Tribune column that centered on Boeing Chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburgs criticisms of his comments on worldwide trade and China, where that company does significant business. Muilenburg recommended, mildly enough, he back away in the 2016 anti-trade rhetoric and perceived threats to punish other nations with greater tariffs or charges. In reaction, The Jesse quickly took out after the organization, with the cancellation of the Boeing agreement for a brand new high-tech form of Air Pressure One, the presidents plane. (Boeing is creating a completely new 747 Air Pressure One for future presidents, but pricing is unmanageable, greater than $4 billion. Cancel order!) That companys stock similarly required a success.

But giant military-industrial corporations can, obviously, defend themselves. So no pity there. With regards to regular citizens, however, its another matter. Take Chuck Johnson, president of the Indiana U . s . Steelworkers local. He disputed Trump on the number of jobs obama-elect had lately saved at Carrier Corporation. Considerably less, he was adamant (quite precisely), than Trump claimed. That clearly bruised obama-elects giant but remarkably fragile ego. Before he understood what hit him, Johnson found themself the item of the Trumpian twitter barrage. (Chuck Johnson, who’s President of U . s . Steelworkers 1999, has been doing a dreadful job representing workers. No question companies flee country!) The following factor he understood, abusive and threatening calls were flowing in such things as were coming for you personally or, as Johnson described it, Nothing that states theyre gonna kill me, but, you realize, you best keep an eye on your children. We all know what vehicle you drive. Things along individuals lines.

Last year, an 18-year-old university student were built with a similar experience after you have up in a campaign event and telling Trump he wasn’t any friend to women. The candidate quickly continued the Twitter attack, labelling her arrogant, and subsequently factor she understood, because the Washington Publish described it, her phone started ringing with callers departing threatening messages which were frequently sexual anyway. Her Facebook and email inboxes full of similar messages. As her addresses circulated on social networking and her photo exhibited in the news, she fled the place to find hide.

About this basis, it is not hard to create a conjecture. Sooner or later in Trumps presidency, he’ll strike out by tweet in a private citizen (Sad!) who got under his skin. In reaction, some unhinged person in what could be regarded as his future alt-drone pressure will get a gun (which so much more is going to be a lot closer at hands within the NRA-ascendant chronilogical age of Trump). Then, within the fashion from the fellow who made the decision to self-investigate the pizza shop in Washington that thanks, fake news was said to be the middle of a Hillary Clinton child-sex-slave ring, he’ll go self-investigate personally and armed. In Pizzagate, the man, now under arrest, fired his assault rifle harmlessly for the reason that restaurant, whose owner had already received more than his share of abusive phone messages and dying threats. It’s very easy enough to assume, however, quite another consequence of this kind of event. For the reason that situation, Jesse Trump may have given murder by drone a brand new meaning. And really should which happen, what would be the effects from the first presidential Twitter hit job within our history?

Remember, obviously, that, because of George W. Plant and Obama, Trump can also get all individuals CIA drones for he desires to knock-off whoever he chooses in distant lands. But because a possible Twitter assassin, rousing his alt-drones towards the attack, he’d achieve quite a different type of American first.

A Note for The World

And thats simply to edge my way to return world of Jesse Trump, that is, obviously, going to become all of our universes. I believe that his will grow to be the screw-you presidency ever. And trust me, which will end up being dystopian beyond compare or will i mean beyond despair?

Go ahead and take most dystopian issue of: global warming. In recent days, Trump has mumbled sweet nothings towards the put together New You are able to Occasions staff, swearing that hes keeping an open mind with regards to the hyperlink between humanity along with a warming planet. Hes also sweet-talked Al Gore right in the middle of Trump Tower. (I’d a extended and incredibly productive session using the president-elect, stated Gore afterward. It had been a sincere look for regions of mutual understanding… I discovered it an very interesting conversation, and also to be ongoing.) Other things Jesse Trump might be, he’s, first of all, a salesman, meaning he understands how to make a sale and charm nearly anybody, if needed, and reality be damned.

If, however, you need to gauge his actual feelings about them, individuals outer borough sentiments of his youthful years as he obviously increased up feeling one-lower to New Yorks elite, then don’t pay focus on what hes saying and check out what hes doing. On global warming, its screw-you devastating completely and visual payback towards the many vegetables, liberals, and individuals simply concerned about the fate of the world for his or her grandchildren who didnt election for or support him.

The Protector lately did a rundown on his selections for both his transition team and key posts in the administration getting anything related to energy or even the warming from the planet. It found climate deniers and thus-known as skeptics everywhere. Actually, a minimum of nine senior people of his transition team, reported Oliver Milman of this paper, deny fundamental scientific knowning that the earth is warming because of the burning of carbon along with other human activity.

Combine this using the president-elects urge to produce American non-renewable fuels in ways nobody formerly has and you’ve got a note that couldnt be clearer or even more devastating for future years of the livable planet. Consider it as being so dystopian, so potentially publish-apocalyptic, it makes 1984 seem like a nursery tale.

The content couldnt be clearer. If I needed to place it in only five words, they’d be:

Trump to Earth: Drop Dead.

And indeed, happy holidays!

Tom Engelhardt is really a co-founding father of the American Empire Project and also the author of The U . s . States of Fear in addition to a good reputation for the Cold War, The End of Victory Culture. He’s a fellow from the Nation Institute and runs TomDispatch.com. His latest book is Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and come along on Facebook. Browse the newest Dispatch Book, John Feffers dystopian novel Splinterlands, in addition to Nick TursesNext Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

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