North America

I will be back on the continental North American soil today - it's been a while (at least on the northern part of the continent)! Plus pray that I don't freeze my butt off as the weather reports have not been in my favor. If regular Canadians are cold, then I'm in trouble, having experienced summer weather since April. But I am looking forward to a white Christmas. Even with decorations out, Christmas just doesn't feel right being in a warm climate. But don't worry Panama, Costa Rica, and South Africa you will not be forgotten - as I wear layers and layers of clothing to keep my body warm, I will remember you!!

Time Traveler

To all of you who are praying for my safe and speedy arrival back home, PLEASE CONTINUE! As if 6 days of travel was not enough, I have literally gone back in time and will experience December 12, 2009 for about 48 hours instead of just the regular 24, which means I now have 7 days of travel!

i carry your heart with me

Continuing from yesterday's blog:

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

ee cummings

As One Chapter Closes. . .

As I travel from continent to continent to continent, through time zone after time zone after time zone, one chapter of my life closes while the next waits to begin. Almost 9 months away - a bit of a birthing process in my life. There has been much laughter, many tears; excitement and struggle. Some experiences and the people I've met along the way are beyond any picture I could take - maybe even beyond the words I will try to put together to explain how they have affected me. God's timing is perfect and in deciding to start this adventure last April, He already knew just how truly blessed I would be now as I head back home.

When I left home, I let my family, friends and supporters know that they would be journeying along with me, in my heart. And as I head home, I now extend the same invitation to my new friends in Panama, Costa Rica and South Africa. As I tell your stories, as I show your pictures, as I live differently (a different LaDawn is returning to Canada than the one who left), you are journeying with me, in my heart.

Half Way There

I'm blogging from Auckland, so I've made it almost half way around the globe. Too bad that I haven't flown half of my flights yet! Clint, Manuela and Celina drove me to the airport and I had a wonderful send off from them. I've had a lot of time to think and pray and just be still along the way, which I'm so thankful for. I don't think any amount of time will prepare me for the temperatures back home, which will be about a 50 - 60 degree drop from what I've left!

The Longest Road Home

I know this just looks like a picture of a world map, but what you must do is click on it and view the enlarged version. You will see my pathway home, which has got to be one for the record books! I am flying over half way around the world to be able to pick up my luggage in Kona and then finally return to home sweet home after almost 9 months away.

This is an incredibly bittersweet time for me - so many hard goodbyes out here but yet so many wonderful hello's waiting for me back home. It will be the longest road home in more ways than one!

“There are 2 ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk around the whole world till we come back to the same place.” G. K. Chesterton

Strangely Familiar

So I must stop sms-ing, standing in queue, and walking on the left side - it's time to start texting, standing in line and moving to the right again because home is within my sights! What are familiar sights around here will soon just be memories. But God has placed a special love in my heart for South Africa and it is my sincere hope to be able to return at another point in my life. Everyone out here is so concerned that I didn't see everything I should have, etc but I need some stuff to do next time!! And it will be so interesting to see what used to be familiar back home, now is different or strange - my mind doesn't even know where to start in that regard.

Ma's House

I was able to meet the greater Aspeling family yesterday when I was invited over to "Ma's House" for lunch (really I was fed all day long) and a relaxing afternoon. The open arms I experienced with Clint & Manuela were open even wider as I met Clint's mom (pictured below), aunt, his brother Brent & Brent's girlfriend Michelle. Every minute that I remain in South Africa makes it harder and harder to leave these beautiful people that have embraced me - a crazy Canadian who says "it's all good" WAY too much!

I think that my favorite moments, beyond the wonderful conversation and food of the day, were just how everyone, in their own unique way, loved on Celina throughout our time together. It blessed my heart so much - I can't imagine how much Celina was blessed.

Day of Remembrance

Today is Canada's National Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against Women. It corresponds to the anniversary of the Montreal massacre which took place on December 6, 1989. This year is the 20th anniversary of an event that took 14 women's lives - just because they were women. Had these women lived, they would be in their 40's now, probably working as engineers, which they were training for at the time of their deaths. Maybe some of them would have married and had children. We will never know.

The white ribbon campaign is usually reserved for men, but I urge you to get involved today. Wearing a white ribbon is a personal pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.

Punch Buggy - Red & Black

Going classy!

The Final Draw

I don't know how much of the 2010 Fifa World Cup being held in South Africa has made the news, but obviously it's big news around these parts. Today is the big announcement of the final draw of teams - who will play against who. Cape Town is buzzing with excitement - streets are closed (Long Street shown below with the stage being set up), celebrities like David Beckham have arrived, and the news crews are ready.

The World Cup has also put South Africa into the spotlight regarding human trafficking, as any such large event does these days. It is such an overwhelming problem and it feels like there are no solutions, but there are! Human trafficking is just the movement of people - the real issue comes in WHY those people are moved. It may be forced labor, prostitution, pornography and the list continues. If the demand for these issues is cut, then the supply too must be cut, thereby directly affecting the trafficking of people (modern day slavery, which globally generates the same or more money than the drug trade does currently). As I challenged the group of pastors I spoke to yesterday: NOW is the time to make a personal pledge not to COMMIT, CONDONE or REMAIN SILENT about these matters.

The Aspeling Family

I want to introduce you to the Aspeling family. There's Clint (from South Africa, though he can pull off a pretty good accent from any English-speaking country) and his wife Manuela (from Germany). They have a daughter, Celina, who was 2.5 (in 2004) when she fell into a pool and was without oxygen for 1/2 hour - but God had bigger plans for her and for this family. Manuela stays home to take care of Celina while Clint hits the pavement selling insurance.

I met them last week Sunday when I spoke at St. Martin's church and was invited to share at their cell group last Wednesday (and I joined them again yesterday). I don't know if you've ever met people, when after 1.5 weeks of knowing them, swear that you've known them your entire life, but that's this family to me. It's like a found long-lost siblings, half way around the world (and one of them, a different color than me!). I think it may actually be harder to say goodbye to them versus some of my fellow Trackers that I've journeyed with for these past 9 months - that's how I've connected with them and how special they are to me.

And that, in small part, is how I've been blessed over and over again here in South Africa. Though I'm not continuing on in the Track, I have NO DOUBT that God had specific plans and people for me to meet here. So I journey on again, a different LaDawn today than yesterday.

Check out Clint's blog at - http://mylifesjourneyfromglory2glory.blogspot.com/

Punch Buggy - Grey

It's official - I am not only living in a dog nation, but it's also a beetle nation. . .the VW bug variety!

World AIDS Day

Living on a continent like Africa where HIV and AIDS are such an overwhelming problem brings a different light to World AIDS Day. About 30% of the South African population is living with HIV. ONE of out every THREE people encountered on a daily basis. Many people don't go for testing or don't reveal their status or don't get the free medication made available because of the huge stigmas associated with the disease. They would rather DIE in silence than learn to LIVE with HIV.

I was at the high school this morning and an ad in the newspaper caught my eye. It was a picture of a girl with her eyes closed and half of the picture was in color; half in black and white. The only words were written up the picture, along the dividing line. On the colored half it said that a condom is only 0.02 mm thick (about the thickness of the dividing line in the picture). The black and white portion said that it could be the difference between life and death. I'm guessing that the ad's may look a little different where you are today for World AIDS Day.