Toilet conference opens in Delhi
By Sanjoy Majumder
BBC News, Delhi


A World Toilet Summit has opened in the Indian capital, Delhi, with more than 40 countries taking part.

The four-day meeting will examine solutions and technologies that can be used to provide a basic need for nearly half the world's population.

According to estimates, 2.6bn people around the world lack access to a hygienic toilet.

The United Nations hopes to halve this figure by 2015 as part of its millennium development goals.

In India alone, more than 700 million people have no access to toilets which have proper waste disposal systems.

'Familiar sight'

"It is as important an issue as anything," says Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh International, an NGO that promotes the use of low-cost toilets in India and is joint organiser of the summit.

"It is mostly the Asian, African and Latin American countries that lack basic sanitation. So that's what we will be discussing at the summit," he adds.

It is a sight familiar to anyone travelling around India by train.

Early morning, many Indian villagers head to the nearest railway track and squat by its side relieving themselves.

Others use their fields, the forests or any piece of open land that they can find.

Women are particular badly off - they either have to head out before dawn or in the night when it is relatively more private, but it means they are vulnerable to disease or even sexual assault.

The UN wants to remedy the situation by 2025.

But the problem is that it is quite expensive for most countries in the developing world to set up western-style toilets and sewage systems.

But there are alternatives.

Anita Jha, vice-president of Sulabh International explains, "We have several models of traditional Indian-style squat toilets. These range in cost from 700 to 3,000 rupees ($18 - $75) and also use very little water."

"That makes them very useful in countries with a water scarcity problem," she says.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7070494.stm

Published: 2007/10/31 07:17:29 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Saturday midnight update.....a non-philisophical post

(So I guess before I start, I'd just want to encourage anyone who reads this to keep thinking and praying about Burma, and keeping what's happening there in your conversations with others. The people who are working towards freedom desperately need international opinion to be with them.)

So today, as with most saturdays, I used the morning to catch up on the sleep that i'd missed during the previous week. This enables me to sleep only 4-5 hours a night mon-friday, and has pretty much been the system I've used for the past 5 years now....it's probably not the healthiest but it works.

After getting up and helping (just a little bit) to clean up the house and my room, I decided to get on my bike and find a garden centre. I'd been given directions by Dave from my church and I'd got them mixed up the saturday before, so this time, I was a bit more confident (armed with even more specific directions). I found a great big one at the top of this extremely large hill about 20 minutes cycle from my house. I'd been so focused on getting there that I really hadn't put too much thought into how I'd get what I bought back. I bought bulbs to grow garlic and onions (trying to experiment a little with this growing your own food stuff) but then also had to buy compost and a big enough pot to plant them in. The smallest and cheapest bag of compost they had was 25L, which in case you don't know....is REALLY FLIPPIN HEAVY!!! especially when you've got to carry it on your back on a 20 minute cycle ahead of you.

Not only that but I had to balance this 2 foot wide, 1.5 foot deep pot on the bar...let's just say I must have looked quite the sight (my friend Emma commented that just seeing me cycle in the first place would have been quite the sight enough.....thanks Emma). But I did make it back although slightly dripping in sweat and was glowing with pride as I arrived back to my house. My housemates obviously didn't recognize the enormity of my achievement as they didn't all stream out of their rooms to applaud me when I got home, as I was thinking they should ;)

Anyway, planting day will be tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that goes...I've been reliably informed that it's almost impossible to mess up growing the varieties of veg that i've chosen, so I'll take that as a challenge.

Tonight, the big event was the England v. South Africa final of the Rugby World Cup. I wasn't really interested in the match itself, but I thought it's a good excuse to hang out with people, and when England started falling behind by an ever increasing amount close to the end I actually felt a soft spot for them and could cheer them on. I didn't escape the night though without having loads of abuse about the Irish referee thrown my way. In all fairness he did make a lot of dodgy calls and missed a couple key ones as well. At one point, when the ref missed what seemed like an obvious foul on England, my friend asked sharply "why didn't the ref see that?" I said, "It's probably something to do with 500 years of occupation". Couldn't resist.

Anyway, it was a good day overall. School has been hard in some ways to get back into the swing of things. We're doing our Neurology course at the moment, which is really interesting, but also pretty challenging for being just back from the summer. We've had "Stroke" week, "Spinal Cord Injury" week and coming up this week will be "Multiple Sclerosis" week (we learn about a lot more than just those conditions, but the idea is that those topics give a broad and clinical context to what we're learning).

So did anybody else have a little chuckle when they heard about today's announcement of Al Gore's new Nobel Peace Prize? I have to say, this is more than a little disappointing. Not that I don't believe that the issues his recent campaign cause of Climate change isn't extremely important, it'll probably end up being one of the most important issues in my lifetime, but Al Gore? It's no where near April, so I don't think this is a joke...

Let's take a brief look at some other Nobel Laureates, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mother Theresa, Aung San Suu Kyi, Muhamad Yunus.....Al Gore? I guess my problem is more that Gore hasn't been at his current gig very long. The others on the long list of laureates seem to have been committed to their causes for quite some time, often giving the majority of their lives, if not giving the ultimate sacrifice. Gore stopped being Vice-President 6 years ago, and he wasn't championing Climate Change much back then. Even Jimmy Carter, another recipient, had to work in Humanitarian work (in health charities, and Habitat for Humanity as well as others) for 20 years before being awarded his.

Most of the Laureates are true peacemakers, people who are required to sacrifice, to make unpopular decisions, decisions which put their careers and often their lives on the line. What has Al Gore had to give up? Has he championed his cause so much that he has given up his mansions to live in smaller more eficient more environmentally friendly settings? Has his life become harder in any way? Politically he has only strengthened his position, in what many of his critics think of being a far too "calculated" way (although I'm not THAT cynical..but close). Why not award the prize to someone in greenpeace who has given their lives to this cause before it became popular? or even to a leading scientist who is championing the search for evidence in the face of skeptics? Why give it to a politician who has given far too ambiguous an answer to whether he'll run for president or not? Why give it to some guy who was just behind a documentary? I'm sure Al Gore is a great guy and great politician in many ways, but this was just the wrong choice.

If Al Gore were to make clear that he doesn't have personal political ambitions as the motivation for his work, and if he was to truly reach out to the political right, to help them understand and put aside other differences. If he would make sacrifices and risk his reputation with his usual constituency, then maybe he could be in the running, cause this would be what a peace maker should do, right? Instead, he has gone about his work producing more controversy, and less peace....sorry, but someone made a huge mistake here.

Burma Petition, worth your time.....

These guys are close to reaching 1 million signatories for their petition. Once they get 1 million they will be taking out advertisements in major newspapers, trying to perhaps shame the Chinese government into accountability, sign up and help them out if you have a second.

Stand with the Burmese Protesters
After decades of military dictatorship, the people of Burma are rising – and they need our help. Marches begun by monks and nuns snowballed, bringing hundreds of thousands to the streets. Now the crackdown has begun, but the protests are spreading...

When the Burmese last marched in 1988, the military massacred thousands. If the world stands up and supports their struggle, this time they could win. We're in a race against time-- targeting the dictatorship's main backer China in a global advertising campaign, delivering the petition to the UN secretary-general and sending the Burmese our support via radio--


To Chinese President Hu Jintao and the UN Security Council:

We stand alongside the citizens of Burma in their peaceful protests. We urge you to oppose a violent crackdown on the demonstrators, and to support genuine reconciliation and democracy in Burma. We pledge to hold you accountable for any further bloodshed.

Click HERE for Petition.

I'm here now safe and sound in England. I got here two days ago and spent today in the first of a two-day conference on Law and Ethics in medicine. An interesting subject, but I have to say they really could have put forward the ideas in a more interesting and engaging way, they did try though, and perhaps it's just that this is our first day back from summer, so it is a bit hard to sit and concentrate through a 9-5 lecture day.

I just saw that a friend of mine posted this on her facebook. It's really interesting so I thought I'd post it to pass it on.

Click on the link below from the New York times. It's a selection of quotes that a human rights worker has put together from Iranian Blogs which all discuss the Iranian president's recent speech at an American university. It's quite interesting to see the diversity of opinions, especially considering iranian blogs are highly regulated and people suffer intimidation (and worse) for putting up politically divergent posts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30parker.html?ex=1348804800&en=08865f976f371cfc&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Latest News From Myanmar/Burma

The following is an excerpt from an email written by an NGO worker in Myanmar/Burma this past week.

From Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)

Dear Friends

It is with a heavy, crying heart that I write you from Yangon, Myanmar
(formerly Burma). (Don't worry about myself: I am fine and safe.)

I have just listened to CNN (which we can still receive here - emailing
is now difficult; I hope I'll manage to send this later on tonight)
showing the bloody response of the junta government to crack-down on
peaceful protesters.

Apparently, on Sunday, almost 100,000 people - lead by monks - were on a
protest rally. On Tuesday, the crackdown started. Even though the
government
killed about 3000 protesters during the crisis in 1988, the people
decided that they will not follow Monday's order of the government to
stop protesting. The non-violent protests of determined and courageous
people continued. On Wednesday, the government's response became more
violent (from the part of the soldiers and police) and today things have
apparently become worse. Several or even many people were killed,
hundreds wounded or/and arrested. All the Buddhist monasteries here are
now being watched over by the Army - the monks are effectively being
locked inside.

The protests started when the government stopped subsidies on fuel which
caused a massive increase in fuel prices (quadruple or even five times I
have been told). Food prices rose as a consequence. For instance, one kg
of rice cost Kyat 500.- in August. Now 1 kg of rice cost Kyat 650.-. One
chicken egg now costs Kyat 100, up from Kyat 25.- last month.
A factory worker earns around Kyat 20'000.- a month. He needs about Kyat
10'000.- per month for rice only (for rice for himself only, not
including his family). In other words, many, many, many people are
starving these days.

A colleague who lives here told me today that these days many
children are being fed rice water only, since the families have run out
of rice and money. Of course, during these days of violence, finding
food is even more difficult. Starvation is increasingly become a fact
here.

Yesterday we were in the new Government capital, a new-born city with
huge beautiful roads (with almost no cars on them) and large buildings
where the various ministries of the government are housed. The government continues to pour in millions of dollars to expand the new capital. The main reason for having a new capital is to be more secure against popular protests that are always strongest in Yangon (formerly Rangoon). The dictatorship junta is extremely rich. They lord over a country that is considered to belong to the three most corrupt and most
oppressive countries in the world.

I'm leaving for southampton next monday, so things are really starting to speed up here at home. We had a small birthday dinner for my mom tonight, it was good to have the whole immediate family together even if everyone was exhausted like we were.

I passed my drivers theory test today, got one question wrong (I don't know which one, they didn't tell me), but I was happy with that, so I should have my provisional soon enough then.

I've been thinking about loads of things recently, Burma and everything happening there has been on my mind a lot, I listened to a podcast from a conference in which a guy from the simple way community and another guy from camden house were discussing a Christian Ecology in Seattle Pacific University (if you want to listen to it, go to Itunes store and search for "shane claiborne" it's the only free thing that comes up. It's been making me think about the implications of the gospel in challenging the consumeristic nature of our society which is in a quiet marriage with our capitalism. I don't know what the answers are economically, but I know, as the two speakers tried to say, that although the problem is a societal one, it begins with a personal problem, greed and the desire for growth, to consume ever more. It inspires me to want to learn more about community gardening and growing our own food and other supplies.....and/or living on seasonal fruit and vegetables grown locally (not that I eat much fruit). I'm still not sure what I think the answer is. In a rapidly urbanizing world, can we really all grow our own food? With population growth increasing at a phenomenal rate is that sustainable? I really believe that the current system is broken, but I also believe that God can "redeem the city". I'm constantly struck at how in the Christian metanarrative, the opening image is one of a garden while the closing one is of a city, it seems to be the progression of human civilisation, but the city at the end, is a place of justice and dynamic peace, much unlike the cities that we know today.

I'm still thinking, and not acting nearly as much as I should.

It's been a hard and long week, and i'm happy to be at home.

Friends who are gone...

I'm writing this from a house in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was in Chicago for the past few days and came out here to visit Benjamin (my roommate from college, and Sam, who did the HNGR programme with me). Yesterday (and I can't believe it was only yesterday), I received a phone call as I was touring around with Sam and Benjamin which informed me that another friend of ours had committed suicide the night before. This was hard news to take. I knew this friend wasn't doing well, and had tried to take his life before, but i wasn't expecting this now. This has hit me after learning of the death, again through suicide, of another of my friend's at the begining of summer. I can't explain why these things happened. And I don't think I need to, but it's still hard. Both these guys were great people, who made me laugh and forced me to think harder about certain things. I've changed my plane ticket to fly home to Dublin a little later so that I can stay here and be here for the funeral service. Please pray for comfort for his family, who have been through hell these past few months I'm sure, and for all his friends who loved him so much, who he left behind.

Ironically, I guess, but the email I received giving me the news I put in the post below about Angola and Bishop came from this friend.

i'm alive and well

I'm alive and much has happened since I’ve last posted, and I won't try and cover it all.

Recently I received an email from a friend that has really lifted my spirits. Some of you may know that I spent time in Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, LA. If you've seen my wallet, I bought it from an inmate there who made it in his free time.
I spent a week there during spring break my 2nd year of wheaton, and then went back for several days during mid-term break the autumn of that year. Both times were incredible experiences for me. When you enter this prison, in many ways you feel that you are entering a monastery rather than a prison. The prison is currently renowned for its rehabilitation of inmates and also surprisingly and what made me want to visit the prison in the first place is that the christian community among many of the inmates there is vibrant and growing. There is even a full-time seminary on the premises (not run by government funds of course) that inmates can attend (as one of different educational options). I went as part of a group from wheaton who went under the chaplaincy office. Many people I told that I was going assumed that we were going to "minister" to the inmates there, but this was far from the truth, we were going there to spend time with brothers of ours (it's an all male prison) and most of us felt as we were "ministered" to by the men there.

What we found there was truly indescribable. I've rarely seen such christian community, men serving each other and showing each other such care. It's by no means a perfect community, and has many of its own problems with personalities, prison politics and the like, but there is an undeniable work of God going on there among these men. Many of these men are the worst of the worst criminals and have no hope of ever leaving Angola. I'd previously believed that men only "found God" in prison to try and show good behaviour before they appear before parole boards, but many of these men didn't think focus on leaving too much and were desiring how to seek out and serve god there in the prison community.

Angola is partly so incredible because of it's past. It did not used to be such a shining example. It was known as one of America's deadliest and bloodiest prisons. Many people were killed while inside, often brutally. One man who lived through that time is a Man now referred to as "Bishop Tanniehil". This man of God, experienced Angola in its dark days and now in its lighter times. He is one of those old southern speakers, with a deep Louisiana accent that I must admit was often incomprehensible to me. I've rarely seen someone light up a room the way he does. He is now well into his golden years and is recognised both by inmates, guards and wardens as a man of great standing. When he preaches everyone (guards and all) listen and respond.

The email I received was a press release received by a friend who was on those trips with me. This is what it said:

"The Bishop was "Met at the Gate"!

On Tuesday, August 14th, Eugene "Bishop" Tanniehill was pardoned by the Governer of Louisiana, released from Angola Prison, and met at the gate by Terry VanDerAa and Pastor Bert DeJong. After serving 47 years of a life sentence, the Bishop is the latest to receive a warm welcome by "the Church outside the prison walls" through the Meet Me at the Gate® program.

Terry brought the Bishop to the Koinonia House® National Ministries office and together they had what Manny Mill called "the biggest ALELUYA ever!"

Manny Mill is director of Koinonia House Ministries which assists former inmates in the crazy, and extremely challenging transition from prison life to life on the outside.

As strange as all this may sound to many, and i must admit Angola is an odd place, this is some of the best news i've heard recently. If there's ever a man deserving of a pardon it's this man, although most of us never expected the governor to approve this (he has been denied countless times), this is a huge answer to many people's prayers. I'm sure Bishop Tanniehill would appreciate your prayers for him in this time as he's moving out into the "real world" where he hasn't walked in 47 years.

Life goes on...

Well not to say that Dan Chen doesn't still rock my world, but I guess it's about time to put up a new post. I'm writing this from my Aunt and Uncle's house in Ventura, California. I had my surgery last Thursday and all things considered it went well. There's a long process of healing to go, but the pain is managable and i've been taking it easy. It's nice to not have too many responsibilities.

You may have noticed that the past month or two i've had a picture of a journalist at the side of my blog. This was Alan Johnston who has now been released by a terrorist group holding him in the Gaza strip. This is great news.

I'm now looking for a job, but it's hard to imagine anyone hiring me here in california as i'm only here for 7 weeks, but who knows i may strike it lucky.

Its interesting being back in America. My mother has come with me, although she leaves in a little over a week. She's been back and forth to Amercia several times over the past year, and she and I have been talking about how difficult it can be to concurrently live your life in 2 countries (3 in my case). It's strange feeling somewhat at home in 3 very different places on the earth. It forces you to develop 3 different personalities. Maybe that will help me relate to patients when i'm doing my psychiatry rotations, who knows. I do know that going through this surgery will definitely help me empathise with people going through what surgeons consider 'minor' surgery.

Anyway, i'm alive, all is well. I passed my first year exams which is a huge relief, but i've realised more being here just how little i know. My uncle teaches Anatomy and Physiology at a local highschool and he keeps asking me questions and casually quizing me, it's embarassing how little i know. So that's one of my plans for this summer, learn all of anatomy. Plan 2, watch as many episodes of House as possible (already finished series 1). Thanks for those of you who sent birthday cards and facebook posts. It means a lot.

Dan Chen Rocks My World!

Hey I just wanted to give a plug for my ex-floor-mate's website www.chennergy.com . Dan is living and working in chicago and has a passion for working with the homeless. He does photography to "pay the bills", but his talent is crazy. Even his wedding photos are pieces of art. You should definitely check out his portfolio online.....quality stuff. It's guys like Dan and Banksy (who i mentioned in a previous post) who are restoring a respect and passion for art in my life.

-for a personal update-

I had my last day of classes yesterday, and now it's a study week before our first two exams, then another week off and then our clinical exam. One cool thing coming up in the next week though, is that Stina Kielsmeier a friend from Wheaton, who's been studying for a year in Cairo, doing a masters in refugee studies (or migration..?) is flying through London and has a killer 16 hour layover, and so hopefully, flights and everything going to plan, I'm going to meet up with her next friday and hang out in london till her next flight. It'll be cool to hear all about her experiences, and to get a break from studying. I still can't believe this will only be my 2nd trip to london since moving here....not cool, but with 30 pound return tickets for only an hour train journey....i can't go up there every weekend like I had imagined i would....ah well, I should enjoy the chances I do get though.

Day of Fasting for Darfur

A friend of mine, Devin Goulding, has organised today as a day of fasting and prayer for the people targeted in the genocide of hundreds of thousands in Darfur, Sudan. I'm sorry I'm posting this late, but please take a minute to pray for the people of Darfur. And take a second to look at one of the websites below on how to get more involved in trying to seek an end to this.

Below is an email that devin sent out last night:

To read more about Sudan and the genocide in Darfur go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/sudan/default.stm

Breakfast
Read: Isaiah 58
Ponder: How might I be able to make today’s fast more than just a day without food? How can I live the rest of my life as a “fast” for the poor, oppressed, and hungry of the world?

The following statement was written by a human rights activist from Darfur who is also a native of Darfur. She risked her life on several occasions to help further the work of NGOs, to attempt to seek justice for women and children victims in the conflict and to raise awareness in the international community of what is happening. While currently seeking asylum in the United States, she continues to be a voice for the suffering people of her homeland.
For more information on an organization that she is currently assisting, go to www.darfurrehab.org

Since the year of 2003, the Sudanese government and its para-miltias of Janjaweed have launched its scorch-earth policy of genocide in Darfur; brutally attacking innocent civilians and completely destroying villages and looting their properties. The massive killing has resulted in over 400,000 deaths and 2.7 million people have been displaced. Among IDPOs and refugees, 80% are women and children. An unrecorded number of women have been raped and raping continues by the Janjaweed and government forces. Gang rape and cruel acts of violence against civilians, especially women and children, happens everyday.
The UN has described this as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world ever since the beginning of the conflict. There have been many UN resolutions, but nothing has been implemented! Therefore we are urging the international community to assert pressure on the Sudanese government to accept peacekeeping forces to put an end to the suffering of our people in Darfur, as well urging the security council to issue a new resolution with Chapter 7, ensuring protection of civilians without permission of the government of Sudan.
We are also appealing to the United States government to exert pressure on Sudan and countries who opposing any tough measures against Sudan.

All the best
and God bless all

Pray:
-For God’s strength for yourself and the others fasting today
-That God would speak to you about what action he might be calling you to
-For peace in the Darfur region and protection for those that call Darfur home
-For the woman who wrote the statement and her requests

Lunch
Read: Habakkuk
Ponder: Do I cry out about injustice that I see like Habakkuk did? When I hear about Darfur and other similar situations is my response to move on with life, call out to God, change the way I live, or something else?

Pray:
-That the international community might begin to act in ways that bring justice to the region of Darfur
-For healing for all the women who have been raped, children who have witnessed it, and that it would stop
-That God would move in the hearts and minds of those in power in Sudan to change their ways

Dinner
Divest from Sudan:
http://www.sudandivestment.org/home.asp
Take the time to pull out your investment documents and enter in the stocks, mutual funds, etc. that you are investing at this website. If any of your investments are tied up in money that flows to Sudan it will let you know and you can call your investment firm and move that money to a different investment.

Pray:
-That China would use it’s political power to pressure Sudan to stop the genocide
-For peace in the region of Darfur, Chad, and Central African Republic.
-That food, water, and medical supplies would be able to get to those who need them


Two more websites for information on Darfur and what you can do about it.
http://www.darfurgenocide.org/
http://savedarfur.org/

I had to steal this Kierkegaard quote from my brother's blog

"Christendom is an effort of the human race to go back to walking on all fours, to get rid of Christianity, to do it knavishly under the pretext that this is Christianity, claiming that it is Christianity perfected.

The Christianity of Christendom...takes away from Christianity the offense, the paradox, etc., and instead of that introduces probability, the plainly comprehensible. That is, it transforms Christianity into something entirely different from what it is in the New Testament, yea, into exactly the opposite; and this is the Christianity of Christendom, of us men.

In the Christianity of Christendom the Cross has become something like the child's hobby-horse and trumpet."
- Kierkegaard, "The Instant" 5, 2-3

May is here and the heat is Gone!

So I noticed something tonight, something was unusual as I sat here working on my computer....the difference was that my arm wasn't burning. Due to the random way my room is set up (with built-in unmovable furniture) I would usually spend the evening trying not to rest my arm on the burning hot radiator as I typed. Thankfully, it's May 1st and they've finally turned the heating off (I'm sure i'll be complaining of the cold soon enough...it's always the way).

This week on the course our learning has been structured around the topic of Anaemia. Who knew there were so many different types and causes for it, and how serious it can be.... interesting stuff, although I can't really see myself being a haematologist. At least I can take one residency field off the list. (My latest thought of residency, doing a combined 5-year programme leading to certification in both Family Practice and Emergency Medicine).....I hate the way I'm so enamoured by the future, it's a real vice. I've been this way all my life, when I was 9 and wanted to be an 'animal trainer for the movies' I had already researched the career path and knew which university I wanted to go to (Moorpark College by the way).

Today brought the reality of the importance of the 'hear and now' to life. We had our mock OSCE exams. OSCEs are Objective Structured Clinical Exams, that basically are clinical practicals. They test us on everything from communication skills, establishing rapport, to ascertaining diagnosis, skills like taking blood pressure or doing a cardiac examination, or even teaching someone how to use their inhaler properly for Asthma. They're nerve racking enough. I had difficulty getting this woman's blood pressure reading because I was so stressed that all I could hear in the ear-piece of the stethoscope was the sound of my own pulse racing inside my head. The practice was good though, and I think it has made me more prepared for our exams (just 4 weeks away now...).

Summer is here, essays are done, the end is in sight, and life is good.

just taking a break from an essay.....just one break...honest

So I'm in the middle of an essay on the myeloproliferative disorder polycythemia vera (it's absolutely fascinating....I had to pull myself away to write this)....when I took a break and went over to the CNN website. I like the CNN website cause it lets you watch video clips for free.... and since I'm without TV at the moment, it's a welcome distraction (also I've been on a YouTube fast since lent so that hasn't been an option- otherwise i'd never get anything done).

Anyway, one of the "most popular videos" was a story about how several churches across America are giving sanctuary to undocumented immigrants. It's interesting. How do you feel about it? The woman who they profile is a mexican immigrant whose young son was born in America and is a US citizen. She has received a deportation order. She isn't hiding where she is and forwarded her new church address to the immigration authorities, but now she is permanently living in a church with her son, and trying to campaign for legalization of undocumented workers. Part of me, the part who looks at the human situation, loves the story. This is what the Christian church is meant to do, following from the many biblical commands to take care of the alien among you, to give them justice. It's good to see that the church is participating in civil disobedience because it helps to remind people that the church's positions should never be coopted by the political state in which it finds itself.

There's the other side of me too though, the big picture side, that knows this is not a permanent solution, this is temporary relief to a few, from a massive issue. It highlights yet again that the US based church needs to committ itself to helping alleviate poverty in the countries surrounding it, so that people don't feel they have to become uprooted, leave the families, countries and lands that they know and love, and make often dangerous journey's in search of hope, often a false hope. Anyway, I'd appreciate your views if you have any.

It's sort of interesting to compare this situation with a similar one in Dublin last summer where 41 Afghan assylum seekers held themselves up in St. Patrick's Cathedral demanding that the government look at their cases. In this case, it was more the traditional model of sanctuary that the Afghans were using, the church leaders hadn't encouraged them to do this, but protected them none the less and tried to seek for a swift and peaceful resolution. In the American situation, church leaders are actively inviting people into this. This seems like more of a living church model than the traditional because it is active, reaches out to others, like Christ did for us.

Here's the link to the video:

http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/us/2007/04/28/acosta.immigrant.sanctuary.cnn

Vineyard weekend away....

I had a great time away this past saturday and sunday with the good people of Southampton Vineyard whose community I've joined since moving here. It was a good time of getting to know new people I hadn't met and getting the know the few I had better. It was also good to get out of Southampton (even though we were only half an hour away).

click on the link below to see more pictures of the weekend
http://soton.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015152&l=557b8&id=187702307

Cambodia on the mind....

So for some reason or another, God has really been putting Cambodia on my mind recently. Over the past few weeks I received a couple good emails from friends in my community updating me on their lives and the lives of my friends and host family in Phnom Penh. It's been Khmer New Year recently and i know it's a time of great joy and celebration for the entire country, one of the celebrations people look forward to throughout the year.

Craig, who was my mentor with Servants while I was there, was in Cambodia with his family recently to help with the orientation of some new Servants workers, attend Servant's 25 year anniversary in Thailand, and oversee some work with an organization he began in called Big Brothers and Sisters of Cambodia, where young adults from Cambodian churches take on a child orphaned by AIDS as their little sibling and bring them on outings and help mentor them as they grow. One of my good friends and my host mother's niece Serey, is now helping to run the organization. Craig sent me an email with some updated pictures of my community there. It's brought back a lot of memories.

Some great news is that Teara my roommate in Cambodia, and his sister Sunti, (both who lost their parents to AIDS) have now taken on their own "little brothers and sisters" to help share some of the love that they've received with others. It's amazing to see them wanting to give life to others after they've had so much taken from themselves, they're both a constant example to me.

It's been great to email Cambodian friends (one great thing about globalisation), and keep in some sort of contact. I still don't know when and if God will bring me back there. I'm planning on doing a medical elective next summer for a month or so, and am trying to see if God would have me go back to Cambodia, to continue relationships and learning, and gain some valuable medical experience, or if God's calling me somehwere else.....I don't know, but i know he'll make it clearer and that i don't need to know just now.... Anyway, I could ramble on and on about Cambodia, so i won't.

Here's some pictures that Craig sent me:



This is a picture of the big brothers and sisters group in my community, in our church. It's so great seeing all these youth from the community, supporting these AIDS orphans, also from our community. Serey, is second from the left in the back row. Teara, is 2nd from the right in the the row just in front of the back row, beside the girl in the green shirt.



This is just outside my house. That's Craig and his wife Nay with their daughter Micah in hand. Sunti is sitting beside them and then Heurn, my host mother is the one standing (wearing a great Calvin and Hobbes T-shirt).


This is Teara sitting on the bench in front of Vi, our next door neightbour,'s house. He's sitting with Vi's mother, who i only know as Yeay (grandmother). Yeay is one of those people who will just make you feel amazing spending a few minutes with her. She was probably one of the most welcoming people in the community to me when I was first in Cambodia, and struggling to learn the language, her patience at my poor grammar and lack of vocab and willingness to have a conversation, were huge blessings to me. It's good to see she's still doing well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!

This post is dedicated to my wonderful Grandmother, Francis Kingsley.

Today my grandmother turns 80 years old! I wish I could be there to be with her and my grandpa but it wasn't meant to be this year. My dad is an only child, which makes my brother and I the only "official" grandkids (although they have many "adopted" grandkids who they have shown huge love and generosity to over the years), so it's harder that my dad and I can't be there for the occasion. However, my mother, brother and Hailey are able to be there and I'm sure they will be celebrating in style.

Even though my brother and I grew up thousands of miles away from my dad's parents we were blessed by them being able to spend huge chunks of time with us in Dublin, they would often come over and spend 2 months around christmas time with us, which means many of my childhood friends on the road got to know them as well.

Grandma is a very special woman, who loves God and people, and continues to share that love with others being very involved with her community and church in California. Both she and my Grandfather have been huge examples and encouragements to me all through my life. I really thank God for them.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Shooting in Virginia

Wow, it's shocking to hear the news of those brutal killings in Virginia Tech. How can these things happen?