março 30, 2007
current visa status...
IM GOING!! april 9th....
turns out my old brasilian visa is actually good until march 2011...ha ha. 6 months per year max for 5 years total. would have been helpful to know this small significant detail months ago when i was inquiring and emailing and writing regarding my status. i laugh becuase its way more fun than being frustrated.
so unless/until things change im in brasil for 6 months and africa for 6 months per year for the forseeable future.
wild.
turns out my old brasilian visa is actually good until march 2011...ha ha. 6 months per year max for 5 years total. would have been helpful to know this small significant detail months ago when i was inquiring and emailing and writing regarding my status. i laugh becuase its way more fun than being frustrated.
so unless/until things change im in brasil for 6 months and africa for 6 months per year for the forseeable future.
wild.
março 26, 2007
current visa status
março 25, 2007
the sun came out
been hangin' with rachel these days....shes been my lifesaver and hostess with the definite most-ess. gourmet chef, baker, and chocolate maker....im spoilt and lucky to call her my friend. 
março 22, 2007
currently....
im in vancouver
its raining...big shocker there
IM COLD
missing africa
waiting for my passport to return to me, hopefully with a visa in it for brasil
researching portugues schools in rio
thinking a lot about mozambique, angola, and botswana at the moment...hmmm....
booking more flights
still jet-lagged from the last dozen...there is something weird about sitting in front of a travel agent totally wasted from lack of sleep due to long haul flights...and asking for more.
waiting for the sun to resurface...to remind me that it still falls on this country...and so i can go for a nice long run along the beach...ahhh...the beach...
in need of a coffee and phsyc-ing up to go out into the bleedin' rain... again.
watched the movie 'catch a fire'...incredible. i bawled. about south africa. a must see.
its raining...big shocker there
IM COLD
missing africa
waiting for my passport to return to me, hopefully with a visa in it for brasil
researching portugues schools in rio
thinking a lot about mozambique, angola, and botswana at the moment...hmmm....
booking more flights
still jet-lagged from the last dozen...there is something weird about sitting in front of a travel agent totally wasted from lack of sleep due to long haul flights...and asking for more.
waiting for the sun to resurface...to remind me that it still falls on this country...and so i can go for a nice long run along the beach...ahhh...the beach...
in need of a coffee and phsyc-ing up to go out into the bleedin' rain... again.
watched the movie 'catch a fire'...incredible. i bawled. about south africa. a must see.
março 17, 2007
the month of march
never really liked march, if im honest. but this march changes everything.
since march 1st....
...flown over 12 fligths through 8 countries
...ate a hell of a lot of plane food
...fell in love with zimbabwe
...had my heart opened up wide for the continent of africa again
...met some amazing people
....hung out on house boats, motor boats, the back of trucks, saw a zebra, was nearly attacked by baboons (slight exageration...but they were definitly after my lunch), saw some weird deer-like animal which i will refer to as mr.tumnus', watched the stars, swam in lakes, wondered at gods majesty, had amazing chats with good people....the kind of chats you wait for and long for and when they come make you feel fully alive.
...made a few concrete realisations....one....that i will indeed spend a massive part of my life between south america and africa. my heart aches for those places. two....acting in obedience to gods prompting in my life is sometimes hard. but realising on a whole new level that he is my everything and there is nothing left to argue about after that....i am heading to brasil, a country i am passionate about...and yet my heart is in africa right now. it was as hard to leave zimbabwe as it was to leave brasil. i've never experienced this in all my other travels. how do i balance this? i suppose by following his finger through the adventure and trusting that where i place my feet and what my heart says are indeed in sink with my god and his ways. its always been about the journey, the adventure, the miracle...in life, love and dreams...this will never change. three...my heart has been stirred even more for justice and the longing for people to be released into all that god has for them...not bound by government, others, fears, insecurties, religion, or traditions. four...i truly feel called to the nations. i had this hilarious conversataion with this guy sitting next to me on the plane from addis ababa to dubai...he couldnt figure me out...and wasnt really willing to, but what really seemed to baffle him more than anything was why i didnt call canada home. and it was in that moment that god confirmed to me what ive known for years....i feel just as at home in canada where i was born as i do in a completely remote part of africa with no running water and electricity. i feel like i belong everywhere and nowhere at the same time. and within this i feel belonging....i feel community...i feel a purpose...a calling to the nations. and at the same time rooted... i got chatting to this person in harare waiting for my flight to addis...and as the conversation developed we realised we were both talking to someone passionate about christ. he began to prophesy into my life, confirming a lot of what me and a few friends prayed about the night before, encouaging me and re-confirming that we are part of the global church...wherever we are god can connect us into his plans and purposes in that time and space. i sat there in the harare airport with this old man in a wheelchair, holding hands and praying. it was crazy, and totally made me feel connected and rooted in a mind-blowingly massive way with the church. also a great way to pass the time on a long lay-over.
oh... and i take back what i said about addis ababa....after flying through there for my fourth time i saw the pollution. and did you know its 1999 in ethiopia?! im not sure how that works but its true.
since march 1st....
...flown over 12 fligths through 8 countries
...ate a hell of a lot of plane food
...fell in love with zimbabwe
...had my heart opened up wide for the continent of africa again
...met some amazing people
....hung out on house boats, motor boats, the back of trucks, saw a zebra, was nearly attacked by baboons (slight exageration...but they were definitly after my lunch), saw some weird deer-like animal which i will refer to as mr.tumnus', watched the stars, swam in lakes, wondered at gods majesty, had amazing chats with good people....the kind of chats you wait for and long for and when they come make you feel fully alive.
...made a few concrete realisations....one....that i will indeed spend a massive part of my life between south america and africa. my heart aches for those places. two....acting in obedience to gods prompting in my life is sometimes hard. but realising on a whole new level that he is my everything and there is nothing left to argue about after that....i am heading to brasil, a country i am passionate about...and yet my heart is in africa right now. it was as hard to leave zimbabwe as it was to leave brasil. i've never experienced this in all my other travels. how do i balance this? i suppose by following his finger through the adventure and trusting that where i place my feet and what my heart says are indeed in sink with my god and his ways. its always been about the journey, the adventure, the miracle...in life, love and dreams...this will never change. three...my heart has been stirred even more for justice and the longing for people to be released into all that god has for them...not bound by government, others, fears, insecurties, religion, or traditions. four...i truly feel called to the nations. i had this hilarious conversataion with this guy sitting next to me on the plane from addis ababa to dubai...he couldnt figure me out...and wasnt really willing to, but what really seemed to baffle him more than anything was why i didnt call canada home. and it was in that moment that god confirmed to me what ive known for years....i feel just as at home in canada where i was born as i do in a completely remote part of africa with no running water and electricity. i feel like i belong everywhere and nowhere at the same time. and within this i feel belonging....i feel community...i feel a purpose...a calling to the nations. and at the same time rooted... i got chatting to this person in harare waiting for my flight to addis...and as the conversation developed we realised we were both talking to someone passionate about christ. he began to prophesy into my life, confirming a lot of what me and a few friends prayed about the night before, encouaging me and re-confirming that we are part of the global church...wherever we are god can connect us into his plans and purposes in that time and space. i sat there in the harare airport with this old man in a wheelchair, holding hands and praying. it was crazy, and totally made me feel connected and rooted in a mind-blowingly massive way with the church. also a great way to pass the time on a long lay-over.
oh... and i take back what i said about addis ababa....after flying through there for my fourth time i saw the pollution. and did you know its 1999 in ethiopia?! im not sure how that works but its true.
