Blessings! The coffee and lack of sleep talking here eh... quite a depressing description of coming home, as opposed to being elatedly thankful for the family you have who love you, the plentiful land you live in, and the wonderful and unlimited opportunities life has to offer. Not to mention getting out of there alive! Anything less than being grateful is doubting God. God provides, and we are to acknowledge that, praise and serve Him. He has done the biggest thing ever for us; how can we question anything He deals us in this small portion of life (while we're here on this earth)? We need to ask God's help in shoring up our faith when we forget our purpose here on earth: to honor and glorify God. Pray that the Lord develop in you a thankful heart! Do your best, and honor God, in all you do. Enjoy, and have a safe ride home.
Ominous That update has such dark and mysterious overtones that it gives chills. I think it would be nice if we could solve the world's problems. Of course we can't, but if we see something we can do.... The other side of that is that we'd have to identify them first and in some cases that's not so easy to do - due to cultural differences etc. What we define as right and wrong may be different for others. Nonetheless, if for some things we could only get them to "see the light".... God please help us to change the things we can, to accept those we cannot change, and to recognise the difference! And help the lost to know You and seek out Your ways. Accentuate the positive - and take care.
hey david My Dearest David,
We all just recently read your new entry. We are sorry for whatever happened, David. Just know that we are wholeheartedly glad that you are safe, and that we eagerly await you coming back to us. We promise to not make the greeting party big at all if you dont want it to be that way. I'll give your uncle a call, and let him know that he should let you start working at FinCEN a little bit later after you get back. I think you need some time for rest and peace and quiet here. We all love you David, and we will see you soon, fill us in on all the specifics of your return soon, as we still have your old itinerary. Love, Mom and the family
stay up cuz Dave, I was the first one to read this in the house. I figured I'd leave somethin here as opposed to your email b/c maybe youre still on this. I talked to the parents-who have been callin others in the fam nonstop, when we come down after you are back in the land of ladies and such other good things...you dont gotta worry about us talkin to you about your trip unless you wanna man. I aint gonna ask what happened, I just trust you if you ofall ppl said its some other shit. Stay up smart gringo cuzn. With Love from all, Bellarmino
Wow So thrilling to see such great public family support! How fortunate to have wonderful, loving, and caring folks bolstering your journal. It warms my heart. You must feel blessed now! Wishing the best for you not just on this trip but for future endeavours as well. Blessings to all.
Hello! Hello David!
It certainly sounds like your experiences there have opened your eyes a whole lot. We just wanted to tell you that reading your blog is the highlight of our day here (minus getting in from rush hour), and that we are all so proud of you for what you have accomplished over there. I know that this is the first of many great things that you'll do with yourself, David. You are certainly a far cry from the blue-haired boy you were many years ago. I know that these things that you are doing are completely in accordance with the wonderful man (i can say that now) that you are becoming.
You know that we all didnt want you to go on this trip. We wouldve much rather had you here for the summer, safe in the US, but this is something you wanted to do. You are an 18 year old adult now, and you are independent enough to do these kinds of things should you so choose. THat stilll doesnt ease our worries, but we know that you leave within the next few days, and we eagerly await your return, David. There were some things in the comment box that I saw, but I touched on those in my email to you. I never knew emailing was such a bad thing for some.
By the way, I thought I'd be the first to tell you and announce to all viewing that you got a scholarship offer to Darmouth! It is an 80k offer, which would still leave another 80k left over, but it is Ivy League and well worth it. Please consider it David, you know how happy everyone would be for you.
Most of all David, despite the fact that our lifestyles may prevent us from having the relationship we probably desire, we all love you David. We are so proud of you for doing your own things, and being your own man now, and we are so proud to call you our son. Have as much fun as possible where you are, and for everyone's sake, stay safe these next few days David. The world doesnt need you to be a hero and save people, it just needs you to come back home, despite how admirable what you did was.
Love you,
Mommy
? well...what now i´m super curious. you need to call me and let me know what´s on your mind! i have stuff to tell you and since my login site is down i can´t write my blog tonight, but instead will publish it tomorrow. so, i see that you´re going to be leaving later now, huh? well, i better be hearing from you soon...
love you
my poor lil baby i said all i needed to say in my message, but i want you to know that i´m scared for you especially when you do the things you sometimes do and i wish you´d be careful and please for the love of God take care of yourself. if you really care about me and love me, you´ll do this for me, and not do things spontaniously without thinking of the consequences of your choices...
God be with you and guide you,
<3 shirlina
Ouch! That is really messed up! (why do we understate so much?) I don't know why your "friends" didn't come after you to save -you- from -your- peril. But, anyway, seems there's lessons in this for everyone who reads your adventures. Among those is in general how little we express appreciation for what we have. Hardly ever do you hear someone expressing gratitude for where one lives, works, or whatever around here - and on those rare occasions, we tend to dismiss that one as nuts. Instead, most of what we hear is griping about how bad things are at work, home, locality, country, president, etc. and other such negative energy.
But here, despite a country of countless problems, we have much to be grateful for. Abundance of food, housing, and reasonable security, with still some degree of freedom left. (though diminishing fast) Of course we do have the occasional "thorn in the side" like crooked cop type who will invent and exaggerate stories to use maliciously against persons he does not like, and things like that can be irritating, but we really should look at the positives in life and as the old saying goes, "count your blessings".
Just the one blessing alone that God sent his son, Jesus, to save us, His chosen people, from our iniquities and give us everlasting life in the place He prepares for us, should be enough for us to be happy and content in His name. Yet naturally, as we exist in this human form on this planet earth, we hope to enjoy some comfort and peace-of-mind; thus, we should be thankful for the plentiful quantities of both we may enjoy.
As for your condition, we hope the pain will subside quickly (but not the feeling of content for having exercised this brave act of good will) and that injuries heal rapidly. May God be with you and guide you!
...safety is key... It's best to be alert and "in code orange" all the time you're out - watch everything but be confident and pleased to be there, to minimize the chances of people thinking of you as someone they don't want there. Of course, focus on the job, but keep the plight of the people in mind. We pray God guide and protect you; you should ask Him for this regularly. Remember, we have the same God and Saviour as your Catholic friend, so there really is no fundamental difference in prayer, except that they seem to pray through saints as mediators sometimes, where we speak directly to God. Catholics seem to end many of their prayers by reciting the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray, which is great as long as you're paying attention to what you're saying and not just pumping out the sound of it. God knows our hearts; we can fool men, but not God. This is a valuable experience for you and will shape your outlook on life (assuming you survive it, naturally) so while relying on God to be your protector, keep alert and try to make good choices. Best to you and thanks for chronicling your adventures.
Life's journey is not always easy. Thank you for taking time to let us know how and what you are doing. Bloody scary country though; I wonder if anyone there is happy? ... It is so sad to hear how much suffering goes on in other parts of the world. When faced with things we cannot change... We are not asked to always understand, but to put our faith in the One who does. Romans 11:33 God be with you to guide and protect you.
Travelling in order to complete an article, first stop (change of plan) is Sudan, followed by France a few weeks later, hopefully followed by a nice respite in London.
By the way, dont be weirded out by the blogger name or whatever it is, it is simply a continuation of a trend started by my email (mildlymagneticvoice@yahoo.com)-which derived from me being the vocalist for Mildly Magnetic. Now, I am the frontman for a band called Peripheral Black Thoughts, a former hip-hop and reggae band that is now delving into Jazz, R&B and SOul...thanks to my voice (so they say anyways). So yeah...there... full info
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wow, great post.. thankyou for updating this blog about sudan.