First Report

I'm back from my conference, the Global Health Missions Conference (GHMC). If asked to sum it up in a word, I think I'd have to use "overwhelming."  I've never seen such a church, such a great group of people, or met so many people serving in health missions.  I have a lot of "digesting" of information to do, as well as thinking and preparing.  I fully expect to write more on that later.

For now, here are some photos I took of the event.  One reason I was overwhelmed was the sheer hugeness of the church that held the conference.  These first two pictures are of the Atrium in the church; the first is from the third floor balcony overlooking the gathering space.

This next picture is a view of the opposite end of the atrium; the elevators are in the vertical spans, to each side of the banner, with the escalators next to the stairs and between the pillars.  The photo above was taken from the upper left, where the brightest light is.   

Below is the worship center.  Yes, that is a "jumbotron" with screens all around.  The ground level held many more than the reported 2500 participants at this conference....and then there were two balcony levels above that, which were reached by the elevators or escalators to the second and third floors.  (In this shot, a wonderful African woman who is a surgical resident with the final plenary speaker's program in Kenya tells her story.)

Below is the Worship Center end of the Southeast Christian Church (the hosts of the conference.)  The massive space with the jumbotron is at the center of this building, with halls and classrooms around the perimeter.

And next is the fellowship hall end of the church....in here, there were two whole floors full of exhibitors...about 70 per floor.  The center section (by the pillars, if you can see them) is the three story Atrium (indoor views above.)

Finally,  below is a big cork board map of the world.  Throughout the conference, there were push pins right next to it, with an invitation to add your color coded pin to the places you were going to learn about, pray for, support, and go to.  It was really wonderful to see all of the push pins all over the world by the end of the conference. This photo was taken following the final session, and I think the young people in the picture were headed out to the field in the near future. I put my pins in on Guatemala.

So that's the initial report.  I have a lot to read, a lot to learn, and some choices to make, but I am very glad to have gone to such an intense and educational conference!

Have a comment? Advice? Random observation? I'd love to hear it. Click "COMMENTS" just below.

A Step Toward a Goal

I'm really getting excited now...later this week I'm flying down to Kentucky to go to the Global Missions Health Conference. 

Early this year I identified a new goal in my book "Direction toward the goal of a better life" (this is a 3-ring binder in which I have a set of heavy plastic tabbed dividers on which I put post-it notes.  On the star-shaped notes, I have written my carefully considered "I Want" statements; on some colored squares surrounding the stars, I have written actions I need to do to help fulfill that goal. The book exists to try to help me focus on what I believe will make my life more meaningful and fulfilling and help to keep me swimming forward instead of treading water.)  The goal I added reads "I want to make a real difference in service to others." and, on the same star, "I want to step out in faith."

One of the nearby blue squares states "Monitor and look for opportunities to do medical missions abroad." So, I had done a number of searches on the internet for information on Medical Missions, read a number of groups' websites, and even found a clearinghouse where various groups sought medical people to go on mission trips.  I spoke with my own ministers and Sunday School teacher and read information about their suggested leads.  Then, several months ago I learned about the GMHC, which seems like a really good step in the right direction.

The GMHC (an annual event since 1996) looks to be huge, educational, inspirational, and well organized.  They have brought in over 160 exhibitors and several dozen speakers for this year, and in recent years there have been more than two thousand attendees.  The breakout sessions cover all sorts of health issues, practical concerns, cultural and ethical aspects of medical missions at home and overseas.  The sessions look so great I've only been able to narrow them down to about 2-3 choices per session...and I can only be in one place at a time!  What's more, most of the sessions I'm interested in offer continuing education credits for nurses, too...I take that as a sign of the quality and usefulness of the material, since I know what is required by nursing boards to be able to offer those credits. 

Even though I'll be traveling down and back in 3 days, I also see it as a break; I'm going by myself, so I will have time alone to think, breathe, and relax some.  It seems like a good time to re-think priorities, find inspiration and step out in faith.

I am looking forward to learning a lot, meeting some people with the same interests, learning about groups that need help, and maybe making plans to travel on a mission relatively soon.  I expect that it will be an inspiring trip!  

Have a comment? Advice? Random observation? I'd love to hear it. Click "COMMENTS" just below.

Eat, Pray, Love

by Elizabeth Gilbert

I just finished Eat, Pray, Love last night and couldn't wait to write about it.  

Italian Neighbors

by Tim Parks

Another book motivated by my love of Italy--and good thing, too, or I would never have made it through.

We Saw the Meteor Crater

I keep wanting to call it "Meteor Crater National Park" or "National Monument" or something, but it's actually all privately owned. I can't help thinking it might have been better if it were a National Park. (We have been to sooo many National Parks, and every single one was staffed by Rangers who seem to know everything about the site and can tell the story like nobody's business.) Anyway, about 50,000 years ago a great big meteor hit the Earth, 35 miles east of Flagstaff. Of course, Flagstaff would come into being about 49,895 years later.

Here's a view from the road as you're heading in toward the crater. You can really see how the "arid grassland" was thrust upward by the impact--and it's even more impressive if you've been driving for about 35 miles over nothing but flat desert. The raised rim is 150 ft. high, and the crater is 3/4 mile wide.

As I mentioned, it's privately owned and operated, and I suffered massive sticker shock when we got up to the entrance. (Cost to get in--adults $15, seniors 60+ $14, kids 6-17, $8...which isn't bad if you're spending half a day, but you can see the whole thing, including the movie but not the hike,[cancelled due to electrical storm] in less than an hour.) Of course after driving 35 miles east, then about 6 miles south, you might as well pay the fee to get in or you've done all that for nothing.

Inside, they have an exhibit area (not big enough to call a museum), with several meteorites to touch and many interactive exhibits for the kids. They have a 12 minute movie, during which I kept expecting information about this crater, but the movie was old and very general.
The highlight was going out on the walkway to look at the crater. Here's my teenager looking through one of the telescopes at the bottom of the crater.

And, looking right, middle, and left (below), here it is. It's reported to be 550 feet deep, rim to bottom, and 3/4 mile in diameter. There is a walkway with overlooks down maybe 30 feet below the rim.

It's about as exciting as it looks. I mean, I'm kinda interested in geology and we did see layers of rocks....but, it just didn't meet expectations--I expected to learn more.

I asked my son if he'd recommend to his friends to go there and without hesitation he said, "No, it was boring." I thought it was amazing to see the remnants of a real meteor creater on Earth (I kept thinking of the moon), but I'd be lying if I told you it wasn't a bit overblown and a bit less educational that I had hoped. Just in case you're interested, here's the website: http://www.meteorcrater.com/

A Very Happy Return to Sedona

On our family vacation this year, we introduced my son to one of my loves: Sedona, Arizona. Hubby took me there for the first time several years ago, and we've been wanting to return since then. The people we met were all very friendly, and the whole area has an open, relaxed atmosphere. Sedona's first white settlers came in 1876, and the town was officially named (after the shopkeeper's wife) and granted a post office in 1902. So, compared to much history "back east," Sedona's pretty new. In the late 1950's, spiritualists and "hippies" came to Sedona, drawn by spiritual "vortexes" (energy centers) they found in the red rocks. Now, the place is full of "new age" spiritualists and has a very relaxed feel.

Although the area has grown up a lot since we last visited, much remained the same. This time, though, in search of adventure (teenager, remember), we booked an "Extreme" Hummer tour through the mountain trails. It was fun and scary for me--here's a picture of one of the so-called-roads we first came down, then went up. (You cannot get the full idea from the picture, but it was just barely wide enough for the hummer, with a cliff-like drop off just past the trees, and the darker step-like rocks are about 14-16 inchs high each.) The teenager had a fantastic time. Both of them.

Hummer dude also took us on a tour of the named rocks. Here's Snoopy Rock (he's lying just to the right of the big squarish formation.)

We also biked in the red rocks. The still-great Bike and Bean, http://www.bike-bean.com/Sedona_Bike_And_Bean.html , still at the edge of Oak Creek, hooked us up with the perfect bikes, helmets and water, and off we went. It was darn hot, even at 9 a.m., but once my son and I discovered the exhilaration of racing down the last half mile of trail, "catching air" over moguls, riding willy-nilly over gravel and loose rocks--it was addictive. We rode back up 2 more times just to fly down. I honestly felt like a kid again. My son even called me an adrenaline junkie. Here are some pics from the farthest point in our ride...up close to the rocks.

In the foreground is part of the trail we rode; in the distance (if you click and enlarge it you might be able to see it) is the cathedral of the rocks--a Catholic church built right into the red rocks.

We had a great time tubing on the Verde River (no pictures, too wet...whose idea was it to provide us with super soakers???), and saw free range cattle along the road. We also went up to the airport, which is on top of a huge mesa, to watch the sunset and look out over Sedona. It's become quite popular, judging by the crowds that were there. On our last trip, it was very quiet and peaceful. These photos are of Sedona in the valley, encircled by the red rocks.

We had great meals--Picazzo Pizza really excelled--both in their huge salads and delicious, gourmet (or plain, for the boy) pizzas. Really good. A world away from your everyday pizza joint. It was such a pleasure being back in Sedona!

I mentioned in another post that I did a good job spraining my ankle one morning while on a power walk in Sedona. Here's the rest of the story. I was out around 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday, doing my exercising around several residential blocks behind our hotel. In a second's inattention, I planted my foot at the edge of the pavement, which was maybe 3" higher than the adjacent gravel. I'd have fallen, except for extreme hopping ability, spurred on in part by all of the cactuses growing along the roadside. (A five-hop recovery: pretty impressive.)

In the next few minutes, as I tried to determine how badly I was hurt, an angel in an Acura stopped to ask if I was ok. I gave her a typical east-coast "Oh, I'm fine," but she was too nice for that. "But you're obviously hurt--I live right here--let me give you a ride home." She assured me it was no trouble, and I accepted her generosity. Three blocks later, she pulled right up to the base of the stairway to our room. I thanked her of course, and she refused praise, but her kindness so touched me--I was so far from home, a visitor knowing no one--and she, a complete stranger, completely unbidden, was willing to lend a helping hand. There are still good people in the world. Wow.

Rafting the Colorado

We went rafting on the Colorado River through the western Grand Canyon. It was the only one-day rafting adventure to be found, and it was definitely an adventure. It's run by the Hualapai Nation, (said 'wal-a-pie') and almost all of us who went on the trip stayed at the Lodge, on the Hualapai Lands. The signs read "Hualipai Reservation" as we entered, but the pride and reverence with which Cole, our guide/raft captain, said "our lands" each and every time he spoke of his home made me realize his connection with his lands. It was never "the reservation" or anything less than "our lands."

But I digress. From the Lodge, we filled two school busses and rode about an hour down through a side canyon to the Colorado. It was only then that I realized that when the website cautioned that "the road" might be washed out in a rainstorm, they weren't kidding--because great portions of "the road" were actually the bottom of the (usually dry) creek bed which, when running, fed the Colorado. We had had a pretty good storm, and several times the Hualapai woman driving the bus stopped and eased her way through streams and over washes.

By about 10 a.m. we had reached the river. I had read that the microclimate of the depths of the Canyon was true desert, and this we found. It was oppressively hot; we were told 118 degrees F. The Hualipai men worked very hard in that heat to ready the boats, including carrying big outboard motors by hand from a truck to the rafts.
It was my first time rafting in rapids, and I have never claimed to be a "water" person. My goals were to (1) stay in the raft, (2) not get hurt. As we set out our guide added another goal: don't lose my hat (apparently it happens all the time.) The sun was beating down so hard I knew I'd never make it without my hat.
We started into the first rapid. It's a lot like riding a bouncy roller coaster while a giant throws full buckets of ice cold water right at you. Literally. We were in the back of the "U" seating, facing directly into the waves as they hit. I quickly figured out a routine as we went into each rapid: check hat, apply deathgrip to the edge of the seat, watch first wave launch into the air toward me, then tuck chin vigerously and scream at the top of my lungs as the bucket of water hits.
We stopped a few times for various reasons--which were the only times I could take pictures until very late in the trip when we were past the rapids. It was awesome to see the canyon walls rise straight up from the water at some places, while at other places there were soil deposits with grasses, shrubs and trees.

What was supposed to be 5 hours of rafting turned into 9 hours when we arrived at the helicopter pick-up site and learned that it was TOO HOT for the helicopter to fly! "Option B" was to continue rafting the Colorado until we arrived at Lake Meade, where the crew normally takes the rafts out. We arrived there at 7:30 p.m. and rode back two hours to the Lodge via bus.

The extra rafting time was unexpected but interesting; it contained several more rough rapids, but lots of flat water riding in the glaring sun. Most of the boat went for a swim in the Colorado to cool off--including my son--but I was pretty sure my sprained ankle would make getting back in a big problem, so I stayed aboard.

We were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day, but SO glad we went. It was an experience never to forget.

The Grand Canyon

We've been back for a week, so it's high time I said something about the glorious Grand Canyon. I was told you have to see it to believe it, and now I agree.

We drove up from Flagstaff and our first view of the Canyon was from Desert Point on the South Rim. It was a boiling hot late July day, and the haze softened the distant canyons. In the first picture, the tiny-looking stream is the Colorado River. (click photo to enlarge) When you see the vastness of the Grand Canyon and the side canyons coming in, it's mindboggling to think that all of it was created by flowing water over the course of 6 million years. This wonder is 277 miles long (that's further than from New York to Washington D.C.!) and 18 miles wide at some points, and averages 4000 ft. but reaches up to 6000 ft. deep in some places.


The colors were magnificent! The burgundy and purples blended into the terra cotta colors as far as you could see. I don't think the pictures really do the colors justice because of the haze. But the real problem with the pictures is that you lose all sense of perspective. Each of the plateaus that looks like it has some green moss-like growth on it is actually covered with trees and medium sized shrubs, and the cliffs on the far side are actually MILES away. In the second picture, the elongated greenish outcropping on the left actually has one of the hiking trails going down the middle of it. In this photo you can only see it if you click and enlarge it to whole screen size, and if there were people on the trail, they would probably be too far away to even see.

We continued on the Desert View Drive and stopped in at the other view points: Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview Point...I think that's as far as we got since it was getting late and we had quite a drive to our hotel.

On the way out of the Grand Canyon National Park, we saw two Elk munching some greens along the side of the road. They were beautiful, fantastic animals; a rare tawny brown, and the male had the beginnings (about 18") of a nice rack in velvet, which he held proudly erect.

We also saw a falcon or hawk in an airborne battle with a crow or blackbird (they were too far away to really see) while looking out over the Canyon. I looked hard for the endangered California Condors, but I think they're in another area of the park so we didn't see any. Also for me, seeing the new and strange flora such as yuccas 12-15 ft high was really cool.

In case you're interested in more information, the National Parks Service has a wonderfully informative website that gives practically all of the information you could want to know about the Canyon, including maps, info about the Condors, plant life and ecosystems, and how a cougar died of the plague in 2007! The NPS is here:

http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

I was thrilled to finally see the Grand Canyon, and even more so to raft on the Colorado River through the Canyon for a day (more on that in another post).

Under the Tuscan Sun

by Frances Mayes

First it must be said: There is a movie with this same name, however, the only similarity between the movie and the book is