Continuing on one step at a time..

Do not complain about the lack of community that you may experience after leaving this one that you have been so engrossed in... instead, take what you have learned, become the leader, and start that community somewhere else.  

Pondering..

We just returned from our retreat in the mountains this weekend.  It was definitely a fun time, but also a time of processing.  Looking back on the past 3 months, I have learned so much in such a short amount of time.  I am still trying to process exactly what I have learned and exactly how I have changed.  I think that I will continue to learn in the months to come.

I leave for Africa a week from today.  My travels are coming up soon, and I am definitely getting excited!  I will be gone until June 2nd, and will have no communication (or very very limited) until I return.  No news is good news.  I am excited for the experience to come, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.  

More to come later this week before I leave..

San Diego!

We made it back to San Diego yesterday and have started to reunite with the other teams!  So good to be back!  So good.  The rest of the teams will get in tonight and tomorrow morning.  Only bad thing is.. we all have to leave each other in a week and a half.  Fun times lie ahead of story-telling from tour!  

pure beauty.

The beauty of a sunset...

California here we are!

Wow... three months has passed and tour is now complete.  We have travelled many states and are now back where we started in California.  We finished our last screenings in New Mexico.. then made the journey back through NM, Arizona, and finally reached California last night.  Our first stop in this state was, of course, In-N-Out.  Mmmm!  We stopped in LA to see the SoCal team as well!  So fun getting to reunite with friends after a few months have gone by.  We are not allowed to go back to San Diego until Wed night, so until then, we have the rough life of a vacation in Newport Beach, CA.  Honestly, this has been a blessing of relaxation for us so far.  We met up with some contacts here and are literally staying on a house next to the ocean.  Today we got to enjoy the 90 degree weather outside all day, and then we just got back from a bike ride down the Boardwalk.  We are going to go watch the sunset, eat some dinner, and do a little more relaxing.  Rough life.  

It is crazy that tour is over.. definitely have mixed emotions about it.  I am stoked to see the rest of the roadies when we return later this week!  And not so stoked to be going separate ways 10 days later.  But in that time, we will be having 10 days of debriefing... a pretty packed schedule, but it should be good.  I will continue to keep you updated...

<3

Long drives

Soo... we made the day journey from eastern texas to western texas.  Let me fill you in on this secret incase you have never been to this great state.  Eastern Texas=fun, cities, etc.  Western Texas=open land of nothingness, tumbleweeds, etc.  So I drove the 9 hours across the state and didn't find much along the way.  But we made it to El Paso!  It is a border city with Mexico and you literally drive on the interstate here and Mexico is directly on one side, while America is on the other.  In the US, you see large buildings, nice cars, the university, etc.  On the Mexico side you see small shack houses, dirt roads, etc.  It breaks my heart that this one little border separates two completely different worlds of living.  

Today we are leaving Texas and making the short hour drive to New Mexico where we will be staying the next 3 days.  We have our 2 IC screenings there and will be finished with tour later this week.  It is astonishing that tour is almost over!  I look back and wonder where the last three months have gone.  So fast, but so fun.  At the end of the week we will begin our venture back to California...

<3

Shots... oh the joy.

Jared and I had to make the fun trip to the travel clinic so we could get our vaccinations before we head to Africa.  This was not something we were looking forward to, but it ended up coming just fine.  Except for the hefty bill that is.  But anyway, I thought I'd take a picture of all of our shots before we got them.  Jared had 6, and I had 5.  The lady did them in under a minute and 30 seconds for each of us... I was impressed.  Oh the price we pay to keep ourselves from getting sick.  The countdown is on: 3 weeks and we'll be flying to Africa!

Austin friends

Before we left Austin, some wonderful friends drove a couple of hours to come and visit us for the night.  It was an incredible time hanging out with them before they had to head back north for their classes in the morning.  I miss them again already!  

Uganda!

So friends, I have received the final word that I will be traveling to Uganda, Africa with Invisible Children in less than a month!  I will be with a group of 12 or so other roadies, and we will leave from San Diego on May 12th.  It is a two week trip where we will get to experience the culture, meet so many of the people who are the reason that we do what we do, see our programs, and serve in any way that we can (through building schools, loving on the kids, helping in the IDP camps, etc).  

I am so thankful to everyone who has been so supportive of all that I am doing.  Thank you to each of you.  If you are one to pray, I ask for your prayers at this time.  I know everything will come together and my eyes are going to be fully opened while I am there.  

As with all travels, there is a price to pay to get over to Africa.  Since I have been volunteering the past few months, I am currently without an income.  I have some of the money needed, but not nearly all of it quite yet.  So, if you feel led to give a financial gift.. know that it is very much a blessing to me.  

Any financial donations can be sent to me at my parent's address (since I am on the road):

Amy Barr

106 Knollwood Drive

Council Bluffs, IA 51503

Thank you so, so much for all you have done.  I will definitely share with you more details as I know them.  Stay tuned.

<3

"We are called to be warriors of light in dark places."

The Barbarian Way

"Barbarians never exist simply to survive.  Barbarians never just get through the day.  Barbarians wake to live and live life fully awake.  To be filled with the Spirit of God is to be filled with dreams and visions that are too compelling to ignore."  

love.

reading and thinking..

"The most civilized churches have really no practical concern for people outside their congregations.  The brokenness of a lost and unbelieving world is not enough to inspire the painful changes necessary to make the church relevant to the world in which we live."

-Erwin McManus (The Barbarian Way)

We are called to be warriors of light in dark places.

New Orleans

We ventured to New Orleans our last few days in Louisiana to do a couple of university screenings.  This was the first time I had been to NO.  I had so many mixed emotions while I was there that I really didn't know how to feel.  It was honestly heartbreaking.  I had seen pictures and knew of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, however, to see it personally and to know that it has been nearly 3 years and still is still so much to be done was very hard.   This is a city with now 12,000 people who are homeless.  There is only 1 homeless shelter in the city that has 200 beds and they charge $8/night. 

We stayed in the 9th Ward which is the neighborhood which was hurt the most by the hurricane.  We were in the upper 9th, which was not as bad as the lower 9th.  But still, we were surrounded by abandoned houses or people who were living in houses that others would never imagine living in because they were falling apart.  

Aside from all of this, New Orleans has a culture about it!  It was incredible to experience the hospitality and the truly unique setting that it brings.  The people, the music, the food.. its just New Orleans.  We were able to go to a real crawfish boil - in which I tried crawfish for the first time (and enjoyed it!).  If you have never been to one of these - they literally boil hundreds of crawfish and the pour them all out on a picnic table.  You go through a process and finally get to eat them (very little meat for the work it takes to open them).  But so fun!  

I had a lot of good conversations while in Louisiana and was challenged to truly think deeply about why I am doing what I am doing.  About the passions that I have.  And so much more.  As with other cities, the places in Louisiana were just as hard to leave, but now we are back to Texas and making the most of our last two weeks of tour!  

<3

Louisiana

The swamplands of Louisiana!

After being in the state of Texas for over 2 months, we made it to another state yesterday - Louisiana!  It is my first time in LA, and it's fun to be here.  Besides the screenings that we've done, we've also gotten out a bit to go hiking in a state park, see the capital in Baton Rouge, and even eat crawfish!  The weather here is hot and humid, but beautiful.  And the people are so incredibly hospitable!  For instance, we ended up with no place to stay tonight and tomorrow night.. but there was a guy yesterday who opened his home up to us last minute.  Others have shown us a little bit of the LA cooking.  We leave Baton Rouge and head to New Orleans on Sunday.  Another place I am excited to visit!  We are down to about 3 weeks of tour left, and it continues to fly by.  As for now, I am enjoying Louisiana before I head back to Texas next weekend to finish out tour.  More to come soon..

Lets join her.

On this tour, we are focusing on political advocacy.  We are asking everyone to take the time to write one letter to one of their Senator's on behalf of the thousands of people dying in northern Uganda and asking our government to continue to support the peace talks.  This is a letter that was written by one girl who completely gets it.  Her letter was four pages long, and these pictures are just a small part of it, but I encourage you to read it.  She understands.  The fact that we are all human beings and something needs to be done.  That something starts with each one of us.  

Fun times!

Willie Nelson's western town

Britta, Elizabeth, and I in jail on the western property

I forgot to mention one more fun event.  I stayed with Willie Nelson's great niece, so on Easter, we went with her family out to Willie's western ranch.  On his ranch property, he has built up an old western town, so I took a lot of pictures.  Here are a couple of them..

Houston

We have been in the Houston area throughout this past few days and will be here until Tuesday.  Houston is one Texas city that I am not quite sure if I'm too fond of yet.  It is so incredibly large.. it takes a couple of hours from one end to the other, the traffic is always bad here, etc.  But I have met some fun people, which makes it great!  I do have one very fun and exciting story to share, but it is too long to write out.  Sooo, make sure to ask me about it!  

Today is our day off and we are running some errands that need to be run.  Tonight we are going with a friend to his church in Houston.  It is a church with over 45,000 people... mega-church to the max.  It will be interesting to attend the evening service just to hear the pastor speak and see the church.  

I had a conversation with a friend earlier this week that was one of the hardest conversations i've ever had.  It is our fourth teammate who is still very very sick.  He is struggling and is currently in one of the hardest places he has ever been in his life.  I wish I could be closer to be there for him, but I know I can't right now.  If you are one to pray, please pray for Will.  I do not want to put too many details up here about it, but know that it is a very serious situation.  

I am also continually thinking about my future and what is to come after tour.  Which direction do I head in?  Where should I go?  What should I do?  So many opportunities, it is exciting, but I also sort of feel like I have a blank slate ahead of me.  

Houston.. oh Houston.. I will be moving on to Louisiana very shortly!  We head out of the great state of Texas on Tuesday for a week and a half to do some screenings in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  I have never been to Louisiana, so it will be fun to see!  

<3

the church

Who is the church?  The church is  made up of the everyday people who are out loving and helping the poor, the orphans, the widows.  How can we think that any of us think that we are better than that man on the street corner?  How is it that the church is not reaching out its arms wide open to others (both near and far) in need?  Why are we stuck in our self-centered worlds?

I am in a state that has a massive amounts of mega-churches and churches here spend a ridiculous amount of money on their buildings and everything inside.  I have seen flat screens, skate parks, and starbucks inside of churches.  I am struggling with the idea that our money is not going to use in a way that it should.  It should be the church that is reaching out in a hurting world on a level that is far more extreme than is currently happening.  God is all around us.  People are hurting.  Where are we?  

Austin

Since San Antonio, we have ventured onto many new places in different cities.  Last week was our craziest week of tour.  It was literally exhausting.  However, looking back on it, everything went well.  We were in Houston, then Belton, and now Austin.  This past week was South by Southwest (a huge music/movie festival in Austin), which IC had a couple showcases at it.  We were with thousands of people in a crazy musical city where people come from all around the world.  I was able to see some great bands who support IC, meet a lot of different people, and catch up with some friends.  

I will be in Austin all this week until Easter, in which we will head on to the next city.  Until then, we have events at coffee shops, houses, high schools, and a benefit concert.  I can't believe that tour is halfway over.  It is flying by!  I still do not know what will be next after tour... only time will tell.

I would love to tell more, but I am out of words and time for now!  More to come soon, I hope.

Guadalupe River in San Antonio

Enjoying a day with a picnic by the river

Britta, Amy, Kristen

Relaxation and friendship.

This weekend has been one of the most relaxing weekends I have had in quite some time. On our spring break, i've been able to catch up on sleep, relax by the lake, journal, read, and spend time with a couple of wonderful friends. It honestly couldn't have come at a better time.

It is easy to get to know people on a semi-real level because of the lack of time we are able to spend with each person and the amount of cities that we go to. However, over the past week, I have been able to open up and be completely real, getting to know someone and her getting to know me. Hearing her struggles and her joys in life. Seeing her face gleam when she talks about her husband. Having her be a listening ear and sharing her wisdom with me. It is something that couldn't have come at a more perfect time. As I will continue to open up with people and share my people and hear theirs, I hope to continue to make friends as close as this one and be nothing but real.

We were blessed to stay in a house that is somebody's second home (or fourth to be exact..). It is a place that I look at and can see the financial blessings that they have been given. It is a home with eight beds, but room for many more. It is a home with all the amentities and a little extra. Their home is surrounded by a lake and their property even includes its very own island. With all of this, it is easy to think that I am being completely spoiled and that this family may not be using whats been given to them in the best way possible. But then I stop and think... I have been blessed by this family opening up their home to us and for our team to have 3 days of relaxation and hibernation in sense that was needed for us to keep from wearing ourselves down. This time has helped me to feel refreshed and to be reenergized. It is a place of peace and calmness and serenity. A place where I am able to go out onto the island, sit in silence, and feel God surrounding me. I think that it is all too easy for me to judge a book by its cover... all too dangerous for me to do so. God is in the poor and the homeless, but he is also in the middle class and in the wealthy. I am thankful for the blessings that I have received personally and the way in which it has grown me, and I am thankful for the way in which some with wealth understand that it is not their money but that they are only a tool for which they are being used to disperse money to bless others.

In a matter of hours we are leaving to drive to Houston. And thus begins our craziest week we have scheduled for our tour. Excited - yes! Overwhelmed? Ask me at the end of the week... :)

Spring Break in Austin

All teams have been asked to take a long weekend for a spring break (to keep us from running ourselves down and getting worn out)... so that means, our spring break is here!  We have the weekend off and will be spending it in Austin.  I am excited for the time of relaxation that is to come.  Be expecting more entries and pictures since I will have a sufficient amount of time to sit down and do it.  I hope you all are doing well!  Love.

The Vision

The Vision

So this guy comes up to me and says,

"What's the vision? What's the big idea?"

I open my mouth and words come out like this...

The vision?

The vision is Jesus:

obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones?

I see an army.

And they are free from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.

They could eat caviar on Monday

and crusts on Tuesday.

They wouldn't even  notice.

They know the meaning of the Matrix;

the way the West was won.

They are mobile like the wind; 

they belong to the nations.

They need no passport.

People write their addresses in pencil

and wonder at their strange existence.

They are free, yet they are slaves

of the hurting and dirty and dying.

What is the vision?

The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.

It makes children laugh and adults angry.

It gave up the game of minimum integrity

long ago to reach for the stars.

It scorns the good and strains for the best.

It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive,

every private conversation.

It loves people away from their suicide leaps,

their Satan games.

This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.

A million times a day

Its soldiers choose to lose

that they might one day win

the great "well done"

of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical 

on Monday morning

as Sunday night.

They don't need fame from names.

Instead they grin quietly upwards

and hear the crowds chanting,

again and again:

"COME ON! "

And this is the sound of the underground

The whisper of history in the making

Foundations shaking

Revolutionaries dreaming once again

Mystery is scheming in whispers

Conspiracy is breathing...

This is the sound of the underground.

And the army is disciplined.

Young people who beat their bodies into submission.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his

comrades at arms.

The tattoo on their backs boasts

"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their

upward eyes.

Winners.  Martyrs.

Who can stop them?

Can hormones hold them back?

Can failure succeed?

Can fear scare them or death kill them?

And the generation prays

like a dying man with groans beyond

talking, with warrior cries,

sulfuric tears and with great barrow loads of

laughter!

Waiting.

Watching.

24 - 7 - 365.

Whatever it takes they will give:

Breaking the rules.

Shaking mediocrity from its cozy little hide.

Laying down their rights and their

precious little wrongs,

laughing at labels,

fasting essentials.

The advertisers cannot mold them.

Hollywood cannot hold them.

Peer-pressure is powerless

to shake their resolve at late night

parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously

attractive (on the inside).

On the outside?

They hardly care!

They wear clothes like costumes:

to communicate and celebrate

but never to hide.

Would they surrender their image or their popularity?

They would lay down their very lives,

swap seats with the man on death row;

guilty as hell.

A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears,

with sleepless nights 

and fruitless days,

they pray as if it all depends on God

and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses Jesus.

(He breathes out, they breathe in.)

Their subconscious sings.

They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.

Their words make demons scream in shopping malls.

Don't you hear them coming?

Herald the weirdos!

Summon the losers and the freaks.

Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.

They walk tall and trees applaud,

skyscrapers bow,

mountains are dwarfed

by these children of another dimension.

Their prayers summon the hounds of

heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be.

It will come to pass;

it will come easily;

it will come soon.

How do I know?

Because this is

the longing of creation itself,

the groaning of the Spirit,

the very dream of God.

My tomorrow is his today. 

My distant hope is his 3D.

And my feeble,

whispered,

faithless prayer

invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great

"Amen!"

from countless angels,

from heroes of the faith,

from Christ himself.

And he is the original dreamer,

the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.

by Peter Greig

Meet Priscilla..

We stayed at a contact's house last week and she just so happened to have a pet rat named Priscilla.  At first I was more or less disgusted that this rat crawled all over people.. but then we became friends.  Priscilla is pretty cute and she would run up one arm, around my neck, and down the other.  I thought I would include a picture so you could look at her sweet face..

Riverwalk

Here is a picture from San Antonio of my team (in which we are very small, i realize this) at the top of the bridge along the riverwalk.  If you have never been here, I suggest you come sometime to visit.  There is a river that runs right through downtown and shops and restaurants are built alongside.  Not to mention the beautiful architecture of the buildings!

San Antonio arrival

I have been trying to post pictures and unfortunately, to no avail.  I will hopefully get that figured out soon so you can visually see some of my experiences.  I am also making it a goal of mine to take more pictures that I have been because I know I am going to look back on tour and wish that I had.  

We made it to San Antonio yesterday!  After a long boring drive through western texas... but things have been going well!  We had a five hour drive and a screening when we got here, so that made for a long day, but a good one.  It was the first house screening last night that truly went how I'd first pictured it.  After showing Sunday, we were able to sit down and talk with everyone (about 20 people) in the living room and answer questions and discuss what to do, etc.  

It is also encouraging when you find those people who you really connect with.  One girl and I sat and talked for a good 45 minutes throughout the night about life and where we are headed and whatnot.  It was encouraging and I made a really good friend through that.  

Today we had a day off and we went with one of our contacts to see the sights in San Antonio.  We went to The Alamo as well as the Riverwalk.  It is gorgeous weather here (80+ degrees), so I am loving that aspect as well!  We will be in San Antonio until Friday morning... so much more to come!  

Current update in Uganda

So many amazing things happening in the last few days... there have been peace talks happening for the last year and a half (on and off) and now the LRA and Ugandan government have just signed a permanent ceasefire.  This means that the war in northern Uganda could be ended as early as next week.  I really cannot even grasp it.  Keep in mind that this war has been going on for the last 22 years.  This is what I am doing traveling around this spring - trying to end the war in northern Uganda.  

I definitely encourage you all to check out this website: www.ugandacan.org for more information on the current up to date information.  

I cannot wait to tell you more about what is new... but for now, I have to run!  We are staying with a family who is absolutely incredible and the kids want to play before we have to go to our screening.  :)  Love to you all!

TCU

Texas Christian University.  Amazing group of people that took us in and we became old friends instantly.  Although they were some of the most exhausting days, it was some of the best.  They have a huge IC following on campus, so it was so good just to join up alongside of them.  I can't wait to go back in April to visit again.

We have been blessed with hospitality all around.  The people and families that we've stayed with have been incredible.  Then we got to Abilene on Thursday and we were given free hotel rooms at the Hampton Inn for 3 nights!  Although I feel spoiled, the relaxation is also a blessing.  

I am continually blown away by people's sacrifice and love for others and it is so refreshing to experience.  

update from this past week

written just a few days ago...

Hello!

So i wish i had the time to sit down and write about everything i've been experiencing in this past 2 wks because there has been SO SO much.. but i don't, and i know you do not have the time to read it.  So in turn, I just want to let you know that everything has been incredible!  I really can't even explain it.. but i have met some of the most amazing people on the road.  We have been to Austin, Dallas, and Ft. Worth so far (currently at Texas Christian University).  

When i receive emails from people who've i've talked with and shared the IC story with.. that go a little something like this... "The opportunity to help people in absolute dire straits was always very appealing to me.  As a civilian, I have seen poverty in Central America.  These experiences have helped me be a better teacher and given me an incredible appreciation for life in the US, however I have an unquenchable desire to go to other countries to understand their issues and develop/assist in workable solutions.  At the end of the day, we have more in common as humanity, that we can imagine." ... then I know that I am out here doing what I am doing for a reason that becomes so real.  I am 100% trying to impact each person in the littlest way, and it is encouraging to hear from some people that they get it.  They understand.

We went to one HS last week where we had 3 assemblies throughout the day and showed the film to over 2,700 students!  not to mention that this was actually the very first assembly that they've had at their school.  Students went around at lunch and asked their peers to write letters to their senators for continued support in Uganda.  The power of a letter is huge, and they understood that.

Finally, a story that continues to blow my mind.. I was hanging out this past weekend with a group of college kids after a screening.  The next morning we ended up going to brunch together.  I was talking with one girl named Steph, she was asking where I graduated from.  I said Northwestern.  Then she proceeds to ask me: "Do you know a girl named Alyssa Barr??"  My response with a shocked face... "that's my sister!"  So it turns out that this girl I had been hanging out with all weekend was my sister's roommate from Russia!  Talk about a small world!  I love it.

The past two days have been absolutely insane.  And actually the hardest for me since starting this experience.  It has been so good.. but I am also realizing how draining it can become so easily.  We are constantly with new people all the time, who want to get to know you (which is wonderful!) - but that means you are telling people your life story all the time.  Then we leave that city/school and move on to the next.  In the meantime, I am trying to keep in touch with people we've met at our last locations, do my job at our present location, and contact people to get details finalized for our future locations.  It is proving to be quite the task.  

I'm still apologize for not being in touch as much as I'd like to.  It is hard to find time to sit down and write/call, but i miss you all so much and i hope that you are doing wonderful!  I would love to hear about your life, so please email me!  We leave Ft. Worth on Thursday and head to Abilene, Lubbock, and ODessa Tx.  Love to you all!

Meet the team!

Britta, Will, Allison (office rep), Amy, Jared, and Lauren (regional manager)

Texas.. we arrived!

We made it to Texas!  It is good to be here!  I am so excited to be starting our tour.  The last week has been a crazy blur.. with little sleep and emotions running in all directions.  There was a lot to be done in the last week getting ready for tour - we ended up training for many hours a day, finished booking our tour, packing, etc.  Not to mention saying goodbye to nearly 50 housemates who i've grown close with.  

We had a send-off dinner earlier in the week, in which we were affirmed and encouraged to go out and do whatever we can to be a light to others and change the world one person at a time.  Then we had our launch party on Thursday morning, saying way too many goodbyes to dear people.  It was a weird feeling having all of the teams go their separate ways after so long.  The hardest part of the week was leaving one of our dear teammates behind.  Will has pneumonia and was unable to launch on tour with us.  He is staying at home to rest and get better and will fly out to meet us in Texas in a couple of weeks as soon as he is better.  Along with that, I am now the only driver on my team (only person over 21), so that becomes a challenge.

I have attached a picture (hopefully it works) of my teammates.  Its funny because it is said that the four of us on the road will be married to each other for the next three months.  I am realizing this is true.  I am so excited for the upcoming months, and at the same time, I am slowly realizing how hard and challenging it is going to be as well with not having a place to call home, living by such a tight schedule, and driving a massive van in crazy cities (in which texas roads make absolutely no sense i am slowly finding out).

All in all, so much more to say, but so little time.  We leave Austin tomorrow and head to Dallas.  Our first day of screenings is Monday!  Will update again soon.

Love!

Tour Schedule

Thursday is the day that my team and I head out to Texas to live travel through Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico for three months.  I am so excited!  Some of you all have been asking where I will be when, so I wanted to give you a schedule of our locations.  

Feb 7-10 ~ En route to Texas

Feb 11~ Dallas, TX

Feb 12-15 ~ Denton, TX

Feb 16-17 ~ Arlington, TX

Feb 18-20 ~ Fort Worth, TX

Feb 21-24 ~ Abilene, TX

Feb 25 ~ Plainview, TX

Feb 26-27 ~ Lubbock, TX

Feb 28 ~ Odessa, TX

Feb 29-Mar 4 ~ San Antonio, TX

Mar 5 ~ San Marcos, TX

Mar 6 ~San Antonio, TX

Mar 7-10 ~ Spring Break (in Austin, TX)

Mar 11-13 ~ Houston, TX

Mar 14-23 ~ Austin, TX

Mar 24 ~ Houston, TX

Mar 25-27 ~ College Station/Bryan, TX

Mar 28-31 ~ Houston, TX

Apr 1 ~ Huntsville, TX

Apr 2 ~ Lafayette, LA

Apr 3-5 ~ Baton Rouge, LA

Apr 6-9 ~ New Orleans, LA

Apr 10 ~ Ruston, LA

Apr 11-14 ~ Dallas, TX

Apr 15-16 ~ Austin, TX

Apr 17 ~ San Antonio, TX

Apr 18 ~ Corpus Christi, TX

Apr 19-22 ~ El Paso, TX

Apr 23 ~ Las Cruces, NM

Apr 24 ~ Socorro, NM

Apr 25 ~ NM (somewhere?)

Numero dos

The second update in two weeks, I'm not off to a very good start.  :)  A lot has happened in the last week... 

Last weekend we went to the mountains for a roadie retreat.  This included all 40 roadies, 10 interns, and a few of the staff.  We drove up to the San Bernadino mountains (about 2 or 3 hrs north) and had 2 1/2 days of time to get to know each other.  This went better than I could have imagined.  We were in a big group half of the weekend doing activities, and we were in our small teams half of the weekend getting to know each other on a very personal level since we will be living together in a van for the next 3 months.  It was a time of vulnerability, which allowed us to be very personal and open up.  My teammates are incredible and we each have very different pasts that help to make us who we are today.  We were also able to share in team building activities - such as a ropes course, rock climbing wall (quite high up i may add), and a zip line (scary to take the first step off the ledge, but so fun once you are flying through the air).

This week the new roadies finished training and started to help our team with booking screenings.  Its been going really well, and I'm excited to keep in touch with my contacts and continue to make progress over the next two weeks before we head out.  One of my teammates, Will, has been really sick for the past week so I have taken over part of his route (Austin and Houston TX), along with some of my own (Las Cruces, NM).  The calendar is coming together slowly but surely.  

Unfortunately I have come down with a little illness of some kind.. bronchitis perhaps?  No fun, but hopefully I will start to feel better soon.  It is hard to live in a house with 51 people and not get sick when it seems to be going around.  However, I have had the chance to relax this weekend and get a lot of sleep.  Yesterday I also went to OB and relaxed on the beach a bit, took pictures at sunset, and ate acai (mmm!).  

Good news - the internet is now fixed in the house, so hopefully I will be able to update this a bit more than I have been.  Until next time..

And it begins!

Hello all!

I wanted to let you know that I did in fact make it to San Diego!  I have never done a blog before, but I decided that it would be best to do out of convenience for those who want to know how things are going out here.

I'm realizing that it has been and will be somewhat difficult to stay in touch with people as much as I'd like to.  As of right now, the internet at our house is not working (so I am coming to a coffee shop to use the internet every few days).  Also, the time difference is always tricky for making phone calls.  

I am living in a crazy huge house with 51 (I think) other people!  That is pure craziness right there.  I think I have met all of my housemates now, and they are incredible people.  I also got to meet my teammates last night, and I am so excited to get to know them more and go on the road with them soon!  Today was our first day of training.  It was fun to go back to the Invisible Children office... it felt like going back to a place of comfort, as if I hadn't been away for long.  The next couple days we will be training, then we have a roadie retreat in the mountains this weekend and next week it's game time!  

Today was great to talk with my team and get on the same page because I have been so far away from them this past semester.  It made me even more excited for this next few months!  Much more to come on that in the upcoming weeks..  

The title for this blog is simply love, and that is because this last semester of college I have been so convicted to simply love people.  In my personal faith, I believed that we were called to love others unconditionally.  And that is the road I am choosing to follow.  In our team meeting today, we talked about stepping outside of the box on tour, and making it our absolute priority to build relationships to people.  Love.  It is truly a beautiful thing.

I apologize upfront if my blogs are random.  Most of the time, I will just be writing what is on my mind, and most of the time there isn't a flow to it.  I feel like this is a life that is so crazy to imagine.  I am living in a house with 51 other people who all believe that we can do our part in reaching out to others and therefore ending a war in a country halfway around the world.  It is a movement.  It is a revolution.  It is love.  And I am so excited to be a part of it.  Love to you all.