Never Underestimate the Power of a Hug: little things with great love

 I'm a hugger.

Whether you're my family, a friend, even a famous person, I prefer a hug over a handshake :)

 One should never underestimate the power of a hug.

I work with cadets at the Citadel and the only physical touch they're likely to get is probably not too tender or nurturing.

I remember last year a cadet came to one of our BCM meetings and as he was leaving, I offered a hug. He told me that was the first hug he had had in 6 weeks. 6 weeks!?! I truly don't think I could function without a hug for that long :/

But so many people do... cadets at military colleges, elderly people who have lost their spouse, orphans around the world, etc.

Tonight was our first gathering this year of all our Citadel BCMers so I was handing out hugs left and right and heard again how it had been weeks since their last hug. And how nice it was to get a hug. The beautiful thing is that it is just as lovely to give a hug as it is to get a hug :)

Simple little things like a hug or a heartfelt smile or a sincere "how are you?" can have a huge impact. I love how Mother Teresa put it:

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

What if we didn't set out to save the world or start a company or end a disease (which are all great things, no doubt!) but, instead, started small like starting each day with the intention of doing small things in great love?

Just itty bitty ways to be big blessings.

I think it could have revolutionary impact.

Romans 12 says:

⁹ Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them... ¹⁰ Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other...¹³ When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

What if the world really lived that out?

There is no better time than now :)

So today, hug someone or give an excessive tip or hold the door or start a conversation, pray for someone, pay for someone's meal... whatever.

Love.

Be a blessing :)

Timeless Advice

"Don't date who you know you can't mate; you never know who you'll fall in love with!" 

"You have two ears and one mouth for a reason; you should listen twice as much as you talk."

"Listen to your mama; eat your vegetables; save your money, etc. etc. etc." 

Advice.
It is often handed out but how long is it remembered?
And how widely is it circulated?

Above are bits of advice I've heard growing up, but below is some advice that has been around for decades (possibly centuries) and it has traveled around the globe and been translated into several languages. 

I recently came across the advice that was given to me over a decade ago in a Christmas letter from my SIXTH GRADE (!?!) teacher. I guess you could call me a pack-rat. Or sentimental. Maybe a bit of both ;)

But, as I was leafing through old letters and notebooks and journals from school, that 6th grade letter had a poem in it that truly struck me. It was very deep for a 12 year old (I would have needed a dictionary just to understand half the words!). However, sitting there in a pile of dust and papers from the attic, reading the letter as a 23 year old, I  was impressed by how relevant the advice was.

The advice (below in the poem) is timeless.

The author and original creation date are a bit murky but there is no doubt that the letter is from another era.

I think there is something powerful about this bit of advice that it was pertinent then and still today. Hope you like it!

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. 

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. 

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. 

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. 

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. 

Be careful. 

Strive to be happy.

© Max Ehrmann 1927

Phenomenal Documentary and Ladies Leading Change in Liberia

"The accused has been found responsible for aiding and abetting as well as planning some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history," said Lussick [the trial's judge], who described one RUF military operation as the "indiscriminate killing of anything that moved." (1)

Richard Lussick was describing Charles Taylor who is on Africa's list of their Top 10 Dictators of all time.

Over the last 2-3 decades, he has embezzled 10s of thousands of dollars, smuggled blood diamonds and weapons, aided the Sierra Leone war, civil war in Liberia and led the maiming/murdering/raping of countless victims, among other crimes (1) (2).

I learned about some of his horrible crimes AND how a group of women removed him from power after watching the phenomenal documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

The website offers this synopsis:

"Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country.

"Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about a agreement during the stalled peace talks.

"A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations."

And they did alter the history of Liberia as an instrumental force in removing Charles Taylor from power. The documentary was a beautiful story of women putting their minds to something and standing up for it through faith, unity and networking.

One of the key leaders in the peace prayer activism movement was Leymah Gbowee who later won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts. Further, after Gbowee's women helped remove Taylor, they helped Ellen Johnson Sirleaf win her position as the first democratically-elected female head of state in all of Africa and she too won a Nobel Peace Prize, rightfully so since

"In 2010, Newsweek magazine listed Johnson Sirleaf as one of the ten best leaders in the world; Time placed her among the top ten female leaders; and the Economist called her “the best President the country has ever had.” (3)

So, clearly Liberia is in good hands and on the rise, largely because of a group of determined women activists who were able to pray the Devil back to hell.

I highly encourage you to watch the documentary and take notes on how to make a difference in the world.

(1) CNN article - "Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years for war crimes"
(2) PBS article - "Liberia's Uneasy Peace: A profile of Charles Taylor"  
(3) Executive Mansion - "Biographical Brief of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf"

Missing Samoa: TIS Round 2

I've been back "in the states" for a about a week now. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the air conditioning, friendly dogs, lack of ants everywhere, etc. but I do miss Samoa and the people l served with.

In honor of that lovely place (and after loading my nearly 1,000 photos) I have decided to write another TIS - "This is Samoa" - post:

TIS: Because it is so remote, many things have to be shipped in which raises the price way more than waht I'm used to paying at home. In fact, the one big grocery store on island was called "CostULess" but the pastor's wife always joked and called it "CostUMore," like below:

 

However, you could find some local things at very affordable prices - oh, you know, like machetes for $2.99, no big deal. In the states kids buy a snack for that price and in Samoa I saw children carrying those things around and the machete was about as big as they were!?! 

 

TIS: (1) Chillin at the beach in the rain; at home we rush off if the rain comes but not in Samoa. (2) If you look at what I'm holding, you'll see that in Samoa, the starfish are blue. I have no idea why either of these things happen there but I appreciated both :) 

TIS: This is how they do tree houses. If you can't tell, that looks out over the ocean.

TIS: Their beaches have military bunkers because since the 1940s the island has had a strong tie to the military. These bunkers are left over from WWII.

TIS: They bury their family members in their front yard. The different heights of the graves depend how high they were in the family or village hierarchy; chiefs who had the most authority got the highest graves and some were like 10 feet in the air.

TIS: Roosters and chickens were everywhere. Side-note: in case, like me, you thought roosters only crow in the morning at sunrise as every book/movie leads you to believe, I'm here to tell you that is false; they pretty much crow all day long... and into the night. Yep, at least in Samoa ;)

TIS: These were one of the snacks one day at one of our VBSes... chicken flavor chips. They also had a brand called UFOs (Unusually Flavored Snacks) that were tomato and the other flavor was burger. I am not making this up. 

 
TIS: They have waves like nowhere else I've ever seen and the water was such a gorgeous color. This was one of the most magnificent things I saw on my entire trip!

TIS: Kids here have are so spoiled needing video games and ipods and computers and games to have fun. I loved the simplicity and the JOY and the imagination in the Samoan children. One day we were playing around and they just started jumping on a tree and oh the joy! I just had to get a video of it to remind me how we don't need a lot to have fun :)

TIS: They are ridiculously athletic. These teenage boys just scaled this rock wall with their bare feet and no equipment and then jumped into the water!?! I couldn't even make it up 5 feet.

TIS: They have McDonalds but their signs say "Talofa" or "hello" instead of "enter." It was funny to see such a similar image but Samoa style.

TIS: Another hilarious familiar sight was with a Samoan twist was SpongeBob Samoan Style. He has traditional tribal tattoos on him. I guess his pineapple under the sea was located off the coast of Samoa ;)

TIS: They had very interesting local transportation. Each bus was once a truck that just had a bus built onto the back of the truck bed, and each had very original interior decorations. It made me think of Pimp My Ride! BUT, what was really cool was you could create your own stop... as long as where you wanted to get off was in the village the bus traveled through. I wish our public transportation let you pick your own bus stop... It came in very handy several times on our trip :)

TIS: They are incredibly resourceful and hardly anything went to waste. Here some ladies were scraping the bark off a local, edible root called Taro but they used the end of a vegetable can. And it worked really well.

TIS: This one was a double-whammy. So first - I'm not sure you can see but many Samoans store coins in their ear and use it to pay for public transportation. It was clever but not a sight I'm used to seeing. 2nd - notice his rat tail blowin in the wind. These are still very trendy in Samoa or have made a comback since they were big in the states or something cause a ton of guys had them.

TIS: This was one of my favorite things of the entire trip. The kids here in the states don't get into the songs; they are shy about doing the moves and don't always sing very loud. In Samoa, however, the kids sang SO  loudly and with such enthusiasm! I loved it!!!

TIS: One of the prettiest places I've ever seen with some of the kindest people I've ever met. It will always hold a special place in my heart and memories; hopefully I'll make it back one day...

When in Samoa... Natural Beauty

One striking difference between home and here in Samoa is the beauty regimen, or lack thereof... and I love it.

Back home, I am a girly girl wearing heels and dresses and makeup, the whole nine yards... a Southern Belle has to live up to that you know ;)

Or does she?

NOT in the deep, deep south that is Samoa.

The women here are beautiful - naturally.

Hardly anyone wears make-up or dyes their hair (and certainly not in an unnatural rainbow shade like can be found back in the states). Plus, there are not really hairstyles; the women just have long hair which is often pulled up or braided. Because of the heat, it is unusual for the women to wear their hair "hanging down" as they say :)

Also, fashion is not huge here since they don't have a ton of outside influences or money or even places to purchase new clothes. As a result, when they wear their clothes, they do not necessarily have to match and because of the importance of modesty here, the clothes are very loose and have little shape to them.

So, what has the Southern Belle been looking like here in Samoa...? 

Well, like the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," I have begun to say, "When in Samoa..."

But, it didn't start out that I was doing as the Samoans do!

I packed some cute clothes and makeup and... I'd say I have worn them about 5% of the time, mostly just on Sundays for church or once or twice when we went out to eat. It is just too hot and you get too sweaty so, most of the time, my wardrobe has been tshirts and gym shorts (plus a lava lava: a traditional wrap that goes to the knees to be worn by both men and women for modesty) and flip flops.

I did have sense enough not to pack heels for here BUT,  I am going to claim a momentary lapse in brain functioning to explain why I brought my hair dryer (and my straightener!?!) to a very hot and humid place where I wasn't going to have AC. I still have not figured out how I could have been that dumb; I have used those a total of zero times!

Even if I had tried to wear makeup, it would just melt off my face. And any hairstyle would be blown into a mess by the wind or reversed by the intense humidity. It took me hardly any time to adjust to the Samoan beauty regimen :)


Not only do they focus on the NATURAL beauty of a woman without hiding behind makeup or hairstyles or using clothes as a crutch to create beauty, they are confident, precisely how God made them.

It has made me think of this:

^"3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

                                                         - 1 Peter 3:3-4

And this:

“For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
 For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
 For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
 For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
 For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
 People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed.  Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.” 

                                                     -  Sam Levenson

And Samoan people do these things: speak kind words, share their food, value their family with everyone (even teenage boys) holding the babies and caring for the younger kids, working hard for themselves and those in their villages, etc.

What will the Southern Belle do back home? 

I'm not gonna lie. I like getting dolled up and enjoy fashion after having worn uniforms for 5 years so I will still rock my cute clothes and accessories and nail polish, etc. BUT, I no longer feel like I have to in order to be beautiful. Crazy what it takes to learn a simple lesson like that and truly live it out.

I feel so liberated by not worrying over outward appearance so much here. I hope to stay in the habit of dressing down a bit more and finding comfort and confidence in my natural beauty. Plus, I want to be like the Samoan women here and I also want live out the excerpts from above by focusing more on my inner beauty.

But, truth be told, step one in my beauty regimen once I get back to the states is a pedicure that my mom has offered to pamper me with and I won't be passing that up!!! One of the ladies here told me I should get a discount since my recent Sarah Grace attack left me without all of my toenails ;)

But, truthfully, even when I am no longer in Samoa, but instead back in the land of people who get dressed up even to go to the gym or the grocery store, I'm going to try to do as the Samoans do and rock my natural beauty much more often :)

Wherever you are as you read this post, I hope you are feeling (naturally) beautiful!

Scars as Souveniers - Sarah Grace in Samoa

Apparently
God really wants me
to remember my time
here
because he is giving me
very long lasting
souvenirs:
scars.

Not t-shirts
or towels
or things that may eventually
be tossed.

Instead
a scar (or 4ish)
that will forever
carry the story
of my time here in Samoa.

You may have seen
my post about the dog bite.
It still hasn't healed
entirely
(things heal very slowly here).
But it has
scabbed over.

My neighbor,
the nurse,
thinks it will almost certainly
scar.

My newest injury
though,
will undoubtedly scar.

Pretty gross, right?

Not only did I
take a big ole gash
out of my knee:

I also
lost most of
one toenail
and another one
may come off
as well:

And,
I managed
to get a couple gashes
in my other toe too:

What exactly did I do??????????

I wish I could say
I had a fight
with another dog
but won this time.
Or
that I saved
a Samoan child.
Or
gashed it while hiking
one of these mostly untouched mountains.

But, in reality, I fell.

Yep.
I just fell.

Sarah.Grace.Strikes.Again.

Maybe,
here in Samoa,
in the other hemisphere,
my balance is off
worse than usual...?

It was during recreation
for one of our VBSes
and the game
was Volleyball.

This was my one chance
to be possibly decent
during recreation time
because I can actually
play that sport
sort-of
and I serve fairly well.
I wish I could say
I tore myself up
that bad
by scoring the winning point
or making some awesome play,
but, no.

I had been on the court
all of 2 minutes.
I was just retrieving the ball
from the sidelines
(which is where I shall stay
for the duration
of my time
in Samoa).

The concrete was slick
with mold.
Or water?
I just tripped
on thin air
as far as I can tell.
It didn't even hurt,
at first.
Then I felt the blood
trickle down my leg.
I looked
And freaked out,
Especially at my missing toenail.

No glorious story,
just klutsy Sarah Grace.
And a runaway volleyball.
And slick concrete.

I swear
there had to have been
a stick
or rock
or piece of glass
though,
the way my knee was sliced up.
But when I looked
later,
this was all I found:

I know that was the spot
because of the two red lines
in the bottom right corner
which is where
my toe-nail polish
left a mark.

I really have
no idea
how I fell
or how it did the damage it did.

My only guess
is that,
since I was sharing
the message that night,
it must have been really good
'cause the devil
was trying to stop me
from giving it.

I almost didn't
give it
after I nearly fainted
(seriously)
when Sam was cleaning
my cuts.
Hydrogen Peroxide
hurts
and stings.

One girl
described my knee
as hamburger meat.
Ewww.
But accurate.

And all that open skin
has been getting
infected.
Please pray for
a quick healing.

 
But, as one of
the other missionaries
prayed:
God has a plan,
even in this.
Time I spend sitting out
of recreation
Or when others go swimming
(the water is too dirty
here
for me to get in)
May open up
time
for me to
rest
or share
a conversation
or company
or Christ
with someone
who needs it.

So I shall try
to embracewhat else God
has for me
and my bum knee
and toes.

Regardless,
as I said,
I shall leave Samoa
with scars
as souvenirs.

And they will
hopefully
lead to conversation
for me to remember
and share
what God
allowed me
to do here.

PS - thank you to Bekah Shearin for the inspiration of the writing style for this blogpost  :) Her blog is great if you want to check it out!

JLH and TIS: Life in Samoa

I'm adjusting to life here in Samoa. Some things are just like home (JLH) and some are quite different and make us say our new favorite abbreviation TIS (This is Samoa).

Here is a bit of both, things that are JLH and things that are TIS...

JLH: Things are slow here just like the leisurely, lazy pace of a Southern summer afternoon. BUT, even in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, things aren't quite this slow ;)

Yes, that says 5mph

Though that isn't the case everywhere on the island, the speed limits are pretty low here (the highest being 30mph) and they pretty much have to be with winding roads, large pot holes and lots of unfinished roads.

It's probably better with low speed limits anyways since TIS: seat belts aren't required here except for in the front seat and...

TIS: People can (legally) ride around in the back of a pick-up truck. I LOVE IT!!!!

Me, Sam (my neighbor the nurse!) and Tim (a boy who lives on campus) off to the beach one afternoon

JLH: Summer showers appear out of nowhere and the bottom drops out of the sky, but just for a bit and then the sunshine returns :)

 I looked like Sam at first with my eyes pelted by raindrops until someone had the great idea for me to put on my goggles ;)

JLH: Palmetto trees blowin' and waves crashin' in those summer showers :)

 TIS: Mountains right beside the beach - so incredibly breathtaking

TIS: Back home we have fresh tomatoes on the roadside; here it is pineapple :) That whole big plant produces just one at a time!?!

JLH: Baking cookies for a church picnic (and eating cookie dough!) in my pjs with good friends... Only, next time we won't bother with the baking because TIS with no AC and our room was about as hot as the oven for hours afterwards!

Me and my co-missionaries/roomies, Bekah and Jenn

JLH: Saturday mornings are spent around the sports field. For me growing up, it was soccer but here I went to a softball game to see Rachel (the little girl who lives on campus) play first base :)

BUT, TIS: I wasn't kidding when I said dogs are everywhere. This dog just chilled on the sidelines and walked onto the field but no one paid him any attention. He didn't seem to have an owner :(

JLH: Kids love peek-a-boo!!!

 Brandon (one of the other missionaries) playing with Tim and Rachel's brother, Demetrius

TIS: They eat bananas hot... either cooking them on a fire like below or boiling them. They end up tasting kinda like a baked potato. 

But, most everything I end up eating here is cold because TIS: we store almost all our food in the fridge (even bread and chips and peanut butter) because, if not, the ants will attack. My roomie Bekah wrote about it in her recent blogpost.

JLH: Kids love VBS :)

We have two more VBSes starting this week. Please continue to pray that students not only come out but that they also connect with us and Christ.

We've recently been looking to the woman at the well in scripture and she is a great inspiration. We don't want to get caught up in hoping huge numbers come out to VBS; instead, we are seeking to focus more on connecting with who God brought us here to love on, even if that is just one child or one adult. One new believer is definitely a praise and can be a powerful influence, just like the woman at the well. Because, TIS, they have villages here instead of neighborhoods and that makes a great parallel with the woman at the well. She connected first with Christ and then shared her experience which led many others in her village to believe:

Many of the Samaritans from that village believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”          - John 4:39

So that is our prayer. For these children to connect with Christ and then share their experience with their families and villages and that God would use that to draw others to believe in him.

Lastly, JLH, I appreciate your prayers and you reading my blog! Thanks!!!