Joy to our world--Christmas 2009

The Larsens "au naturale"

A "short" list of some our favorite JOYS of 2009:

We have spent a few weeks here and there--i.e. Mexico, NY, San Diego, Alaska, St. George, Washington DC and even Africa, but the sheer beauty right outside our front door gives us such JOY

Kai (6) finds JOY in exploring the world quietly. He has an infectious and rare laugh and loves to patiently observe all things creeping and crawling. Kai loves snow and mountains and sand and waves. He is happiest when he is barefoot and outside.

Tess (12) finds JOY in all things social. We hadn't seen her so happy as the night she got to pick out her cell phone. Oh, the joy! She is happiest in the company of many friends laughing loudly. Tess brings a lot of joy to the world and had an amazing experience with her mother in Africa this fall. She loved the safari and visiting the orphanages. Tess is a dancer and brings much joy to her family who get to watch her twirl all over house.

Sam (13) finds such JOY in the oceans and mountains---skiing and now surfing and scuba. He ran cross-country and jumps out some of his adolescent angst on the tramp after school. His hair is a full afro now which gives his family and friends much joy.

Corinne (9) list of JOYS include the following: the greatest b-day party ever, eating all the coconut icecream she could eat in Mexico, learning to play the harp, nightime biking around the monuments in DC, room service at the Marriott, and passing up her older sister in height.

Ian (4) is JOY. We find such JOY in his stories, his interesting pronunciation, his laugh, his sense of humor, his easy-going and sweet nature, and sensitive spirit. As with all children it is the simple and pure things in life that give him the most JOY.

Dave (39 and holding) found much JOY this year. He: finished his first 1/2 marathon in 20 years, soared over glaciers in Alaska with Sam, cherished the nights he slept in his own bed--not on the cold ground at a Scout campout or a business hotel bed, swam and surfed and scuba with the kids, cultivated orchids in his new greenhouse, and really finds the most JOY jumping on the tramp with the boys or doing yard work.

Michelle (sorry, once one is over 40 there is no more counting) has found incredible JOY this year in doing what she loves--traveling with the family, learning, reading, writing, serving, trail jogging, skiing, scubaing, beachhousing, visiting friends, seeing new ground, designing, teaching, forcing vegetables down her children, and just trying to enjoy every moment of this incredibly busy time of life.

We find the most JOY in our friends and family whom we cherish and see us through the thick and thin of it all. Merry Christmas everyone and here's to a JOYFUL 2010!

Africa trip 2009 top ten memories

10. Seeing my daughter experience the love of Africa. The children loved her and her braces and her laugh and playful nature. She saw all the different personalities and senses of humor first hand. She saw how material things don't play a part in who you really are. She felt the joy of simple lives and complexity of government, education, poverty, gender roles and dreams. Hopefully, she not only felt blessed for her life, but hopeful in how her life can benefit others.

9. The moment felt too sacred to take a picture of---we were sitting in a circle in an open sided building at NewHope Orphanage in Uganda. It was raining on the tin roof and I was straining to hear the soft voices of the ladies that quietly and humbly ran that boarding school that has turned into an orphanage because of the war situation in Northern Uganda and the AIDS epidemic that has killed so many of their parents. I was wondering if what we were presenting to them would even make a dent in these girls dire situations. Madinah in her humble way explained how to use the pads and the education that will accompany them. It will allow the girls to step over that barrier to their education and success in life. The ladies seemed solemn until we gave them each their own hygiene kit. Their faces literally lit up and it felt like angels were there reinforcing my reasons to be there. Hard to describe, but beautiful.

8. Witnessing the sheer hard work and grueling task of getting water everyday. The work of walking for miles and carrying those heavy buckets on their heads was awe-inspiring to me. Water fetching takes up to a third of their time everyday, no sick days, no "I'm not in the mood today" days. Then add the fact that they are never sure that water they carried is disease free and they will need to fetch firewood to boil and strain it. I wonder what lessons in life they learn from that menial task everyday. I say a little prayer of gratitude every time I stand in a hot shower or get a clean glass of water from my kitchen sink. I also wonder what part I can do to help ensure clean water for every living soul.

7. Random scenes like this kindergartner carrying her lunch bucket on her head. The beauty of seeing all the children file down the dirt roads in their uniforms. Walking miles to school barefoot is reality in rural Kenya, but there is something inspiring about that also.

6. Me, teaching in African school rooms feels as natural as anything....like home.

5. Shopping with Tess in Africa was a riot, not quite the mall she's used to. We got so exhausted from bartering for every little thing.

4. Witnessing how small things can change someones day and express love. These cute little sock dolls were made by a childhood friend's mother, Diane Klienman in Pagosa Springs, CO. She "happened" to have some black dolls and my mom "happened" to be in her area for a funeral, and these dolls "happened" to be such a fun thing to hand out to these sweet little girls. This doll will be their only toy. Tess had a blast finding little deserving hands to hold these.

3. We are still in awe over the beauty and fragility of the animal world. It is something else to see these majestic creatures in their element like this. So different from a zoo. We did safari for two days and stayed in luxurious tents with monkeys and Masai warriors for entertainment at night.

It was migration time for the wildebeests and zebras going back to the Serengeti. Wow, to see the mass groups traveling like that is powerful. We also were privaleged to see a family of cheetahs kill a gazelle and were very lucky to see the illusive rhino, even a whole rhino family. Elephants, giraffes and lions are especially beautiful to me and we could really sense the individual spirits of the animals as were came up so close to them. It's not scary ---except with the buffalo and rhinos. A little rhino charge got our blood pumping one early morning. God bless the animal world.

2. The sounds of African children is a melody sweeter than anything.

1. Tess tells everyone her least favorite part was going to all my meetings with me, and her favorite part (besides safari) was visiting the "Happy Life Home for Abandoned Children". This is the second time I've visited here and was so pleased to see the improvements and hear that my sweet Naomi (a baby who captured my heart, her picture in a couple posts ago) was adopted by a Kenyan family. However, it was still hard to see so many children that have no families. We played with the toddlers, helped to feed them and of course, held the babes. Tess couldn't believe how anyone could abandon such perfectly beautiful children. The nanny overheard us and quickly corrected her by saying, "They are not beautiful when we get them--- they are left in ditches, garbage heaps, malnourished, and in an aweful state." Yes, we know, and most of all we know that all children need a family. I think that day helped open our hearts again to the possibility of adopting an orphan. When we saw how they take care of so many, we can't help but think.... we could take at least one?! Anyone want to go to Africa with us and bring back a new son or daughter?

Good Bye Africa 2009.....until next time.

Africa 2009 part 1

going and getting back from Africa is all consuming. Kristin says it is like just having a baby---you say, "never again" right after and then a month passes by and you are planning the next one. These first days in Uganda were exhausting as we were recovering from two night flights and a whirlwind tour of London. But the sights and smells of Africa were rejuvinating and it felt good to be back to work....not housework.






Uganda! such an amazing country. The land is beautiful--jungly, red soil, and moderate climate. The people are smart, reserved and very caring. The traffic is brutal but everything has improved since my last visit. I love to see improvement! We spent the day with Reach the Children staff there. We viisited a school that has been implimenting the pilot Grow.Learn.Give. The sewing machines survived a school fire and the girls love the pads. Now, we need to improve the education piece of the program there. In Uganda, we visited a boarding school called "New Hope" which also acts as an orphanage for older girls. They were delighted to start the program as menstruation issues are a big problem there. It was so great to see good friends again that work with Reach the Children Uganda. Madinah is still a maverick miracle worker there. Tess got her first taste of African schools and the beautiful children there.







Kristin describes Uganda and Kenya are like France and Italy---right by each other geographically, but so different in so many ways. Uganda personality is much like France, reserved and dignified and Kenya is much like Italy-- colorful, dry, and passionate.

Next, we flew to Kenya, the coast of Kenya, the area of Mombasa. Here there is a little village area called Myanguyza that a non-profit called Koins for Kenya is situated in. For lack of time for the "long of it" I will do another post of some top ten.

GOING TO AFRICA!

Yes, it has been awhile. For those of you interested in my "hobby", let me explain....

the short of it:

When I went to Africa in 2006 I was overwhelmed with love and admiration for the African people. I went in '06 to help with a HIV prevention education program that is being taught to adolescents there throughout the African continent. Though I was just along for the ride, it was a monumental experience for me. I suddenly could see the hand of God in my decisions and how while my experiences are blessings to me, they are also blessing others. Since choosing my major in college (Health and Biology education) I have always had a sense that I could help the world be happier through preventative medicine. Line upon line and step by step this has happened. I learned long ago that Someone else is at the helm of my life and for that I am very grateful. These past three years have shown me that I can be some one's answer to a prayer if I pray fervently for others' help and guidance in my work.

My partner in crime is Kristin Peterson Brown. Kristin was a mission companion of mine. We taught many Africans in Sweden and we graduated in Health together. We even married guys that went to the same business school and make enough money for us to pursue our crazy adventures in humanitarian work. I call Kristin my "Tigger" while I play the role of "Pooh". It works for now, although we could use an Owl and Rabbit--any volunteers?. Kristin just finished her MpH and is presenting her research in Nairobi next week. Her research just proved what we knew in our hearts from that first trip to Africa a few years ago--girls need support to finish school, to lead their nations and become better mothers.

Women's literacy has many barriers and menstruation is one of them. Our dear African friend, Madinah, came up with this whole solution. We call it "Grow.Learn.Give." It is basically a program to help communities overcome the barriers that girls face in becoming literate. The program first educates the girls and moms in basic health ed. Then provides the means for girls to come to school every day of the month--we give them pads that the LDS Humanitarian/Relief Societies have made. Proper use of these pads will prevent embarrassment, urinary tract infections, and loss of education. Then, a sewing machine is provided so that the girls can make and sell their own and hopefully, help pay it forward so they and other girls can pay school fees.

This trip is to follow-up on our pilot programs that have been going in schools in Uganda and Mombasa Kenya. We need to develop more aspects of the programs and perfect our lesson materials. We are also going to collect feedback for LDS Humanitarian on their pad pattern. Kristin is going to speak in Nairobi and from there, of course, we are going on a tent safari for three days! Yippee......and did I mention that Kristin and I are taking our 12 year olds?

The long of it:

here is some more "health speak" from a pamphlet of ours--

What is the Grow.Learn.Give. Program?

Grow. Learn. Give. helps girls ages 9-14 understand the natural changes that occur in their bodies as they grow from a child to an adult, and supports them in remaining in school after they begin menstruation. A study by the United Nations Children’s Fund ﴾UNICEF﴿ has shown that many African girls do not attend school during their menstruation, or drop out after menstruation begins, because of the lack of clean and private sanitation facilities in schools. This program partners with parents and the community to overcome the physical, social and cultural barriers that keep girls from attending school after the onset of their menstrual periods.

Grow. Learn. Give. has three objectives: First, to provide inexpensive andreusable sanitary pads for girls, and teach girls how to make more. Second, to provide maturation education to support the sanitation pad program. This will allowgirls to manage their periods and stay in school, reaping the benefits—health and otherwise—of education. The maturation education program will teach primaryschool girls and boys, and their families to anticipate and manage the normal and healthy body changes in girls at puberty. Thirdly, it conducts meetings that will em-power the community to get the necessary sanitation and water facilities in theirschools. These meetings will promote local innovations that encourage consistentschool attendance for girls during their menstruation.

Why does the program focus on maturation?---As part of a multi-country study of sexual maturation financed by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Forum of African Women Educationalists, Uganda ﴾FAWE U﴿ conducted extensive research with girls and their families in rural communities of Uganda. They found that along with lack of knowledge and understanding about menstruation amongst girls themselves, other members of the community, including the male members of their families, were extremely uninformed as well. Fathers,uncles, brothers and male cousins appear to have very little factual information on menstruation. They understand it as a mysterious weakness of women rather than a biological and normal recurring experience of life. Girls explain that menstruation is a taboo subject even within their own families, describing a ‘culture of silence’ with regard to their menstruation. They feel unable to discuss menstrual issues with their mothers and certainly not with their fathers. Not being able to talk about their experience and having limited information means that menstruation becomes some-thing shameful and something to hide, and is consequently ignored in families,schools and communities. This program aims to reduce that stigma by providing factual information and support in an upbeat and helpful way, enabling this generation of girls to complete their education and become good role models for their communities and their own future families.

Why is the Grow. Learn. Give. Program needed?

The education of girls is today widely recognized as the most effective development investment a country can make. Girls’ education raises economic productivity, reduces fertility rates, lowers infant and maternal mortality, improves the health, nutrition and well-being of families, and ensures better prospects of education for children. It promotes sound management of environmental resources and is closely associated with the reduction of poverty, by enabling women’s absorption into the economy as employees and in self-employment. Education increases the participation of women in community and national affairs and in the democratization of societies. The education of girls and women is of particular significance to Sub-Saharan Africa, where economic and social development is grossly constrained by rapid population growth and inadequate development of the human resource base. Women are the foundation of life in Sub-Saharan Africa due to their multiple and critical roles in the family as homemakers, caretakers, workers, producers and managers of food, and managers of environmental resources such as water and fuel. Their education does, therefore, act as a springboard for sustainable development. Unfriendly school environments can serve to discourage girls fromremaining in school. Girls may drop out due to inadequate bathroom facilities once they begin menstruation. Low numbers of female teachers, deficient school infrastructure such as lack of classrooms, desks, and separate restrooms, and sexual harassment by teachers or boys all contribute to this “girl-unfriendly” environment. Few schools have any emergency sanitary supplies for girls, and communal toilet facilities are generally very unsuitable for changing sanitary pads given a lack of water, and of sanitary material disposal systems. One study in Uganda found that one in three girls missed at least part or all of a school day during their menstrual cycle. Inconsistent school attendance can lower girls' educational self-confidence and decrease the priority given to girls' educational attainment overall. Addressing menstruation challenges for girls in a strategic way requires more than simply building a toilet, drilling a well or providing sanitary pads. Proper maturation education can overcome cultural barriers and change perspectives and attitudes on the significance of menstruation for girls. Families of Africa are dependant upon their future mothers receivinga proper education and attaining their own goals. Every girl deserves the right to be educated every week of the month. Grow. Learn. Give. provides both the education and the means for schools to become “girl-friendly”.

Grow.Learn.Give. is a program of Reach the Children : http://www.reachthechildren.org/ and Koins For Kenya www.koinsforkenya.org

Are you exhausted yet? Just add 600 lbs. of luggage, 4 overnight flights and 7 other flights and trying to understand African accents with a jet lag brain--oh, and a 12 year old daughter to boot. I'll try and do better to keep you all posted. It really is worth recording the miracles that happen weekly on this project. Pray for our success and pray for the families of Africa--they are our modern day pioneers.

Oh...and I would bring you back one of these precious things if they'd let me. (This is an orphan baby, Naomi---I cried many a tear after holding her, she is 4 years old now)

winter advice for myself

Because I am much better at giving advice than taking it...please indulge the "health teacher" in me to share some.

Winter-time happy-time tips:

1. Sweat everyday---clean those enlarging pours from the inside out. I have to make myself do this all the while reminding myself how I'll feel afterwards. It adds some pink glow to my paling cheeks and I think has helped my immune system fight all that nasty respiratory gunk that been going around. Research shows even Parkinson's Disease and MS can be helped through exercise, but that isn't enough to make me want to carve out the 40 minutes to do it....what does help me is to couple my exercise time with a sincere prayer of gratitude for my body that was made to move. I always wonder how our poor mothers and grandmothers survived winter without treadmills and yoga classes? I know one can break a sweat while vacuuming or washing windows...but I guess I have never achieved that "cleaner's high".

2. Read--when the world is cold and white outside it is the perfect time to imagine other's lives in other worlds, in other times. I have read some great books this year and love to have a book stack ready to go when I get a quiet moment...or make a quiet moment...or stay up way too late. For inspiration I go to www.goodreads.com and see what some of my brainy, reader friends are reading, then make a hold list on the public library website. I also love to run by the library and go to my favorite non-fiction aisles to peruse all the great how-to books and cookbooks and decorating books. It is like being at Barnes and Noble all for free--if I return in time, that is.

3. I am not a rock, I am not an island--The loneliest job in the world is a homemaker. My gloomiest winter days are those housewivey days that I haven't connected with the world somehow. To keep my spirits up, I need to chat with a friend everyday--phone calls, visits, emails.

4. Spiritual food-- feeding the spirit somehow always comes last unless I have it scheduled in. Reading scriptures and praying have been much more meaningful to me when I combine them with teaching (family and church kids) and with my "Monday discussion-group" of ladies. We are discussing the Doctrine and Covenants by topic this year. My spirit has been lifted every week as we discuss what really matters in life...combined with a little laughter and sometimes tears.

5. De-junk--it is the plague of the modern world...junk. If I need to feel accomplished for the week I will tackle a closet (or if I'm really desperate, ask sis-in-law Christina to do it). Food, clothing, and toys seems to be the main culprits. Oh, to be organized. A motivating question I ask myself is "Is there something here that we are not using, that others could be using?"

6. Create--in years past, I was creating life every other year or so. But, today I created play-dough. Not as much work, but messy all the same.

7. Compassion--I just love that word. As a mom, it is a daily thing to practice compassion. I also get such a "high" from service to those near and far. I will post more someday about my Africa work because it is a miracle in the making. When I feel down and out I try to muster up the strength to serve someone else...it is like exercise that way, hard to get myself going but well worth the feeling in the end.