I AM...

I Am Nuru from Nuru International on Vimeo.

There are so many adjectives we each use to describe ourselves. Just think about the phrase I am ______. What words fill in the blank for you? Mine could include Christian, wife, student, pharmacist, daughter, sister, friend.....the list goes on and on.

One of the most exciting words I would use to fill in the blank recently, however, is Nuru. If you've read any of my previous blogs, you probably know how I feel about those living in poverty. I believe we have a responsibility to first of all, care about those who are suffering and second of all, care for them. I also believe that the end of extreme poverty is a milestone that can be reached in our lifetime. It may sound like a lofty goal, but I believe that Nuru International has just the unique vision and model to accomplish it. I've blogged about Nuru in the past but if you want to know more, please click on the link and explore their brand new website!

If you like what you see, I encourage you to take the next step and take action in the fight against extreme poverty. The website has a whole list of ways you can join the fight without spending a penny. For example, Jamie just ran his 3rd marathon to benefit Nuru and raised $250 in the process!

Jamie crossing the finish line

All of us decked out in our Nuru gear (puffy paint shirts and all)

If you can afford a financial donation, Nuru has a new recurring giving program designed to lift 1000 families out of extreme poverty for less than $1 a day. Whatever your resources, consider how you can use them to help those who aren't yet able to help themselves.

Be hope. Be light. Be Nuru.

join the conspiracy

In light of a Christmas season that has already seen people trampled to death over the perfect gift or the best deal, I hope you will watch and consider this video and it's message. The concept of the advent conspiracy is simple:

[Worship fully]
[Spend less]
[Give more]
[Love all]

However, these simple ideas may be harder to put into practice. I know that when I am focused on getting the right thing for the right person and how that will affect me financially I have a much harder time worshiping fully and focusing on Jesus in the midst of the madness. This year, I pray that we will spend more time than money, give more love than gifts, and focus on Christ more than a holiday. Will you join the conspiracy??

For more information visit: http://www.adventconspiracy.org

thanksgiving

Above is a picture from my Thanksgiving dinner. This year, my celebration was a little different than in the past. Dinner with the fam was on Wednesday and we headed back to Morgantown yesterday because Jamie had to work and because our community group was having a Thanksgiving dinner for some of our homeless friends who live on the Rail Trail. It was a great celebration and one of the only Thanksgiving dinners where you could hear the quote, "There's a man up there who is becoming a woman. He has boobies." After dinner, we stuck around and played some cards, listened to some after dinner tunes courtesy of Larry (see pic below), talked, and spent a lot of time laughing. All in all, it was one of my more memorable Thanksgivings and the beauty of it was it didn't feel like charity, it didn't feel like a handout....it felt like family. The people you see in this picture are my friends and family, the folks I spend every Sunday with and who accept me exactly the way I am. And for that I am thankful...

Dinner buffet style :)

Larry serenading us after dinner

An intense game of cards...

their welfare is ours

I have been reading Jeremiah lately and despite having a gnarly call (you can read about it but basically Jeremiah gets to deliver mostly bad news, is told by God not to pray for the people he is prophesying to and is threatened with death several times not to mention beaten and put in prison) he speaks the truth of God, no matter what the consequences. He is called to tell Israel that they would be going into exile in Babylon as punishment for their rebellion against God. Then, he is called by God to speak to those who are in exile and I think what he has to say is interesting:

"...seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Jeremiah 29:7

God doesn't ask the Israelites to simply be content with the place He has sent them into exile, He asks them to INVEST there even while waiting for their return to their own country. This passage really hit me...How often am I content with where I am but looking ahead to what's next instead of taking time to invest in the place that God has put me? Even more importantly, how often am I investing in my city, in those outside my church or Christian community?

Lately, God has given me the privilege to witness the power of this type of investment. We (meaning members of my community and I) have taken advantage of the opportunity over the last several weeks to visit the Rail Trail here in Morgantown and just hang out with and get to know some of the people who call it or the Bartlett House their home. It started out with just a few of us, but as the group has grown it has been awesome just watching people fall in love with people. I think too often we separate ourselves from those who suffer because we don't know how to deal with the suffering. What I've learned from some of my friends on the Rail Trail is that, suffering or not, they just want to be treated as people instead of problems. While they appreciate the physical resources that are provided for them, they appreciate even more being able to tell their stories, voice their concerns and have people actually listen, invest, and care... And we should care...Why?

Because their welfare is ours.

Because their problems are ours.

Because their hurt is ours.

We simply cannot know the injustice and hurt that happens around us and not invest in the solution. And God asks us to invest in the place where He has put us, whether we like that place or not. The Israelites were asked to invest in their city of exile...Will you invest in your city?

hands and feet

God has been dealing with me a lot lately about the practicality of faith and about what role our works have in faith. It's a tough subject to wrap your mind around and I think I still have more questions than answers, to be honest. Like I said in my last post, I have been reading Shane Claiborne's book Irresistable Revolution (it's a great book but don't read it unless you are ready for it to ruin your life...in a good way...ha). There are so many aspects of the book I could talk about but one of the things that has hit me the hardest about it is a particular passage:

"I remember hearing about an old comic strip...Two guys are talking to each other, and one of them says he has a question for God. He wants to ask why God allows all of this poverty and war and suffering to exist in the world And his friend says, 'Well, why don't you ask?' The fellow shakes his head and says he is scared. When his friend asks why, he mutters, 'I'm scared God will ask me the same question.' Over and over, when I ask God why all of these injustices are allowed to exist in the world, I can feel the Spirit whisper to me, 'You tell me why we allow this to happen. You are my body, my hands, my feet.'"

Wow...That really shifts the responsibility doesn't it? So I have been contemplating what it looks like for me to be the hands and feet of Jesus in my particular situation and place in life. This is a huge struggle for me because I constantly want to be DOING something big for God. I want to be doing whatever it is He has for me, making a tangible and visible difference, living out a dream that God has given me and that I am passionate about, especially when I see other people in my life living the fulfillment of that (like my friend Janine....check out more at www.nuruinternational.org). And yet I can't help but wonder whether God is looking back at my frustration and saying "But what are you doing NOW? You want to do something tangible, so do it!" I think this is a trap so many of us fall into...We are pursuing and loving Christ and yet it doesn't seem to translate into our actions and thus our impact because we are waiting for THE thing God has for us instead of looking for what we can do now and realizing that THE thing that we are looking for may look different in every stage of our life. Again, I am still trying to flush this all out and I don't have all the answers, but what I do now is that I don't want to be a stagnant Christian. I don't want to get so caught up in my own life that I don't see the injustice, the poverty, the problems around me. And I want to do more than just profess Christ...I want to live Him.

maybe if i wasn't going commando ;)

Some of you might recognize this Friends reference from the episode where Joey decides to put on all of Chandlers clothes: "Look at me--I'm Chandler! Could I BE wearing any more clothes? Maybe if I wasn't going commando! " Well last night, our community group did something similar. We decided to put on as many clothes as we could and then donate those clothes to various people in need (some locally, some across the country, and some in Uganda). I am continually amazed at the awesome things that can happen when people with the same heart for God work in unity toward a common purpose. And on top of that, we had FUN. We even had a contest to see who had the most clothes on and of the 8 people who participated in the judging, we had over 200 items of clothing on! Overall, we collected a mountain of trash bags full of clothes, shoes, etc (see below)



...and the prize for the clothes-wearing contest was pretty sweet as well ;)

Me, all dressed up and looking like a sumo wrestler

Everyone dressed up

Maybe the funnest part was watching everyone attempt to get all the clothes OFF (most of them needed help and luckily Brittani didn't mind helping a bit ;)...which earned her the quote "Why is Brittani the designated stripper?")

Little did we know what surprise Derek had waiting for us ;)

All in all it was a great evening, with great people, for a great cause....what more could you ask for?

a pictorial tour of my time in uganda

Just wanted to share a few (of the many) pictures I have from Uganda with some helpful captions ;) At the moment videos aren't uploading on my slow (and "borrowed") internet so those will have to wait I guess.


A couple of the boys getting water from the only source for the entire orphanage -- this tap.

The kids are super excited because Dan & Deb (2 of the other volunteers) bought the remaining mattresses that STAO needed so that each child could have one of their own.

These are the kids at the displacement camp we went to that literally followed Deb & I around the ENTIRE time.

The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE dancing.


This is the kids attempting to teach me how to dance and me finding out I have Mzungu (white girl) rhythm.

This is pretty much what happened every time you tried to take a picture....lots of excitement and hands in the camera :)

Asanat....love this girl...she taught me lots of Lugandan

Me with the other volunteers at the Nile: (R to L) Dan, Zech, me and then Deb in front


Cute! That's all I have to say...

Pastor Nelson and Deb doing laundry the Ugandan way


Hope you guys enjoy now that I'm officially back on the blogging train :)

uganda

As the red dirt stains on my feet begin to fade and I slowly get used to fast-paced life back in the States, I am finally finding time to process my trip and blog about it. The most common request since I have been back is "Tell me about Uganda." I have been so tempted just to answer, "Well, it is a small country in eastern Africa...." because there is no way to capture the experience in just a few sentences. The trip was nothing like I expected. Maybe I should start there. My expectations were high, as you might have guessed from my previous blogging. I wanted to be in love with every moment of the experience, to feel like I was truly connected to my passion and heart and to be absolutely enamored with Africa. Was that how I felt all of the time? No. Some of the time? Yes. In reality, living at an orphanage in Uganda for 2 weeks was a huge adjustment. Not only did I have to get used to my "toilet" being a hole in the ground and my "shower" being a bucket and a cup, I was surrounded by 70 kids almost 24-7 with very little privacy or alone time. Talk about incarnation ministry. I was homesick, I was physically sick, I had both ups and downs, discouragements and absolutely joyous moments, but all in all, God taught me so much and then commissioned me to come back and share it with all of you.

I'm going to be honest, putting the experience into words is going to be tough and I think that is why I have waited so long to do it. All in all, I came away with a sense of how truly blessed I am and how much I take that for granted at times. To see children who eat at most 2 meals a day (sometimes none depending on monetary support) be so joyous and in love with life was truly a wake up call. However, the fact that I am much more blessed monetarily than most, no all, of those people I came in contact with in Uganda was also a huge source of isolation for me. Being a "Mzungu" (white person) was not easy. Though it made me (and the other Westerners that were there to volunteer at the same time as me) very recognizable, it also made us targets not only for begging but also bitterness. While it was difficult to have so many people asking for money that you knew you couldn't help, it was even more difficult to realize the perceptions people had about us just because of the color of our skin. Even those that we grew the closest to told us that they believed that we inherently thought we were better than them and more deserving of blessings in life because of where we were from. It was nice to have a totally honest conversation like that and break down some of the misconceptions but disheartening to know that they existed in the first place.

I don't mean to dwell on the negative, just want to give a transparent picture of what I experienced. So time for some of the highlights of the trip:

• I got to float along in the NILE River and see it's source in Uganda....amazing!
• I got to learn one of my favorite songs ("I Surrender All") in Lugandan (the local language in Mafubira)
• Seeing the amazing reliance on prayer, especially in regards to healthcare, and tangibly seeing those prayers answered....For example, one of the girls at the orphanage, Eron, got VERY sick (with typhoid AND malaria) and had to be taken to the hospital...When the other kids found out, they immediately went to the church at the orphanage and began praying, even though it was probably 9 or 10pm. I don't know exactly how long they prayed because I was at the hospital but they definitely prayed without ceasing and God answered and brought Eron home safely after only a brief hospital stay.
• The AWESOME worship. Church lasted 4 hours each Sunday but it didn't feel like it because we were up dancing and singing and absolutely praising God with all that we had....and loving every minute of it!
• And last, but not least by any means -- the amazing amazing people that I met. From those with a heart to run this ministry, to all the awesome kids, to the volunteers that were there with me, God truly surrounded me with people with His heart and my experience wouldn't have been the same without them.

Lastly, I just wanted to share a few verses that God put on my heart during and upon reflecting on the trip:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
-- This is one of STAO's mission verses and completely embodies their calling and the calling that all of us have in one way or another.

"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?" James 2:5
--I was so reminded of this verse every time I went to church and saw the heart of worship of all the people around me. They couldn't have been more rich in faith and I think it is because of their complete reliance on God as provider that sometimes our STUFF gets in the way of.

Sorry this is so long. Think I'll post a whole separate blog with more pics and videos. Otherwise, if there is anything specific you want to know about the trip or the situation in Uganda, please please don't hesitate to ask because I would LOVE to share anything I know or have experienced with you. Grace and peace :)

heaven on earth

This morning, I was reading in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles the part about David wanting to build a temple for the ark of God. In this passage, David says "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent." David recognizes the inequity between his dwelling and the dwelling place of God and wants to do something about it. That concept really got me thinking. How many of us are concerned about the inequity between our abundance and blessing and that of the current dwelling place of God, the current temple of the Lord .... His people.

Lately, Jamie and I have also been reading "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it....so much good stuff in there (which I will probably be blogging about sporadically). But this morning, as I was reading "Velvet Elvis," God reiterated the lesson above for me. In the book, Rob Bell is talking about heaven and how it is not a future place, but a reality here and now for those who are believers. Here is an excerpt from what he says:

"Jesus said that as this new reality takes over our hearts and lives and minds and actions, we are crossing over 'from death to life.' He called this new kind of life 'eternal life.' For Jesus, eternal life wasn't a state of being for the future that we would enter into somewhere else; it is a quality of life that starts now....

When we choose God's vision of who we are, we are living as God made us to live. We are living in the flow of how we are going to live forever. This is the life of heaven, here and now. As we live this life, in harmony with God's intentions for us, the life of heaven becomes more and more present in our lives. Heaven comes to earth...

Now if there is a life of heaven and we can choose it, then there's also another way. A way of living out of sync with how God created us to live. The word for this is hell: a way, a place, a realm absent of how God desires things to be. We can bring heaven to earth; we can bring hell to earth...

When people use the word hell, what do they mean? They mean a place, an event, a situation absent of how God desires things to be. Famine, debt, oppression, loneliness, despair, death, slaughter -- they are all hell on earth.

Jesus' desire for his followers is that they live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth.

What's disturbing then is when people talk more about hell after this life than they do about hell here and now. As a Christian, I want to do what I can to resist hell coming to earth. Poverty, injustice, suffering -- they are all hells on earth, and as Christians we oppose them with all our energies. Jesus told us to."

So to follow Christ, to live the life of heaven on earth, to take care of God's current temple, we must be concerned about others, about injustice, about using the resources that God has blessed us with (whether it be gifts, talents, material blessings, prayer) to oppose hell on earth.

I am so thankful for those of you who are already doing this, who are bringing heaven to earth here and now. I have been able to see it so clearly lately in people rallying behind me to help prepare for my trip to Uganda. It has been amazing to see people pour out generously to support me financially, to encourage me spiritually and to meet a need STAO has by getting a laptop for their use. (Seriously, thanks guys....I think I have been offered 5 laptops at this point!) Though I know many of you can't go and would want to, please know that a piece of you will be going with me...through your prayers, your financial support, and your love. Thanks for helping me attempt to bring heaven to earth :)

spring break....and Uganda

I guess it's been a long time since I blogged...guess that's what med school will do to you...but I am FINALLY on spring break. There are time when i thought the end of anatomy would never come (or that I might be repeating it next year) but once again God has been faithful to provide all that I need for His will to be accomplished. I think there are times when I wish medical school wasn't His will for me because I know how hard it is going to be and how much I already have to give up and will have to give up for it. At the same time, though, I do want whatever God wants for my life. He never promised it would be easy and actually guaranteed that living life for Him would not be the easiest way. It is just so easy for me to get jaded by the process that it takes to accomplish God's will that I forget that it will absolutely be worth it to follow the path He has for me with everything I have...and right now that path is medical school.

From the time that God called me back to school I have felt His call to do missions and I am fortunate that He has given me the opportunity to go to Uganda this summer to serve with an organization called "Salvation To All Orphans" or STAO (see my support letter below and pass it along to anyone who might be interested). There have been multiple people interested in going with me but all of them seem to have fallen through for one reason or another. I'm not sure why but it seems to be God's will that I take this journey alone. Some people may think I'm crazy for going to Africa alone and only two months before my wedding (mom perhaps ;)) but I am trusting that once again God will provide everything I need, including safety, if it be His will. Ultimately, I just want to know that I lived my life following hard after Christ instead of living with a spirit of fear.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Dear family and friends,

It is estimated that more than eight million people around the world die each year of extreme poverty. In other words, they are "simply too poor to stay alive" (Jeffrey D. Sachs "The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilites for Our Time). For me, this statistic was a startling realization of the impact that poverty has on our world. I have never personally known the fear of not having enough money or resources to survive. Like most of you reading this, I am by no means rich, but in comparison to those who make pennies a day, I live like a queen. Allow me to paint a picture of those suffering from extreme poverty, taken from the book referenced above:

"...the doctor stands up and suggests that we visit the medical ward, which lies just across the hall. 'Medical ward' is, in fact, a shocking euphamism, because in truth it is not a medical ward at all. It is the place where Malawians come to die of AIDS. There is no medicine in the medical ward. The room has a posted occupancy rate of 150 beds. There are 450 people in the ward. These 450 people are fit into a room with 150 beds by putting three people in or around each bed. In most cases, two people are lying head to toe, toe to head -- strangers sharing a death bed. Alongside or underneath the bed there is somebody on the ground, sometimes literally on the ground or sometimes on a piece of cardboard, dying beneath the bed.

The room is filled with moans. This is a dying chamber where three quarters of the people this day are in late-stage AIDS without medicines. Family members sit by the bed, swabbing dried lips and watching their loved ones die. The same doctor who is treating patients across the hall [with HIV medications that cost one dollar per day and have a nearly 100 percent success rate] is the doctor in charge of this service. He knows what could be done. He knows that each of these patients could rise from the deathbed but for the want of a dollar a day. He knows the problem is not one of infrastructure or logistics or adherence. He knows that the problem is simply that the world has seen fit to look away as hundreds of impoverished Malawians die this day as a result of their poverty."

It is precisely this need for medical intervention in the lives of those living in extreme poverty that has prompted me to embark on a medical missions trip this summer to Uganda. I will be working with an organization called Salvation to All Orphans (formerly Save the AIDS Orphans), or STAO. Their mission is to provide holistic support for those children and widows whose families have been ravaged by the AIDS virus.

This includes financial and psychsocial support, education and medical care, as well as meeting spiritual needs. In June, I will spend two weeks in Mafubira participating in mobile clinics that provide medcial care to those who are unable to make the journey to a medical facility. In addition, I will also be fortunate to spend time ministering to children who have lost their parents to AIDS. This will undoubtedly be an experience like none other I have had at this point in my life, but I feel God's call to explore this area of medicine as part of His will in calling me back to medical school. I would love for you to partner with me in this journey. My needs for this trip are two-fold: I covet your prayers and cannot make this journey without them. In addition, I ask you to prayerfully consider whether God might call you to support me financially. Each of us can play a role in the fight against the ravages of AIDS and extreme poverty. Your role may not be in traveling to Africa but YOU are an important part of the solution. If you'd like to talk to me more about this before you decide on your involvement, please contact me via phone or e-mail at (304) 237-4426 or tara.newcomb@gmail.com. My fundraising goal is $2500-$3000. Any money raised in excess of what is needed for travel and trip costs will be used to provide resources such as mosquito nets, food, sewing machines, cows or goats for the widows and orphans of Mafubira. I thank you in advance for your love and support.

In His love,

Tara