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6/30/2008

A brief apology, followed by an update.

So. How am I supposed to begin after being so entirely lame at updating my journal here on UnderTheOverpass.com? An apology seems in order. If you've been checking back at all during the past two years, and have been disappointed that there hasn't been any new, fresh content, I'm really sorry.

Now that we've got the sappy stuff out of the way, let's move on.

Danae and I now live in Sisters, Oregon, after having moved north from Santa Barbara last year. We've not really been in Oregon much, though, as we've been out of the country for 5 of the past 12 months. We've been in Belize, Ecuador and Uganda, seeking to learn more about what it means to serve the "least of these" in our midst. The experiences have changed, moved and affected us in huge ways. I'll do my best to give brief but substantive updates.

Belize
For two months last summer we were living and working with a small organization called Path Light International (www.pathlight.org). We actually lived in a tiny jungle bungalow at their rain forest compound (the compound was previously owned by a Environmental organization and was completely "off grid"). It was incredible.

Path Light's primary endeavor is education, focusing on a scholarship program for students who are entering in the equivalent of high school. In Belize, a large part of the education is subsidized during what are called the primary school years. Path Light works with students to help cover the expenses of secondary school, which often can't be met by their families: school materials, transportation, uniforms etc. We spent a great deal of time helping to figure out logistics (it took 8 meetings and nearly 8 weeks to get the uniforms figured out...) for 14 students who were entering into high school.

Ecuador
More than 1.1 Billion people in our world don't have access to clean water. More than 2.6 billion in our world don't have improved sanitation or hygiene. The result is more than 5000 child deaths per day from preventable water related diseases. Think about it: People are dying in our world because they don't have clean water--something you and I flush down the toilet without even thinking about it.

As Danae and I began doing research into some of the world's biggest areas of need, Water became a focus for us. We decided to dig deep into the issue, and actually live in places affected by these needs. We teamed up with an organization called HCJB, and visited some of the communities they've been doing work in for more than 30 years. It was incredible to see lives transformed through something as simple as clean water. HCJB also works with local leaders to help educate and equip people with improved sanitation (pit latrines or flush toilets) and hygiene knowledge.

Uganda
Like Ecuador, our purpose in being in Uganda was to try and discover more about the issue of unclean water and how it impacts the lives of the poor around our world. As some of you have heard / seen, for more than 20 years Uganda has been plagued by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Much of the northern areas are in shambles, and we heard from many people that the region has probably been set back by nearly 50 years because of the violence and mayhem. Because of the LRA, much of the limited water infrastructure of northern Uganda has been utterly destroyed. As people return "home" from the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps, many tens of thousands do not have access to clean, safe water. The result is disgustingly high infant mortality, disease rates, and death. In one of the communities we were living in, there were three funerals in the course of one week.

We were working with an American NGO called Life Water International (www.lifewater.org) and a Ugandan NGO called Divine Waters. Both are working diligently and to great effect to bring sustainable solutions for clean water, improved sanitation, and adequate hygiene to regions in northern Uganda. As we lived in rural Uganda for 2 months, it was astonishing to see what can be done and is being done to love some of the many billions who suffer from these needs.

~

In other news, Danae and I are beginning seminary this fall at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. We will be taking courses via distance for the first two terms, and then spending summer of 2009 in Vancouver taking intensive courses. Hopefully, we'll be able to complete our master's degrees in two to three years. Our hope is to one day become college professors, and thereby help college students grapple with some of the realities of being followers of Christ in our world. Service unto the least of these, as a core component of Faith in Christ, will shape and inform the courses we hope to teach. We'll see what the Lord has in mind!

I think I'll wrap it up here, so you can get on with your day and I can get to some other things I need to get done. Thanks for caring, for checking out UnderTheOverpass.com, and for taking the time to read this journal!

Grace and Peace.

-Mike.

If you'd like to learn any more about what Danae and I are up to, check out www.yankoski.com