Bloodshed...over this?

Recently watched "Blood Diamond", which vividly portrays the harsh reality of the global diamond trade in the late 1990's (and continuing to the present).   I heard the term "conflict-diamonds" maybe once or twice, but did not realize the gravity of the problem until my roommates and I watched and discussed the movie.  Unforunately, there is still no reparation for the millions of lives lost and families scarred due to the Blood Diamond trade.  The Kimberly Process Certification Scheme, which was written to curb the purchase of these "conflict-diamonds", is merely a suggestion and offers no culpability to countries who violate its requirements.

However, under President Clinton, the United States agreed to ban the direct and indirect importation of diamonds from Sierra Leone (a prominent area for blood diamonds).  Also, President Bush banned diamond importation from Liberia (an alt. route for Sierra Leone's conflict diamonds).  While America is making progress, I still wonder if blood diamonds are able to find their way into our market and into our matrimonial rings, ladies.

As one of the largest diamond consumers in the world, I feel that America has a responsibility to ensure their purchases are not fueling human exploitation.  Think about it and do your research before you buy that rock (if you must)!

Apple Farm Hoedown

This past Saturday, I desperately wanted to drive some place far away (relatively).  After a few weekends of ESL lesson planning, laundry, and chores, I was ready for an adventure!  I checked out the Massachusetts Tourism website specifically for events on Saturday and I stumbled upon a Thanksgiving Harvest Festival at the Red Apple Farm in Phillipston, MA (about 1 hr away).  Since I missed apple-picking this year, I was really excited to get a last-minute taste of harvest season.  I mentioned it to my roommates and they jumped on board too!

The Festival was awesome - even better than I imagined!  We drove through a winding country road lined with trees and pulled into a bustling farm complete with a wind turbine.  Local vendors with homemade goods like Alpaca knitted winter clothing, local cheese, maple syrup, evergreen wreaths, and pottery displayed their artistic prowess.  The Harwick Wine Co. served free wine tasting and a local brewery sold their Harvest Brew (seemed to be popular).  There was even a Civil War reenactment camp set-up with "soldiers" armed with historical knowledge.  The Red Apple Farm also had a barn/meeting area that was decorated with lights for the occasion.  Local bands played bluegrass and piano ragtime while people sipped on fresh apple cider and ate apple dumplings in front of the toasty fireplace. This was a truly idyllic scene. 

My roommates and I decided to stay for lunch since there were several food vendors from which to choose.  When I'm on an adventure, my motto is "Go big or go home", so I bought the BBQ Burger: flame-toasted bun, cheeseburger topped with pulled pork and BBQ sauce.  Sure, this was more meat than I had eatten since I arrived in Worcester, but what the heck!  The burger was well worth the cholesterol, my friends.  Thankfully, Liz suggested we go on a guided hike to the nearby 1,000 Acre Swamp so I could make sure my heart was still willing to work.  All told, we had a great adventure!

On my next excursion, I would like to drive to Stockbridge,MA: home of the Normal Rockwell Museum, quaint country roads, Edith Wharton's home (designed by herself), and the National Shrine of Divine Mercy.

It's a Jungle out there.

Every Wednesday morning, I volunteer with the Preschool Class at the local children's science museum in Worcester (EcoTarium).  This free program (awesome, right?) is available from 10:30-11:30am every Wed. and is divided into two sessions: story time and craft/snack time.  I work in the craft session with the kids and their parents.  My favorite part of my volunteer work during the Preschool Class is observing kids -they are hilarious! 
For example, one of the kids today was climbing on his mom like she was a Jungle Gym*!  He dove in her lap, squeezed through her arms, rolled off her side and clinged to her back.  He would be a nimble spy, that's for sure! Meanwhile, the mom was attempting to have a conversation with another adult.  I admired her persistence.  Another boy, who was much younger (maybe 1 year old), would roll over on the floor every 2 minutes so that by 15 minutes, he was nearly off the rug that was in the center of the room!  Haha...he was quite content to keep rolling, but his mother reeled him into her arms.

*I wondered where the term "Jungle Gym" came from... turns out it was a brand name during the 1920s!  I had no idea "monkey bars" and climbing structures are such a new concept (relatively).  I guess the idea of recess came with the restructuring of public education in America.  Thank you Sebastion Hinton!

The picture is of a wicked cool Jungle Gym in Black Rock City, Nevada.

Love

Is it just me, or is living in the present REALLY challenging? I catch myself on a daily basis thinking/planning/worrying about the future, when I need to be focusing on today and all the beautiful opportunities today holds.

Almighty God, teach me to be vulnerable, to trust in You, and surrender to Your will.

If you think about it, what greater joy is there than knowing God is in control? He is Love in all its forms - peace, kindness, joy, fulfillment, generosity. Me...well, let's just say I don't have the fullness of Love all the time. If anyone (other than myself) is directing my life, God is my number 1 pick. While his decisions may not be the easiest to follow, the outcomes are always focused on Love...what better outcome is there than the self-sacrificing Love that Mary and Jesus shared with us as humans?

When I was younger, my greatest fear was sacrificial pain, but now I understand that pain on a deeper level. Sacrifice and Love (God) are one in the same. God sacrificed his Son out of Love. Mary sacrificed her Son out of Love for God. The pain of sacrifice transforms shallow earthly love into a heavenly Love that is unquenchable and boundless. Even though the satisfaction of earthly love may fade, our ultimate goal is to continue to seek the Heavenly Love from which we all originated.

Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding and my will. All that I am and cherish You have given me. I surrender it all to to be guided by Your will. Your love and your grace are wealth enough for me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more.
~St. Ignatius of Loyola

Shout out to Saint Anthony!

While I was reading My Life with the Saints, I remember chuckling at a sing-song phrase often recited by the author to Saint Anthony, something like "Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around. There is something lost that needs to be found." I remembered praying to/through Saint Anthony when I was younger, as I had an even greater proclivity to lose things back then. Recently, I had not relied on his intercession much and I thought that I should re-institute the use of such a prayer.

Over the past 2 weeks, I have "misplaced" everything from my keys, debit card, pens, socks, to a beautiful gift from a friend. After each instance, I said a heartfelt prayer to Saint Anthony and was able to find all of these things shortly after (thank you God for your guidance!). With the debit card, I was especially concerned and doubtful. After looking through my purse 2 or 3 times, searching my car, my pockets, I still couldn't find my card. My imagination went wild thinking of all the bad things that could happen if someone else found it first. I called my bank to cancel the card and felt relieved that at least if I didn't find it, no one else could use it. After an hour or two, I looked into my purse to get a pen and found my debit card in a side pocket... how could I have ever doubted you, Saint Anthony?

Today, I asked for your guidance again and you found my missing article. Thank you Saint Anthony for all the times you have helped me, past, present and future!

Left to Tell - a must read

Recently, I have been reading Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza and My Life with the Saints by James Martin. Left to Tell is an amazing autobiography of faith persevering through incomprehensible obstacles. This woman survived the Rwandan Holocaust in 1994 by hiding 91 days in a Pastor's bathroom with several other women. During times of immense sorrow, anguish, and hatred at the thought of her razed village and slaughtered family, she maintained an intense devotion to God. She clung to one thing left from her past, her father's rosary. She prayed the rosary for several hours a day and was given grace to keep going. Her faith is an inspiration to those who think miracles cannot happen in this life anymore. There were so many times when she could have been killed, but she prayed for God's protection and was spared. Even more so, she was able to forgive those who murdered her family and friends. She realized that in order to truly love God, she had to forgive these people or her hatred would eat her alive. Her hope and love would be suffocated by the evil done by others and she was not going to let the murderers take the one thing she had left. At the end of the book, you walk away with a renewed desire to pray the rosary and to build a personal relationship with God who is our ultimate strength.