Running (again) for the beautiful people I left

I know some of you are thinking, "Not again! She just ran a couple months ago for those beautiful people and now she's asking for money again!" As I've been training for the half-marathon these last 8 weeks, I've been debating whether to do it through World Vision again or not. I felt bad asking again so soon and felt that people might get a little annoyed. Plus, with fall and another school year approaching, I also want to ask people to consider giving again to the children and youth in Benin and Togo. With less than 4 weeks together, I've decided to ask you again to think about the people in Africa and not worry about whether you feel bothered or annoyed. Why? Because there is still such an incredible need in Africa!! Right now, Africa truly is on the brink of a catastrophic famine, with the risk of it turning out like Ethiopia's famine in 1984 if something isn't done. It's in the news right now, but just not making daily headlines to remind us of it as we sit down to our delicious and plentiful meals everyday. "Drought threatens millions in Horn of Africa." (Reuters) "Drought aid needed for Somalia." (Chicago Tribune) "Hunger leads to deaths in Kenya." (BBC)

And that doesn't even include all the other issues going on in Africa, especially those affecting the children: AIDS, child sex trafficking, child soldiers, lack of clean water and not enough food to eat, lack of proper medical care and education, etc.

I really am not asking you to give for the sake of me raising some money to run. I'm going to run this race regardless of how much I raise. And if you're giving money to help Africa in some way already, don't feel like you need to give to this specific request. However, if you're not currently helping do at least something small to be a part of eradicating extreme poverty and desperate hunger, please consider giving through this channel or another.

We have been given so much... and much is expected of us! For most of us, we won't even feel the dipping into our pocket that has the potential of helping in such big ways. Here are a few examples of how a little money can go a long way:

$50 can give 30 medicine sets to clinics in Africa
$100 can provide a low interest small business loan for an impoverished mother
$360 can feed a child for a year
$500 provides 20 orphan care kits
$1000 can educate 10 AIDS orphans for one year

By the way, this year, all of the funds raised by Team World Vision athletes in Chicago will support a specific community in Ethiopia called Quacha Birra. Although I spent only a little time in Ethiopia over 8 years ago, it still is very meaningful personally that the money is going to Ethiopia.

So, think about it... although not for too long if you're going to give through this channel, because the race is on August 13th. If you decide to give through World Vision, go to

www.firstgiving.com/runchrischonarun

A few words by Mother Theresa to mull over:
"We should learn how to give. But we should not regard giving as an obligation, but as a desire... I ask you one thing: do not tire of giving, but do not give your leftovers. Give until it hurts, until you feel the pain."
"The less we have, the more we give. Seems absurd, but it's the logic of love... The poor do not need our condescending attitude or our pity. They only neeed our love and our tenderness."
"Jesus announced which will be the criteria of the final judgment of our lives: we will be judged according to love. Judged according to the love we have shown the poor, with whom God identifies: 'You did it to me' (Matthew 25:40."

I'll close with one final quote: "I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me a drink...I'm telling you the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me- you did it to me." Jesus

Blessings,
Chrischona

P.S. Any questions, feel free to ask. And if you are interested in helping out with some school scholarships for Benin and Togo, please let me know as well. The new school year is quickly approaching and I'm trying to get as many kids and youth to school as possible. It doesn't take much, so whatever you want to give would be great!

Ebony and Ivory....It's official!

I have some news I was so excited to share with you over two weeks ago, June 29th (my golden birthday) to be precise. No, I wasn't going to write a blog in honor of my birthday (turning 29 wasn't that exciting, even if it did take place on the 29th). So, if this "news" was so exciting two weeks ago, why didn't I write the blog then? Well, I also excited and ready to write it on June 29th, when I figured I should wait just a couple of days before sending it out into the vast phantom world of the blog. And as things happen, a couple of days just turned into a couple a weeks, but not for waning excitement or loss of news. So, the news that really is no longer news and really never was news in the sense of an unexpected event, is... that I am now OFFICIALLY engaged!! I know it's all a matter of technicality and that we were for all practical purposes engaged already, but now it's official.

Kodjo, who had asked my parents for their blessing a few weeks earlier, called me the morning of June 29th (at 5:40 am to make sure he wouldn't miss me because he knew I had to leave for work early... although not quite that early!) to "humbly ask for my hand in marriage". It was very cute! Unfortunately the phone card he had bought ended up being good for only 2 minutes (he was expecting 8 minutes but it was more expensive to call from Togo than from Benin, where he bought the card), so he had to make it quick! In case you think proposing over the phone is an easy proposal requiring no skill or ingenuity, listen to this little story (makes the 2 minute proposal story a bit longer as well): Kodjo wanted to officially propose on June 29th because it was my golden birthday and he knew it would be a special birthday gift. However, he was going to be home in Togo where his phone doesn't get any reception in Togo. Therefore, he had borrowed the only other cell phone in the village, which unfortunately (maybe to his dismay and utter hopelessness!) had no battery charge left. That may not be a big deal in your mind, but in a village without electricity, a cell phone without a charge is just as useless as a cell phone that gets no reception which is just as useful as having no phone at all. Fortunately, my soon-to-be husband (he, he, he, sounds kind of funny to use the word "husband". Me, I'll have a husband??) is smart and figured out that he could transfer the SIM card from the borrowed phone into his phone. And it worked!!! Like I said, smart man. And I was able to get the birthday gift I was hoping for! (Confession: My real birthday wish had been to have Kodjo here on my golden birthday, but this was an acceptable compensation for the loss of that dream!)

So, there you have the news that really is no longer news and really never was news because we all knew it was coming. Doesn't change the fact that still I'm excited!

Engagement Q & A
People usually ask these questions of newly engaged couples and you may be wondering them about us:
When will the wedding be?
Don't know. Sorry.
Ok, ok, I won't leave it quite at that. Getting married for us is dependent on him getting a visa to the US, because at this point we would like to get married here. However, because we really don't know how long it will be before he gets a visa, we really can't plan a wedding date. Looking at other people's situations and from what an immigration specialist told me, it seems like 6 months is a rough positive estimate. However, it could take longer, 8 months, 10 months, or more. The immigration specialist once saw a case that took 1 1/2 years!! He did say that it was a very complicated situation and wouldn't really expect that for us. God, please no! Then, after he gets a visa, we have 90 days to get married (although we could get married later than that if we at least have a civil wedding during the allotted time... at this point, we're thinking just to get completely married within that time frame. Of course that could change depending on when he comes, school breaks, etc. Need a little help putting all this together? Since we applied the middle of June, probably the earliest he would come is as a Christmas present, which would put 3 months from there sometime in March. However, it could very likely be later than that... and a summer wedding always seemed nice to me (probably due to the fact that I've been on a school calendar for almost 25 years of my life!)

Where will the wedding be?
Chicago. At least that's the plan.

When will you see your fiance (he, he, he I have a fiance!!) next?
Ok, that is not a typical question people generally ask newly engaged couples, but let's face it, we aren't a typical couple. I'll use it as my replacement question for "What's the engagement ring like?"
I really am not sure when I'll see Kodjo next. It was 6 months this last week and that is already way too much time. The 6 month marker was a very difficult one to cross and the thought of it being 6 more months (remember the rough POSITIVE estimate would bring him here as a Christmas present) is not a fun one to think about. I had really hoped to be able to meet up in Austria this summer, but that is sadly not working out. Depending on what job I decide to take for the fall (that'll have to wait for another blog and probably will just wait until I've actually decided), I'd really like for us to meet up in Vienna in September. However, that is at this point still only a dream.

If you have other questions, just ask and you too may make it into my blog! For today's honorable mention, I'd like to mention Ken Kaczmarek, who contributed the title "ebony and ivory". Thank you! It sounds much more refined than my last title of "Salt 'N' Peppa". Speaking of salt and pepper, I have to do a second unplanned honorable mention: my friend Laura Michel gave me a salt and pepper shaker set. They're little people that hug, one black and one white. Right now they're on my kitchen counter, a foot apart, their arms stretched out reaching for the other (Awwww!). Ok, now that I'm on a roll of honorable contributors to this black and white thing Kodjo and I seem to have going on, my mom sent me a clipping from the Romania TV guide. The caption says, "As you can see from the picture, in the dog world, interracial conflict doesn't exist." The photograph is of a black dog and a white dog, standing on their hind legs, arm in arm. I could go on with several other humorous things people have given me, but I'll stop for now.

Salt N Peppa now
Salt N Peppa soon

I look forward to the day I can give you some real news, such as "he's got the visa!!!" But I'll try to write again before that :)