A Final Post - For Now
Rebecca and I have been waiting for a good time to write one final post, to put the blog to rest over the winter, until next summer when no doubt more adventures will begin. Because life hasn't stopped since we've been back in the U.S. there's no real good time to do it, so this is a good as any.
Things with my Mom have somewhat stablized, as she receives chemotherapy and we all slowly adjust to the fact that this is real. It's been a rollercoaster of emotion, lack of emotion, helplessness and clinging to prayer, scripture and Grace. I talk to Mom almost every day on the phone and she always sounds upbeat, even when she's really tired or had a bad day with back pain. In my experience with chemotheraphy in high school, I learned how important a positive attitude is. I saw this same attitude in South Africa from Selina, the woman who contracted HIV from her boyfriend who cheated on her. Instead of feeling like a victim, she came to terms with the fact that this is now her life, and is moving forward to embrace the new reality in her life. I think we underestimate the power of our minds to actually bring about in our bodies a reflection of this positive outlook. I'm not saying we heal ourselves, but it almost seems like it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you act like you're going to die any minute, you'll be depressed and your body will not fight. But if you take it by the horns and say, "I'm going to live" then your body responds and fights to survive. I'm not saying we can defeat any sickness, some are too much, but it sure makes living with it so much better.
In other news, Rebecca and I have two new kittens, Pippy and Champ. I've posted a link on the side bar to their website. They stay at Rebecca's house, with an occasional visit to my house. The website from my class in Spain is also finished. There's a link to it on the sidebar as well. My story is called "Wild Horses and Celebrations." Our church, Grace Community Church, became officially organized last week, meaning Ru is our official pastor and we're no longer a church plant. It's exciting and encouraging to be part of a new church as it gets its feet planted. I'm excited to see us reaching out into the community, acting in faith like I witnessed at Vincent's church.
Finally, before I pass it to Rebecca, I am still formulating my thesis this semester through many meetings with Jim Thomas, a professor in the School of Public Health and a pastor at the Chapel Hill Bible Church. He's been extremely helpful in helping me understand the bigger picture of HIV and to dig deeper into how we can help things. If I had to title my thesis right now it'd be: "AIDS, Poverty, and Faith." I will look at what things the Christian Church is doing and not doing to help with AIDS. This thesis will be finsihed in May, so I'll probably do a posting here when its done (it'll be an interactive multimedia website). I am excited to most likely return to South Africa in January to follow up on some things and explore more, now that I have more focus.
...
It's hard to believe that this is our "unofficial" last post to Vicarious Summer. Nate and I want to thank each of you for following our adventures this summer and for keeping in touch by posting comments and shooting emails. A big thank you, too, to those of you who contributed to the "Want to help us out?" link. We have no way of knowing who you are, but thank you! Nate and I got dressed up and cashed in on the blog contributions the other night by enjoying a wonderful dinner date at the Latern in Chapel Hill.
Most of all, thanks for your encouragement and prayers that followed us this summer. We feel so blessed to be surrounded, no matter where we are in the world, by so many wonderful family members and friends.
On my end, finally (!), I've readjusted to being back. Work at NCCAI is going well and I was quickly welcomed into the fold by my colleagues. I'll have my work cut out for me this next year as there is so much communications potential for the Insitute, which is exciting.
Having Pippy and Champ around has been great fun, though it's hard to get anything done while at home! They are just too adorable, and hilarious.
We're going to miss posting to this blog, but as Nate said, we'll be back at it soon enough! Thanks again for reading!
Things with my Mom have somewhat stablized, as she receives chemotherapy and we all slowly adjust to the fact that this is real. It's been a rollercoaster of emotion, lack of emotion, helplessness and clinging to prayer, scripture and Grace. I talk to Mom almost every day on the phone and she always sounds upbeat, even when she's really tired or had a bad day with back pain. In my experience with chemotheraphy in high school, I learned how important a positive attitude is. I saw this same attitude in South Africa from Selina, the woman who contracted HIV from her boyfriend who cheated on her. Instead of feeling like a victim, she came to terms with the fact that this is now her life, and is moving forward to embrace the new reality in her life. I think we underestimate the power of our minds to actually bring about in our bodies a reflection of this positive outlook. I'm not saying we heal ourselves, but it almost seems like it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you act like you're going to die any minute, you'll be depressed and your body will not fight. But if you take it by the horns and say, "I'm going to live" then your body responds and fights to survive. I'm not saying we can defeat any sickness, some are too much, but it sure makes living with it so much better.
In other news, Rebecca and I have two new kittens, Pippy and Champ. I've posted a link on the side bar to their website. They stay at Rebecca's house, with an occasional visit to my house. The website from my class in Spain is also finished. There's a link to it on the sidebar as well. My story is called "Wild Horses and Celebrations." Our church, Grace Community Church, became officially organized last week, meaning Ru is our official pastor and we're no longer a church plant. It's exciting and encouraging to be part of a new church as it gets its feet planted. I'm excited to see us reaching out into the community, acting in faith like I witnessed at Vincent's church.
Finally, before I pass it to Rebecca, I am still formulating my thesis this semester through many meetings with Jim Thomas, a professor in the School of Public Health and a pastor at the Chapel Hill Bible Church. He's been extremely helpful in helping me understand the bigger picture of HIV and to dig deeper into how we can help things. If I had to title my thesis right now it'd be: "AIDS, Poverty, and Faith." I will look at what things the Christian Church is doing and not doing to help with AIDS. This thesis will be finsihed in May, so I'll probably do a posting here when its done (it'll be an interactive multimedia website). I am excited to most likely return to South Africa in January to follow up on some things and explore more, now that I have more focus.
...
It's hard to believe that this is our "unofficial" last post to Vicarious Summer. Nate and I want to thank each of you for following our adventures this summer and for keeping in touch by posting comments and shooting emails. A big thank you, too, to those of you who contributed to the "Want to help us out?" link. We have no way of knowing who you are, but thank you! Nate and I got dressed up and cashed in on the blog contributions the other night by enjoying a wonderful dinner date at the Latern in Chapel Hill.
Most of all, thanks for your encouragement and prayers that followed us this summer. We feel so blessed to be surrounded, no matter where we are in the world, by so many wonderful family members and friends.
On my end, finally (!), I've readjusted to being back. Work at NCCAI is going well and I was quickly welcomed into the fold by my colleagues. I'll have my work cut out for me this next year as there is so much communications potential for the Insitute, which is exciting.
Having Pippy and Champ around has been great fun, though it's hard to get anything done while at home! They are just too adorable, and hilarious.
We're going to miss posting to this blog, but as Nate said, we'll be back at it soon enough! Thanks again for reading!
posted by Nathan Clendenin at 10/06/2005 04:12:00 PM
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