"Those people I've been talking about today -- the poor -- they're not 'those people,' they're not 'them.' They're us. They're you," Bono said toward the end of his address. "They dream as you dream. They value what you value. There is no them, only us. The American anthem is not exceptionalism, it's universalism. There is no them. Only us. Ubuntu. 'I am because we are.' There is no them. Only us." Read more
Of all the exotic aromas and experiences from my sojourn in Ethiopia, it’s the frankincense I miss most. Not the puffs of smoke emanating from a thurible swung by priest walking the center aisle or blessing a high altar. What I miss is an even more specific scent: the unmistakable mélange of frankincense and roasting coffee beans over a charcoal fire. Read more
Under sequestration, the U.S. foreign aid that has made such a tremendous difference in Ethiopia and in the lives of countless millions of desperately poor Africans (and others) is in grave jeopardy. Saving ourselves from careening off the fiscal cliff by throwing the poorest of the poor over first is simply not a moral option. Read more
Being Vasco's mother is the single most important thing to me in the world. It is my heart's work. Writing is my calling and vocation, but mothering goes beyond either of those things. Unfortunately, my position at Sojourners has taken me away from Vasco -- both physically when I travel to the DC offices and in other ways as well. When I'm home in the SoJoWest offices (i.e. my guest room downstairs) I'm still not really here. Read more
“There’s an elusive quality to life itself and if we try to hard, we miss it,” Peterson said. I think I’m starting to grasp that. I’m not all the way there yet, but the fog is lifting a bit and I’m beginning to see lights on the road. “Forty is kind of a benchmark,” Peterson told me. “You think, the things that you thought you were going to be doing when you were 20, you’re not. And so...what do I do now? Try another spouse? Try another body? Get another job? There’s something about entering into where you are and getting comfortable with that." Read more
LALIBELA, Ethiopia -- You know the images you have in your mind of Ethiopia from 27 years ago? The ones from the nightly news reports on TV about the famine in the Horn of Africa as the death toll mounted and horror stories grew more unfathomable by the day. I am happy to report that the Ethiopia of 2012 is not the Ethiopia of 1985. Read more
It might come as a surprise to learn that less than one percent of the U.S. budget is spent on foreign assistance. It might even be shocking to discover that, despite this relatively small amount, these funds are literally saving millions of lives and improving the lives of many more millions of people. Read more
We finally returned to the boats, where the rest of our group was waiting patiently, and on our journey back to Bahir Dar, I began thinking about pilgrimage and how, perhaps, what you believe (or don't) actually doesn't matter. It's the journey itself that makes it sacred. Read more
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/63242382″ iframe=”true” /] Read more
God Girl’s New Favorite Thing for Oct. 12, 2012: Ethiopian Pop Star Teddy Afro ADDIS ABABA — Pretty much everywhere we’ve gone in Ethiopia this week, we’ve heard Teddy Afro’s voice. The 36-year-old Ethiopian singer whose given name is Tewodros Kassahun or ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia, is sometimes referred to as the “Michael Jackson of Ethiopia.” But, to my ear at least, he’s more the equivalent of, say, Ethiopia’s Usher (if he were more political,... Read more
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