Merry Christmas And Happy New Year

“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”~Luke 2:19

Well, 2017 is nearly over, and it has been quite a whirlwind. Every year, I strive to write some kind of retrospective on the year. Sometimes it makes an appearance in a Christmas letter, and other times it ends up being a blog post (which have declined in frequency in general in 2017—sorry!) to be shared online.

Where to begin? We have been witness to incredible blessings in 2017. God gave us the incredible joy of watching our daughter grow and explore this beautiful world. Sylvia’s birth and growth have definitely shifted our daily rhythms. We explore more, and we try to savor the little things a bit more than we probably have in the past. It has been amazing to see this little girl grow and learn and gaze upon the world with wide-eyed wonder, and fill her little heart with love, goodness, and discovery. She really brings out the best in everyone she comes in contact with, and that is a beautiful gift.

We were on the move a lot this year as well. Sylvia now has 26 states under her belt, she has explored five national parks, and has been on 30 flights. She (and we) have been diligent to be outside together for an average of an hour a day, and we go on almost daily walks together. There’s a 3.3 mile loop near our house that has become our walking/running circuit when we are home, so I guess we are always ready for a 5K walk/run. ;) I also worked to be more disciplined about taking vacation this year (I’m terrible at it but improving), and we were able to see some amazing sights during our travels; including sunrise in Glacier National Park. Sylvia also dipped her feet in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during her first year of life too! One of my biggest joys with Sylvia this year had to be walking into our garden together, picking tomatoes off the vine, and sitting in our yard and eating them. Often the most joyful moments are the simple ones.

I finished a one year program for nonprofit leaders at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in May, and was invited back to campus this past fall to contribute to the learning of the incoming class.  I also accepted an invitation to become a member of Forbes Coaches Council and have contributed to a handful of articles online. In addition, we are continuing to expand our impact at Nuru. It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since Jake and I first met up to discuss his idea for addressing extreme poverty in some of the toughest places on earth, and, thanks to your support, Nuru is now in three countries and has gone from an idea to an organization benefitting more than 120,000 people.

Jamie started back to work at Healthworks in February after her maternity leave. She’s an incredibly gifted and compassionate aquatic rehabilitation therapist, and it is a delight to see her serve so many and help people improve their wellbeing as she works with them in the pool. She has continued serving as a Congressional District Leader for the ONE Campaign (Bono’s poverty fighting advocacy organization) and during the ONE Summit this February worlds collided as she introduced the keynote for the event, Jake Harriman, CEO and Founder of Nuru International! When she’s not fighting poverty or improving lives at Healthworks, she’s caring so sweetly for our little girl!

Our hearts have been so full this year. My mind is flooded with details around memories throughout the year that I just can’t fit into a short letter. There has been so much goodness we have been able to savor, so much to be grateful to God for. Our friendship with you sits at the top of that list. We have been so privileged to have wonderful people like you in our life; praying for us, encouraging us, laughing with us, and shaping new memories with us.

My prayer is that 2018 will find each of us celebrating the little blessings that make appearances in our lives each day, and that we will grow in our gratitude, our generosity, and our care for one another. May we each do our part to love well in a world that could use more love, more grace, and more peace. And, like Mary in the Gospels, may each of us treasure up the stories and memories we are sharing and creating, pondering them in our hearts.

Merry Christmas and have a happy new year!

Cultivate Hope With Nuru International On #GivingTuesday

This year Nuru is working to raise $300,000 to expand its efforts to 1,500 new households in the southern highlands of Ethiopia. And today, on #GivingTuesday, a generous donor from West Virginia has stepped forward to match every donation received up to $15,000 today. Will you make a donation to help maximize this match and help Nuru serve even more families in 2017? Every bit helps!

Since the summer of 2007, I have had the incredible honor of working together with a few of my friends from my undergraduate days, namely John Hancox, Jake Harriman, Andy Cogar, and Trey Dunham to make our own unique contributions to a massive global problem. The problem is global extreme poverty. And, while the problem by itself is huge, the very fact of its existence leads to the proliferation and thriving of an array of other problems including global instability, violent extremism, child soldiers, slavery, and human trafficking just to name a few. 

Back in 2007, we had no idea what might be in store in the years ahead, but we had a plan, a ton of passion, and a number of really smart and committed leaders contributing their skills to building an organization that could make a tangible impact in the lives of others. As we launched Nuru International in September 2008, a number of our friends had thrown their lot in with us and committed time and money to helping spread the word about the issue, and Nuru's unique contribution to the problem. In a matter of months, Nuru had grown from an idea to an actual organization that was serving approximately 2,500 people in southwestern Kenya. 

And as of this year, that number has grown to more than 100,000 people. That's more than 100,000 lives changed for the better because people like me and you stepped into the arena and chose to do something rather than stand by idly as our global neighbors suffered. And we are just getting started. In 2015, our western staff left Kenya for good, and local leaders are continuing to adapt and improve their efforts to address extreme poverty in their country. They are cultivating hope in areas of the world that are all too often forgotten by most.

Earlier this year, I had the honor of traveling with Jamie to visit our second country project in Ethiopia. The area where Nuru works is high up in the mountains of southern Ethiopia, and it is about a 2.5 hour drive from the nearest city to the area. Together, Jamie and I listened to stories from farmers and their families about the transformation that had taken place for them since Nuru's arrival. They talked about increases in crop yields and being able to feed their families. They talked about improving their savings and their health, and they talked about things I didn't think about with regard to programs. They talked about how their marriages were healthier because they were not frustrated by conversations about money or frequent discussions about children being sick. Their marriages were healthier because they were developing skills to improve their livelihoods. There are so many aspects of our lives and our relationships that improve when people have the ability to make meaningful choices for their future! As we walked along and talked with these families, we also witnessed how Nuru had equipped these families to be able to cope with one of the worst droughts in Ethiopia to occur in many years.

Farming is risky business, and farmers are inherently risk takers; it’s always been that way. All over the world, our food supply relies on farmers taking risks. All over the world, parents want a better life for their children than the one they had. Amarech Sama was among the first individuals to enroll in Nuru's programs in Meteka Mele Ethiopia in 2014. Her community was deeply affected by the drought, but because of Nuru, she and her family are thriving. In fact, Amarech just gave birth to a baby boy, and has not only improved her own financial literacy, but she is participating in programs to learn to better care for her newborn in Nuru's healthcare training programs (and teaching others) ways to better care for their infants as well! Please watch and share this video to learn more about Amarech and the work of Nuru in Kenya and Ethiopia as well.

This holiday season, you can help change the lives of thousands of our global neighbors, and cultivate hope in the southern mountains of Ethiopia and beyond. Will you share this post and make a gift to support women like Amarech Sama and move Nuru's mission forward today?

Labor Day and Linking Together To End Extreme Poverty

I remember so vividly the summer of 2007. I had recently watched my mom leave this world to be with Jesus and had been laboring together with a number of friends to start a coffee shop in downtown Morgantown during a time when ideas like "fair-trade" were just starting to get traction in the US. I was leading out the college and young professionals ministry at Chestnut Ridge Church and had just finished my Master's degree in English at WVU. My friend John Hancox and I had chatted a couple of times about our own passions for social justice and the many great tragedies our generation was witnessing in the world, along with what another mutual friend, Jake Harriman, had been doing since he left the Marine Corps. Jake and I were starting to talk as well, although we were literally about a half-a-world apart. He was doing an internship with an organization called One Acre Fund in southwestern Kenya.

Jake and I had not been in as frequent contact after our undergraduate years, but through technologies like g-chat and Skype, we began to reconnect. He shared a blog he had started to capture some of his experiences in Kenya, and sent a business plan for an idea he had to make a significant impact in fighting extreme poverty called Nuru International. The business plan was the culmination of work of  several of his classmates, professors, and friends at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. 

During our undergraduate days, there was was a group of us dreaming big dreams about changing the world--the group was much larger than Jake, John, and myself, and amazingly we had all stayed in touch by varying degrees. We had moved forward in our various career paths with passion and a deep desire to make our lives count.  

Jake and I had committed to meeting up on Labor Day 2007, to talk in more detail about Nuru, and how it might make sense to work together. We discussed different movements we had grown to appreciate like Invisible Children and ONE, and how they were helping generations move forward in fresh ways to make a difference in the world. We had originally committed to meeting for about an hour, but we ended up meeting all day. Jake, John, and I drove from Morgantown to Hancock Maryland to meet with another board member to discuss the process of taking this idea and making it viable by legally registering as a nonprofit. The day was filled with laughter, dedicated thinking, and meaningful conversation. It was a wonderful reunion among like-minded friends looking to work together to do their part to make the world a better place. 

And now, nine years later, many of the ideas discussed back then have moved from abstract concepts to concrete realities. Nuru is no longer just an idea, but an organization filled with dedicated and hard working individuals from around the world who are passionate about seeing the end of extreme poverty. Together, with the support of thousands of supporters in the US and abroad, we have been able to see literally thousands of households in Kenya and Ethiopia take tangible steps to begin lifting themselves out of extreme poverty permanently. When I think back on what has been accomplished, I am filled with joy, and when I look forward I am thrilled about the potential legacy for my soon to arrive child--if we can keep moving forward and building momentum, together, we will see the end of extreme poverty, and a brighter world for everyone!

May we never forget to pause and reflect as we move forward to make the world safer and brighter for everyone!

Reflection: World Water Day 2016

This morning, I woke up after a great night of sleep on my good friend Sam's couch in Sunnyvale. I started my day with my usual morning routine of a time of quiet reflection, reading, and gratitude. Sam made some coffee for me, him, and his wife Truly and I hopped online to start my day. I started sipping water from a bottle that has traveled with me to multiple countries. I thought, "This bottle has kept me hydrated on so many occasions in so many locations, and it carries the logo of the ONE campaign, this really great organization that we have been privileged to partner with at Nuru International. And as I write this short reflection, my mind is running through a mix of gratitude, care and frustration about water.

Today is World Water Day.  It is a day to remember just how much of a gift water is. It is a day to think about ways to reduce the ways it is wasted, and to think of ways to conserve it. It is a day to consider that there are many in our world who do not have access to clean water.

Water is the universal solvent. Water is powerful--it carved the Grand Canyon and softens the edges of sharp stone. It provides electrical energy to whole communities. It can both give and take life with its power. 70% of our planet is made up of water. 60% of our body is made up of water. We need water to survive, thrive, and live. Each morning in the US, it is easy to take for granted that there will be water coming through the pipes in our homes as we take a shower, brush our teeth, shave, wash our hands, fix our coffee, cook our meals, clean our dishes, and And yet, many people in our world do not have safe, clean, water, coming from a spigot in their house. Many do not even have a spigot.

I remember spending two separate weeks in solitude and fasting in the Mojave Desert as I wrestled with a major life decision. I had to carry everything I needed in a large backpack. It included two large water bladders that comprised about 60 lbs of water. Water would not be accessible for me unless I brought it into the desert with me. Ironically it rained during one of these journeys and this desolate desert became abloom with life as vegetation soaked up the limited hydration offered by the clouds above.

For years, on my tribe's land in western Maryland, we would rely on a local spring to provide water for cleaning dishes and washing hands, a local stream for bathing, and bottled water for drinking because we had no running water.  

Back home in West Virginia, there are whole communities near where my wife grew up who are having water shipped in because their water local water has become contaminated. Two years ago a chemical spill contaminated the water supply around my beloved home state's capital. I remember being in that town to support a dear friend who had lost her father. The water fountains in the funeral home looked like they had not been used in weeks (they hadn't). People were skeptical about drinking coffee at the viewing, and friends and fellow mourners were bringing in cases of bottled water.

Just a couple of days ago, I was walking through the John Muir Woods just north of San Francisco. It was rainy and foggy, and my ears were filled with the sound of water flowing rapidly along Redwood Creek to the Pacific Ocean as a forest full of redwoods drank their fill and continued growing and standing strong as they had for centuries. As the rains fell heavily, I thought not only about this ecosystem, but also about the farms and families who would have a good crop thanks to this rainfall. The area was alive with greenery because of those rains.

And when I think of farmers, I find my thoughts going to our farmers in Ethiopia, and even to communities around the world who suffer from a lack of water. Two weeks ago, I was in the southern highland of Ethiopia. I saw crowds gathering with large buckets and jerrycans in small communities where there had been drought conditions created by El Niño weather patterns. People were standing in line for an opportunity to gather water from a source that may have been contaminated. They were not only wanting water to meet their immediate need, but they were also praying for rains to come so they could address hunger in their community and in their country. In fact, as the rains started falling heavily in Zefine, Ethiopia during my visit, the entirety of our Ethiopian staff team began to shout for joy at the gift of the rain, and what it would mean for our farmers.

As I look back across these myriad memories, I'm grateful for the gift of water that I have been able to enjoy and appreciate more deeply, and I'm hope-filled that days like World Water Day might nudge each of us toward a deeper sense of appreciation, and motivate us toward tangible actions that will help others enjoy the gift of clean water. As you go through your day today, each time you take a drink, enjoy food, wash your hands, shower, go to the bathroom, and witness growth around you, will you join me in taking a moment to express gratitude for the gift of water?

Waiting

The brilliant video above is the latest promotional piece from an incredible advocacy organization called ONE. ONE was started by Bono, the lead singer of the band U2, in an effort to challenge governments and individuals to take action in the fight to end extreme poverty. Jamie and I have been members of ONE for several years, and just this summer, Jamie took a volunteer position with ONE as the Congressional District Leader for the state of West Virginia.

The video above illustrates a challenge we all encounter in our lives—the challenge of waiting. We live in a world where we expect immediate gratification in every arena. As a culture, we are becoming increasingly self-absorbed and we easily grow impatient with slowness in download times, traffic, food service, and you name it.

And yet, when it comes to bigger issues, we often sit by—watching. Meanwhile, there are people who are waiting and hoping for individuals like you to take action and use your voice and your time to make a difference.

Right now, the Ebola virus is devastating West Africa. For some, the problem is far away and out of mind, but we are no longer all that separated as a global community. Within hours, anyone on the planet can be anywhere on the planet. What affects one truly does affect us all.

Every day we wait to take action on issues like Ebola and extreme poverty, more people die. People die while waiting for funding to reach the ground, waiting for doctors and nurses to be deployed, and for shattered medical services to be rebuilt.

So what can you do? To start, sign ONE’s petition asking world leaders to step up and take action on Ebola. Beyond that, start spreading the word—tell people what THEY can do to address the issue. That’s why I wrote this post. I’ve signed the petition, and I want you to do so as well. Looking for more steps to take? Stop waiting and joinONE.

May we each take appropriate action as we are able so others can stop waiting for a response.

Martin Luther King Day 2014

Today is Martin Luther King (MLK) Day in the US, and many people are enjoying a day away from work or school. The day is set apart as a day for public service, and personally, I love this idea. Even if people don't go out and serve today, but instead begin to cultivate a lifestyle of service, I believe it is an incredible tribute to the legacy of Dr. King.

As he says in this speech excerpted above, "Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve." Personally, I believe that this world would look a whole lot different if people woke up with a perspective in which they were looking to serve others instead of looking to be served.

And this possibility starts with one person. It starts with you. Now, you could wait for someone else in your community to start serving. You could wait for some folks to organize a community service activity--maybe some folks from your church, the local government, or a civic organization. Or you could step out of the shadows, and look for the opportunity to contribute. Maybe you could join a movement like ONE or serve with a group like Nuru International or International Justice Mission. There are definitely more opportunities to serve than there are people taking those opportunities. You could volunteer at a homeless shelter or at a hospital or any number of activities locally.

Today, on MLK Day, you might not be serving somewhere. But think about where you can serve. Think about how YOU could help make this world a better place by giving back. Most of us, if we are honest, have WAY more to give than we ever attempt. Don't hold back. The world is waiting for you to be great. 

Where will you serve in 2014? 

Remembering Nelson Mandela

Yesterday, Nelson Mandela passed from this world to the next, and the world is brimming with tributes to his life and legacy. And there is good reason. Through his life, Madiba became a symbol of freedom, of forgiveness, and justice being lived out by a human being.

The first time I remember hearing about Nelson Mandela, I was in junior high school, and I saw a music video called "A.F.R.I.C.A." by a band called Stetsasonic. At the end of the video was a chant to "Free Nelson Mandela." While I was in high school, Mandela was released from prison. Unfortunately, in my teen years, I didn't know much about the life of Mandela. I couldn't do a google search or anything like that. But the idea of someone being in prison for trying to help people and end an injustice really bothered me. And the idea of striving to work to make the world a better place really inspired me. Thankfully I was not alone.

There are quite a few aspects of Mandela's life that have been inspiring for me to live to see, and if you were not privileged to listen to the Stetsasonic song I heard in the late 80s, or maybe, like so many of us, you have not been attuned to world events and leaders, you may have missed much of it and find yourself wondering about this man.

In the time since his imprisonment, he has been an example of radical forgiveness of his oppressors, and after his release from prison, he served as president of South Africa for a season and helped bring great unity to a nation torn by racial segregation. He became a modern example of the power of loving others, even our enemies, and the power of never giving up.

And, freed from his prison cell, he became a champion for justice. And one of the greatest injustices he saw in our world was the injustice of extreme poverty. As he spoke on London's Trafalgar Square in 2005, "Like slavery, and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings." Later in that same speech, he challenged his listeners to "Let their greatness blossom."

Around the time of this speech was the same season in my life that I was awakened to the issue of extreme poverty as the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, and I also became burdened with the necessity that we become dedicated to seeing the end of it.

And as I write this morning, my resolve is hardened, and I find myself even more inspired to live a life filled with radical forgiveness, radical love, and a passionate pursuit of the end of extreme poverty. I hope you will join me in this pursuit and that each of us can honor the life and legacy of this incredible human being. May we be the great generation that sees the end of extreme poverty.

Rest in peace Nelson Mandela.

What percentage of the US budget gets spent on foreign aid?

I really love the efforts of groups like the ONE campaign to raise awareness and increase advocacy for our global neighbors who live in extreme poverty. ONE was started in 2004, and cofounded by Bono, lead singer of the band U2. Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of getting to know some of the staff at ONE and learn more about their efforts to increase awareness about global extreme poverty, and I have been thoroughly impressed. Back in 2004, approximately 2000 people attended their launch rally. Now they are a movement of over 2 million people. When a friend at ONE asked me to share one of their latest videos, I readily accepted. And I hope you might do the same.

As I travel the country sharing Nuru's story and inviting individuals and communities to join us in our efforts to end global extreme poverty, sometimes I hear objections similar to the ones reflected in this video. People wrongly assume that efforts to maintain or increase foreign aid is somehow hugely detrimental to our economy here. The fact is that an incredibly small percentage (less than 1%) of the US budget is dedicated to development efforts, and in many ways this budget allotment serves multiple good purposes. Not only does it help people globally in general, but it also decreases desperation and increases opportunities for our global neighbors. In many ways, everybody benefits when we help our neighbors who are suffering. Of course, looking out for others is also just the right thing to do.

In a time when in the US we are being compelled to take a hard look at where we are spending money and we are looking for places to cut, I personally believe that efforts to care for those living on less than the buying power of $1.25 a day should be among the last to be cut. In my limited travels internationally, I have personally witnessed that desperation that one in six people on our planet live in. And living here, it is hard to comprehend that anyone would live in the conditions that I have seen. Make no mistake, we need our leaders to make cuts in our budget. We need to learn to limit our spending. I am not going to make suggestions of what needs to be cut, but rather make one suggestion of an area I hope we do not cut until conditions change so that this small percentage of our budget is no longer needed.

Thanks for reading, and may we as individuals, and as a country, never yield in our commitment to serve the most vulnerable members of our world through life saving initiatives around the globe.

World Food Day 2012

Today is World Food Day, which is a day dedicated toward ending global hunger. Over a billion people will go to bed hungry tonight all over the world. There are food pantries in many communities across the US that could make amazing use of your canned goods to help meet the need locally. And there are organizations who have dedicated their resources to providing relief to immediate needs caused by disasters like earthquakes and droughts. For most of the people who are reading this post, hunger is not a daily issue. The strange irony of that truth is that if you are reading this, chances are you have the capacity to help someone else who is in need.

I want to give you a few ideas that can help. First, I want to recommend that you check out a pretty extensive list of actions offered by my friends at ONE.org. They are an incredible advocacy organization and they are doing great work to advocate for improve food security in various parts of the world. One of the things that they have asked is that folks like you and me dedicate a tweet to raise awareness about global hunger, and prescribe a recipe for change. Click that link and see what you can do to help raise awareness about the issue of global hunger.

Second, I want you to consider the resources in your own pantry, and make a contribution to a food drive for your local food pantry or through your church. There are people locally who are temporarily out of work, and some non-perishable items from your kitchen via the local food pantry could go a long way to help families who are in a pinch. In northern West Virginia the largest food bank (that serving food to 47 of West Virginia's 55 counties), is the Mountaineer Food Bank.

Third, I want to encourage you to give to organizations that are helping to improve food security and meet hunger needs around the world, and of course I will give a hearty recommendation to support Nuru International's work. Over the last four years, Nuru has helped literally thousands of families to be able to feed themselves by training them in improved agricultural techniques and offering loans of high quality seed and fertilizer for use. My friend Jake wrote a blog post last summer about how Nuru's Agriculture Program was a huge difference maker for about Nuru 2000 farmers when a severe drought hit the Horn of Africa. Will you consider making a donation today to Nuru in honor of World Food Day?

Thanks so much for taking tangible steps toward fighting hunger, and helping our neighbors both around town and around the world to end hunger.