Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Walk for Water …

This past week our family had the opportunity to attend Soulfest, a Christian concert festival held in New Hampshire. After a week of camping in the rain and sludging through the mud we were ready to come home and sleep in our own beds.

Above all the concerts and fellowship one event stands as the life changer for me.

On Saturday morning Kendalyn and I had the opportunity to participate in what’s called a “Walk for Water.” Basically, each person carries a 5 gallon bucket one mile out to a river, fills the bucket with water, and carries it one mile back.

The purpose of this activity is to show how difficult it is to carry water even one mile ... yet women and children carry water many more miles everyday all over the world. And often the water they carry, the water it takes most of the day to collect, is not even sanitary enough to bathe in, never mind drink or cook in. Yet it is the water they use for all daily activities.

How much water would I use each day if I had to carry it all even one mile each way to my home?

The average American uses 100 gallons of water each day. 100 gallons of clean and refreshing water. Water we can use for any purpose we wish without a care in the world.

It would have taken me 20 trips on my walk for water in order to carry that much water back on Saturday.

I can tell you now I would not have made it 20 times.

I’m not sure I would have made it 5 times. Let's just say I was sore for days even after just one trip.

At the beginning we were all together, maybe 50 people or so, each of us with our orange 5 gallon bucket. I had to fight for Kendalyn to be able to participate. They tried to tell me she was too young, that maybe we should save the buckets for a “real” walker. After many attempts at being nice, I basically just told them I was taking a bucket for her because she really wanted to do this. Why do people fight with mothers?

So Kenni and I started walking together. Oh yes, and I was carrying Tariku on my back in the backpack.

And then a man with a video camera asked if he could ask us a couple questions.
Oh sure, why not?

So, he casually asked Kenni why she was walking.

And, as if the very voice of God spoke through her, she said, “I’m walking for my brother Tariku and his first mom and her friends.”

And that’s when I lost it. Completely.

I then tried my best to answer his question as to why I walked. I blubbered through some sort of variation of what she had just so eloquently said and we walked on.

The walk out wasn’t so bad. An empty 5 gallon bucket doesn’t really weigh too much. An active 20 month old baby boy on your back is rather heavy, but I’ve done that plenty of times before.

We waited in line at the creek for our water. Knowing that in order to make the exercise realistic I would need to care a substantial amount of water, I asked the man to fill mine as full as he could. Kenni then filled her bucket with about a gallon of water I then dumped her water in my bucket and had him fill hers again. So my bucket was filled to about 3 inches below the top.

5 gallons of water weighs approximately 45 pounds. That seems all well and good until you try and walk with that much water in a bucket. It’s not only heavy, but incredibly awkward, at the same time. And add to that the 20 month old baby boy on my back trying to climb out of his backpack and the tears running down my face ... we were quite the site.

It’s quite the trick just trying to keep all the water in the bucket. If you’re going to walk that far to carry the water you sure as heck don’t want any of it to spill over the sides along the way.

While I was starting to fall behind, Kendalyn was in front of me leading the way and talking to everyone that crossed our path. She was telling them all about how they too should be walking for water rather than merely standing by the sidelines. That’s my girl. :)

Over the course of the mile I had to put my bucket of water down many times. But we both made it to the end ... tired, with sore hands and arm muscles, but we made it. One mile with one bucket of water. Hardly an accomplishment when I think of all the women and children who walk miles each day to carry water home, just to sustain life. Why me? Why them?

I'd challenge you to do some reading. Check out www.globalbenefit.org to find out more about our walk for water, as well as information on people who walk for water everyday.

And one of these days I'm going to organize my own walk for water here in CT.
Anyone want to help me?

Monday, July 13, 2009

Psalm 15

Psalm 15

"LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?
He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken."

Now there's a list worth working on.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Last Day of School

The last day of school ...

Hard to believe that today is the last day of school. Mind you, we're the only people still in school at this late hour (thanks to snow make up days), but it's still hard to believe the school year is winding up.

Our firstborn is finishing second grade and is well on her way to being taller than her mama. :) She is beautiful and funny, we have such a good time together.

Our sweet second born finished preschool yesterday. She came home with a backpack full of pictures from the year and a heart full of friends and memories. She loved school ... from the busride in to the busride home. She says she's excited that school is over, but I know she'll miss her friends before the week is out.

And wonder boy is now 19 months old. Our beautiful baby boy is a running, talking little person. Occassionally he will allow us to snuggle him close, but that doesn't happen very often. When it does we try to take deep breathes and savor the moments.

The summer is before us ... so much fun planned this year.

We're headed to the Science Museum in Springfield, MA tomorrow for the day. Buying the family pass to all the science and kid museums was one of our best moves.

Daddy has a missions trip next week for a few days.
We'll be camping at Rocky Neck for a week.
The kids are spending a week at my parents in Jersey after that.
We're all spending a week in PA with grammie and papa.
Soulfest is at the end of July.
Kenni goes to camp all by herself (6 nights in NH!) in August.
And then we round off the summer with family camp up at Spofford, our real vacation.

Whew. We might be ready for school to start again in the fall.

Now I'm off to enjoy one last cup of coffee for the school year.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Adoption Musings

An adoption update ...

We are currently in the middle of the paperwork stage for our next adoption. I specifically remember a conversation Pete and I had on the plane ride to Ethiopia (probably right after Kendalyn's vomit incident) where we both agreed that Tariku's adoption would be the only adoption and that we were done having children. :) Hee, hee. I also specifically remember the moment when we saw all the beautiful children waiting for families at the care center in Ethiopia. We both knew then that we would be back.

Another boy ... this time he will be older. He can be as old as a year younger than Sasha, and it is likely that he will be that old, because the older they are the harder they are to place with families. We are hoping to bring him home within the next year and so that will make him about 5 years old at that time.

Our son. Only now he is someone else's son. And he will always be someone else's son too.

Our son who will soon find himself in the most horrific of circumstances. Circumstances that will leave him orphaned and in need of a new mommy and daddy. Circumstances so traumatic that I dare not even speculate what they might be.

And so what do we do now? Well, for one, we fill out piles of endless paperwork and get countless signatures notarized. We write checks. Big checks that are only being written because we have the ability to take out loans. And then we wait ... wait for our adoption agency to send all our paperwork to all the right places ... wait for visas and passports and medical evaluations, etc.

Why? So many people ask us why. People ask us why, and then generally they tell us why they are not able/choosing to adopt. *Sigh*

Why? Let me tell you why.

Because 15 months ago we traveled to the other side of the world to pick up our son who has forever changed our lives. He is beautiful and smart and a little crazy. He is our son.

But he did not start off as our son and he is not only our son. Due to the tragic imbalance of resources in our world, he was born to a beautiful Ethiopian woman who was unable to care for him. It is true that I will probably never meet her, but yet I see her every minute I look into his face ... and I wonder ... did his birth mommy have dimples ... and did she ever get to see his? Did she have long curly eye lashes? Did she love popcorn?

Did she get to hold him close, even for a minute? I pray she did. Oh God, I pray she was able to hold him.

Because my son is a gift. But he was her son first.
In a perfect world, she should have been able to raise him and love him and chase him all over the place like I do everyday.

And now there is another little boy ... a little older this time ... who is about to lose his family due to the tragic imbalance of resources in our world. And this time he will remember his birth family because he will be old enough to remember. And we will do our best to help him keep those memories alive.

So many beautiful children. So few people who are willing. And if they could only understand ... what we have "sacrificed" to bring these two boys into our home pales in comparison to the joy they have and will bring to us. It pales in comparison to the gift of family and the amazing mystery of adoption.

We might not own a home. We might not drive a nice car. We might not go out to eat or out on dates. We might eat too much pasta and not enough meat.

But we have experienced love, life and blessing like we would never have otherwise known.
The expense, the risk, the grief, the wait ... it's all worth it, I tell you. Well worth it.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Jackass Number 2

The kids are still asleep (I know, I'm shocked as well) so this phenomenon leads me to believe I am meant to write something worthwhile and lasting this morning. Why else would they still be asleep at 8:05 on a Tuesday morning?

The cornmeal lunches are going well. Honestly, after a couple days of choking it down it got a little easier. My super amazing friend Alicia starts day 2 of her ENTIRE WEEK of cornmeal porridge today. She had a tough time eating it all day yesterday and felt pretty bad about herself ... the same way I felt the first time I choked it down.

Everyday I wake up and open my refrigerator and decide what to have for breakfast. After complaining to myself that I have to make it and wouldn't it be nice if I could just go out to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast like everyone else, I try and make something healthy for myself and the kids. Again, in my mind I think about how nice it would be to just go to Dunkin Donuts with the kids and not worry about health or money.

Before the cornmeal lunches, I would again look in the frig and try to find something for lunch after a long morning at the YMCA. I'd say to myself in my head, "You deserve so much better than this Amy ... but way to go for being so disciplined with your food budget, unlike so many others. You can prove what can be done with a tight budget and maybe someday someone will listen."

And then at dinnertime I would remove the small package of meat from the frig and make something with it that distributed the meat among all 5 (okay 4 of us, Tariku won't generally eat meat of any kind) of us in an economical way. I would again say to myself in my head, " Maybe for fun one night this week I'll buy a couple steaks from Aldi's and splurge for me and Pete ... maybe while we watch the Lost finale online after he gets back."

You see, in my head, I am not really satisfied or happy with the way we are choosing to eat on a budget. I do it because I know not only is it very do-able, but it is healthy and it is allowing us to do so many more exciting things with our money. But I am not REALLY satisified or happy with the scenerio.

Because, I too am a Jackass. (read my friend's blog for further reference)

I say I am sympathetic to the cause of the poor ... I am, really ... but it does not carry over to my head when I'm home alone cooking dinner for my family.

I think deep down that somehow I am more deserving than the beautiful Ethiopian mother who walks miles for dirty water and has nothing to feed her children. Somehow I have the right to whatever food I want today in my refrigerator, while she chooses to go hungry and instead gives her children the beans and cornmeal given to her by World Vision.

I think it may take more than a year to become really grateful for what I have. Not grateful on a surface level, but really grateful ... grateful in a way that even changes my thought patterns.

This morning I put fresh milk in my coffee. Fresh cow's milk in my refrigerator puts our family in the minority in this world. The vast majority of the world's population does not have access to fresh milk and I get annoyed when I have to use skim milk in my coffee instead of whole.

Come have lunch with me. Please. Let's talk together about how we might become more grateful people.

Live simply so that others may simply live.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Great friends

Everyone needs great friends.

You know the kind ... while the rest of the world is trying to ignore your crazy idea about corn meal porrige ... there they are ... jumping in to eat it with you!
Thank you! You know who you are!

And the porrige is going well. Honestly after 7 days of it, I'm sort of used to it. I'm still booking lunch dates for those who would like to join me! If you would like me to come to your work, I'm flexible for that too. :) For a donation of $5 (tax deductable to World Vision) we will eat together what so many in our world pray for each day.

Love you guys! Let me know how the book reading is going.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The books are ready

The books are on their way out. :)
Here's what you'll find on the inside cover.
Be sure to let me know if you'd like a copy.

Dear Reader:

Please know that many prayers are being said over you as you read this book.

After you are finished reading, please write your name and the date inside the book, and return it to us so that someone else can read it next. If you would like someone you know to read it, consider purchasing a copy to loan to them!

Also, please take a moment to email us your thoughts about what you’ve read, as well as your intended course of action. We can’t wait to hear what you’re thinking!

Together we will change the world.

Pete and Amy Zipf

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger of malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10

The Books Are Here!


I have to say, I am quite the fan of Amazon. Nothing like free shipping and 3 day delivery.


The books are here and I'll be getting them out this week. If you'd like to come by for some porriage, I can give you the book at the same time. And I'll be at the church tomorrow eating porriage with Pastor Roger, so let me know if you'd like me to make enough for you!


Monday, May 4, 2009

Day 1


Okay, here I am at day 1 of the Corn Meal for a year adventure. :) Many people have asked about what exactly I'm eating, so I guess I'll start with a brief description and recipe.
When World Vision brings in food to feed people who are starving, many times they provide ingredients to make a corn meal type "porriage." It is both economical and highly nutritious. It is not always what they use (depending on the region of the world, etc.), but it is a fair representation.
Here is the basic recipe:
1 cup cooked/smashed beans
3/4 cup maize or corn meal
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup dry milk
1/4 cup sugar
water to make it like cream of wheat consistency (you'll need at least 1 cup of water)
I mix everything together in a large bowl (bigger than you think might be necessary b/c the mixture tend to slosh around) until completely mixed. Then I pour it in a pan and cook it for about 5-10 minutes or until cooked through and bubbly.
This will make 2 servings, one for today ... and then I refrigerate the other serving so tomorrow I don't have to start all over again. I can just microwave it. With it I am having a glass of tap water.
Because I am obviously not starving, I have at this point taken out the oil and reduced the sugar by half.
Thanks everyone! I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

The Hole in Our Gospel

New book ... I just finished reading it.

The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns ... he's the president of World Vision.

World Vision is a global humanitarian aid organization.

I have known since I was a teenager that God put me here to fight for Africa. I have been using the excuse of "being young" for way to long. It's about time I step up to the plate and get something done.

Everyday 26,000 children die of hunger and hunger related causes. 26,000.

And, in a fair world, that should mean 26,000 mamas were wailing while they dug graves for their babies. But, likely, many of those children were orphaned long before they died. Which means they did not even have a mama to hold them and weep over them when they died.

So, things will be changing here at the Zipf house. And I'm here to challenge you to be a part of the fun. :)

1. If you promise to read it, we will personally supply you (free) with a copy of the book, The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns. I'll have 20 copies by the end of the week. When you are finished with it, either give it back or foward it onto someone who will promise to read it.

2. Those of you who were at the 30 hour famine will appreciate this one ... starting Monday I will be eating the Corn Meal Porriage we served at the famine everyday for lunch (Monday-Friday) for a year. If you think I'm stronger than you, you're mistaken. I ate a bowl of it, yes ... but I choked it down. Everyday I will put $5 in a jar to represent the amount of money I'm not spending on a regular lunch. At the end of the year, the money will be given to World Vision.

The money will give others the opportunity to eat corn meal porriage. And they will walk miles for it. And they will be grateful because it's the only food they have.

I will learn to be grateful. Damn it, I will learn.

And I'm inviting you to join me for lunch anytime over the next year. We'll be having corn meal porriage and the topic of conversation will be the book. Please bring $5 to contribute to the jar and let's see how much money we can raise together.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail."

Taken from the Bible, Isaiah chapter 58