Book of Eli

Unfortunately the society has come under the chains of this emergence of "terrorists." Formerly we dismissed them as cults, religious fanatics, and crazy people. Now we simply call them terrorists and let them have control over our lives by fear and trembling. I am honestly more afraid of a driver falling asleep at the wheel on the highway crashing into me than a terrorist. Especially because the odds stand in the favor of a car crash. But I still drive 12 miles to work everyday at 60ish miles an hour. My point is, we're not afraid of driving our cars. So why are we afraid of these guys who literally spend all their free time plotting how to ruin our lives, and then let them ruin it by living in fear. Maybe cause we're all afraid to die and there are crazy people everywhere. The media gets one small whiff of crazy and goes berzerk, trying to spread fear among us. Reject living in the chains of fear. Be free my brothers and sisters. Be free.

Last week I lost a dear friend to a gruesome farming accident. Of course part of my mind just runs through all the actions that could have been taken to prevent such an accident. Another part of me just gets pissed at how unfair it was to have this beacon of light that the world called Moses ripped from our midst. And then I come to the most sobering thought, that it could have been me. Humans are such resilient creatures on one hand, continuing on through all sorts of hardships and trials, yet so fragile on the other hand. We may not be here tomorrow. We all live and we all die. That's the way that the circle of life, fate, whatever you wanna call it, that's how it is. Our days are numbered. And most of the time that number is smaller than we hope or believe or live it to be. Yesterday I literally watched as an approximately 15 year old kid wrecked a motorcycle when he drove too close, too fast to a car and the passenger opened the door and caught the motorcycle. Of course the kid wasn't wearing the shirt that he had been wearing minutes before while he was on the beach and he wasn't wearing a helmet either. He flew over the handlebars and his face planted itself into the asphalt. And nobody knew first aid, and I couldn't communicate to anybody in order to procure the items needed for at least immediate BASIC first aid to a trauma case. Last I heard he was still holding on in the hospital, but not doing well. Anyways, it's these events that really make you wonder if you're making the most out of the life you're living. Whether there's opportunities that you're missing out on or things you could be doing to just make the world a better place. While sitting and listening to different accounts of other people's interactions with Moses, I realized that he certainly got the most out of life. He was a blessing to us all and he'll be missed dearly. Isn't that the kind of life worth living? Lets all live and love and be good to each other today. Tomorrow may still be too far away for us to follow through.

Dearest family and friends and internet strangers, Some of you may be aware and many others may not be. I submitted my resignation to PROCOM Rwanda/SyEAD effective the 28th of February. There are a number of reasons that led to my departure. I spent several months in deep prayer about this decision and asked many of you for advice along the way. In the end I had three reason's for leaving, my first reason was because I had agreed to continue working with PROCOM/SyEAD as a full salaried employee upon my return in June and to date have received approximately ten percent of salary for the last eight months. My second reason was a continual burden on my heart for reaching out to and loving Muslims, in hopes that they would realize the love and peace that I continually find in Christ's redemption. My third reason involves a lack of faith in PROCOM/SyEAD's leadership and programing and I felt it would be better to make a peaceful exit and remain on good terms with the friends I had made there, rather than become so bitter that I would alienate them altogether. I had a private conversation with the Executive Director/CEO of PROCOM/SyEAD in mid January informing him and at the beginning of February I formally submitted my resignation to the organization as a whole. I apologize for my delays in updating you all of these changes. I have been traveling around seeking and waiting to hear from potential jobs before sending out this letter, but it appears that I'm stepping out in faith that one of my options will lead to a job. Currently I plan to spend Easter with my family and have no other plans confirmed for the time after that. It is my prayer that one of these opportunities in East Africa leads to a job where I will move back abroad after I have spent Easter with my family. This will be my first holiday stateside in over two years and I cannot express how much I am looking forward to the Gravert and Vandermyde family potluck style dinners. Thank you again for your continued prayers and support. You have no idea how much it means to me. May God bless and keep each and every one of you in Christ's overwhelming peace and abundant love. -Eli

Dearest Friends and Family and Internet strangers: 2012: The year in review. As well as my apologies for not writing more frequently. Three words can sum up the past year for me: work, patience and trust. This past year has been marked by tribulations as well as blessings. The first half of my year was worked with an intensity which bordered on insanity and exhaustion. From the beginning of February I was working 20 hrs a day for two weeks straight in preparing a new farm sight in the North Eastern corner of Rwanda. There was an excavator that would work between 7am and 4pm and then a bulldozer that worked another day job (different operators) would come to work between 7pm and 4am. After the first week I was blessed to have a colleague assist me in the day hours. After the initial work was done with heavy machinery, I brought a small crew from our Mpanga farm to lead the charge on the work involving manual labor. There were four of them altogether and we worked, ate and slept in the tents together. Soon, another lifeline in the form of a 19 yr old farmhand from the US came to join us. It seemed like every three days I would be going between the farm and city to find parts or supplies to keep the three tractors we were renting to keep moving every day. So Collin was able to keep things progressing while I was procuring parts and pieces. By the end of March we had all of the fields plowed and after the first week of April all crops were in the ground and I breathed a sigh of relief (or was I catching my breathe?). I continued working toward building a shed to house our equipment on the North Farm in Nyagatare and finish the fencing project. In the middle of May I returned home in time to catch a Cardinals/Cubs game in StL to celebrate my sister’s 22nd birthday. The following Sunday, I listened to Matt Zahniser give a sermon on bit players, those seemingly small relationships that alter your trajectory in life. I continued to “relax” by traveling around the country and visiting my family and friends and bit players. It truly was awesome seeing everybody after a year or several, depending on whom I was with. Hanging out and fellowship-ing in real life is so much more fun than chatting on Facebook or sending e-mails. I was fortunate enough to bear witness to the most exciting and perfect wedding of my life thus far. My not-so-baby sister tied the knot on June 2nd on a perfect summer’s day combined with the appropriate sense of lightness in the ceremony and a great family fellowship in the reception that followed. Perhaps it was also the first time I had seen my family in over a year, but it was a tremendous blessing in my life. I traveled back to my hometown and was able to join my Father’s side of the family in spreading Grandpa’s ashes. I was very grateful to be a part of this, as I had missed the funeral due to being in Rwanda. Grandpa Ralph was an amazing man and I hope I can carry on his sense of humor and work ethic. Lord willing. I also closed another chapter with my parents finally selling the home that I had grown up in which settled all the loose ends of their divorce. I was again fortunate enough to be a part of my best friend’s wedding, fulfilling the role of Best Man and throwing a bachelor party that won’t easily be forgotten. Let’s just say that in the middle of it the fire department showed up to put out my “lil” bonfire that I decided to have. They also implemented a burning ban the following week. Whoops. Another beautiful wedding followed and I haven’t heard any complaints from Mike since, so it must be pretty awesome. My dad came over to Rwanda with me for a couple weeks and I was blessed to show him all that was happening and how I have been living for the past year introducing him to a country and people that I have grown to love tremendously. Upon returning to Rwanda I was also reunited with Ben, where we would begin to forge a tremendous friendship. Ben had just left his job with Beck’s Hybrids in Indiana to move to Rwanda and continue developing a great seed variety, suited for the soils and climate of Rwanda. I also transitioned from working under PROCOM to a business created by PROCOM called SyEAD. This was not without its own hardships. Somewhere in the transition my salary seemed to be misplaced/nonexistent for months on end. During these financially difficult times I began drawing close to God and reexamining a lot of things in life. I always trusted that he would provide, but golly, did He have to wait until I was on the verge of throwing out all hope? Without Ben, my thoughts and desire to stay would have been drastically different. Ben and I spent six months with few hours where we weren't a stone’s throw away. Luckily we got along so well that we never did throw any stones at each other out of anger. The workload that we carried out combined with the difficulties of pioneering agriculture in the third world was certainly enough for us to become frustrated and overwhelmed. Thankfully we complimented each other and were able to encourage and pray for one another on day by day. By God’s grace we survived another year and a couple more seasons. May His will be done as He continues to provide for us and lead us. When I had thought I might have to move back home, there have been just enough financial resources to keep me active here. I praise God for all the blessings that have come and pray that by His grace, my hands may always be reaching out in love towards the world in need. I’m not sure what this next year will hold or where I might end up, but I pray that we might all have eyes to see and ears to hear the ever present Father. Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.

Did I just parrallel park that beast?! Why yes, yes I did. :^D

Yeah, that's right, I have bib overalls on... Oh and there's a monkey in my pocket...

So there I was in my typical morning routine of visiting the longdrop, which after a year of steady use has become quite short really. For those of you who may be unaccustomed to the longdrop, it's our African version of an outhouse. Typically about 6 meters or so deep and with cement overtop and a hole to squat over with a privacy shield of cornstalks. Anyways, there I was in my morning routine. Little did I know that today I would be surprised with a lil entertainment of the National Geographic variety. As I was doing my business, I watched a fly get caught up in a spider's web and witnessed the whole ordeal of how a spider makes its meal of a day (or maybe several, I don't know how much food a spider requires or can gain from a fly). It was fascinating how at first the spider began by strengthening its web. It was not hurried by anything. It kept a steady pace and just continued towards the end goal of eating the fly. After making the web stronger so that it might survive the fly's attempts to flea, the spider began focusing on one if the wings of the fly. Eventually that wing became one with the web an the fly's wing-flapping attempts to flea were now just shaking the body from that wing that was now attached to the web. Around that time I just began to admire the patience of the spider. It was clear at this point that the fly had no escape, just as it was also clear that the spider was in no rush. As I'm watching the spider slowly an carefully prepare its dinner I thought about the days I spent at grandmas house watching her diligently prepare a roast for us. How she taught me that the difference between a filling roast and a mouth wateringly delectable roast is patience. Letting the roast cook for the ENTIRE day in the oven. Filling the house with smells of carrots, potatoes, onions, black angus beef, and a hint of pepper. Just like the spider had prepared it's trap for the fly and diligently continued working towards what must be a fairly tasty meal for him. Patience was the key. Well, I began to think even deeper, as I've been struggling through some things in my own life. Allow the web to become synonymous with life in general now and I'll say I inserted myself as a spider of sorts. I began wondering about the crap that flies into our web of life. The troubles that come our way that seem to rattle the cage and make us unsure if our web will break or hold through those unexpected troubles. Perhaps here we can learn a lesson from the spider and begin to just work towards building up our web and facing those troubles with patience and diligence. Maybe some things will seem too big for our web to handle and we'll have to rebuild. I don't know, maybe we'll need help from the Big Man watchin us while He takes a squat on the longdrop, maybe we'll need the camaraderie of a good friend or mentor, or maybe we just need remember to be patient through the struggles like grandma taught us. Cause if the end is roast beef. Like Grandma's roast beef, then I am all in. Let's spin our web, help a neighbor out, love a stranger and maybe we'll all make it to the other side in a lot better shape. Anyways, that's a lot more than I expected from my trip to the longdrop this morning. Peace and love, dear friends and fellow tumblrs...

No house No electricity No toilet No water This is life in the bush. Rising with the sun and setting with the same. Eating rice and beans twice a day. Becoming dark underneath the sun. Sleeping hard after the work that we've done. Bathing in a bucket and drying off around the fire. This is the life that I've lived and the one I desire. To look at the stars straightaway. No city lights to distract or billboard displays. Just hard working people with a smile. Children playing soccer and watching us work Old men bearing gifts, such as a pineapple for desert. This is the life I've become accustomed to love. Old boots, ragged jeans, a worn tent and a corncob pipe Life is simple. Love is sweet. And the world's more beautiful when all you eat is rice and beans.

#tia #africawinsagain

Puppies? Why yes, some adorable puppies are what I found as the latest news at the farm.

Eli

It's been a while since I posted. But this is where I'm living. This is a place I love and this is the place which will be my home for years to come. Idk who the credit belongs to for this work, but whoever made this, you nailed it. Peace and love from the bottom of my heart to yours.

Thanks for all the laughs.

I live right along the border of Rwanda and Tanzania. Sometimes at night I can look across the hills and see the outline of wildfires burning just on the other side of the river. I suppose this time is coming to a close with the rains that are approaching ever so slowly. Ranchers are lighting these fires so that new grass will sprout and provide a good nutritious pasture for their cattle. Perhaps some of the fires are lit by poachers wishing to catch somehing good to eat with a nice hide to sell. Perhaps its actually the lightning of the hot summer nights that causes these fires. I'm not sure, but what I see lighting up the Eastern sky in Mpanga is something of grand beauty painted on the skies and hills. After a lil wildfire incident of our own, one of our forests was left quite barren. We could see every rock on the forest floor, and now weeks later, we see sprouts of green of the new forest growth. That's what a wildfire really seems to be about, cutting out all of the extra garbage that has built up over the months or years and preparing the way for new growth. After several long deep conversations with a young woman that I am most spectacularly fond of, I've come to the realization that perhaps love could be wildfire at times. Igniting all the dry brittle parts of our very souls and spreading through our whole being and providing the base for a rebirth. When love is true, it seems to spread among individuals in a powerful force creating a wildfire effect, cleansing out past mistakes and providing a new birth. Isn't that what most of us really need most of the time? A rebirth? So let us love without fear, let us be patient, let us spur one another on in love and good deeds. This is the Gospel I've grown to love and strive to practice. I believe it's the same Gospel that Jesus lived, hopefully we can all learn something about the depths of true love and helping one another through life by His example. So let's start a wildfire and love each other deeply and genuinely. Healing each others hurts, carrying one another's burdens, and helping each other up. Love, Eli

Sometimes you just want your best friend and the closest thing you find is someone else's chicken.

I'd invest in a potluck where we could all learn each other's names and needs. Yeah, I think that'd be pretty swell. I think it'd be great to learn how to live with our neighbors instead of living for our own self-righteous causes. Peace and love dear friends.

The harvest amongst the hills and painted sky.