Looking Back

I just happened to look through this diary of being a Roadie with IC today. Realizing how IC has impacted my life now.

Simple things like not taking things too seriously, and rolling with the punches and taking things easy when something goes wrong. It's been so nice not having anything bother me. Too much, at least.

Then there are the big things. Like what I want to do with the rest of my life, the friends I made and still have, the love and idealism and commitment that I experienced last fall.

When I heard that Nate was killed in Kampala, I was devastated. Nate Henn is one of the best men I have ever met. He truly lived out the love and compassion that he has been taught from his parents, his friends, and his God. I will miss him dearly. But, in all that I have learned with IC, I know that I have the best guardian angel up there watching out for me and all us Roadies, past present and future.

I'm now a History major at George Mason University. I realized, through Okello Robinson, the boy I met at Awere Secondary in Gulu, that education is where we begin our journey as people. I can effectively make a difference in the lives of the students I will one day teach 11th grade history and 12th grade government to. I can be to them, what my teachers like Mr. Williams, Mr. Kuhn, Mr. Johnson, and Mrs. Reakes-Smith were to me. So thank you again Robinson. I am forever in your debt.

Here are some pictures I have recently come across from tour that you might enjoy. This is my last entry on this blog, as this part of my life, this chapter of Invisible Children is over. I look forward to the Roadies I get to work with as they come through, and the Roadies that may come out of my classes some day. Thanks for reading all this....

My teammate Sean and Me:

The MEND factory in Gulu:

St. Joseph's at Layibi Boy's Trade School in Gulu:

Team Gulu:

The no longer pending legislation that was signed into law by President Obama! Our goal was met!

Working with Becky Dale, Seth Williams and Margie Dillenburg in San Diego this past August on the new alumni association.

Wow.... Sorry.

It seems to be a recurring theme: I just don't post very often do I? Haha!

I am safely in San Diego again. We had a wonderful tour. I should probably fill you in on all of Louisiana and the drive home!

After leaving Jackson MS, we drove to Shreveport LA for a screening at Centenary College. On our way there, we realized we didn't have a place to stay that night. Lauranne is a member of a website called "Couch Surfers" and so we found a guy on there named Michael Jarbo and gave him a call! (Sketchy right? Right...) Jarbo was one of the nicest folks ever! He took us in (he lives at the local Episcopalian Canterbury House and had seriously 6 couches. He showed us around Shreveport and took us to his friends' apartment for food and the most amazing salsa I have ever eaten. Seriously, the best! Way to go Brittany!

So the next day, we had 3 screenings at the same time in Ruston, LA, Shreveport, LA, and Alexandria, LA. Here is a look at our driving for that night:


View My Saved Places in a larger map

Total of 7 hours. It was crazy. So we had screenings all through the state, including Baton Rouge and New Orleans where we were able to meet up with former Roadies, go to a Saul Williams show, eat at Cafe Du Monde, look around New Orleans' French Quarter and all that good stuff!

After New Orleans, we set out for Houston, TX where Bethany's parents live. We met up with her friends and actually a good friend of mine who is interning with Chi Alpha at a college in Houston! It was need to see him! We only stayed in Houston for the night and left the next morning for Las Curces, New Mexico. 13 hours away. Craziness. We did make a stop in San Antonio to see the Alamo:



and the San Antonio River Walk (Sean almost pushed me in, that jerk!)



We made it to Las Cruces and spent a week doing screenings there and in El Paso, TX 30 minutes away, cleaning up for the Texas team. We even had time for a day at the White Sands National Monument (I felt like I was in the Transformers movie!)



After Las Cruces, we stayed a night in Albuquerque and had some fun in Santa Fe as we headed north toward Red River Mountain to meet Team Texas before our drive back to San Diego. We ended up getting sidetracked by 2 guys we met at a rest stop. The work for an organization called Earthship Biotecture, a company that builds self-sustaining, truly "green" buildings. They are built from recycled materials, have solar power ONLY, and have rain collection systems; these homes are totally off the grid and without bills (Except cable...). Invisible Children will soon be partnering with Earthship to build a school in Uganda that can be totally self sustained so that kids in areas far from the towns can still have the same opportunities as kids in the towns. Here is a picture of what these homes look like (and I guarantee that the inside is not what you would think!)



We made it north to Red River and had a great evening with Team Texas! We had pizza and shared a small hotel room together! It was so much fun and we had all sorts of stories to tell them and they had stories for us! We left the next morning for the Grand Canyon! First we met up with the New England team after driving back to Albuquerque. By the time we made it to Gallup, New Mexico, Gus the bus was only going about 20 miles an hour. Turns out his transmission was done, as was the onboard computer. So we sold him for parts. It was so sad to see him go. Thankfully, we were able to fit everything in the back of New England's van and set out with them and Team Texas to San Diego. We spent the night in a Walmart parking lot in Yuma, Arizona. We then arrived in San Diego where we unloaded all our stuff at the office, got checked in and relaxed! It was good to be back.

We had a Thanksgiving feast with all the Roadies and played RockBand into the night. Its good being together again.

Here are some other photos from the road!

Playing tetherball:



Driving in the M.U.L.E.:



in New Orleans:



White Sands with Gus:



El Paso, Texas:



Alex Montoya, one of our amazing contacts!



Yes, Las Cruces, NM has Autumn:

So we are in Jackson, MS...

So since my last post, here are the cities we have been to:

Huntsville, Montgomery, Auburn, Oxford, Columbus, Gulport, Ocean Springs, Pascagoula and now Jackson. It has been really busy this past week with screenings, sleeping in the van 2 nights in a row, the van breaking down and tons of driving. We gave Bethany a few days off to hang out with her boyfriend, Teddy, who drove all the way from Houston, TX to pick her up. (And I must admit I was a little jealous. I would love to see Rachel! I miss her a lot!) We are now staying on 70 acres of land in a barn that has been converted into a house and has a pool, fireplace, tons of food, TVs with satellite, beds for each of us, a Gator to drive around the property, paddleboats, a hammock and 2 beautiful black labs. We have been recouping this weekend. We had a nice day off today to get some work done and to rest. It was super nice to be able to do that.

So we had some great screenings in the past couple of days. Really large ones but also smaller ones. They all have their benefits and their shortcomings. We have loved every single one!

We had an interesting experience in Gulfport. We didn't have a place to stay. So we slept in the van in a Walmart parking lot. This is me (in there somewhere) sleeping on top of the cardboard boxes in the trunk, which was surprisingly comfortable:



I have now lived life on the road! We had so much fun sleeping in the van and we had a movie party one night on the computer. I never want to do it again though. Haha! Let's get places to sleep in the future!

Also, our van broke down on Thursday as we were on our way to Columbus MS for a screening at a high school. We were stuck on the interstate. Beth was still with her boyfriend in New Orleans. Sean, Lauranne and I tried to push the van to the exit but it was uphill and would never have made it. So they hitchhiked into Pickens MS and these guys towed us:



And when I say towed, I mean one guy got his pickup truck (which wasn't street-legal, fyi), took a chain, attached one end to the chassis of the van, attached the other end to the hitch on the truck and pulled us into town while we steered. His shop was his front yard but he figured out the problem and we got everything fixed! They were awesome guys, joking with us while they drank and smoked and played dominoes! I can assure you I will never forget Pickens, Mississippi. Never.

So those are some of the crazy stories as of late. I have plenty more so if you wanna hear them, just keep checking my blog! I will try to post more often, but we are really busy.... Anyway, here are some pictures from recently:

Some photos from a photoshoot (sort of...):






Yes. We are floating.


Some former Roadies (and our best friends/family!)


Our table (the black cloth one) at Ole Miss right next to the LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) Nomads! (Never heard of LiNK? check it out here: LiNK Global)



Me and Brendon:



Our mechanics in Pickens



Gus is broken down on the highway:



Swimming in the freezing cold pool with Teddy!



Love y'all! Call me if you wanna chat! 703-470-2288.

Travis

Birmin'ham!

So we are in B-ham... Today is our last day here and we are going to miss it! We have been staying with the Chaplin family, and they have been so nice to us, giving us free reign of their house! We had beds and showers and food on demand! It was really nice!

We just finished a screening at a high school called Vestavia Hills and it went swimmingly! Lots of kids showed up (try 600!) and they were really responsive to the film and such. (By the way, if you haven't seen the film yet, click here: THE RESCUE.)

We have been on the radio in Birmingham as well as on the local news, talking about the movement, about the tour and about our reasons for being here. There is a real buzz regarding the whole tour and the super awesome van certainly helps!

Here are some photos from the last few days!

This is our mission to the moon:



Making some sweatshirts with the new stencils!



Sleeping in the van:



How roadies eat: Stock up big time...



My shoe versus Sean and Sarah:



Sean and me. We are best buds!



Cleaning out the van (sort of):



Hanging out with Gus (our van):

Georgia

So if you hadn't heard about the rains in the Atlanta area, read this: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/21/southeast.floods/index.html

So with all the rain and flooding, we had some hurdles to jump. Cancelled/rescheduled screenings, closed roads, heavy rain, rough roads and being perpetually wet. We had an awesome time with the folks we stayed with, especially Jackie and her roomies, the Mirolli family, the Michael family, Jake, Whitney and Dana, and Brandon and Brian. People have been more than generous with their time and their money toward me and my team. We have had nothing but great responses from folks at the screenings, wanting to know what they can do to further the cause. So exciting.

I have never really experienced living in an area that was hit hard by a natural disaster. Never really seen emergency aid in action. Never seen people who lost everything to something as simple and necessary as rain. Never have I been affected by such a thing other that a little bit of leakage in my basement.

There was a huge response from people in the Atlanta area to help those around them. One story that we heard at church one day was of a woman with 5 children. She had lost her car to flood waters and her home was destroyed. Her husband had left her 2 weeks before the storms and he had cancelled her home insurance. She was literally left with nothing. When she went to a local restaurant that had advertised free food for folks who had damage and asked for food for her and her kids. As she was telling the store owner what happened, a man came up and said, "I'm sorry to have eavesdropped, but I heard what has happened. My father invested in Microsoft in the 80's and I now have more money than I know what to do with. My financial advisors have told me what should be done with the money, but none of those things seems right. Now I know why I have this money. This is right." And he promised to buy her and her kids a house and a car to GIVE them. So awesome. God's deliverance in a time of need. So crazy.

Anyway, that is my inspiring story for you. Here are some pictures from the past week!

Yes. The Deep South Roadies are superheros.


Too much work, too little sleep. This is 3am, outside of a Milledgeville, GA coffee shop, stealing their wireless internet.



Hanging out after a screening:



Replacing the fuses that we blew:



Hanging out in St. Simons, Georgia. Super cool sunset followed.