“We are sent. Not called to do something, but sent. We will know when we get there what we are called to do,” Rev. Clint Rabb

I told Nissia (Mama Tembo’s youngest daughter who comes into the office after school everyday) that I really wanted to sit down and write but was too drained to sit at the computer. Well my lovely friend said well why don’t I do your hair and relax you, that will make it easier. So as I sit here she is playing with my hair… ohh no I think she may be teasing it. But staying relaxed…

I just heard that Haiti had another earthquake and I don’t totally know how to feel. I think studying abroad in Cuba, helped me better understand the difference between Caribbean countries and how they are used and the level of support they have.

Then things hit home even more, when we got an e-mail from Gail (The Africa regional Executive) on Jan 14th saying three GBGM staff were missing in a collapsed hotel. We were working on putting together bunk beds at the center for the students coming and Jen looked at me and said Clint Rabb. In the initial reading we thought it meant they were fine, but when I went to read it for myself it was talking about hopes for their safety not that they were safe. And through I don’t know Sam Dixon well, I knew the name and capabilities. So I broke down pretty openly and said if anyone would know what to do right now for the Haitians and the situations it would be them. It was like the wave finally hit.

I can’t imagine the range of emotions for their families. Later that day Jen managed to get back into e-mail and we found out they were found. We even saw a clip with Jim Gulley in it, so things seemed much more hopeful- but it also set in that after 55 hours how many other people were not going to be found and what did also this mean about the strife of Haitians. Then we found out at Mama Tembo’s house on Saturday night (16th) Sam Dixon had actually already passed and earlier information had not been complete and the Clint Rabb was in the ICU in Florida.


Rev. Sam Dixon

We had just had a celebration for our two new colleagues from the US who got married last may, but the girls wanted to through an African Wedding with initiation. Mama knew Sam Dixon very well, and shared that when she was just getting a food stipend with SHADE Sam had told her how much he believed in the work. He also helped her find a way to help pay her daughters school fees. We also saw Gail the next day, after she had just arrived in South Africa and got online from the hotel room that morning. Hearing both Gail and Mama’s stories help paint a picture of how many personal relationships Sam had and how he made individual people all over this world feel heard.

My relationship with Sam only had a little to do with the fact that he was the head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (the organization I had decided in high school I would one day work for.) The reason I knew Sam Dixon’s name was not because I focused on all the work he was doing, it was because his name was on the contact information about Cuba. Last year with the storms that devastated the Caribbean, my mind had been more focused on Cuba than anywhere else because I had a personal connection from when I had studied there. Well when UMCOR was finally allowed to send funding, I was anxious to see if there was anyway I could go. It was a few weeks before I was graduating that December and I didn’t have a job lined up and I wanted to go back and serve in Cuba. After a day or two of leaving messages, Sam Dixon himself called me back on his cell phone on the way to JFK for some trip somewhere. I was surprised to hear from him myself and understood through our conversation that the money was being sent to the UMC of Cuba and they weren’t sending more people. But he was very kind and congratulated me on my upcoming graduation from American University. (I just checked and I still have his number saved in my cell phone.)

Well, during training with the General Board of Global Ministries this October, there we a few times we had to be at the main offices in the “God Box” in Manhattan. I will admit here there were a few times I wandered off while we were filling out forms, to try to find friends of my parents. In my wonderings I also came upon Sam Dixon’s office, which at the time was on the same floor as the young adult program and Gail’s. I decided the next time I was there I would check if he was so I could thank him. He was on the phone but some other people in the office told me I could wait.

I am so thankful I strayed off when I did and that I waited. I had the opportunity to go into his office and explain who I was and get a chance to meet him. He again congratulated me, this time for my upcoming commissioning as a Mission Intern. And I think also because of his support for SHADE. We had a nice conversation and then I hurried back to sneak back into training. And I thank Sam for taking the time to really hear me, when I was never directly part of his work. And it helps me realize how blessed so many people were to have Sam in their lives and in the position he was in. GBGM and UMCOR have not had the easiest time of late and lack of funding has affected all levels of the organizations – but there are still people like Sam and Clint and so many others we know, not compromising their level of integrity and support of this work, no matter how complicated things got.


Rev Clint Rabb

Rachel got a little bit of internet connection at home (something very rare and that can’t happen on my computer with our internet cards) and she and Jen found out that Clint had passed on Sunday (17th). The three of us were alone at home and in total shock. Clint is a tough guy and I don’t think I had wanted to contemplate how serious his injuries could be. After a little bit of time we each went to go get our notes from training and sat down and remembered Clint.

Clint Rabb led two of our sessions at training. He is also the head of Volunteers in Mission for GBGM. But out connection to him is really through his wife Suzanne Field Rabb. Suzanne is out former boss for the Young Adult Programs and went through the whole process of our entry as Mission Interns and US-2s. She is the person responsible for hiring us and training us. And through discernment weekends and training you learn a lot about personal sides of people. Through Suzanne and Beth Buchanan we knew a few things about Clint.

Then he came in to lead a session on the Theology of Mission. He kind of is a no nonsense kind of guy, with very different mannerisms than Suzanne so it took me until being into the exercise to realize how much I respected him and appreciated the session. And in reflecting being able to poor over the notes and have actual quotes written down was incredibly helpful. Jen and Rachel also added to the quotes and sharing all of that and caring about Suzanne and her family from afar was extremely powerful.

I also have a lot of respect for the way Clint cared about people, especially Suzanne. And his intense knowledge reminded me some of my dad. I would have liked to see a debate. I was also in the position of having very little free time to get to a doctor- but having an ingrown toenail that I needed to get taken care of before moving to South Africa a few days after. Clint knowing the area around Stony Point NY better helped me find an urgent care place, that Jen Chickering (currently US-2 in OK) graciously drove me to and sat in the exam room with the crazy doctors and me.

Somehow even though it was just my toe, hearing he was trapped at the feet made me worry about the feet. Just because he had helped me with my own.

I don’t totally know how to process these men are gone; especially for the worldwide community they served with knowledge caring and integrity. I don’t totally understand hope as I always have, because of the process they underwent. But I am totally thankful for the lives of these men and that I got to meet them for a brief glimpse.

And I also have had to realize that in working for social justice and in relief work, I will become to know more personally these stories. And in knowing these stories to know the pain of catastrophe more deeply and the inspiration more intensely in my heart.

So as my last note- these are two great men and I know there stories more than all the other extremely important people across Haiti that I pray for every time I pray for Sam and Clint. May we remember all the names we don’t know and all the people they are connected to across the globe. We are connected.

With peace,
Hannah

Some have asked for the scriptures we used for the Theology of Mission Session with Clint:

Luke 11:9
Galatians 2:6-10
1 John 3:16-18
Luke Chapter 6
Luke 4:16-30
Matthew 25:31-36
Matthew 4:21
Acts 1
Acts 13
Acts 6
James 1:27
Luke 10
Matthew 28:16-20
Job 28 (the passage Clint led the discussion on) and said, “Spend your time on the things that are important.”

beyond my little world

Lots and lots to write about here. But I have a little internet
access today and one of my roommates told me about the earthquake in
Haiti.

I had to stop what I was doing at work to try to take it all in. The
poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and such massive devastation
with such poor infrastructure to provide for the needs of the people.
I thought it was fitting to stop and take a moment to think of all the
people affected, from the people that face such stark poverty, to aid
and government officials, to tourists....

Also from a prayer my Dad compiles for Mt. Olivet UMC.

"For the people in the Nyanza province of Kenya, where 90 percent of
the population experiences extreme food shortages and poverty. About
five percent of the people die each day. And for UMCOR as it partners
with the Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Program for Nyanza
Province, a project of the United Methodist Church in Central Nyanza,
to provide food relief to 20,000 malnourished children, the elderly
and disabled, expecting mothers, widows, and internally displaced
persons."

We discuss social challenges on a daily basis, but I think these
should be brought to our attention. I am sure UMCOR and The General
Board of Global Ministries(my employer as a Mission Intern) are also
trying to do something for Haiti and I would encourage everyone to
look into the situation. Though I am sure all of you get better news
than I do.

gbgm-umc.org/umcor/

Thanks for reading! more on life in South Africa soon.

Pensively,
Hannah

IT IS THE EVE OF A NEW YEAR

New Years Eve

I always mean to write more, and really wanted some time to reflect about the past year over the holidays. Turns out finding time to sit on my own is even more complicated.

And then things get a bit hectic (I have adopted using the word hectic instead of crazy etc, people use it a lot here and they understand me better to use it. Also I find it rather fitting) For example today we were told we have to be out of our house by sat afternoon instead of Sunday morning, and as we are visiting and staying with Jen’s friends on the other side of Cape Town we haven’t been there to pack. In addition when we were originally planning to go back on Friday to sort everything- we were told we would be picked up Sat morning…. Logistics such as these come up and then I don’t get to share it all with you.

But really thinking about the past year is quite amazing. I am surprised with how okay I have been with uncertainty in the last year and with how far faith can get you. Last January all I totally knew was I had a little bit of savings, I didn’t have to start paying my loans for 6 months, and I had a piece of paper that is somewhat respected in our society that may or may not help me get a job. Also the La Plantes were getting rid of a car and so how the scheme to drive across the country came up. Then what I thought was a casual relationship in January turned into having a confidant for the entire year- and it looks like for a while longer.

And for the first time I got to make my own decisions. I mean I think I am opinionated and stubborn enough that I have made my own decisions my whole life. But I really got to say I want to drive across the country and visit people and to wake up every morning know it was my decision which direction I would set out on.

And lucky for me the one job I still was waiting to hear from while adventuring, invited me for a weekend long interview. It wasn’t easy- it was soul searching to know if the Mission Internship was the right step for me. I didn’t want just a job- but was this what I wanted to dedicate three years of my life to. And the clarity came that this was something I could do and that I could connect to.

While this was the first year of my life I can remember not in school, it’s been a lot of field education. Even more than that I had the opportunity to teach for 6 weeks this summer with the Higher Achievement program. And I was challenged everyday by my students and by pushing myself. Luckily it was the most supported teaching program I could have gone into especially with no formal training. And as a teacher you are making decisions for much more than yourself, I was fortunate to have amazing colleagues and the opportunity to get to know the struggles in my student’s lives.

And then I prepared for the Mission Internship program. Originally thinking I was going to Mongolia. And truthfully my communication channels have changed so much in the past year that some people dear to me, may even think that is where I am. Then in September to learn I may not only be going to South Africa and working in Africa in general, but also I was going to the DRC, I was going to Congo. The history of the country and causes for the unfathomable violence took me to deep frustration in college. But it always seemed so far away.

Things still seem far away, but if I have learned anything this year- things aren’t as far away as you think. More important than that: I have never thought I needed to be rich. And have always agreed it is greater to be rich with friends and people than money. But this year I have been more than humbled in how true that is.

I said before this year I got to decide what would make me happy and head for the horizon. But I had options and the ability to make decisions only because of the rich tapestry of people around me. The people who shared or prepared meals for me. Those of you that made sure I had a pillow or just someone to check in with. For the people from literally all over the world that have shared stories with me. I never knew how rich I would be at my age and thinking back over the past year the rich tapestry of people that have surrounded me is almost overwhelming.

People from my past have resurfaced and family and friend connections have been amazing. My relationships with close friends has had to change, and especially the change of living with friends in college- but that DC family remains. My own family has been incredibly supportive as have my church family. And I am sorting out my family here, especially the family created through the other 11 young adults serving around the US and the world- especially the Jen and Rachel. I wish I could send the time to name you all, but every e-mail and conversation is flowing back to me just thinking.

And in the next year I think it will much more be my Africa year. Shaped by South Africa and especially work in DRC, Kenya, and Lesotho. Maybe this past year has been my wandering year- but in some ways I feel closer to all the key players in my life. I think I feel closer to myself.

And I am about to leave to go to a concert in Kirstenbosch gardens here to celebrate New Years. You know that song about old and new friends we sing on New Years. Well this year Rachel, my new friend and roommate, and I are going to meet Katie and Alex who are dear friends from DC and American University. And so I am excited to connect with different worlds to bring in this next year and to reunite with friend I ahvent seen in a year and a half. (I'll miss the Arlington Crew and all the fireworks and shannanigans!)

You see when I have less time, I just ramble - so thank you for reading. Maybe in 2010 I should work on being concise.

Also here 2010 is synonymous with the World Cup. !!! but that is a whole other blog.

Love to you all! Thanks for sharing with me and I hope you have a great adventure in 2010.

Cheers,
Hannah