All is Love

My incredibly talented friend, Eva, made this. I won't write a lot tonight; instead, I'll let you watch this. It's beautiful, and a perfect capture of our first weekend hanging out with our new teammates.

Also, you bet I'll be keeping up with UCF's first football game this Thursday! Go Knights!

Much love.

WELCOME PATRICIA!

The team's complete

We welcomed Patricia Akello back to the U.S. tonight with an unforgettable scene. The moment our teammates came through the terminal we went absolutely nuts. What a special moment. There we're hugs everywhere, tears everywhere and smiles that stretched from ear to ear. I was told that Patricia gave amazing hugs...I heard correctly and was embraced in one from the moment we all shrieked in joy and ran towards her. It's crazy how real this whole thing is getting. We launch in two (or so) weeks and the road trip begins. Wow.

Santo's back as well! Great to welcome him back as he heads
out on his second tour! This time, to Canada!

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes...the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify them or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as crazy, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

- Steve Jobs

Making signs to welcome our newest teammates!

I can't believe it's here already but our team will be complete tomorrow night! The entire office will be heading to the airport to welcome our Ugandan teammates. I've been looking forward to this moment since I arrived here. I know that Patricia will open my eyes to the reality of this conflict through her own experiences and I imagine the 'why' to why I'm here will only expand. She was a roadie last semester with the NorCal (Northern California team, so we definitely are getting a talented and veteran teammate. I've only heard great things from everyone hear at the office about her, definitely excited to hit the road with the whole gang in a couple of weeks!

Just a quick catch up, we've continued to spend our days booking screenings and training in the evenings. It's been a bit of a challenge to balance things here. From personal time to studying to investing this community and so on, it has definitely been a busy few weeks. Sorry if this post isn't as eloquently written as my past ones....I'm exhausted. But know that I'm doing great, I'm proud of my choice to be out here this semester and I cannot wait for what's to come.

The first full week of booking is done, it was a crazy experience to say the least (check out the Fall 2012 booking video.It will get your heart pounding). We spent most of our days calling and emailing hundreds of IC supporters across the country, trying to see if they'd be interested in booking a screening this fall. It's a long and repetitive process but it's incredible to see the reach and scope that Invisible Children has across this country (and now world, for that matter). As long as the days have been, there is no way to ignore the impact that this system creates. One major thing that has stuck with me about Invisible Children has been how personal they are; how, as a supporter, you feel like you're a part of the family no matter what. I'm learning that in order for that relationship to form, hours upon hours of hard, un-glorified work must be poured in. With work Monday through Friday, 8am-6pm, I get home pretty exhausted. But it's the kind of exhausted that rests easy with my soul; a kind that is grateful it's being put to good use.

Mountain Best. We're 3/4 complete!

Living with 60 other people has been a whirlwind. Community here is just something that happens, regardless. And for that I'm incredibly grateful. It's easy, however, to just go through these few weeks and get psyched for tour, without investing much in the people around me. With the busyness of work and the exhaustion at the end of a long week, I understand, and have fully had the urge to just hop in bed and call it a night. But I'm learning that it's what I put into this experience that will determine the outcome. Every person here has a story and I want to hear as many as I can. I've already heard incredibly tales of how people became involved in this cause that relates us all, and I'm thirsty for more. My goal over these next three or so weeks before tour launches is to invest in this community. I know how special this community can be and slowly but surely, as the feeling out process has died down, I'm seeing it blossom. 

This community is unlike any group of people I've ever been involved with. Comfort lies within the halls of our office and the walls of our home. As I'm surrounded by so many different beliefs and stages of life, questions have arisen and answers are in the process of being dug up as my mind tries to wrap itself around this new entity. The growing pains are certainly not taking a break here, in fact, if anything, the muscles of my mind have already been stretched to new lengths here. 

The Ugandan Roadies are coming soon! Many of them
are students from IC's Legacy Scholarship Program

One thing we are all incredibly stoked about is finding out who our Ugandan teammate is; we should find out in the next two weeks or so. I am so incredibly excited about what I will learn from living with someone who has survived the conflict I've been fighting to end. Honestly, I cannot process it right now, but I know once our team is complete, my perspective will change immensely. That is something I welcome with open arms.

This place continues to teach me. I am here because it has been so crucial in building my faith and I continue to be drawn in by the mystery and
intrigue of growth. I am here because I have absolutely no idea what will come next and I want to be a part of that, whatever it may be.

Until next time, I love and miss you all.

PEACE.

It's been a wonderfully overwhelming first week.

This place is crazy in the best way possible, so forgive me because this post is going to be scattered. The first week consisted of intense training with all of the incredible people here; from financials, booking screenings, team dynamics, and conflict history. The people that make up the staff of this organization have an undeniable vision when they speak. You see the dream roll of their tongue and the horizon at the end of their sentences. I'm in awe of the way this place works. Of the fact that the few floors that Invisible Children occupies on 5th avenue is where the dream of the Kony 2012 campaign took form. The pictures that embrace the hallways tell the story of the history of this organization, yet the empty seat reserved for our 4th teammate that sits idly at our desk brings me to a stark reality.

We are not finished.

Just as the Fall 2012 Mountain West team is incomplete until we embrace our teammate from Uganda, the mission of this organization is incomplete until LRA violence has ended. This is something that really hit me today. I think it's sometimes incredibly hard to remember that the mission of IC is one that still deserves our full attention and efforts. This can be masked by the incredible progress we've seen recently, and it was incredible, or to realize how far this organization has come in terms of knowing that a few short years ago, meetings were held in an old warehouse. But today, for some reason, I was reminded of why this organization is even here in the first place; Joseph Kony and the LRA are still out there, looting, implementing fear and abducting children. And so, we will still exist. This entire issue is so much bigger than Invisible Children, which is incredibly humbling.

This past week has already pushed me to step out of my comfort zone in so many ways. It has challenged me to work hard and push myself constantly (these days are incredibly long and tedious, but wow, I am learning so much on so many levels), something that I feel I lack at times. It's only been one week, yet I have grown. And this community continues to grow, which is beautiful to witness in real time.

*Just some quick highlights from my week:
   - Our team went on our first team date to Mission Beach (it is everything I imagined Cali to be like - which is a good thing!)
   - I drove the van for the first time - to and from work (you know, those incredibly large, 15-passenger, sticker-covered, can't-miss-it IC vans?)
   - I began booking screenings for my region of tour - this may be my favorite part of this job so far.
   - I got burnt to a crisp this past weekend (because being outside here feels like it's cool, so you don't notice it, compared to Florida where the humidity makes it hard to breathe)
   - The word I would use best to describe this first week is 'excitingly overwhelming' - so true.

I expect the challenges to continue, the relationships to blossom, and the community to grow. I expect the sleep to decrease, the joy to be treasured, and the work to be rewarding. But I guess this job really hammers home one thing, which just may refute anything I just wrote: expect the unexpected.

I am blessed to be here in the presence of such people. I am honored to have teammates that are open, vulnerable, calm leaders, and wonderful friends. I am inspired by the leaders here and their trust in a group of 20-somethings to go out and share this incredibly serious issue, and I am grateful for each sunset I see dip under these hills.


Goodnight friends.

Day one is complete.

After three delayed flights, I made it here at 1:30am San Diego time (4:30am Orlando time) and was met by my wonderful teammates Jenelle and Randy and some of my friends from last Spring, Christian and Heather. I arrived in the roadie house (a two story, one basement, one attic, 16-people-per-room amazing house dedicated to housing the Fall roadie class during our 5 weeks here - I promise it's legal..somehow. We learned that today.), went to sleep and woke up four hours later to began my first day as a roadie.

I can only describe my feeling after today as being energetically exhausted. It was a full day (as I'm learning, this entire tour will be) full of staff intros, welcomes, new faces, old ones, and an intro into who IC is, the working environment and what we're all about here. As strange as it may sound, I think I'm most looking forward to the work and seeing myself grow as I learn and am challenged every day. There is no doubt (we we're reminded constantly) that this is going to be an incredibly busy, tough and exhausting time. It will require long days, little rest and as they told us, no time to process anything until our job is done.

Day one is about to wrap up. I'm tired, but thankful to be here. It's such a blessing. Lesson from day one: Humility in the work IC is doing is crucial. Things will get tough and my humility will be tested, but ultimately we are here for a greater cause, one that cannot be defined by one roadie team, one merch sale, or one screenings. We are here because of those that came before us, and those supporters that aren't here inside these walls.



This is a special place to be, a special place to work and a special place to grow. We have an insane belief in the impossible. We believe that this fall Joseph Kony will be caught.

This is something special.