oh, the fun

well, hey friends.

like i knew i would, i skipped a week. sorry. life out here in san diego is busybusybusy. it is so great, though.

work-wise, for the past two weeks my life has been focused on booking screenings. each team has to book at least 100 screenings before we head out on the road. my team, east coast, is farther along than most teams, but we still have a lot to do. at the moment, we are sitting on 42 screenings. we need that 100 by friday. this friday.

oh dear.

i'm not worried, though. one thing that i've realized so much over the last two weeks is that everything is God's. everything. He loves justice so much more than i do, so i'm guessing He's pretty excited about the things we're going to be doing this semester.

speaking of, let me tell you a bit of what we're doing this semester. invisible children is going global (as in, to mexico, the uk, ireland, scotland, australia and new zealand) in order to build support for the biggest and most important international event ever put together. it's called "the rescue." the war in northern uganda is going on its 23rd year, and joseph kony, the leader of the lord's resistance army (the rebel group in this war), shows no signs of slowing down. instead of signing a peace agreement that would have ended the war in juba, kony's forces killed 250 congalese and abducted congalese children only one month ago.

the leaders of invisible children have thought and prayed over what to do for months. in their eyes and in the eyes of international governing bodies like the international criminal's court, kony's war is no longer about overtaking the ugandan government. this war is now about his pride, and he's not giving up. therefore, after long talks with the ugandan and congalese community, invisible children is taking the strongest stance they have ever taken. we are asking that the children forced into soldierhood in kony's army to be sent home. we believe that the only way that will happen is if the indictments against kony put out by the international criminal's court are upheld. joseph kony must be arrested. he must be brought to justice, and the time is now.

therefore, we are asking for international communities for their help. many countries, including the united states, are already involved in obtaining kony. however, the way they are helping is in helping ugandan, congalese and sudanese armies blanket-bomb areas where the lra have been spotted. those bombs don't know the difference between kony or one of his child soldiers. so, we are asking for non-lethal aid to be given so that kony's detachment from his troops will be as peaceful as possible. we are asking for the youth of the world to stand behind us and to fight for these children who are frequently called the most forgotten in the world.

so, that is what we are doing this semester. i could not be more excited about it.

life-wise, it is awesome here. i have already had so many good times. a little sampling: double-dutching in balboa park while listening to "no rain." watching the waves and eating an acai bowl with kelly and sarah at ocean beach. bonfire at mission beach last night, complete with marshmallows and guitars. so much frozen yogurt i could just about die. conversations about the important things. walking around the san diego harbor. laughing - a lot - at a little cantina in old town. listening to the amazing musicians that live in my house.

i love community living. i'm probably a good candidate for it because i don't mind a lot of things. when things are dirty, i just clean up. it's hard not having privacy sometimes, but i just need to get up earlier.

God-wise, it's getting better. it is incredibly hard to wake up earlier. it's been quite easy to pray throughout the day, because i need Him for energy. i've realized how important the Bible is, but that hasn't made not snoozing the alarm any easier. so, pray for diligence, for obediance, for love of my God that goes so deep that i just can't sleep any longer. it is so beautiful here, though, that He's quite hard to forget.

check it out:

i love life here.

week one done

well, week one of training is done.

i flew out from the austin international airport last sunday and arrived in san diego at two in the afternoon. i walked out to the baggage terminal to find five roadies holding welcome signs. ah, home. we picked up a few more roadies throughout the day, and i quickly got my things unloaded into the roadie house. all fifty of us roadies live in one house together - one floor of girls, one floor of guys. i sleep on the top bunk in the loft with five other girls. it is wonderful:)

training has been great this week. we have learned a ton of information about uganda, invisible children, non-profit work and inspiring others. the filmmakers, ic's ceo and the movement director have lead most of our trainings. it's sick to see jason russell standing at the front of the room teaching us. i have paid attention in the training sessions, as all of the other roadies have, and it is wonderful to think of how the work done right now will pay off as the semester goes along.

i love the 2009 class of roadies. seriously. i laugh a lot in the roadie house. my team is absolutely fantastic. i've got nathan, a seasoned roadie who makes the most on-point and hilarious facial expressions ever; ivory, a former heavy metal rocker who now rattles off the best one-liners at the most inopportune times; and sarah, a sweet-as-pie southerner who loves the people of uganda so much it shines through her face. i cannot wait to get on the road with these people, but i also cannot believe i have to leave the other roadies behind. ic did a great job finding the cream of the crop. we have people from all over with different religious, political and lifestyle beliefs. but, we are all here on account on love, which is wonderful.

so, pretty much, life out here is wonderful. i get tired, but God and me work through it. i am definitely praying more than usual since this is so out of my element. learning about what's going on in the world makes me pray more. only He can save us all, but we can all do our part to help each other.

to next week!

hello hello

i think an introduction is in order.

my name is joleah. i'm from texas, and i just graduated from texas a&m university. this next semester i'm going to be a roadie with invisible children (www.invisiblechildren.com), and the making of this blog is in large part to document all of the adventures that are sure to be had.

i can't promise that these posts will be long, or that they'll be life-changing, or that i'll ever type a capital letter.

but i can promise that they'll be real. i am seeking out the abundant life that was promised when i came to know Jesus (ah, there's one that will always be capitalized). and i'd love to have you along for the ride.

thanks for stopping by. i probably won't blog again until i'm actually in san diego, so have a wonderful Christmas.