It’s come to my attention, friends, that some of you are losing sleep over being unable to see my new “doo.” May you sleep well :)
Other than the daily questions, “but WHY cut your hair???” we’ve been pretty busy. Johnny’s continuing to pump out material with his cyber band “Synthar,” as well as golfing in our mild Mississippi winter weather, and remaining committed to the kids in our neighborhood. Last week we were able to take several kids to hear the famed African Children’s Choir. The kids sat crisscross applesauce in the front row enchanted with the sounds and movements. We were reminded of the power of exposing these kids to new experiences.
My Martin Luther King event was a success! There were roughly 75 people who participated, including 25 white college students here from Washington State and 25 black Americorps members. John Perkins held every ones attention with his moving words about service and love. The neighborhood clean up went well and especially impacted the youth that showed up from my school. By the end of the day they proudly boasted to their parents that they were life-long volunteers. Other activities included hearing from a black historian about Jackson’s past, and listening to Kings’ Dream speech. We broke up into intentional diverse small groups following the speech to discuss various topics surrounding racial reconciliation. This was the highlight for many of the adults. Johnny and I both led groups and were encouraged to see young people interacting who normally would never have a reason to.
Today we took 10 children to church with us. The word apparently spread since last week when we took just a couple kids, so we ended up driving all over town and late to church. The unrestrained joy consuming the kids as we pulled up in the van caught me off guard. They couldn’t contain themselves. Youth ages 4-13 sat wide-eyed in the front row during the service flipping through bibles and staring at people. De’Anthony looked especially sporty in a blue pin striped suit passed down from his grand dad. It appears that church and McDonalds will become a weekly ritual.
Other weekly highlights for me include fighting a cold, working long hours and cooking. I’m convinced that being a vegetarian makes life more interesting-it’s a good challenge at least. I also just finished reading Crime and Punishment (thanks Luke). Any time I get done with a book I find myself depressed and directionless. I would really appreciate any fiction recommendations people might have. I’m going through withdrawals.
I’ll leave you with this…if you are fighting exhaustion and burn out like me, here’s a word for you:
“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Mrs. Bertram

M.L.K.

We've had a busy week. Emily has been busy working her 10 hour days with no breaks all while planning next Monday's M.LK. rally and writing a grant for another up coming community gathering. I have been planning activities for the afterschool program and setting up our calendar for the rest of the school year.
On Monday we will be involved in a rally and community service project that Emily and her Americorps team is putting on. We are hoping to gather kids and adults from all over the city to learn about and discuss the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the day of his birth. In the Morning we have asked John Perkins to speak which we are very excited about. We will also play Dr. Kings " We shall overcome" speach. Later we will head out into the community to clean up the streets together. Following the cleanup we will split up into groups for lunch and discuss reconciliation. We are hoping that all will go well and that the people who come, including us, will be challenged and humbled again by the powerful message and life of Dr. King.

So this is the new year

We have just returned to Mississippi from a 2 1/2 week trip back to Oregon and Idaho. We had such a great time being with family and seeing friends. Just before we left Jackson to head to Portland I thought it would be a good idea to let the kids from the after school program jump off the top of the play structure and I would catch them. After doing this for about ten minutes I started to feel pain in my lower back and soon I could barely walk. The next day I laid flat and hoped I would be able to walk so I could get on the plane. It was a sore flight but we made it to Portland. The next day we drove to Sunriver Oregon for a vacation with family. We spent the five days there relaxing and watching the snow melt.
The hot tub was very good to my healing back and the 5-hour family poker tournament was exciting. Back in Portland on Christmas Eve we gathered with Emily’s extended family for dinner. Every year instead of buying gifts the Martin family pools their money and gives to a worthy cause. This year our after school program was chosen as one of the recipients of their Christmas giving project. It’s so great to have the support of our family in what we are doing.
We also made the drive down to Boise to see my family. We had a short but sweet trip and watched the Boise State football team lose their bowl game.
We love Portland and it was great to get some time in our old stomping grounds. We had great coffee and awesome sushi. I was even able to jam a bit with the old Stanton studios crew. On Christmas day Emily’s brother Julian and I started a new tradition, free golf.
Spring is in the air here in MS. Today’s high temp is going to be in the mid 70’s.
It feels hard to come back here but I think I’ve always had a hard time in coming back from vacations and trips to the routine. I was hoping to come back excited and renewed but I don’t completely feel that way. Maybe it will take a few days to get back in the groove. One thing I know for certain is that I want to make the most of my time here. I want to invest all I can into the people I interact with. I want to learn from them. The after school program will begin again today and Emily is already back at work getting confused looks from other teachers about her short hair cut.(she cut her hair and sent to a group that makes wigs for kids on chemo therapy)
On our trip I encountered many people who said they enjoy reading this blog so I guess I’ll keep it going.
To everyone we saw on our trip: we love you all and thank you for supporting us, now come visit us here!
Peace
Johnny

The fam in Sunriver

The poker game, I'm all in

With Katie and Jason on New years eve
the hair transplant from emily to johnny was a success