Guest Blog: A developing problem

Becksta here first: heading back to school has taken over so no time to post anything this week. Alas, my wonderful hubby has some very important things on his mind that he'd like to share in this medium that we like to call the "blog world." Quick update on my end though- I did accomplish No. 21 this month:

"Take notes on JR's (or Kenny's) sermons for a whole month"

I definitely paid more attention as a result. There were some amazing sermons this month as JR and Kenny explored the book of Colossians with us, and I wish I had a moment to hash out some of things that were taught. Maybe someday... as for now, please take a moment to read Steve's post.

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I always figured that my first foray into blogging as a guest post here would either be something artistic - like sharing some picture I took, or some attempt at being creative - like writing from the perspective of our cat. For those of you who actually would look forward to something like that: Don't worry! I'll keep shooting, and "A day in the life of Parker the BratCat" will eventually appear here. I have something a bit more pressing on my mind for this post.

I'm sure most of you recognize that cancer is a serious issue here in the western world. It's also no secret that Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, is struggling to combat HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. What may come as a bit of a surprise is this: in 2002, 7.6 million people worldwide died as a result of cancer. HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis claimed the lives of 5.6 million people combined. I was floored when I first came across those numbers.

Those numbers don't only represent the western world: it's estimated that there will be approximately 16 million new cancer cases annually by 2020, with 8.8 million (over half!) of them coming from the developing world. How bad is the problem in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance? Consider this:

-African women with cancer have double the risk of dying from that cancer as women of the western world.

-2.7 million years of life are lost worldwide due to cervical cancer each year. 2.4 million of those years are from developing areas (that's almost 90%) , with the western world losing 300,000 years. Cervical cancer accounts for 25.4% of female cancers in Africa.

-The incidence of Karposi's sarcoma (a type of cancer found in the skin, mouth, gut, or other locations) has increased by approx. 20 times since the onset of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in Africa.

-As of 2006, Sierra Leone, a country of roughly 2.55 million women, had no mammogram facilities in the entire country. Breast cancer accounts for 19% of female cancers in Africa.

-The most common male cancer in Africa is liver cancer. The predominant form is caused by the hepatitis B virus, and exacerbated by a toxin that is spread across the African continent. A vaccine exists for HBV (and costs ~$0.30 per dose), yet fewer than 7% of people receive the vaccine. The toxin can be detected and avoided, yet isn't.

As members of the western world, we can do something. As Christians, we're called to do something.

The obvious questions are "what" and "how?" That will require ingenuity, sacrifice, and service on our part. For my part, I'm looking into what I can do from over here in the U.S., and if I find something, I'll post an update here. Fortunately, we're not alone in trying to do something. For more information (and until I post again . . .), click on: Africa-Oxford Cancer Consortium.

steve

Home Team and Forgotten Island

Root, root, root for the home team, if they don't win it's a shame.
It was one, two, three strikes, they were out at the old ball game!

They didn't win, but it was no shame. Actually, it was a fabulous time. Friday night, Steve and I had the pleasure to experience some of baseball's finest at the legendary Yankees Stadium. We found out about 3 1/2 hrs before leaving for the game that a good friend of ours was able to get tickets (at no charge to us, thanks to our awesome pals!!!) from his co-worker; we couldn't resist- especially as it would fulfill No. 4 on my "30 by 30":

"Go to a Yankee's or Met's game"

We sat in the rain for about thirty minutes, but once the game got rolling around 8:30pm, we thoroughly enjoyed America's favorite past time with a hot dog, cheese fries, cracker jacks and the rowdy crowd with the "Bronx Cheer" (a.k.a. boos). It ended up being a close one in the 9th inning as the Yankees were down by one, with 2 outs, and 3 men on base... then Giambi hit a fly ball that was caught, and the game was over. Sigh. We walked out of the stadium at the bitter end around 12:04am. All in all, it was awesome.

Then, on Sunday, we took some time on No. 5 to:

"Take the tram over to Roosevelt Island"

This little island, separated from Manhattan's East Side by the East River, runs about two miles long. I loved the ride, taking the little tram over the river, and it was beautiful looking at the water and the incredible city view from benches set out along the river's edge. We also checked out the ruins of an old smallpox hospital that used to operate on the island. Kinda spooky, but cool to look at. Definitely worth the trip.

(More pictures of the game and Roosevelt Island in slideshow to the right... I still can't figure out how to get it into a post- any and all help on that topic is welcome!!!:)

Next week, the madness begins with back-to-back orientations at Stony Brook from Wed-Fri. (Remember- my one-way commute alone will take almost 2 1/2 hrs.) The stress and amount of time preparing for the placement exams has really worn me out lately, so I'll just be happy to be done with them and know what my schedule for the fall will look like. Hopefully it'll all be worth it in the end...

Rockin' Sunset and Rockin' Ribs

With my "back-to-school" adventure looming in the very near future, I've enjoyed experiencing as many of my 30 things as I can before my free time starts to diminish. This weekend was no exception when Steve and I returned to Rockefeller Center on Saturday evening to:

"Watch the sunset from the Top of the Rock"

A few months after we moved to NYC, we went to the Top of the Rock (during the day) with my parents and were blown away by the view, and particularly by the massiveness of our beloved Central Park. Watching the sun set and the city brighten up with lights as the sky grew dark from 70 stories up, proved to be even more breathtaking. The weather on Saturday also happened to be the definition of glorious; it was perfect! Over to the right are some pics of No. 6:

Then on Sunday, our community group joined another couple from Apostles to prepare and serve dinner to the residents and staff at the Bailey-Holt House (BHH) in the West Village. BHH provides housing to those afflicted with AIDS, and our church has partnered with the Isaiah 58 Ministry through Hope for New York to provide meals the 2nd Sunday of every month. Otherwise, the residents would be on their own for dinner that day.

So, eight of us enjoyed preparing some good old southern style cooking with a menu of Pungent Short Ribs, Fried Onion Strings, Cornbread, Applesauce, and Banana Pudding- all made from scratch and made with love :) . In their industrial sized kitchen, we made quantities ranging from 45-70 servings (!!!), with some comical mishaps along the way, including some out of control cream cheese... but overall, ended up with a delicious outcome and a lot of fun.

Recently, I agreed to take on the position of the Volunteer Team Leader with Is 58 for Apostle's Church, where I'll basically be the liaison between Apostles and BHH to make sure all is set up and runs smoothly for the 2nd Sunday meals. It's been great so far and I'm sure it will provide for many fun memories this year as we develop relationships with the residents and staff. I'm sure more will come on this new chapter!

Spoiled Rotten

Yesterday was fun. After a crazy busy week for Steve, I decided I needed to:

"Spoil my husband for a whole day- not his birthday!"

No. 22 on my list was definitely an experience worth repeating. I thought yesterday would be an appropriate choice as his collaborator from Stanford had just left, and after clocking nearly 80 hrs at the lab last week working together on a project, he could use some special treatment. Granted, he was still at work for the majority of the day, so another time I'll have to spoil him on the weekend, but a Tuesday made for an extra special, out of the ordinary "normal" day, so he liked that. :)

Here's a sampling of the spoiling:

* Woke up early to make pancakes and get our lunches ready

* Left a sweet note in his lunch and left him "I love you" txts and emails throughout the day

* Took a shower and wore a cute dress for when he got home

* Had a beer and "appetizer" (hehe, triscuits w/ cheese... nothing fancy, but tasty!) ready for him when he walked in

* Picked up fresh flowers for the table, and was blown away when he came home with a bouquet of flowers for me!!! Such a good man...

* Made one his favorite dishes for dinner- sausage risotto

* Had one of his favorite ice cream flavors (Haagen-Dazs' Sticky Toffee Pudding) over a peach crisp dessert I made

* Did all the clean-up, dishes, AND took the cat droppings out

* Gave him a massage

I'll leave it at that :) . Most of the above are things I should really do more often, and not just as a way to "spoil" my hubby, so it was a good eye-opener for me. It also made me realize just how much he does for me in a day...

Anyway, it was definitely fun to give him the royal treatment for a whole day, and I'm looking forward to finding more ways to show him just how much he means to me.

What are some ways that you spoil your special man? Please leave a comment with ideas and suggestions. :)