Printed from Nik Cubrilovic on techcrunch.com
Technology has spoiled us to the point where we feel nostalgic when we lose data that didn’t really matter in the first place. If it did matter, a primal instinct would have driven us to do more to preserve, rather than rely on a sleep deprived sysadmin on the other side of the country. If you didn’t care enough to take care of it yourself, then you didn’t really need it. It is our misguided expectation of technology that causes us to panic when we lose data. The only people who have a larger incentive to preserve your data are those who are using it to target an advertisement at you, or sell you something.
Not only is a lot of this data not important, but do we really want to keep it? I certainly would not want a full account of everything I did in my youth sitting on a server somewhere. I am also certain that we do not want the record of our as a society time being documented and discovered by future civilizations based on Twitter messages.
Data experiences its own form of natural selection. What is important will survive, the remainder will thankfully fade away.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Experience the Pain?
(Please read understanding that this is the ramblings of a person that is a little lost for words on how to describe the following phenomenon.)
After several discussions with people over the last few weeks since our return from South Africa, one thing keeps coming up. The subject of pain usually makes its way into the conversation. Everything from "I couldn't do that because I can't deal with that much pain" to "I wouldn't want to have that much pain." (these are just my versions of I think they are saying)
The point is why is everyone so focused on the pain and the need to avoid it at all costs? I, for one, am a "pain avoider" and tend to make decisions based on the least amount of pain to be experienced. We are built (physically) to avoid pain, however, I don't know that is true emotionally or spiritually. I look at the story from George that I posted last week and I read through the New Testament and I don't see many people avoiding the pain.
Pain shows up in our physical body to tell us that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. The same could be for the other parts of our being. So is it best to always avoid pain? Not really. Never experiencing pain means you probably haven't lived to your fullest. (the obvious medical exceptions must be noted) Maybe you need to chase something, jump off something but most of all I think people need to experience emotional and spiritual pain to make sure they are still alive.
Pain is something that draws us nearer to Christ. He came and experienced all things painful. I realize that he experienced all other emotion but He felt all the emotions people brought to him including the realization of their own sin. Wow! Maybe that is what emotional pain is all about. The realization of our own faults and problems. We see a little of what He sees and it HURTS.
After several discussions with people over the last few weeks since our return from South Africa, one thing keeps coming up. The subject of pain usually makes its way into the conversation. Everything from "I couldn't do that because I can't deal with that much pain" to "I wouldn't want to have that much pain." (these are just my versions of I think they are saying)
The point is why is everyone so focused on the pain and the need to avoid it at all costs? I, for one, am a "pain avoider" and tend to make decisions based on the least amount of pain to be experienced. We are built (physically) to avoid pain, however, I don't know that is true emotionally or spiritually. I look at the story from George that I posted last week and I read through the New Testament and I don't see many people avoiding the pain.
Pain shows up in our physical body to tell us that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. The same could be for the other parts of our being. So is it best to always avoid pain? Not really. Never experiencing pain means you probably haven't lived to your fullest. (the obvious medical exceptions must be noted) Maybe you need to chase something, jump off something but most of all I think people need to experience emotional and spiritual pain to make sure they are still alive.
Pain is something that draws us nearer to Christ. He came and experienced all things painful. I realize that he experienced all other emotion but He felt all the emotions people brought to him including the realization of their own sin. Wow! Maybe that is what emotional pain is all about. The realization of our own faults and problems. We see a little of what He sees and it HURTS.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A letter from George
This letter was written by our friend George at Hands@Work. Please take a few minutes to read. (http://www.handsatwork.org/letters-from-george/2009/5/4/care-enough.html)
Sitting with a candle trying to type at night is nothing new in Zimbabwe. The power is on and off and completely unpredictable. Tonight the only difference is I am alone in a house… alone with the thoughts of the people I met in the last two days. On Sunday I went to church with Stuart, a church leader in Sakubwa, one of the poorest areas in Mutare, and the coordinator of the ministry to care for Sakubwa’s vulnerable children.
The first time I went to Sakubwa last year I met Agnus, a grandmother with fifteen grandchildren. They all lived together in one room measuring about 3 meters by 5 meters. The youngest grandchild, Valecia, left a permanent mark in my life. I called her the girl with a yellow hat because she wore all the clothes she had, including her yellow hat, to ensure nobody stole her only possessions. Her grandmother told me that if Valecia had one meal a day, then she had a good day.
The day I met her she smiled from the moment we met until I left. Now on Sunday at Stuart’s church, as I walked into the room I saw both Agnus and Valencia again. Agnus was now nearly completely blind and Valecia had stopped smiling. Both seemed happy to see me, though I sensed a hint of “where have you been?” in Valecia’s eyes when we looked at each other. I so wanted her to come running to me, but she didn’t. In fact I realized she was staring at me when I looked away but was determined not to make eye contact. What had happened to this seven-year-old girl?
The next day I met Grace, who is forty-five years old. She is bedridden and looking after 8 children, plus 3 grandchildren and another orphan. They, like Agnus, live in one room. Ferrai, Grace’s five-year-old boy, sat next to her, seemingly not noticing my entrance. Stuart asked Ferrai to stand up to show me all the sores on his body. I barely saw the sores as I stared into his eyes trying to find life.
I took Ferrai gently by his arm and pulled him really close to me. After many years working with sick people, I knew Ferrai was dying, and I know he knew it too. Giving money to his sister to take him to the hospital the next day was the only thing that helped me to eventually leave the house. Even so, I knew it was not what he needed. As we walked away from the house, I tried to reason how to encourage Stuart to love this child and not leave him to die alone when Stuart already has 200 orphans to care for and his own family hardly sees him. Stuart himself is trusting God for school fees for his children. Together we walked through Sakubwe as dusk set in. We didn’t talk as both of us wrestled with what we had seen in the last hour.
The question remains: are there enough people who care enough to be part of the battle with Stuart? Stuart has many reasons why he could choose not to do more. He lives in a country with inflation in the millions, he has a family to care for already, and he has no fixed income, just to name a few. But Stuart drew a line in his life; he read the signs of the times and he understood that the house is on fire and someone has to take action. Instead of a burden, this realization became liberty to Stuart and many others doing the same thing.
The secret that life is bigger than “me” is simple but profound, and can only be discovered when you take that step to do something big on behalf of someone else. I believe there are still enough people like that in this broken world…people that refuse to walk pass Valecia on the other side of the road. I think they are called “good Samaritans…”
Sitting with a candle trying to type at night is nothing new in Zimbabwe. The power is on and off and completely unpredictable. Tonight the only difference is I am alone in a house… alone with the thoughts of the people I met in the last two days. On Sunday I went to church with Stuart, a church leader in Sakubwa, one of the poorest areas in Mutare, and the coordinator of the ministry to care for Sakubwa’s vulnerable children.
The first time I went to Sakubwa last year I met Agnus, a grandmother with fifteen grandchildren. They all lived together in one room measuring about 3 meters by 5 meters. The youngest grandchild, Valecia, left a permanent mark in my life. I called her the girl with a yellow hat because she wore all the clothes she had, including her yellow hat, to ensure nobody stole her only possessions. Her grandmother told me that if Valecia had one meal a day, then she had a good day.
The day I met her she smiled from the moment we met until I left. Now on Sunday at Stuart’s church, as I walked into the room I saw both Agnus and Valencia again. Agnus was now nearly completely blind and Valecia had stopped smiling. Both seemed happy to see me, though I sensed a hint of “where have you been?” in Valecia’s eyes when we looked at each other. I so wanted her to come running to me, but she didn’t. In fact I realized she was staring at me when I looked away but was determined not to make eye contact. What had happened to this seven-year-old girl?
The next day I met Grace, who is forty-five years old. She is bedridden and looking after 8 children, plus 3 grandchildren and another orphan. They, like Agnus, live in one room. Ferrai, Grace’s five-year-old boy, sat next to her, seemingly not noticing my entrance. Stuart asked Ferrai to stand up to show me all the sores on his body. I barely saw the sores as I stared into his eyes trying to find life.
I took Ferrai gently by his arm and pulled him really close to me. After many years working with sick people, I knew Ferrai was dying, and I know he knew it too. Giving money to his sister to take him to the hospital the next day was the only thing that helped me to eventually leave the house. Even so, I knew it was not what he needed. As we walked away from the house, I tried to reason how to encourage Stuart to love this child and not leave him to die alone when Stuart already has 200 orphans to care for and his own family hardly sees him. Stuart himself is trusting God for school fees for his children. Together we walked through Sakubwe as dusk set in. We didn’t talk as both of us wrestled with what we had seen in the last hour.
The question remains: are there enough people who care enough to be part of the battle with Stuart? Stuart has many reasons why he could choose not to do more. He lives in a country with inflation in the millions, he has a family to care for already, and he has no fixed income, just to name a few. But Stuart drew a line in his life; he read the signs of the times and he understood that the house is on fire and someone has to take action. Instead of a burden, this realization became liberty to Stuart and many others doing the same thing.
The secret that life is bigger than “me” is simple but profound, and can only be discovered when you take that step to do something big on behalf of someone else. I believe there are still enough people like that in this broken world…people that refuse to walk pass Valecia on the other side of the road. I think they are called “good Samaritans…”
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Raising Five Interview
Take a few minutes to read the posted interview at the Raising Five Blog. It is amazing, beautiful, and complicated. The girl interviewed went on our trip to South Africa.
Raising Five
Take a while, it is well worth the read.
Wally
Raising Five
Take a while, it is well worth the read.
Wally
Sunday, July 26, 2009
I Cannot Bring About Change
I wanted to post the letter that I wrote a year ago when contemplating our trip to South Africa. Jeff (world in view) asked me to put my thoughts into words as we talked about the purpose of the trip. I could not be more pleased as I read this document this morning.
Dated July 2008
I cannot bring about change.
I want myself and my children to learn about the power of God through service. A place like South Africa shows me that there will be no relief beyond the individuals I come in contact with and that “relief” will be defined by them knowing that I love them. Beyond that, the problem is so big that there is no way for me to “bring about change.” God is not asking me to change Africa or anything else for that matter; He is asking me to serve without leveraging anything.
To best lay out the goals of a trip to South Africa, we must understand the nature of the Lord. As I see it James 1:27 tells us specifically about “true religion” and Matt 25 spells it out very clear. We are to serve the Lord by serving the least of these. Jesus does not ask us to change, fix, save, or cure them – just serve. What will I get out of this? Nothing, other than the realization that God is more powerful than I believe Him to be and that I need Him to be more powerful than I have believed him to be.
American Christians have capitalistic idea of service. It could be called “transactional service.” I do something nice for someone who needs me and they repay me by changing into the person that I want them to be. We love our “service success stories.” We bristle at people that take our time and energy and never change. Service in Africa can bring a change to that mindset.
The needs are so great across the continent of Africa that we lose the opportunity to make those changes and there is really no way to have those “success stories.” All one is able to “accomplish” while serving is engage the emotion and reality of the suffering of others – to feel what Jesus feels.
Hands at Work provides an opportunity to work alongside volunteers that are true servants. They are from all parts of the world and they are there for “non-transactional service.” There is little that they will benefit from other than service the “least” and praying for a change. No transaction!
Dated July 2008
I cannot bring about change.
I want myself and my children to learn about the power of God through service. A place like South Africa shows me that there will be no relief beyond the individuals I come in contact with and that “relief” will be defined by them knowing that I love them. Beyond that, the problem is so big that there is no way for me to “bring about change.” God is not asking me to change Africa or anything else for that matter; He is asking me to serve without leveraging anything.
To best lay out the goals of a trip to South Africa, we must understand the nature of the Lord. As I see it James 1:27 tells us specifically about “true religion” and Matt 25 spells it out very clear. We are to serve the Lord by serving the least of these. Jesus does not ask us to change, fix, save, or cure them – just serve. What will I get out of this? Nothing, other than the realization that God is more powerful than I believe Him to be and that I need Him to be more powerful than I have believed him to be.
American Christians have capitalistic idea of service. It could be called “transactional service.” I do something nice for someone who needs me and they repay me by changing into the person that I want them to be. We love our “service success stories.” We bristle at people that take our time and energy and never change. Service in Africa can bring a change to that mindset.
The needs are so great across the continent of Africa that we lose the opportunity to make those changes and there is really no way to have those “success stories.” All one is able to “accomplish” while serving is engage the emotion and reality of the suffering of others – to feel what Jesus feels.
Hands at Work provides an opportunity to work alongside volunteers that are true servants. They are from all parts of the world and they are there for “non-transactional service.” There is little that they will benefit from other than service the “least” and praying for a change. No transaction!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A Sunday Walk
We drove to a community two hours away for church on Sunday. After the drive we took a walk - this pic is from the walk. Note the lack of structure in the background.
Wally
Winding Down
After going full speed for nearly a week and a half, we are starting to wind down. We dewormed about 138 kids today and a team from the UK did about double that number. God has really blessed the efforts and so many kids are blessed by taking one simple pill.
We learned last night that worms lead to so many other problems that we didn't understand. A child with worms will only get about 30% of the nutrition out of his food because the worms will take the rest. This has a spiral effect that leads to numerous problems.
The single dose pill can rid the body of worms and they are provided every six months. We were one of the first visiting teams to take on this project and it has gone well. We have it down to a system and we are free to concentrate on playing and talking to the kids after we accomplish our pills and food. Teams from Hands have done it but I don't think short term teams have been involved until now.
We had a nice visit tonight to a cultural center and watched a play. We relaxed with 6 guests from Hands that we have been working with. It is nice to relax with people from other places and hear their hopes and dreams.
These are not people with small dreams. They have seen God move in huge ways and expect nothing less. Most are from other African countries but are here to minister. They are starting to move out of the rest of the continents as they are called to minister to all of Africa.
I have some deeper thoughts regarding SA and it's people but those will have to wait until another day. God is moving here. We don't want to miss what is happening.
Be blessed and please continue to pray for our team. People are really tired but they are hanging strong.
Your prayers are felt.
Wally
We learned last night that worms lead to so many other problems that we didn't understand. A child with worms will only get about 30% of the nutrition out of his food because the worms will take the rest. This has a spiral effect that leads to numerous problems.
The single dose pill can rid the body of worms and they are provided every six months. We were one of the first visiting teams to take on this project and it has gone well. We have it down to a system and we are free to concentrate on playing and talking to the kids after we accomplish our pills and food. Teams from Hands have done it but I don't think short term teams have been involved until now.
We had a nice visit tonight to a cultural center and watched a play. We relaxed with 6 guests from Hands that we have been working with. It is nice to relax with people from other places and hear their hopes and dreams.
These are not people with small dreams. They have seen God move in huge ways and expect nothing less. Most are from other African countries but are here to minister. They are starting to move out of the rest of the continents as they are called to minister to all of Africa.
I have some deeper thoughts regarding SA and it's people but those will have to wait until another day. God is moving here. We don't want to miss what is happening.
Be blessed and please continue to pray for our team. People are really tired but they are hanging strong.
Your prayers are felt.
Wally
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