june 26, 2009---a day to remember

i went skydiving just hours ago. since i won't be able to say that again tomorrow, i thought this called for an urgent blog.

for my dad's christmas gift and my birthday gift (he patiently waited and surprised me), we headed down to snohomish's harvey field and did it. we climbed in about 10 minutes to 3000 feet (3962.4 meters) and free-fell for over a minute. when my instructor pulled the parachute, we dangled in the air waiting for my dad and his instructor. there we were, hang time, talking about how beautiful our city is...mountains...clear sky...cruise ships...farm land...gorgeous.

never before has my mouth been so dry, my face so cold or my mind so boggled. while free falling my instructor grabbed my arms and cranked them to the left and right and we spun around and around. he would give me thumbs up and i would give him two back. i never knew you could control the parachute, but sure enough he let me pull it left and right and swoop us around. amazing. better than any amusement park ride.

i think this could be addicting.

definitely the best 15 minutes of the day.

hey guys it has been a while since i have written. this time at home has been sheer bliss. i wanted to ask for your pra*yers. this week has been a hurried week of visa finales...and now i anxiously await approval by my flight on saturday. i cannot leave without my visa. so if we could together trust and fight for this one to see G*od's power. thanks all.

open house

Hey Guys, I would like to invite you to the Dinneen Household on this Sunday, the 14th of June at 3pm. It is an open house, so you can feel free to stop by for a short time or stay until your little heart desires. We will check out some photos and eat and talk together. Let me know if you need some more information. toodles.

This week has been strange, coming back to a western country, re-entering a place that once was so familiar when I was here earlier, communicating with my family regularly, doing everything inside as opposed to life under a tree. I am enjoying the amenities of instant hot water, warm showers and new (well, it's been in a suitcase for 8months) clothing. I have been processing things with my team and inwardly about who I have become, what I have achieved and what I am still setting goals for. Thoughts of Uganda and Lingira are in and out of my head, knowing that life is continuing the same way there as when I left it and for now I am on a different path. I have learned a lot about the school to come as the staff have accepted new students (18 accepted by the way, biggest school ever), where my new house will be and the new min*istries running at the base. It has been a week of reflecting and being informed. I feel a little backed up, like someone dipped the funnel in water before putting sugar into the shaker and the level of the sugar just keeps growing in the funnel. So slowly I am processing this reverse culture shock and the changes that have occurred. At certain moments I think I have just had to say "G*od, you are good". I know his character, I know there is nothing but good in his heart and I can stand on that, even when I am swaying in different directions wondering what is happening all around me and who I am in it all. It has been a challenging week. I am dreading the goodbye to Sarah, one of the students who is returning to Peru, for almost everyday of the last 11 months, she has been by my side. She has taught me to be resourceful; patch the worn out thighs of my jeans, make crepes out of onions and kill a chicken with a dull knife and most of all, she has taught me to love. It will only be one year until we see eachother, but until then, we part in the physical.

Here I come Seattle.

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YIP YOP HOORAY (can I even say that?)! Photos for all to see! I have put eight from Uganda and the last two are from Cameroon. It is looking like we will have an open house on the 14th, where we will look at gazillions of photos, until then there are these. I will send more info on the open house when I have talked to my mom about it more.


studious and eager students from our mother and child healthcare seminar in uganda.

teaching about sterile technique. should i touch my hair if it is itching me with my sterile gloves?

a snap from the top of the mountain on lingira island. not really doing it justice.

and a nighttime snap.

the women listening to a teaching on tetanus under a tree and waiting patiently to be injected.

from the shore of lingira to other islands.

the dreadful day of bikeriding to a distant clinic for anc. the anc was great, the biking however...

riding in style on the way to ministry.

"this is a song for women everywhere, let it ring around the world and never never cease..."March 8, International Women's Day!

Mommie Mary! and if you call her anything else it is disrespectful.