John's Next Step

“I think at some point we might want to think about volunteering for the Red Cross” After the tsunami in 2004 my wife was at the computer ready to make a donation to the International Red Cross to support relief efforts in the area.  I was sitting in a recliner watching television in an adjoining room. She called out, “How much should we donate to the Red Cross?” I replied, “The usual amount.” As an afterthought I added, “I think at some point we might want to think about volunteering for the Red Cross.” When a guy says something like it should be obvious to anyone what he is saying.   I wanted to continue to sit on my butt but feel better about myself without putting any skin in the game.  What is it so hard for women to understand men? My wife (always the much better half) came into the room 5 minutes later and told me that she had signed up to volunteer and now it was my turn. And so began my time as a Red Cross volunteer.  We did local disaster res...

Today I got my staging information - so happy to get it before my trip to Europe. Staging is the period of time on American soil before boarding the international flight.  My staging for Ghana was in Washington D.C. and my staging for Eastern Caribbean will be in Miami. This time staging begins at 5 pm on May 28 with registration and introductions.  Memorial Day on the 29th will be full of paperwork and some training before the flight to St. Lucia scheduled for late morning on the 30th. We will be given one last opportunity to back-out of serving before getting on the flight.  I understand some people back out during staging, but it did not happen last time.  Last time I heard that one person did pull out about 2 days before staging. Even though my group will be serving on one of 4 island nations of Dominica, Grenada & Carriacou, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines we will do most of our pre-service training (PST) on St. Lucia. Pre-service ...

Announced last week was the apparently accidental death of Peace Corps Volunteer to Panama.  It appears that he slipped and fell hitting his head and then into a stream. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, including those in Panama.

Google view of my trip I'm off the Peace Corps around the end of May.  During the beginning of May I’m going to be visiting friends in Europe for a couple of weeks.  I have three friends that I will be spending some time with and some time on my own exploring various places on my own. I'll miss tulip season in the Netherlands Amsterdam to Mons, Belgium Mons, Belgium I will be flying in and out of Amsterdam. From the airport I’ll travel by train to either Mons or Brussels Belgium, likely to Mons. where I'll spend a few days with a friend from a past job.    I understand there will be bowling and beer involved.   Mons to Lille France Lille France My friend will drive me to Lille France where I will spend the weekend with the daughter of a friend from Theresa’s work.  That Sunday I think there will be museums. Lille France to Brussels Brussles I’ll take the train from Lille back to Brussels to see the...

Over the last few weeks I’ve talked with family and friends about world events, Peace Corps, politics, and my view of life.   I’m not going stir something up with politics, but I thought I would give another installment of my view of the world. Many Americans think that they are responsible for their own success and that government assistance (“to those people”) is a cause of concern, a waste of money.   Some think that if “those people” were smart and worked hard then they would not need help.  The theory is that (some/most/those) people who need help are lazy, and the aid from the government will make them even more dependent and lazy.  (I would say tell that to Exon but I said no politics.) I’ve given this a lot of thought and obviously since I have a of history volunteering with the Red Cross, St. Vincent de Paul, Habitat, and Peace Corps you likely already know my answer.  We should help others – that is what Christ says, what all the major religio...