sneakers.

I wonder what it would look like if you made a visual map of dots in a space to depict the number of marbles each of us are juggling and their respective importance in relation to each other?
what i wish would look like this...
calm, cool, collected
probably looks more like this:
anxious, frantic and in danger of dropping everything.

Healthy work environments include healthy perspectives on your work. Recognizing what you can do as well as what you cannot do.

For some of us that requires more effort on restructuring so we can even being to understand what is a priority and what is not. For some of us that meets having the strength to just say "no" to things we really don't have the time, desire, or ability to accomplish.

For some of us it means getting up and actually doing all the things we've said we're going to do. This creates a healthy sense of pride for our work and seeing that we can achieve good things will motivate us to continue achieving our goals.

Most people who say they're not runners
never even get their shoes on.
Jonathan Golden

I often stress the importance of simplifying, streamlining & prioritizing as well as letting your actions speak for you. Recognizing what you can do and also what you can't; but you know what? Sometimes it's just good to cross something off the list...cross anything off the list. And don't cheat like I do sometimes (you know, adding something you've already done and then crossing it off). Sometimes you have to put your shoes on and just start running--just get something done!

The past couple weeks, along side my brilliant team members, I've been working on cementing the information and acceptance packets for the Bukonya Excursions planned for Dec 2009 and Summer 2010.

So I've started running. And you know what? I think I kind of like it.

Know why?

Because next week I won't be telling you I'm working on the excursions, I'll be telling you they're DONE!

So. New goal: Instead of shoes that look like this:

Let's have shoes that look like this!!!!

So tune in next week. It's gonna be a sight to behold.
Kind of like this:

building trust. building bukonya.

The stories of Rwanda inspire me every day to be a better person: to challenge myself more, to forgive more, to trust more, to live more, share more, be more.

I hope they can be the same for you.



This day was one of the greatest days of my life. I took this right after my interview with Clementine; right after the malnutrition assessments, the eye exams and a five hour long church meeting. I took it after joining Land of a Thousand Hills on Friday and getting on a plane Monday night...after drinking coffee at my church for over a year and hearing about the good we were doing by drinking specialty Rwandan coffee. I took it after realizing I had to be a part of this story because it really is more than just a cup of coffee.

When I say you should see the hills, I really mean it.

drink coffee. do good.
-cd

murakoze

Everyone, meet Bruno.


Bruno sent me this picture with his first bag of Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee.

He called me to tell me that he had gotten the coffee on his lunch break and would be heading back to the office wearing his brand new Drink Coffee Do Good t-shirt and taking his coffee to share with his coworkers.

"Christina, I am so proud that I can go back and share with them the coffee that is from my country. I am so proud, you just do not know. Murakoze (thank you), Christina!"

All day long I dream up ways for me to help get others involved in the story of Rwandan coffee.
As I recall the emotion in Bruno's voice, I'm struck by what a privilege it is to be invited into your stories as well.

Murakoze, Bruno!!!
Murakoze to all who are drinking coffee & doing good!

2 + 2 = 6

Wanting to do something is a lot different from doing it.

As we walked along the hillside in Bukonya, Jonathan and I were introduced to two orphans, one of whom suffers from extreme malnutrition.

Before close of day, Jonathan had found out where the family of orphans lives, a small cottage the size of an average walk-in-closet, and arranged to take to them some of the sandwiches we had left over from our packed lunch. He insisted on taking them himself so he could be absolutely positive they were delivered that day—that instant.

Some moments call for reflection. Some call for immediate action.

Laziness is a poor form of prudence when the moment calls for action.

I want to eat well. I want to exercise. I want to spend more time with my family. I want to get eight hours of sleep a night. I want to learn Greek, French and Hebrew. I want to learn to play the violin and the piano. I want to paint more and write more.

These things require timing, planning, and intentional arrangement of my days and weeks in order to make sure that I have time for them to happen. When I don’t set them as goals and when I don’t set myself to accomplishing my goals, then they don’t get done. When you have a desire, and you make that desire a goal, it will require sacrifice. If you’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve your goal, I don’t recommend making it one. Sometimes you have to sacrifice things you think you want now for things you will want more in the future.

Some fights we fight for the principal. Some fights we fight to win. You won’t always win, even when you put everything you’ve got into it. But my, oh my, isn’t it nice to go down saying you gave it everything you had?

But you’ve got to know what you want to fight for. You have to know what you want to get behind. You must know what desires are strong enough to make goals because goals require plans and plans will require sacrifice.

One of my goals is to see a community in Rwanda transformed through coffee.
Part of my plan is to get you to make it one of your goals as well.
Then we’re working together.



Two heads are better than one.
Four hands are better than two.
Six are better than four.


I can't do this without you!