From the Ranch: 2019

Wow!! Another Year has come and gone and what a year it has been. I realized a few years back as I started writing these years in review, it was much easier if I kept notes from throughout the year of the adventures, etc that happened each month. As I look at that list for 2019, I am overwhelmed by the experiences and adventures the year brought. To give you a peek, I will mention that 2019 included traveling over 55,000 air miles... IIt is also a year that marks the most visitors I have had since I moved!! Yes its been quite the year!!

I started off 2019 on the Oregon Coast with friends for New Years.... While it may have been a little chillier than this beach seeker likes, I could not think of a better place to get away for a couple days, enjoy time with friends, and one of the most amazing sunsets I've witnessed. WIth the much nicer PNW winter weather, I was also able to get in a few hikes during the month. I am truly blessed to live where I do.

February found me needing to make an escape from the gray skies of winter to find... you guessed it.. a beach! I spent a long weekend in San Diego with a friend, and enjoyed the sun, some hiking, good food, and of course some beach time... I had a blast renting an electric scooter, and gliding on the walkway along the beach.

In March, I found myself in Nebraska... yes Nebraska, as I deployed with Field Innovation Team to help support flood relief. We worked on setting up a donations management center and were able to also help bring in some pretty significant donations. I am so fortunate to be part of this group and cannot thank Desi enough for picking me to go along!

April, I made a surprise visit to Billings for my mom's Birthday. It was great sneaking into town and surprise her at a small celebration. In April I also headed back to Maryland for the 1st of 4 weeks to attend the Executive Academy at the Emergency Management Institute, but more on this to come.

May had a visit from some friends that used to live in the Portland area. It was great to catch up with them! I hope I helped convince them they need to move back! May also took me to Palm Springs where I presented on a program that I have partnered with the City and County to make communities more disaster resilient! While there, I was able to take a drive and witness Joshua Tree National Park. Another off of my National Park Bucket List!!

June was a busy month. My best friend from Montana visited and we were able to take in a concert before taking a mini vacation that included Mt Rainier National Park, the Oregon Coast, Northern California, and Crater Lake National Park. A long drive but some great hikes!! Returning to work, I traveled to Spokane for a work conference as part of the E911 State Public Education Committee I sit on. I also flew back to Maryland for the second week of the Executve Academy.

In July, mom made her annual visit, and we were able to get some beach time in along with a visit with her cousin that happen to live in the area. I took mom to "Wicked, the Musical". It was her first Broadway Musical. I hope she enjoyed it!!

August is always a busy month at work

including 10 days of the local county fair, where we have a booth. I am so proud of the outreach our agency has been able to achieve over the past few years. I no more than finished fair, and flew back to Maryland for my 3rd week of Executive Academy. The month also included my dad finally making a visit. It was great to have him see the area. I was able to show him Multnomah Falls, Mt St Helens, Fort Vancouver, Fort Clatsop, Fort Stevens the coast, and other local attractions. It was great to have him there for my birthday!

September was life changing as I flew to Uganda as part of a Mission team. While there we helped provide nutrition, clothing, medical aid, and clean water into several villages all while sharing the Good News! I even recorded a song while there!! I cannot express how life changing this event was, and if you are interested in more, there is an entire blog and video devoted to the trip. The trip also included a boat ride on Victorian Nile, a hike to the top of Murchison Falls, and a Safari seeing animals I never imagined I would ever see outside a zoo. I returned just in time, (literally) to repack and fly to Maryland for the last week of the Executive Academy. During this final week, I graduated from the leadership course which is the highest level of training provided and am now one of only 250 people throughout the country to have completed this course.

October had me back at work trying to catch up on my work projects along with teach classes in partnership with two other counties training community advocates to help us reach individuals where English may not be first language. In the Portland metro area, there are 17 languages spoken by significant communties. In Clark County, where I live and work, there are 5 and we are working to ensure all recieve critical information when needed. I also traveled to the Seattle area to help with a workshop, where I was able to mentor and coach the Public Information and Joint Information Section during the exercise.

November started off with holding a new preparedness training class that I developed to help reach folks regarding the importance of being prepared for disasters. The one day class was very successful and I look forward to holding more in 2020. I was also able to squeeze in another concert November also brought one of the GREATEST events of the decade!! The 48-14 victory by the Montana State Bobcats over Missoula. While I wasn't able to be at the game, I enjoyed watching with friends and being able to have a fun rivalry with friends and family. It has sure been great to be on the winning side for the last four years.... Back to Back to Back to Back!! Go Cats Go!!

2019 has truly been a great year of pushing myself to new levels, while achieving goals a few years back, I didn't even know I had. I feel so blessed to be where I am while having the opportunties that I have. So much has changed during this past decade, and as I reflect back, I could have never pictured being where I am now. I am looking forward to 2020, and perhaps slowing things down a bit. While I had the opportunity to improve myself in many ways, I know there are other parts of me that paid the price, and I want to make sure to focus more on those parts of me in the coming year.

Thanks for getting this far and I wish you all health and happiness in 2020!! If you have another 10 minutes.. Here is my Holiday Video! All the Best in 2020!!

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. —Proverbs 31:8-9

I just want to start by thanking you for your support in my recent mission trip to Uganda. Your support helped provide clean water, medical supplies, clothing, shoes, food, along with tuition to keep kids in school which is essential for changing their futures. For that I can not thank you enough. I wanted to share with you some of the things I witnessed, along with those that impacted me personally during my time there.

I left my home in Vancouver WA on Sept 3rd and traveled to Seattle to hop on a flight. 14 ½ hrs later we landed in Dubai, UAE where we had a layover before another 6+ hrs into Entebbe, Uganda. We then traveled another 6 hrs by van to Lira, Uganda where we would be based for the majority of our time there.

Each day while in Uganda, the mission team would head out to different villages to visit, bring supplies, and spend time worshipping, before hearing God’s Message. I will say, worship in Uganda is taken to an entire new level compared to here in the U.S. We started referring to it as “Worship Aerobics” because of the level of praise, dance and singing witnessed each and every day. What a wonderful testimony to God’s love to see individuals with so much less than the average American, yet so passionately praising God for what they have and His Grace. It was truly refreshing to see these communities come together for hours! Along the way, I had the opportunity to engage and share basic first aid in many of these villages along with some youth that we were teaching new skills.

So many things happened each day, its difficult to put in words yet a few things resonate in my mind. In one village where we delivered one of the clean water lifestraws that I had brought along, as we were teaching them how it worked, it was very obvious they realized the need to filter their water as they could see the difference the filter made. In another village, near the nutrition center we are building there, they were overwhelmed as we got their water source fixed. Women and children no longer had to walk long distances for water, and did not have to worry about being harassed for using another communities water source. What made this day stand out even more was while we were visiting, a torrential rainstorm hit. Over 30 of us ended up huddling in one house, (a room about 10x20) for at least 30 minutes, smiling, singing and praising.

Another day while visiting a family that CRM is supporting we took backpacks to kids as they prepared for school to start the following week. Students usually attend school from 7am-5pm and walk long distances to get there. They have to pay for their tuition or they cannot attend. This is a huge burden on many, and they end up dropping out. Unfortunately, this also limits their chances for a better life without an education. For girls, they have a tendency to end up pregnant at very young ages. The cycle of poverty continues if we cannot keep them in schools.

One of the most memorable moments for me however was the day we went into the hospital to visit mothers in the nutrition unit. As someone who has been involved in Public Safety the majority of my life, I never could imagine state run health care being this grotesque. I cannot describe accurately the unsanitary conditions these children and mothers were housed in as they try to save their child’s life. What made things worse was the fact that the hospitals do not provide food for the mothers while they are there caring for their children. Family members need to supply for the mothers while they are there. This becomes a huge burden on the families. Realizing this was the best medical care available left me in tears as we left.

This need in helping these mothers and children is really what started Child Rescue Ministries, who we worked with while we were there. This grass roots organization was started by four gentlemen who are the backbone of Child Rescue Ministries. Many times they have given whatever extra they personally have to help the children and families they are supporting. I cannot say enough about these 4 men, and their passion to help and their passion for the Lord. I cannot say enough about Moses, Martin, Felix and Michael's committment to make a difference!!

Along the way, we had an amazing support team to help lead worship each day as we traveled into the villages. Pastor Robert who joined us from Kampala, Dru, who is amazing at writing, and producing music, Jimmy, Emma, and Isaac who rounded out our team and our traveling band van. Each day they would load and unload speakers, equipment, in each of the communities, provide as worship leads, and translators. These remarkable young men who were behind the scenes in so many ways supported our team. I could not leave out Ruth and Patricia who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in keeping us fed.