Behind the Curtain: August - September

Last we posted, Adam was leaving for Malawi and Corrie was staying behind with Eva.

Fast forward a month ... and this is all that happened:

Adam made it to Malawi and back.

In South Africa, Adam's rental car blew two tires in the middle of nowhere.

But, Adam made it home safely.

In Malawi, Adam made lots of plans.

Adam met with local village chiefs to plan for village development.

Adam met with a woman who oversees a human rights agency in Malawi. 

Adam met with the leadership team of Flood Malawi Church and planned and made goals to strengthen the church.

Adam plans to return next summer to see these plans to fruition.

Adam likes to plan. 

At home, Corrie tended to a sick child.

Eva had a urinary tract infection, kidney infection, 103 degree fever, vomited twice, and had another heart episode.  In one night.

Eva was really sick.

Eva is now better, but the doctor has ordered more tests to see what caused the infections. 

We wait. We pray. We trust God regardless of the outcome.

At home, Corrie is a kick butt attorney.

She won two  huge motions and made clients happy.

Her firm is busy and doing well, which is a blessing in this economy.

Corrie writes motions, talks with clients and converses with judges.

Corrie is a kick butt attorney.

Upon returning home, Adam went straight to Flood's church retreat and prepared for the biggest month of the year.

The college students returned and so did the bulk of his job.

He plans and speaks and counsels and prays.

Adam is a kick butt pastor.

There's much more to say, but this is the best we can do to recap a month in 5 minutes.  In our free time we have also begun the house search once again and are training for a half marathon.

We look forward to celebrating Eva's 1st birthday on October 4th!

This has been one crazy year.

Love,
Adam & Corrie

ps. Oh yeah ... Eva has begun taking steps all around the house. We hope to have her join us in November for the half marathon!

Why I Go

Tomorrow I head back to Malawi, Africa, where I will be furthering Flood's ministry with a church plant in the capital city.  This is my 9th visit to the continent. Working with the local church, I will be researching new initiatives for 2011 including a human rights clinic, an intern exchange program, micro-finance projects and malaria prevention.  I am deeply saddened by the thought of leaving Corrie and Eva behind. Even if it is just for a few weeks, I am not looking forward to saying goodbye. To help extinguish my guilt, and possibly to inspire a few of you reading this, I came up with some reasons for why I go.

I go because I love to travel. Not the only reason, or the most important reason, maybe even a shallow reason, but nonetheless, this is a reason why I go. Though it's a long journey, I have developed rigorous methods to cope with the 20+ hour flight (thank you Tylenol PM and wine served on international flights!) and learned how to "sometimes" score upgrades into business class. I'm fascinated by different perspectives and cultures, and feel like I have been given skills to quickly navigate through differences to find common ground.

I go because it's my job. In 2005, I was asked to go to Malawi by my church. Since then I have been back every year. One of my roles is to not only support our partnerships in Africa, but to create unique opportunities for others to go. It is exciting to see people take huge steps of faith and sacrifice to help others. There are many different reasons why I love being a pastor, but getting to see others grow in this way tops the list!

I go because I give a damn. We all know there are problems in the world. There are issues of oppression and poverty. There are those, simply because of where they happen to be born, have much, and those who have very little. In college I studied sociology and enjoyed the challenging thoughts and discussions in and outside the classroom. Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to move beyond stimulating conversation to tangibly helping the problems. Corrie and I have spent many nights talking around the dinner table about ways we can make a difference. At times, we get overwhelmed and discouraged, yet we keep reminding ourselves ... if we don't go who will? We have the means, the education and the opportunity to help others, so we do. We can't do everything, but we can do something. 

Lastly, I go because my momma told me to. Seriously. When I was in 4th grade, my mom and I were dropping my sister off in San Francisco so she could head back to college. We spent the day seeing the sites and hopped back in the car to head home. On the drive back my mom shared the story of Jesus with me. How He came to this earth to show us how to live. How He died for us. And how He rose again, proving that He was the Son of God and worthy to be followed. With out being pushy, she simply told me about Jesus and asked me to consider beginning a relationship with God. That night, I got in my bed, and began to talk to Jesus for the first time and decided that I wanted to follow Him for the rest of my life. Little did I know how big of an impact that decision would have on my life and where God would take me.

Because Christ has called me to be His child. 

Because Christ has called me to live generously and compassionately. 

Because Christ gives me hope and freely offers hope to the world. 

Because Christ has called me to utilize everything He made me to be, for His glory, I go.

I'll be back Tuesday, August 24th.

To see a more detailed trip itinerary click here. My team and I would appreciate your prayers while we are away ... and so would Corrie :)

Moments from July

How many bananas can you stick to your face?

July has flown by! Here are some highlights from the last several weeks ... in no particular order.

1. Eva had her 9 month checkup. She received a clean bill of health. According to the charts, she's one tall little lady (97th percentile!).
2. Eva has started to stand on her own without holding on to anything. Something tells us she'll be an early walker. Can't decide if this is a good thing or not.
3. Corrie and I enjoyed our first overnight away from Eva to celebrate our anniversary. It was fun, but Corrie kept smiling and talking to every baby we saw. If she was a dude, people would have thought she was pretty creepy.
4. The past few weeks of work for Adam have been crazy. He is preparing all the details for his upcoming trip to Malawi (leaves Aug 9) while also needing to get everything done for the fall college schedule that starts up the day he returns from Africa. He's extremely excited about all the projects he's working on, but has been putting in lots of extra hours.
5. Corrie's time at work has been full as well. She has several cases going on at the same time. She is quickly learning how to be Wonder Woman, balancing a full time work schedule and motherhood duties. Her invisible plane is on its way.
6. Eva began communicating with us. She knows how to point and is quickly learning about all the different "things" in any given room. She also can act like a pretty mean lion and a wise old owl ... thanks to Aunt Sarah for teaching her tricks.
7. We spent the 4th of July weekend up in Sacramento with family and friends. We enjoyed every single minute of our time away.
8. Eva pooped in the tub for the first time!
9. We took Eva on her first international journey into Mexico to visit some good friends in Tijuana.
10.  Corrie and Adam got to spend some time acting like kids, rather than taking care of them, at Disneyland. Thanks to Emilie and Grandpa and Grandma for watching Eva.

Below are some various pictures and videos. In two weeks Adam will be leaving for Malawi, so we'll post more about his trip soon.

Love you all,
Adam & Corrie

Enjoying the summer

So fashionable!

To Infinity and Beyond!

South Africa, May 2008

Photo taken by Taryn Kent

Last night, Corrie and I enjoyed a fun night away and saw Toy Story 3. Without spoiling anything, the movie was a great reminder of the importance of the imagination and the joy-filled wonder of being a kid. While we were watching, we started getting text messages with the words centimeters, dilation, pushing and crowning. My sister Sarah was going into labor and they wanted the world to know (my family has no filter when it comes to these sort of things ... I apologize). Since I was wearing 3D glasses, all the texts were jumping off my phone (well, not really, but I'm sure that will be the next tech revolution). After a relatively brief time at the hospital, my sister delivered a beautiful baby girl, Beatrice Bärbel Diane Greule (can you tell her dad has German roots?). If this wasn't exciting enough, I have also been completely OBSESSED with the World Cup. I'm not going to write a lot about this except to say that it took Toy Story and the birth of a new human being to pull me out of a deep pit of despair and depression yesterday. I guess that's better than a bottle of Jack!


So all of this has got me thinking.

Many of you know that since 2002, I have been blessed to visit the continent of Africa eight different times. Over the years, God has been stirring my imagination as I've gotten to experience numerous adventures and meet some incredible people who have forever changed my life. I have gotten to feed displaced peoples in a war torn region of northern Uganda. I have witnessed hundreds experience life changing hope in the slums of Nairobi. And I have helped launch a new and innovative church in the capital city of Malawi.

My dreams of what could be have been expanded beyond comprehension, simply because I chose to live my life on mission with Jesus.

This August, I will be sadly leaving Corrie and Eva for three weeks, as I take another momentous trip back to Malawi (with their unwavering support of course!). Not only will I be serving a thriving young church plant, I will also be stepping out in faith to pursue human rights work. Utilizing Corrie's legal background and expertise, we are in the beginning stages of investigating the top human rights abuses in the country and attempting to create a relatively sustainable and empowering short term model for outsiders to work with locals to bring about justice for those in need.

Just writing these words is making my pits sweaty, as I am anxious about what is in store for me, my family and my church in the next few years. But with the courage of Buzz Lightyear, the love of a parent with a newborn, and the thrill of global wins and defeats in the World Cup inside me, I can't wait for what's in store!

I am trying to raise $3500 for my trip to Malawi. If you are interested in making a tax-deductible contribution please email me at adam.klekowski@gmail.com and I'll share all the details.

Beatrice Bärbel Diane Greule

June 26, 2010

I Love Daddy!

Eva has commissioned me to ghost write a Father’s Day blog post for her. She would have written this herself, but you know how busy she gets this time of year.

If Eva could write she would tell you about how good her Daddy is at making her laugh. How he also is good at calming her down when something scares her. She also might tell you that she finds his chest hair fascinating.

What she wouldn’t tell you, because she probably doesn’t realize it now, and maybe never will, is how much he sacrifices to care for her. How he wakes up early everyday to change her diaper and put her down for her nap. How he stays up late to give medicine to her. How he spends all his “free” time taking care of her.

This father’s day leaves me grateful that Eva has a father that loves her so much and strives to do his best for her. Adam is seriously the engine that keeps this home running. Seriously. Because of him, we stay afloat and I stay sane. I could not do this without him.

I am also grateful that Eva has a father whose character I would be proud for her to emulate. I am grateful she has a father who will challenge her daily to really see the world around her, to seek God, and to love others.

Happy Father’s Day. I love you, babe.

P.S. Photo is of Eva after being fed blueberries by Daddy.

Mainland

We are back from an incredible week in Kauai with my family. It was relaxing, adventurous, and rejuvenating.

Some highlights: a beautiful hike Adam and I took the baby on; hanging out and laughing with the family; long sun drenched days at the beach; sleeping in (thanks Mom and Dad for watching the crazy baby!); a exhilarating helicopter ride; and generally just relaxing and enjoying the sun.

We hired a babysitter one night and went out to a great dinner with all the adults. The sitter was hired through an agency on the island, so we didn’t know who they would send. When she arrived she was wearing a long flowing skirt and a bikini with a loose tank top over it. Her hair was in wild beach tumbled waves. She was carrying an eastern meditation book and had large tufts of armpit hair sticking out from under her tank top. (!!!!!.)

Despite the hairy pits she was great with the baby. Eva quickly stole her car keys and slobbered all over them while the nanny told Adam and I about her life. She worked and lived on an organic farm on the island. She grew up in the Midwest then moved to Kauai a decade or so back. She told us that “the island life takes you over.” It had definitely taken her.

Part of me leaves a place like Kauai wishing that I could let it take me over... that I could give up the daily grind of life on the mainland to live in a permanent daze of Mai Tais and Ahi Poke. It seems romantic, idyllic, and divine. But then we come home and I find myself so glad to be home. Its comforting, its familiar, its...deep restful exhale... home. Home sweet home.

Normal life may not be as glamorous or breezy as vacation life, but normal life is more me. With all the crazy responsibilities I tack onto my life comes also a sense of calm and peace. It may be chaotic and at times exhausting, but my mainland life, right now seems right where I should be.