Changes and Blessings

If you’ve been checking here for updates, I apologize for the long gap.  The last few weeks have held a lot of changes for my husband and me, and I feel like we’re just now finally starting to settle into the new way of doing things.  First of all, we bought and moved into our first house.  A huge blessing!  Someday soon I’d like to tell the more complete story of how that came about.  Then, my husband’s job in Frisco officially ended.  This was a source of much stress for me, but on his next to last day of work in Frisco he had a very promising job interview for an assistant band director position in Gainesville.  As it stands now, as soon as some paperwork is done, he will have the job.  Yes, another huge blessing!  In the midst of all of this, we had to wait a bit over a week to get internet installed at our new house.  And now, my husband has practically commandeered our laptop in an effort to plow through an alternative teaching certification program in preparation for his new job.  A very worthy goal, but it has still limited my own computer time.  On top of this, our friend Terrence has moved in with us and is currently renting one of our spare bedrooms.  It certainly is fun to have a friend around the house, especially when I come home to find Terrence watching Chinese action movies at high volume in our dining room (Terrence is from Taiwan).  Also, two Sundays ago I did my first triathlon and loved it.  To sum it all up, Whew!  Craziness abounds in the Kami household.  And we are only hoping to add to it.  Tonight, we are taking our dog, Tolkien, to meet a possible new member of the Kami family: a three-month-old border collie/bearded collie mix named Mary (name to be changed if we adopt her).  We had agreed that once we were in a house, we could look into getting a playmate for Tolkien, so here goes!  Have no fear: pictures will follow if we wind up bringing her home.

If you’re looking to hassle some Congressmen with me for some good causes, I plan to start back up tomorrow.  Thank you for your patience!  May God bless you and your neighbor through you today!

A Beautiful Day

Today, I’m pleased to discover that our internet does indeed work in our backyard, so I’m writing this from a small plastic patio set in the beautiful out-of-doors, which is made all the more beautiful since this is the first time we’ve seen the sun here in about two weeks.  Ahh.  Also, this way my dog can chase squirrels and grasshoppers around the backyard while I blog.  Wonderful.  Today, I’m calling Senator Cornyn (202-224-2934) about S. 1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act.  Here’s what I’m going to say:

“Hello!  My name is Allison Kami, and I’m from Denton, TX.  I’m calling to express my concern about the current state of the U.S.’s foreign aid programs, and I’d like to ask Senator Cornyn to cosponsor Senate Bill 1524 to improve the accountability and quality of U.S. foreign assistance.”

Please join me!  And may God bless you and your neighbor through you today.

Update: My dog just threw up in the backyard from eating grass while I wasn’t looking.  Maybe I should rethink this blogging outside thing.

Update: Make that threw up twice.

Bra’tac Back Home

As it turns out, Lewis the Labrador’s real name is Bra’tac, as in the Stargate SG-1 character. Yes, the owner called me yesterday, having seen one of the fliers we put up. It turns out that this was Bra’tac’s sixth escape attempt, and the owner is pretty fed up with him. The guy bought Bra’tac to use as a hunting dog, but he has never lived up to his potential. The owner said that he would give Bra’tac one more chance as a hunting dog, but if he is still a disappointment, he’s going to give the dog away. It’s a bit sad, since really, the poor little guy seems to just want to be a pet, but his owner doesn’t want a pet. He wants a hunting dog. So if you see Bra’tac wandering the streets of Denton, you might want to just consider holding on to him. At that point, he probably won’t be wanted at home.

If you can, take a moment and mark out Saturday, November 7th at 2PM on your calendar. I think that’s finally been set as the official time and date of the Water Walk. The plan is this: we will be meeting at the square in Denton, bringing milk jugs, bottles, anything to carry water in. We will then walk as a group to South Lake Park off of Teasley and fill up our jugs/bottles/etc. Then, we will walk back to the square. Round trip, the walk will be around four miles. What’s the point? To raise funds and awareness for Charity: Water. I think we’re going to ask that everyone who walks donate $20 or more and try to raise funds from family and friends as well. We’d love if we can raise enough for a well: $5,000. We’ve decided to give the money to Charity: Water, since 100% of their funds go directly to fund water projects. The walk demonstrates how many children must spend their days walking to a far off water source to bring back their family’s daily water supply. In-village wells allow children to attend school, because they no longer have to travel far to get water. Please consider walking with us (the more the merrier) and please also help us get the word out. Churches, newspapers, workplaces, schools…anywhere you can think of. And if you’re not able to walk, please consider how else you can help out.

On the topic of water, that’s what I’ll be calling about today. I’ll be trying to call Senator Hutchison’s office (202-224-5922) about the Water for the World Act. Here’s what I’m going to say:

“Hello. My name is Allison Kami and I’m from Denton, TX. I’m calling to express my concern about the lack of access to clean drinking water in developing countries. I’d like to ask Senator Hutchison to cosponsor Senate Bill 624 to help bring sustainable access to safe drinking water to 100 million people by 2015.”

Please join me! Also, take a moment to check out At the End of Slavery site. It’s a film being produced by International Justice Mission about modern day slavery and human trafficking. IJM is encouraging people to host house parties/screenings for the film, and Taylor and I have already decided we’ll probably do one. Time and place to be announced. At the site, you can learn more about the film and watch the trailer.

May God bless you and your neighbor through you today!

Water

Well, Lewis the Labrador has found a new temporary home with our good friends, the Fronczeks.  Thank you, thank you Fronczeks.  However, it is temporary, so we are still looking for either the owner (ideally) or a permanent home for the little guy.  If you can help me out with either one, please let me know.

I wanted to give an update on how calling is going for me, so you can know that you’re not alone if you’ve had some issues.  I have not gotten through to Senator Hutchison’s office in quite some time.  I’m guessing this is because she is concentrating on the Texas gubernatorial race, but she’s not quitting the Senate until November, so I hope we can still influence her somehow.  It sometimes takes me a day or two to get through to Senator Cornyn’s office, but it is possible if I keep trying.  I can usually get through to Representative Burgess’ office on the first try, and the secretaries there will sometimes spend a bit longer on the phone with me.  As far as replies go, I have definitely gotten the most from Representative Burgess.  I of course only get form letters, which are not especially helpful, but at least I know they keep a record of who calls.  I think I have gotten a reply or two from Senator Cornyn, but I don’t remember getting any from Senator Hutchison.  So, if you’ve had trouble getting through to Hutchison, don’t worry.  You’re not alone.

Today, I’m calling Senator Cornyn (202-224-2934) about the Senate version of the Water for the World Act.  Here’s what I’m saying:

“Hello.  My name is Allison Kami and I’m from Denton, TX.  I’m calling to express my concern about the lack of access to clean drinking water in developing countries.  I’d like to ask Senator Cornyn to cosponsor Senate Bill 624 to help bring sustainable access to safe drinking water to 100 million people by 2015.”

Please join me!  And may God bless you and your neighbor through you today!

Raining (Cats and) Dogs

¹ If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. ² If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. ³ Do the same if you find your brother’s donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.

Deuteronomy 22:1-3

My husband and I are in the midst of caring for our brother’s lost ox, or in this case, a black lab.  The poor guy followed Taylor home yesterday morning while he was walking Tolkien, and has currently taken up residence in our backyard.  He’s a sweet guy who, with a bit of training, could be a great dog.  At this point, he really likes to jump on us and give us kisses, which is unfortunate since he is pretty gross from being out in the rain for who knows how long.  I took him to the vet this morning to see if he has a microchip, but no such luck.  The vet looked at his teeth and estimated that he’s about three years old, and all the ladies working at the vet office commented on how handsome he is.  We’ve posted listings on Craig’s List, Facebook, and hung up some fliers around town.  We also went door to door for about an hour last night to see if anyone recognized him.  Nada.  Best case scenario is to find the owner, but I don’t know what the chances are of that. We’ve temporarily named him Lewis to keep with our current pet naming trend.  So, if you know anyone who is looking for a sweet but big dog, please let me know ASAP.  We won’t be able to take care of him much longer, and I hate to take him to the animal shelter where he may be euthanized.  I’ll include a picture for your enjoyment:

Since it’s been raining cats, and apparently dogs, for the last few days, I figured it would be appropriate to call a Congressman about water.  So today, I’m calling Representative Burgess (202-225-7772) about the Water for the World Act, H.R. 2030.  Here’s what I’m going to say:

“Hello.  My name is Allison Kami and I’m from Denton, TX.  I’m calling to express my concern about the lack of access to clean drinking water in developing countries.  I’d like to ask Representative Burgess to cosponsor House Bill 2030 to help bring sustainable access to safe drinking water to 100 million people by 2015.”

Please join me!  And please consider giving Lewis the Labrador a home.  May God bless you and your neighbor (and their dog) through you!

Return From Recess

If you were looking for a new post yesterday, I apologize for disappointing you, but I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day!  We did: sleeping in, dog walking, flying kites, and Sonic happy hour.  Other events of the day included trying to rinse our dog’s eye with saline solution.  That was fun.  It seems like he had something in it, because it was a bit red and, well, mucus-y all day.  The saline seemed to help a bit, and it’s looking better today.

That brings us to today, September 8th, and the reconvening of Congress.  Now that our Congressmen are back in D.C., I’m going to return to calling them.  I’m going to give Representative Burgess’ office a follow-up phone call about the Child Protection Compact Act, the bill I met with his aide about.  His phone number is 202-225-7772, and here’s what I’m going to say:

“Hello, my name is Allison Kami and I’m from Denton, TX.  I’m calling to express my concern about the practice of trafficking children for forced labor and prostitution, and I’d like to ask Representative Burgess to cosponsor House Bill 2737 to help combat this industry.”

Please join me!  And may God bless you and your neighbor through you today!

Dogs, Darfur, Pedophiles, and Honduras

Today, I have a smattering of things I’d like to share.  First is a fairly unrelated story, but one I find interesting anyway.  Yesterday morning, my friend Lara and I went running at South Lakes Park here in Denton, and on our loop around the walkway, we saw two dogs sleeping on the grass.  One raised its head to look at us, but then went back to resting.  We didn’t think much of it, but kept running (or walking, whichever we were doing at the moment).  As we finished up our run and were stretching beside our cars, the two dogs came up to us.  They were extremely friendly and allowed us to pet them, wagging their tails the whole time.  They had collars on but no tags.  Lara had to leave for work, so I decided to call Denton Animal Services and wait with the dogs until someone came to pick them up.  For the record, Denton Animal Services is slow.  Finally, it was getting close to the time I had to leave, and I saw a Parks and Recreation guy pull up in his truck.  Apparently, someone had also called him about the dogs, and he had come to check out the situation.  By this time, I had found two straps in the back of my car that I usually use to attach things to my roof racks, so I formed two improvisatory leashes from them and had the dogs tethered to a pole.  I told the Parks and Rec man, Mr. Rodriguez, that I had to leave soon, so he agreed to stay with the dogs until Animal Services came.  He was going to attach something else to their collars so I could take my roof rack straps with me, but the female dog, who I think was the mother of the other dog, started barking at him.  So, I left him with the straps and he gave me his business card so I could pick up my straps from him later.  This morning, I drove to South Lakes again to find Mr. Rodriguez waiting with the roof rack straps in hand.  It turns out that when Animal Services picked up the dogs, they identified them as repeat offenders.  The owner has already been fined multiple times for not keeping his dogs contained, and this time, it appears that he had actually dumped them at the park.  I almost regretted calling Animal Services, since the dogs were returned to an owner who apparently doesn’t care for them.  They really were sweet dogs, and had been content to follow me around the park and let me pet them for the hour I was waiting with them.  So, if you ever see two medium sized dogs wandering around Denton, one white female with black spots and a younger brown male with black spots,  you might consider giving them a good home.  It doesn’t sound like they otherwise have one to go to.

Now, for something completely different.  My friend Lindsey sent me a link to a Washington Post article today, and it’s definitely worth checking out.  You can find it HERE.  It’s about three American men who were arrested for traveling to Cambodia as sex tourists to have sex with children.  Sex tourism is rampant in Cambodia.  It’s one country that I hope is named one of the focus countries of the Child Protection Compact Act if it ever gets passed.  The article even mentions International Justice Mission for their help in the case.  Yay, IJM.  I’m thankful to see that in this case, the pedophiles were the ones charged, not the minors used.  In many cases, the children are punished as prostitutes, even though they should be considered the victims.  Please support IJM as they continue their work in fighting the sex slave industry.

Also, the Enough Project’s blog has just been updated with a video of John Prendergast giving a briefing on current Sudan policy and the changes that are needed.  At a little over three minutes long, it gives a succinct but informative view of the situation in Sudan and the U.S. part in it.  Just ignore the silly person who made a comment on the post about Obama being a Nazi (if they don’t take it down).  Sheesh.

And now, to the action I’m taking today.  I recently received an email from Amnesty International concerning the current political situation in Honduras.  I have not been following this crisis until now, but the information from Amnesty International is compelling.  In brief, the president of Honduras (who was elected in a democratic election) was removed by a military coup d’etat two months ago, and since that time, the situation in Honduras has been spiraling downward.  The de facto government has been using mass arrests, police and military-sanctioned beatings, and gender based violence against women to squelch any opposition.  You can find a full briefing of the situation and a message to send to Secretary of State Clinton HERE.  The message requests that Secretary Clinton pursue the restoration of democracy in Honduras and accountability for the abuses of the de facto government.  Please join me!  I’ll try to keep up more with the situation in Honduras now that Amnesty International has made me aware.  Today, may God bless you and your neighbor through you!