Switching Blogs

Hi all, we just wanted to let everyone know that we've switch blog sites. Our new address is: joelandrachelhoffman.wordpress.com We love getting comments or just emails :)

Resurrecting the blog!

So yet again we've left the blog un-blogged in quite a few months. So now we are back and determined to be better bloggers. We've been in Brisbane now for around a year and a half and been to countless movies, gigs and cafes (namely Cafe Bouquiniste). We are really thankful for our friends here. This is short and sweet but consider us back online, with that we'll end this post with a few pictures.

Long time no blog ...

We realise we haven't blogged in millions of years but we thought we'd post some pictures of our life here in Queensland anyway. Hopefully this will mark the revival of this blog. :)

Oz

Well, this blog is long overdue and I'm sure we've lost the five of you that have been checking it regularly. To the one or two that are actually still checking (mom and dad), here is a little update.

First of all, we have to start with a very brief explanation of the last month. Here it is:

The cheapest flight to leave Uganda was on the 23rd. We landed in Dubai on Christmas Eve, spent three hours in a motel and jumped back on the plane to Singapore. In Singapore we got our feet massaged in some free airport massage chairs and jumped back on the plane. We landed in Brisbane Austalia at 6am on Christmas Day. We spent Christmas morning with customs going through everything and with an Indian cab driver. We stayed with some friends on the outskirts of Brisbane for a few weeks. Job and apartment searched for two weeks. Rachel found a part-time job. We found an apartment. Now here we are blogging.

All in all, I think we will always remember our first Christmas. I (Joel) spent Christmas afternoon konked out on a bed, after spending literally 70 hours not sleeping. I have a strange condition where I always have to watch the airplane movies. Can't waste the time sleeping, this is entertainment I paid for!

Our apartment is amazing. We won't bore you with details because so far I think we like it way more than anyone else that we've shown it to. But we are literally a stone's throw away from the river. And we ride the ferry to work and to get into town which is really nice. However the best part about where we live, is the people we share the house with.

Our apartment is a small section of a larger, older, "historical" house. So, there are about 6 other flats in this strange hodgepodge of a house. A couple of days ago while hanging laundry, I got into a conversation with some of the other tenants who were sitting outside eating cheese and drinking beers. We ended up talking for about two hours after which I had to go pick up Rachel from the ferry. When we got back we sat down again and talked for another hour or so. During this time they explained to us that this house was different. "We take care of each other here." That was said by Mick, an older, pudgy man who lives upstairs and delivers everyone's mail to their door and takes out everyone's garbage. Sasha and Alex live in the apartment near the front. Sasha offered to find Rachel a job since she has lots of connections. After relaying our story of how we got to this place, they all offered to help us get furnished. They gave us an old fridge that they had used to store beer in the basement. Mick gave us one of his couches. They found an old table and a bunch of mismatched chairs to use. So, our somewhat sparse flat has now almost turned into a fully furnished unit.

But what makes it great is the people. And it really seems like unbeknownst to us, me moved into a little community here, "who takes care of each other" and you can put a price on that. We wanted an apartment and God blessed us with a little family.

Anyway, we are pretty excited about it all. We also were able to get a two bedroom apartment so if any one wants to come visit we have a place for you to stay and we'll introduce you to Mick and Sasha and the rest of the gang. Also if anyone wants to know our address is:

2/7 Merthyr Rd. New Farm, QLD 4005 AUSTRALIA

Lions for Lambs

Are movie theatres in Uganda? Yes, and as any normal westerner would do we went to the newest feature playing, “Lions for Lambs.” And no it was not about lions but the American social and political atmosphere of today.

Tom Cruise plays a prideful senator who is telling Meryl Streep, a reporter, the American governments next strategic plan for winning the war on terror. While this is happening in Washington D.C. Robert Redford, a political science professor in California, is doing his best to get the future leaders of America to use their lives to make a difference for good. The last thread to this movie follows the story of two former students of Redford’s who were trying to make a difference. But as minorities from poor families saw their best option as going for a GI bill to continue their education and signed up in the army.

There were no real surprises in the plot in fact it ended quite abruptly with no real resolution. This movie forces you to think about the uncomfortable things about our culture. It challenges our use of media and how much of an influence we let it have in our lives and country. It also makes you contemplate the American dream of continually gaining for a more comfortable life while you turn a blind eye to the world or even your own community that is in need and hurting. It inspires you to question government decisions and whether or not you agree or disagree, to get involved for the greater good.

The title is made reference to by a quote in the movie. They use it as metaphor indicating that the people fighting a battle are the lions and often their leaders are nothing but lambs.

We would encourage you to see this film. The questions that come up in your mind while watching are worth thinking about.

Anyone up for a Vegemite sandwich?

Well we’re on to plan C, move to Brisbane Australia. It’s really been quite the process to get to this point but we feel strongly that this is what God is leading us into. So a quick review of the path we took to get to where we are now.
Sold everything. Moved to Malawi for a job. Got to Malawi no job. Moved to Uganda for potential job. Got to Uganda found out job was not a good fit. In Uganda praying about why we are in Uganda and what’s next. Feel like God is leading us to move to Brisbane. And now you are up to speed and as of now we are just waiting on a few details but we will fly out on the 23rd of December. We’ll have Christmas Eve in Dubai as a lay over and arrive in the beautiful country of Australia on Christmas morning. I guess you could say we took the scenic route to get to Australia but there you have it.
Actually, some of you might have known this, but our original plan after working in Malawi for three years was to move to Australia for Graduate school. So as we said we are bumping up the plan a bit and moving on with it now. Since Rachel is a citizen of Australia things are a bit easier for her in the move and she will start working and hopefully start school in the middle of 2008 if things go as planned. She wants to study International Political Development in hopes to someday work with governments and the UN to advocate for the developing world. Joel on the other hand has to work out visa stuff a bit first but will probably be able to work a little at first until he can become a permanent resident. But his dream is to become a writer and in the future write novels but for now work on getting articles published.
We both have learned so much in the past few years with our travels and studies. Specifically on this trip we have been seeking the lessons that God wants us to learn. First of all we know now more than ever that God is faithful. He has provided for us this whole time and we are so grateful. Second we have a little clearer picture what we want to be doing and what we don’t want to be doing with our lives. Third we have discovered that we love living in other countries but we think God is calling us back to our own cultures (well Rachel’s at least) for now to advocate for people in developing countries. Everyone likes simple answers, especially when it comes to poverty. We want to be able to feel good about ourselves by seeing some tangible result from our simple solutions. Unfortunately this attitude has literally plagued the developing world and still is today. The answer to poverty is multi-faceted and extremely complex. Our simplistic mindset has to change if we truly care about our poor neighbors. Therefore,we want to advocate for justice in the third-world not merely charity. We want to stop wasteful aid that creates dependency and doesn’t help them stand on their own two feet. We want to change political and economic policies that favor the rich in the west and ignore the plight of the poor. Lastly we want to provide an example of simple living, not to be copied by others, but to challenge the Western consumer mindset and live a life of necessity, contentment and generosity. We’ve learned a lot from this trip and obviously have a long way to go, but we must all do what we can, and this is what we feel called to.

P.S. We are extending an invitation for anyone to come visit and stay with us in Australia. We know a beach paradise is more enticing to visit, than an impoverished African country☺

What the heck is CHOGM???

CHOGM- the gathering of over 5000 commonwealth heads of State from all over the world, including the Queen, shaking hands in appointed country. This year it was Uganda.
To the locals, CHOGM- Cheap Holiday On Government Money.
To us, CHOGM- stuck in the empty house for three days. ☺
We discovered that our Aussie neighbors here have wireless internet and if we sit in the garden close enough to the wall we can connect, when it’s working☺ (of course they said we could use it) This and our movie collection really carried us through these three days of solitary confinement.
Lately we have been applying for jobs everyday and pray that one of them will work out. Both of us have experienced the pains of months of job hunting but somehow that desperate time is enhanced when in a third world country with no familiar faces around or real prospects.
Last nights dinner was a HUGE blessing! We were able to get into town for the first time and go grocery shopping. The isles of this westernized market were a “candy store” for us kids. We appropriated sliced ham, salt bread, Pringles, and a head of lettuce we both were praying would not make us sick again. That night we sat down to a feast of ham sandwiches and Sour Cream and Onion Pringles. We both ate one and a half; with bellies completely bloated we went to bed fully satisfied. Today we are anticipating the same for lunch, oh the simple pleasures of life.
Sadly this is our update, we hope it has not disappointed. Joel has been researching the different styles of writing. There are two different paths a writer can take. Either the content of his/her writing must be interesting enough to hold the readers interest or the writer must, with their use of words, attempt to make the content seem interesting enough for the reader to continue. We are hoping for the later because in the last week have discovered that although we are in a fascinating country our lives here in fact are not. :)

In all seriousness, please continue to pray for us as we expect big things from the Lord. We believe we are here for a reason and that the perfect thing will open up in God's timing.