A Desperate Act

This story on BBC.com grabbed my attention this week: "Builders Find Auschwitz Message." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8022667.stm.

While being held at Auschwitz-Birkenau during WWII, seven prisoners were forced to reinforce walls in a school building near the camp, that the Nazis used for storage. On September 7, 1944, they wrote their names, ages, prisoner numbers, and hometowns on a scrap of paper, put it in a small bottle, and buried it in the concrete walls. Two of the men survived the war, but the fates of the other five are unknown. Considering the reputation of Auschwitz, it's most probable that they died there.

Why did these men hide that message? What were they facing that they felt the need to leave some evidence of their existence - and to what end? It wasn't like they were trying to communicate with someone. I'm sure they knew that it could be decades before that message might be found, if it ever could be. Maybe it wasn't even really meant to be found.

Five months after the message was hidden, the Nazis began destroying the gas chambers and other evidence of crimes because the Russian army was quickly approaching. Prisoners healthy enough to walk were forced on a death march towards Germany. On January 20, an order was issued to murder all remaining prisoners. But because of the chaos of the Nazi retreat, the order was never carried out. The death camp was liberated by the Russian army on January 27, 1945.

We have been told since childhood that "be sure your sins will find you out." It was madness for the Nazis to try to hide evidence of 1.1 million murders, but they certainly tried to. Maybe these seven men decided - just in case - to leave a message for God and whoever else would find it to stand as evidence against the horror they lived at Auschwitz.

MK's, a Scary Baltimore Underpass, and the White House

The Baltimore underpass was the fault of our GPS. Yes, we are one of those. At least we didn't turn into a lake or drive off a cliff. But because we were UNDER the freeway system, the GPS couldn't find us, and there was trash and abandoned vehicles everywhere, and then Rachel (MK from Bangladesh) pointed to a train track, "Oh look! There's a creepy man walking toward us!" Fun times.

Steve and I spent a week away. It was VERY nice to disconnect from life and stuff here, and just spend some time together. We drove to Washington, DC, and stayed with some friends of my parents, traveling into and around the city during the day. We saw all the essential DC sights, and even had time to spend a day visiting some Civil War battlefields. We also got to hang out with a few friends from Taylor who showed us some fun places in the city.


Then we drove to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, stopping by Baltimore (scene of the aforementioned underpass adventure) to pick up Rachel at the airport. Another of our Bangladesh MK friends was having a wedding reception at the ABWE headquarters. (actual wedding happened in Thailand) About 11 MK's and spouses gathered for the momentous occasion. It's so nice to be with people who understand you, inside and out. Got to wear a sari, eat curry, talk about politics and the world, and stay in one of the executive suites!

Postcard from Lithuania

I’m usually okay with getting rid of stuff. I go through stages, I guess. But every once in a while, there’s something that stops me from pitching something. For example, I’m moving offices this week. Our whole department – eight people and tons of files – is moving to another building. That’s a PILE of stuff, and I definitely got into a purging mood. My walls in my old office were pretty much covered with pictures and other fun stuff, and I wanted to pare down - you know, the whole fresh start thing. As I’ve been setting up in my new digs, I’ve been getting rid of even more.

But I came upon an old postcard I bought in Lithuania when I spent a semester there in 2001.




It’s really kind of dumb – it’s just a black card, with “Vilnius by night” on it, in English and Lithuanian. (Vilnius is the capital city.) I thought it was hilarious and I still do! It reminds me of the amazing and somewhat offbeat creativity and ingenuity I saw at Lithuania Christian College. The school had a really small budget for publicizing events and parties, but they did an absolutely amazing job with poster board, a few markers, and pictures cut out of magazines. I’ll never forget a huge poster for a party, advertising: “Drug-free party! (with moderate beer consumption).” Awesome.

The postcard is a little beat up, as you might expect from a postcard that not only travelled the world (it went with me to Bangladesh, where I went right after Lithuania), but also has been through, oh, about five moves. But I don’t want to throw it out! So I’m taking it home to live in my Lithuania scrapbook.

Maybe I’m pathetic for having an emotional attachment to a ratty old postcard. But if something has meaning, is it so wrong to want to hold on to it? I mean, that’s why I hang out with Steve.

A Few Shots of Peru

There are not enough cameras and pictures in the world to capture the scene at Machu Picchu. It's so huge and so incredible - and the mountains that surround it are breathtaking. God's amazing!

Me, schelping around Tom's tripod while he was collecting b-roll footage.

I saw this sculpture at a tourist-trap pottery place. But it really hit me - something eloquent about how broken and damaged pots in the Potter's hand can turn into a beautiful work of art, stunning because of the flaws, not in spite of them.


And here's the obligatory team shot. It poured for the first four hours of our day at Machu Picchu. The poncho-sellers made a killing that day. Pictured are Tom (videographer), Tracy (web writer), Lindsey (photographer), Pat (web designer), Joyce (editor), Nancy (media relations), Kristi (the Boss), and me (writer)!