two and two makes five

Amy's Super Secret Virtual Baby Shower

On Sunday, our friends threw us a baby shower for Vusi, which was another great measure of support from our beautiful community. I also invited readers of our "everyotherfriday" email updates to attend virtually, which many of you did by sending notes, pictures, and a "virtual gift" that you picked out and that we will buy locally with the money you gave. Thanks to everyone for "being there" on Sunday - in a few of the pictures below you can see Amy reading your emails and showing your pictures around the room to the rest of the guests! (click the pictures for a bigger version, captions above)

Some of the guests watching Amy open presents:

Amy reading a note from a virtual guest:

Vusi was clearly the star of the day:

Vusi took a break to have some milk while everyone else had cake:

Vusi hanging out with his Uncle Asaf - one of Vusi's biggest fans:

I think everyone held him for a while that afternoon:

From left to right, shower guests from South Africa, DR Congo, Netherlands, Germany, and Angola - and all of the virtual Americans were there too!

Dear America, Can I Have $700 Billion?

I have sworn off writing about "politics" on this blog for a while - mostly because 1) people get really antsy about politics and feel personally attacked when others disagree with their views, 2) I live and work off 100% donations from people who aren't always inclined to give to people they disagree with politically, and (most importantly) 3) I have long ago quit believing that politicians care about anything beyond their own power and status are capable of working primarily "for the good of the world," which I believe is the welcoming of the Kingdom of God.

But today I am saying "thank you" to the US House of Representatives for voting down the $700 Billion Wall Street bailout. Why? Because I am not primarily concerned with the economy of the United States, although that economy seems to provide my livelihood. I am not primarily concerned with what is "best" for "America first," because I know that what is best for the world is what is best for America. And I am disappointed in the leaders and candidates from both political parties for putting their own interests above the world's, and the vote of the House restores a bit of my confidence that politicians can sometimes do the right thing, across party lines and in defiance of political leadership.

I've done a little digging and research around the web, and while I wouldn't stake my life on the complete accuracy of these figures, I've found a few ideas for how to spend $700 Billion - across the world or in your own backyard:

• Fully fund life-saving Anti-Retroviral Treatment to every single man, woman, and child infected with HIV in Africa, including training the health professionals required to administer treatment and the building of necessary infrastructure
• Eliminate illiteracy across the entire world (58 times over)
• Give 160x our annual aid to Africa  
• Wipe out malaria and TB in Africa (several times over) 
• Give a "One Laptop to Child" to every person in India, Africa, and South America
• Give 4.4 million Americans a free college education at a prestigious private institution 
• Triple American scientific R&D spending 
• Send a check for $2300 to every living American 
• Provide six years of universal health care to Americans  
• Fix the Social Security problem 
• Build seven new international space stations 
• Or - in terms of FDR's New Deal, for $250 billion in today's money, he bought 8,000 parks, 40,000 public buildings, and 72,000 new schools. So, double or triple that for what we could get for $700 billion today  
• Socialize the catastrophic greed of capitalist bankers and force taxpayers to pay the banks' ill-advised debt for several generations 

It would be obscenely political of me to point out that the total cost of the Iraq war will likely approach $3 Trillion according to the Washington Post. Or that Time Magazine is reporting on the dangers of America's new #1 export - debt. Or that any number of economists and analysts believe that the nearly $10 Trillion national debt will cripple our nation for generations. So I won't mention any of that. But I'll just point out that by including the cost of the Iraq war along with the proposed bailout, you could choose five or six of the items above and accomplish them all.

This post might sound angry (it isn't) or cynical (I'm beyond cynical) or both, but what it really represents is a stark assessment of the values of a nation. If you can judge a person's character by her actions, then you can judge a nation's collective character in the same way. Ours is not a nation that seeks first the Kingdom of God, but one that seeks first power, wealth, and security - on the backs of the Other. The values of the nation are clearly seen in its budgetary habits, and the values of voters are reflected in the actions of the politicians they support. Is your candidate supporting what seems best for America in the short term or what is best for the world in the long term - the growth of the reign of God who is restoring all things and making them new? I'm still not sure if I can vote: no candidate and no party will ever choose Good over Empire, so do I walk away or choose the least destructive?

Hooray for the House today - thank you for the message that unbridled greed has consequences for the perpetrators that will not be borne disproportionately by the poor. Stand your ground and refuse this immoral plan. And maybe, just maybe, someone will recognize that by choosing what is best for the world, you will be choosing what is best for America as well.

Thanks!

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in Amy's Super Secret Virtual Baby Shower! We had a wonderful afternoon with friends - those from Cape Town who were here in person and those from America who were here via your emails, photos, and virtual gifts. Vusi was terrific and was passed around and around and around without a whimper or cry. Tonight, both father and son are exhausted (from their shared lack of a previous night's sleep and a long busy day) and are headed to bed early. We have hundreds of pictures to sort upload and sort through (the camera was also passed around and around!) and will be posted (ahem) soon. 

Thanks again to everyone who sent notes, pictures, and gifts! We are so honored to have a global community of love and support!

More Vusi

Check out a few new pictures of our first week with Vusi on my facebook page by clicking here!

21 September, 2008...

...will be remembered in South African history as the day President Thabo Mbeki announced his resignation to the country.

I will remember this as the day we first tried to give Vusi 175ml of formula before bedtime.

One week can change everything.

Mbeki is Out! South Africa will have a new President!

The American (and indeed world) news is full of reporting on the massive bailout of financial institutions - a huge story for sure. What little space is left is reserved for Obama vs. McCain. So many of you may miss one of Africa's biggest stories of the year and arguably South Africa's biggest political story since the end of apartheid in 1994 - South African President Thabo Mbeki has been "recalled" and asked to resign by his own ruling party, the African National Congress!

The latest word is that Mbeki has accepted the decision and will resign after Parliament decides what will happen next - the South African Constitution makes no mention of what would happen should a President resign voluntarily.

Mbeki lost the leadership struggle for the ANC to Jacob Zuma in January, despite Zuma being accused of fraud and corruption. When a judge ruled last week that the charges against Zuma were brought improperly (without any ruling on the merits of the charges) and that the Presidency had interfered with the supposedly nonpolitical National Prosecuting Authority by urging the case against Zuma, the new Zuma-dominated ANC leadership had had enough. Mbeki has never been loved by the rank-and-file, and this was the nail in his political coffin.

A new era begins today in South Africa and the ANC will never be the same. Stay tuned... this is going to be something.

My first parenting failure

Well, it probably wasn't my first, but it was the first I was acutely aware of. It happened Friday night, which means that I went a full 2 days as a dad without a big disaster - pretty decent if you ask me.

So what happened? There is no way I'm posting that on my blog. Maybe you should send Amy an email and beg her to "guest author" the account from her perspective.

Let's just say there was vomit involved, and it wasn't Vusi's.

Baby Jeopardy!

"The number of baby care 'rules' Steven and Amy broke in their first 24 hours of parenthood."

"What is seventeen?"

And he's still here! Vusi has a little cold and is fighting off some congestion, and along with being in a new place with new people and a new bottle, he isn't quite on a "normal" schedule of eating and sleeping. 

Oops... and now he's crying. Hungry? Tired? Cold? Sick? Nervous? Who knows... but what a precious little gift he is!

We Have a Kid :)

Vusumzi (Vusi) Josiah Nicholson is at home!

Vusumzi: Voo-soom-zee literally translates as "waking up the house" - very appropriate for a baby, but the meaning is closer to "bringing new hope/excitement to the family" or "building the family." But you can call him Vusi (Voo-see).

On our way...

We're leaving now to pick up our son! The next time we come home, Amy and I will be parents!