Searching for a church home in DC led us to the Eastern Market area this weekend. We visited National Theatre Church's campus located in an old single screen theater. The music was great and vibe definitely young and urban. There wasn't childcare or a place to sit with a stroller so we had to squeeze into a row with half the bob sticking out into an aisle. Malosi decided to give a loud call-back during the tithe prayer so we decided it best to find a more toddler friendly location. Times like this make me really appreciate all the folks that volunteer in nurseries each Sunday, especially the amazing volunteers at Fellowship Church Fort Worth.
We've also visited DC metro but despite it's name it isn't really that accessible from public transportation, at least with a stroller. Buses are pretty much out of question with strollers and any walk over a mile with Malosi is too dependent on weather.
After church we walked through Eastern Market. It was a combo of fruit, vegetables, handcrafts, fish, boutique restaurants and various other items. The prices were higher than the Alexandria market and space was much more congested.
We had visited Alexandria's market on Saturday picking up West Virginia Sweet Crisp Apples, quite possibly the best apples I've ever eaten! We also grabbed other local produce, bacon, homemade yogurt, and bread. This market is much more open and the selection of fruits and vegetables, meats, etc is greater than the Eastern Market. Plus we can walk to it!
On other fronts work is going well. Building State Department structures overseas is a complicated game and it will take me a few years to figure out. There are many players involved due to the technical requirements, and frankly how the US Government does business. No surprise there!
My projects so far are in Africa and I've enjoyed learning more about the dynamic history of this region of the world. The challenges involved in just living in some parts of Africa, much less building complicated world-class facilities, are immense and complicated. One of the cool things I’ve learned about African projects is the capacity building for the local work force that takes place on an embassy project. The State Department requires contractor’s to provide hot lunches, showers, clean changing facilities, and tradecraft skill programs that give locals basic technical skills from bending rebar to wiring light fixtures. As a former Peace Corps volunteer this definitely resonates with me and is one of the reasons I choose this career. My taxpayer dollars, yes I still pay taxes on my taxpayer income, are being used to give sustainable aid direct to the people rather than through a sticky fingered regime. Whether or not I get posted to Africa is still to be seen. Despite being a being a large cumbersome animal, I've heard and seen first hand that things change quickly around here and to never carve expectations in stone.
With the newness being chiseled away daily I still feel extremely blessed to be able to use my gifts in a way that promotes the greatest Republic that has ever existed.
