And we're back...and still going!!! Video Update!

Hey Guys!!

Since my last update was from Puerto Rico...ONE YEARish ago, I figured I'd fill ya in via video. 5 minutes versus 5 well-written poetic prose filled pages of details...If you'd like more info after you watch, please do not hesitate to post a comment!!

Enjoy!!

Adventures with Desiree: The year in Review from Desiree Metcalf on Vimeo.
A video update of the last 12 months...in under 5 minutes! Featuring a sneak peak at my new music...

For more information on DREAM dreams Tours: check out www.vimeo.com/dunamisdesi to watch the history of "A Boy and His Guitar."

For more info on Iris Global and Iris Abilene, go to www.IRISglobal.org/Abilene

For Fun:

Buffalo Gap, Texas...our SIGN!!! Welcome!

Little Pemba Boy

Mi Herma...my little sister...Pemba...November 2012

Grandma at El Morro in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico June 2012 

DREAM dreams photo canvases...for sale. Proceeds to Dreamers like Johnny (pictured R) 

Got to be a part of giving his family a home in Pemba, October '12

Welcome to the VIllage of Joy!! Aldeia de Alegria

The Man with the arrow is our security detail.

Puerto Rican Salutations

"And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In." (Isaiah 58:12 AMP)

I'm sitting in a blue room provided by a cousin of my grandmother...Waldymar. He and his wife Eneida have given grandma and I the room with the aircon! I am blessed as the 90 degree weather at 6am (slightly reminiscent of Pemba summers) can be warm! I'm thankful for this blessing.

We've done so much the past 5 days here...beginning in San Juan and the El Morro fort, El Yunque (the rainforest), getting lost in Rio Piedras to visit a cousin, a lechonera (I did see a skewered cerdo), and eat a Puerto Rican dish called mofongo (mashed green banana, garlic, and one other ingredient I JUST discovered that I will not repeat;) lol) made from the local Chinese drive thru...Next we went to visit grandma's nephew Carmelo in Fajardo...another roadtrip and getting lost...it seems many people know their urbanizations so well they don't know how to give directions and our American (praise the Lord P.R. is AT&T 3G compatible) gps' don't know whether to register in English or español! But it's all an adventure...Fajardo gave us an invitation to a 4th of July Barbecue in Guayama with Carlo's family... The day after Fajardo (July 3) we decided on a last minute trip to Mayaguez (west coast, grandfather's birthplace) but do to traffic we only got (24 km shy of Mayaguez) to Aguada and grandma's birthplace, lot where her house used to be and St. Francis parish where she was baptized. Aguada and Aguadillo two neighboring cities will both tell you Columbus landed there first when he discovered Puerto Rico (ask Grandma for the story...she'll tell you it's Aguada;)

A whirlwind it seems thus far, but July 4th is the day that has taken the cake...The scripture above I feel is what this trip is about...the picture above is a little lady (grandma on the left) building bridges with relations she has not seen in years. A woman who lives thousands of miles a away has managed in the span of 5 days to reconnect with 3 generations--4 if you count the generations growing.

The first few days were a challenge for me because as grandma would ask questions, it seemed that people in this family (which are mine as well) have forgotten their history, have been dispersed throughout PR and have not really followed each other's journeys. And yet, 5 days into this trip, this little 4'6" Puerto Rican dynamite has built bridges between family...if not for those here--for choices to visit and rekindle family flames must be made--for us, for my generation for those in the west who do have a root here in Puerto Rico. This little woman has built bridges with love that two generations (My uncle Michael and myself) of the Brignoni family can now safely cross...

There is a legacy that has been forgotten and still can be discovered. I admire my grandma and her desire to see her roots, to know the history of the time since she left Puerto Rico, and her hope to love as well as she can...

Back to July 4...I didn't quite understand what this trip would look like and have not felt "home" until we made it to Patillas to see Ana, the last living sister of her mother Juana. Again we got lost, this time in Patillas...and it's a good thing too, because Ana's son Ray came and found us and led us through the countryside to this beautiful house hidden amidst Papaya, Mango, Acerola, Breadfruit, Passion Fruit, Avocado, And other trees, herbs, Gallos, Gallinas, and pollitos...river and luscious tropical landscape...I felt like I was home, unable to speak the language yet speaking the language of the heart being welcomed in with hospitality and allegria. With the sweetest juiciest delicious fresh fruits freely given...and to see a reunion...although completely unlike the bush bush in Africa, I felt like I was on such a journey...no questions asked come in, eat, stay, see and learn...Ana had two houses on her property...and 4 generations living there...secluded from "normal" and today a bridge was built upon an ancient foundation and perhaps one day these will be able to cross the bridge into our world, culture and lives...

There is a story to be told, I am beginning to discover this part of it. Tomorrow we will visit the site where in 1952 my grandfather Pedro lost his entire family in a plane crash. His story didn't end and his family's legacy is yet to be told...Perhaps as I follow this spunky grandmother around, we will discover the richness of our inheritance forgotten to see it restored and left to the future generations...

So...in a nutshell...we've seen much, have much still to see, have gotten lost many times, but In the discovery of being found, richness is being uncovered, the oro (gold) is being mined and treasures that have been hidden are now in our midst...

Thanks for letting me debrief...for journeying with me...and for dreaming dreams. That there would be peace on earth...that breaches would be repaired, and bridges rebuilt...to see generations united in love!!

Love,
Desi:)

Dream Dreams Tour Launches

I left my heart in Mozambique...I'm on a mission ( http://indiegogo.com/dreamdreams )to discover the dreams of my heart's captors!! Join me on this adventure!!


Dream Dreams from Desiree Metcalf on Vimeo.


I am leaving for Mozambique to begin an adventure that will become a journey to helping others accomplish their dreams. With the use of photography and interviews, I will return to the western shores to begin telling the stories of the children interviewed. My hope is that when the dreams of the kids are revealed we can begin finding ways to help those dreams come true!

This sounds simple, and it is, but it will require others to help. Funding this project is the first step, going is the second, and then dreaming and joining hands and resources here will be the final step and first step again in helping bring reality to the wishes in these children's hearts. For the next 6 days I am running a campaign and need to raise $4000 for travel expenses and costs for this project. Consider for a moment about partnering with our dreams...check out my campaign at http://indiegogo.com/dreamdreams and please join me on this adventure. There are fantastic incentives for the monies contributed.

Help me tell the stories of the future of our world...Children!!

Love,

Desi

Going BACK to Africa...again!!

Adventures with Desiree

Going back to AFRICA!!

Estimated date of Departure 1 October 2010

Salama! Salama!

Hello Friends!

“Greater love has no one than this, that a man would lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Can you believe it has been an entire year since this crazy adventure began? It is 19 August (now it is 30 Aug) and last year this time, I was beginning my first re-entry process from Mozambique. I was sitting like a duck in the water trying to “figure” it out and process the depth of what had occurred while I encountered Jesus’ heart, love, and passion through the poor. One year later, I am finally beginning to have a language to dialogue about the experiences. It has taken two times to Africa, a trip to India, a retreat in Tahoe, a mountain top experience in Redding at art school, more rest and not…finally, my words are beginning to form coherent thoughts!! ;)

To sum up in one sentence what the year has been and what I’m still learning daily: Love… is beautiful; can be seen in the eyes of a poor child; smells like a cup of coffee with a stranger whom you just met; has a face; patiently waits; and will stop at nothing to embrace another. Love is my life!

This fall I am headed back to Ministerio Arco-Iris to lay down my life for 3 months and partner with missionaries, Mozambicans and radical Harvest school students who will go anywhere and stop at nothing to learn about LOVE!!

The Quest to Know Love

Heading back to Mozambique…Trip #3

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…You are My friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:12,14

Christ Jesus urged His disciples to love each other as He loved them. He was not talking about a feeling or an emotion, but a willingness to lay down one’s ambitions, desires, and maybe even physical life all for love and the hope and future of others. Christ then called His disciples friends with their obedience to this Love mandate. Christ lived the perfect example of laid down love. The examples in which Christ displayed such reverence for mankind are still valid today. He is Love. And through Him, we can answer the question, what does Love look like? Humbly serving; He washed His disciples feet, He stopped to talk to the “unclean” lepers, Samaritans, and women!! Christ through Holy Spirit and complete surrender to His Father in Heaven, cleansed the lepers, healed the sick, and raised the dead! But the greatest act He did was to show us what Love looked like with His arms wide open, His heart exposed, as He hung on the tree, taking on every curse, sickness, sin, to free us from the iniquity that would have been poured out on us for our actions. His choice to obey His Father in Heaven, to love not His life even unto death on the cross, has opened up the door for me to choose to LIVE…a life of laid-down love.

A few weeks back, I was asked the question, “Why Africa?” I had to sit and ponder for a moment, and my response was simply. “Love.” I long for Africa, because it was in the African dirt that I encountered Love in a very real way. I met Him as a friend through a stranger who embraced me in a moment of weakness, feeling utterly alone, who stood (and still is) faithfully holding me up in prayer and running the journey with me. I saw love embrace the children who were once orphaned and abandoned but now have a roof over their heads and three meals a day. I saw love when I took the village children out for a meal and they did not devour everything on their plate, but saved a portion to bring back home to their younger siblings. I saw Love when I went into an unreached bush village encountering hunger for the first time, and was given a simple potato—a treasure to this villager who wanted to bless me because I prayed for her. These simple acts of kindness are raw and real ways that the Love Christ walked in is displayed today.

Christ Jesus revealed love in every aspect of His life, and my quest is to know what and who this love truly is. Love is the passion that propels one to move and compassion compels one to stop. Each trip to Africa, India, Laguna Niguel, South Lake Tahoe, or [Insert your city here] my passion grows and I become more compassionate as each moment a different aspect of the face of Love is revealed; I learn how to communicate Love to all I meet, and Love looks like something practically here and now. In the states, it may be a coffee chat with someone, in Africa it may be a gift like shoes, or in India hugging a “leper” and showing them that they are beautiful and loved by Love Himself. I want to know who Love is; that all would know the true power of Love; Love that sets captives free, that takes depression and anxiety and turns it into laughter and joy, that takes pain and heals, that causes one to stop and see that every single person on this planet, here and abroad, was born to be loved.

I am not living my life for my hopes or dreams, but for a Love greater than life and a hope so strong that nothing compares! It is my passion to see this Love be freely given to all I meet that they would know that there is hope for them and their future. My desire is that I would fulfill Christ’s mandate to “Love one another” and “Lay down one’s [my] life for His [Jesus’] friends”

Thanks for joining me! Blessings & Love, Desiree

I mentioned earlier about my return to Mozambique. I have been invited to join the staff of Iris Harvest School and will get to put my words into action…All for Love!! I have been called up to service;) Here are some of the things I will be doing as a servant leader.

Duties as Staff for Harvest School

(List not complete)

1. House Mama: I will be a “mom” to 4-8 girls for the duration of the school, to encourage, exhort, pour in, and love.

2. Bush-Bush: I will be leading an outreach in the bush bush (usually far away from society)!! Help me Jesus!!

3. Help with school specific duties will be discussed upon arrival, 3 October 2010 (including: Helping students, Iris missionaries, School Staff, Iris children, projects, etc.)

4. Continue the Quest: To know Christ’s Love and make Him known

5. Lead by lifestyle

WAYS for YOU to be a Part

Duration of African time 3 October-28 December

In this short time before I leave the US, I am finding those who will continue to run with me on this leg of the journey. We are all one body, and I am just one member, but together we accomplish the words Jesus asked of us; that “You love one another”…You may not physically be heading to Africa with me, but YOUR part is just as important!! Will you ask if you are to stand with me in prayer, worship, finances…ALL are needed in His commission to go into all the world bringing the Good News. I look forward to seeing whom the Lord leads to partner with me to SEE His love poured out. You are all with me in EVERY moment of this journey…

Are you ready for Africa PART 3? Here’s how u can help:

NUMBER ONE: PRAYER COVERING: This is the single most important need to have before, during, and after returning from overseas. I will email updates as much as I can (depending on internet availability) with specific needs…Holy Spirit is the best notifier though;)

FINANCIAL GIFTS: I will be donating my time to serve and cover my expenses to get to Mozambique. There are a variety of options available, tax-deductible donations, as well as PayPal options, and checks. >>>

SPREAD the WORD: www.desirama.net will be updated this week!!

PayPal e.mail address is: dunamisdesi@gmail.com

Tax-Deductible Donations: Checks: MSN Ministries (Desiree-Africa in Memo)

Checks Made Payable to me: Desiree Metcalf

PO Box 2076 La Habra Ca 90631