Brittany’s Thoughts from Uganda

As many of you know, our close friend, colleague, and UAPO Founder Brittany Merill is in Uganda right now. She sent an email yesterday that read like a stream of consciouness journal entry and I had to share it. This is such a beautiful sentiment on life and makes me long for Africa! Thanks, Britt.


We are winding through the green hills of southwestern Uganda in a race to reach the city by nightfall. Our car teeters on a steep ridge allowing short glimpses of villages buried in the handprints of small mountains. The hazy orange sun flights to prove his colors stretch across the sky. Rolling farms resemble a tapestry of colored strands with blue sky and brown straw huts. Smells of fresh fruit, clean air, and raw earth fill our car as it plunges deep into a valley decorated with miles of banana plantations. As the sun flights to find us, branches of banana tress turn electric green with its light. It is a sight that can only be properly voiced by Hemmingway and Churchill.

As I flight to get the windows down, I notice scratches covering the palms of my hands down to my knees. Wonderful battle wounds from a weekend spent exploring unturned rocks, waterfalls, and watering holes of the Nile. In a weekend romp, we played under a tapestry of stars, slept in bandas, ate roasted pig, and read under Jackurunda trees. It was if we had landed in a deserted jungle that beckoned us to discover its secrets.

Cool air rushes through the banana plantations, wisps strands of hair across my face, and makes it way into my heart. It whispers beautiful things and fills my spirit with hope. It took leaving the city to remind me of the intoxicating beauty of Africa.

At the same moment U2 sings, “grace finds beauty in everything.” Beauty in the struggle and beauty in the triumph… in the difficulty and the purpose… in spectacular scenery and even in refugee camps.

I feel an incredible range of emotions when I am in Uganda. Exhausted but filled. Frustrated but exhilarated. Lonely but loved. I have learned that whatever emotions may exist- I always feel deeply human and alive. I am reminded that with all the difficulties that come with my work, I am living a grand adventure… and most importantly, I am living.

I have followed my dreams, taken risks, lived boldly, failed miserably, cried, laughed, and loved deeply. I have experienced the touch of the divine, shared food with orphans, danced with widows, and seen beauty unspeakable. I have fought for justice, felt defeated, tired, and frustrated. I have also felt rare joy, witnessed answered prayers, achieved the impossible, and watched love change my heart.

I think about the rest of my life… How many hours do I have left? What will they bring? How will I use them?

“God grant me the courage to change the things I can…”

Today we leave for the refugee camps in Northern Uganda. Once again I feel totally incapable and even lack the desire to go. How will we bring hope to such a dark place? What dangers await us? Do we have the ability to transform a refugee community? How will I stay there for five days? And then I hear the words that have spoken so clearly to my heart over the last five years and given me the audacity for such tasks. “I will always go where you go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places- firm muscles, strong bones. You will be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.” -Isaiah 58

Fear is normal and can be overcome. The most important things in life cause us to risk humiliation and failure. Have the courage to live. To love. To pray. It is in these things, however difficult the journey may be to find them, that we experience life… and life was designed to be lived.

“In different times and different ways, our heavenly father offers us a simple proposition; Follow me beyond what you can control, beyond where your own strength and competencies can take you, and beyond what is affirmed or risked by the crowd- and you will experience me and my power and my wisdom and my love.” – Garry A. Haugen, CEO International Justice Mission

This journey has taught me to live deeply… from my heart, my mind, my body, and my spirit. If I believe, I will always find my way.

Grace finds beauty in everything because God is a part of it all and has the ability to restore the darkest of places and even the darkest of hearts.

My prayer is to restore beauty and hope to a war-zone. It is a lofty goal but I have to believe that with grace it is possible. If he can change a heart like mine- how much more difficult will it be to transform a small community?

But even if we fail, I have been reminded that grace and beauty can truly be found in any corner of the word and in the crevasses of the heart.

Hold me in your hearts the next several days…

Brittany

Mardi Gras Furniture

For the last two years I have been given wood from a Mardi Gras float that was gonna be rebuilt. I have used the lumber in lot’s of project, the latest is an order for a beach house on the Gulf Coast. Here are a couple photos.






























This is heavy duty furniture. The table is 72″ in diameter and 1 and 3/4 ” thick. The lumber comes from a house at the corner of 7th and Penn ave. in Midtown, Atlanta. I got a call from a friend and he and his crew were the guy’s charged with replacing the top of this house, rebuilding it, if you will. I think a tree fell on it, I’m not sure. I am sure it is old lumber, the house is a 100 years old, easy. I got a lot of 2 X 8’s and some 1″ X 6″ lumber. I used that and the rough cut pine, from the Mardi Gras float to do 90% of this job.The bed has a lot of float wood used in it.

Next up is 2 commissioned paintings and a swing and maybe a bed . So once again….. there are a few more pieces in this order I will finish them and post a photot of them soon.

Soy Sauce

This is what it looked like around here Sunday.















This is what it looks like today!















That’s what I like about the South. The weather was great for Mardi Gras. The Mystic Fish have been very lucky, it has only rained once on their parade, it wasn’t much and caused no harm. For the party Saturday night we also had great weather. That and good food, we were set. We ate about 10 or 12 dozen oysters, some raw some steamed. Stacey found these beautiful shrimp for the shrimp boil. Folks told her they were the biggest and best they had. Some of these folks were from the Gulf Coast and new of what they spoke. We also ate 4 bacon explosions. Six were cooked, one went home with Stacey’s lil Sis and one went home with us. The other 4 were eaten that night.

We had some new folks join us for the festivities this year. Some rejoined us after a break of a few years. They were busy having kids or something. Some folks we missed for the first time in a long time and hope they are back next year. It’s not the same without ya’ll.

All that being said I have to say it was one of our best years. Everything went very smooth. All the prepration was more like play then work. I think we have finally got the hang of it.

Mystic Fish 2009

Mardi Gras was February 24th this year. The Mystic Fish parade rolled the 22nd. This years theme was “HOLY MACKEREL”. The float for the Mystic Fish parade was a 7′ tall red Octopus with black polka dots. The Fish never try to match their float to their theme, always trying to keep the spectator thinking.

This year was a great success. Other then Nancy and Kim getting in a drinking match and everyone knows Nancy can drink Kim under the table, things went great. Just before the parade stepped off the Chief of Police and his number one man showed up and escorted the Fish parade all the way to Broad and Government St. where we had our finest parade in 17 years.

The Fish also enjoyed the best band they have engaged so far. The Blow House is the best Mardi Gras band, by far, in the whole world. The trombone blower has rubber knees and their groupies are the prettiest girls anywhere. We were proud to have them.

The Fish were without one of their founding members this year, the Big Daddy was truly missed. But, not missing a beat the Fish reached out to the Order Juno and borrowed their newest member who did an excellent job filling in for the Big Daddy. She was a tall drink of water and the Mystic Fish thank her for her spirited participation.

Folks traveled far and wide to be with the Fish this year and one thinks a good time was had by all. Can’t wait til next year!

Same old same old

Mom fell, Kim threw up and I rode a red Octopus.

Stay old tune, more to come.

GONNA SEND 5 COPIES TO MY MOTHER

I had the good luck of having one of my paintings used for the cover of the current Lagniappe newspaper. That’s the local alternative paper down in Mobile, Alabama. It is the second time one of my paintings have graced their cover. That’s the painting above. The first one they used was a Colonial Dixie painting.

It’s Mardi Gras time down there in Mobile and every year I do about 5 or 6 paintings for the season, my favorite season of the year. I think the reason I like it so much is because it is a 3 week holiday. Stacey and I go back and forth for those 3 weeks. We see parades, eat great food and get to see all kinds of folks we don’t see all year long. That’s my favorite part of Mardi Gras, the fellowship. Everyone is in a great mood. Each day I run into someone I haven’t seen since last year and we usually have a beer and catch up a little bit. The parades are great, but they are just a back drop to the social part of it all.

So far this year we have had the good luck of spending time with 2 couples who were in Mobile for other reason. First our friends Gwen and Pepper called to tell us they were in town for a wedding, the next thing I know we are all sitting around Mom and Dads dinning room table eating, laughing and having a great time.

We also had dinner with Kimberly and Youann. They were in town on business so we made plans to see them and had another great time. We took them down to one of the huge float barns for a inside look at how the floats come to be. Their baby Noah was really impressed.


Today I will load the truck and head back to Mobile for about 8 days. I will finish the float Stacey and I build every year for the Mystic Fish Parade. This will be the 17th Mystic Fish Parade. The best parade to ever hit the streets of beautiful downtown Mobile. This year the float is a Octopus. If ya get a chance stop by and see us! And stop by Restaurant 219 to see my other Mardi Gras paintings.

Mardi Gras 2009

It is here, the 2009 season. After being in such a terrible way over the Christmas holidays, with my back hurting like it was, I am ready to celebrate.

Stacey and I went down to Mobile last Thursday and started getting things in order. Mardi Gras is a lot of work, especially the way we do it. We have two parties, back to back. At the first we host about 50 people. We will serve them a shrimp boil, 16 dozen oysters and some kind of meat off the grill. We have built a grill from 40 cement blocks, right in our front yard, and we will cook a pig or some other huge amount of meat for the Saturday night party. Next day we will have a parade and a reception after. At this parade and party we will host up to 70 people. No big deal, this is our 17th year and we could do it in our sleep. Which is good because it may be the only sleep I get that weekend.

We missed the first parade due to the fact we were attending the Osiris Ball. This is our second time attending the Osiris Ball and it is big fun. It is like no other ball I know of. At the Osiris you don’t have to walk around trying to find someone you know to talk to. At the Osiris Ball one is entertained by a tableaux like no other. At most balls they just call out names and some lady and a drunk masker walk off the stage and let you look at their over priced Mardi Gras gowns.

The theme for Osiris this year was “Out of Africa” and it started with a African dance and drum troupe. They were great and really set the tone for the evening. There was one dancer who was on stilts and dress in a white outfit, kinda like the one Michelle Obama wore to the inauguration balls. It looked great the way it flowed from the ten foot tall dancer. Mrs. Obama should have been on stilts like this guy.

All the beautiful people were there that night and a great time was had by all. This group knows how to have a party. There were so many bars that it didn’t take long to get a drink. There were super sized t.v. screens so you could see the tableaux no matter where you were. The tables were all decorated with a different African theme. At our table there was a gold skeleton, rattles and shakers, glass skulls with candles burning in them and spears. All for us, the guest, to play with and take home. At another table there was a super sized blow up penis. From the size of them I would guess they were African penises. Can’t wait til next year, I just love this ball.