I Get It Now

I've always had a desire to travel and have been so fortunate lately to see many new places. I am so glad that Matt has been on board with me and has also learned how much he loves to travel. For years now I have tried to figure out where this need to "go and see" comes from but I can't narrow it down. I wasn't too deprived as a child. I didn't go many places, but I did go places. My mom did always encourage me to leave Terre Haute and do as much as possible so maybe she can take the credit.
I always remind myself to be very thankful to God for providing the means to travel but our recent trips have made us think there is more to it.
Vacations from this year have not sent us back home feeling rested and rejuvenated but instead we felt very insignificant and small. We felt like we weren't doing anything that mattered. We felt like we have a different purpose in life and we weren't living up to it. Matt can narrow down his moment of realization to this photo. This is when he felt that the world didn't revolve around us and we were just a small piece in the puzzle. I don't really have a defining moment but they have probably been gathering for a year now.

Maybe it's us maturing and growing out of our arrogant 20's but I think this is a good realization and a message I have been missing. All this time I thought that I could go on these trips because I was extremely thankful but now I know that these were not vacations but a test to see if we were getting the message and seeing the bigger picture.....so that is why I say " I Get It Now".

Forensics in Africa

So some changes have been happening to the Sondgeroths......for a while now really......most of which are too deep to discuss on here. In a nutshell we have a growing inclination to do things differently and for different reasons. Without confusing blog readers too much I will sum it up with something they said in church on Sunday. "Do Something, Say Something".

Here is me "saying something".........

I promise this won't be a geeky boring post about science but rather about an organization I just learned about that is using Forensics to help a country already with great needs. The latest issue of Forensic Magazine had an article in it titled "DNA 4 Africa". This is an organization that is using the power of DNA analysis to help orphaned children find their families, prevent illegal adoptions and child trafficking, and fight sexual violence. In America we have the luxury to have a justice system that will investigate a crime against us, perform scientific analysis, and prosecute the accused. Where poverty is high, crime is high, so I can only imagine the conditions in Africa.
In a country where the people are fighting to survive, the incidence of mass rape is high and the support to fight it was non-existent.
I can only believe that if they begin to bring justice to mass rapists in Africa that this will also help decrease the number of HIV cases and reduce unplanned pregnancies.

If you are looking for a cause to donate to visit this website to learn more:
http://www.dna4africa.org/