life is a series of beginnings and re-beginnings

"Táin Mosaic Mural" - in Dublin

a dear friend has been encouraging me to blog once again so here i am turning the mosaic toward the simple life....(or in my case - not so simple :o)
I actually wrote the post below a couple of years ago but i thought it was appropriate to return to this concept as I start a new strain of thoughts to share.....

life is a mosaic in which God uses our brokenness and the brokenness of those who intersect with our lives to create a stunning image of truth, beauty, love and victory.....who would have thought that such an image could be made with the pieces of our lives we shun? - our pain, hurt, baggage, confusion, fears, etc...but rather than push these jagged pieces aside and simply work with our "best" pieces, those which we often freely offer, He picks through all these to find the others. He refines them and redeems them and uses them to make our life truly glorifying mural that proclaims his goodness, His faithfulness...it’s so much easier to offer him our "cleaned up" self, talents, gifts, strengths, etc. that we’ve wrapped into neat little society accepted packages but these do not scream of his majesty nearly as much as a chipped and broken piece that he shines his light through allowing it to reflect off all the “imperfections” thus shining and permeating not only throughout our lives but through and onto the lives of others…this is how we impact the world….

reflecting - a year later...

Photo by: Kaeli Byers
Location: Istanbul, Turkey


Studying abroad: a simple enough concept - attending school in another country. However, such an experience is anything but simple. My Mac dictionary widget gives a few definitions of the word abroad. The first is no mystery, "[living] in or [going] to a foreign country or countries." However, it is this second, which deeply resonates with my experiences as one who embarked on the journey of intentional learning in a foreign culture. It briefly states, "in different directions; over a wide area." Removing the obvious physical reality here, This - mentally, emotionally and spiritually speaking begins to capture the complex process of forging and re-forging, directing and redirecting, interpreting and reinterpreting, one's beliefs, thoughts, and understanding of both self and “other” within endless elements of Paradox.

#17: After all Life is a Mosaic and what fun is a mosaic if you can predict the pieces?? ;o)

(Written: 2-4-09...The post beneath this one is also new though I thought I had published it some time ago...Thank you for your patience :o)

Well I’d say it’s about time for another posting! Sadly, it comes with some unfortunate news….


Contrary to the original plan I will no longer be studying in Jerusalem this Spring. Rather, I will be back in California taking classes at Pasadena City College (so as not to fall behind in school), saving up for the purchase of a car this summer, and will return to complete my last year of Undergrad at Gordon in the Fall.


I am still a Middle Easter Studies major and mercifully this change does not cause any major problems with the fulfillment of this degree. Though I feel the personal pain of not being able to complete a full year abroad, I know I will be back to the region sooner or later and look forward to seeing that future opportunity arise! There are a number of reasons why I changed my plans but basically for me it came down to timing and for me the timing was off.


I do miss the Middle East and currently have 6 books I picked up from the library all of which pertain to the Middle East in some way. So far I have read two of them and I love being re-submerged into the land, mindset, and feeling of the people and culture.


Today I started typing up some of my thoughts and notes collected over the semester. So begins the “intentional” digesting of the semester though I know I’ve been passively digesting it for some time now. Increasingly I realize how much I’ve changed on the level of things that I notice, think about, and contextualize. There is nothing quite like the moments when you see how much you’ve come to see life in its globalized framework and, as it threatens to overwhelm, you wonder desperately if there’s any way back to the comfort of ignorance while knowing that without a doubt there is not and that really you wouldn’t want that.


I love the freedom that comes when you challenge old ways of thinking culturally. I get frustrated when I think about how irreconcilable certain things in life are and struggle to walk that fine line of understanding the reality of things and while not becoming discouraged beyond the point of believing the value of communication, sharing, and listening.


I am excited for what this season holds and while there are times that I feel a sense of disappointment that I’m not somewhere else the reality is I’m exactly where I need to be for these particular moments in my life to unfold.


Thank you again for being part of the journey and for all the prayers that have kept me afloat in many a trying time. I ask only that if I come to mind you again lift me up in prayer for who knows what life is throwing my way!


May Peace shadow your ever step in these days!
Kaeli :o)

Egypt Adventure – 16: Israel, Egypt, HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!

(Written: 12-26-08...SO SORRY FOR THE LATE POSTING ON THIS!!! I THOUGHT IT HAD BEEN POSTED! It must have slipped through the Holiday cracks :o(

Hello again! It’s been quite some time since my last post! The daunting task of trying to describe my experiences in Israel, wrapping up Egypt, and transitioning home kept me away from this blog for quite a while but I felt I should clarify that I made it through alive and well :o)


My time in Israel/Palestine was fascinating, frustrating, inspiring, confusing, and overwhelming! From speakers, to tours, to hanging out with Christian Palestinians the two weeks we spent in Jerusalem flew by as we sought to unpack some of the issues shaping the land and the hearts of the people living there.


I am so thankful that I was able to visit before going out there at the end of January for my second semester abroad! I was even able to visit the school that I’ll be attending. At this point I am incredibly glad to be home and there is a part of me that wishes I could leave all the issues behind and not return but in the same breath I am so relieved that I’ll have a whole other semester to unpack the complexities I began to encounter. I look forward to posting more about that stage of the journey and more about Israel next semester as I live in Jerusalem.


We returned to Egypt after the month of travel in time for Thanksgiving the next day! Boy oh boy was I every thankful to be back in my apartment and MY BED in Agouza! Especially since I was amongst friends to help me unpack all that we experienced and learned in our travels. Thanksgiving was a joyous celebration indeed full of great food and lots of laughter.


As soon as the festivities were over it was down to the grindstone as we got to work on the 5 papers that were due almost immediately. Alls well and I finished in enough time to make a few more Christmas shopping excursions at the Khan al-Khalili and other areas in Cairo. I also fit in one last visit to my host family in Embaba.


Unwilling to drop the traveling spirit too quick we set out for a Coptic retreat center in Egypt (a couple hours from Cairo) called Anafora in order to begin processing re-entry to the states. Though I was initially a skeptic on the location and the events I was a convert by the end. The time we had for silence was one of my favorite aspects, time to stop and reflect a little, and time to not think at all - to let the waves of thought drift by without the stress of engaging everything.


The last night at Anafora contains one of my lifetime highlights. All our meetings and group processing sessions were past and we had just spent the evening in an encouragement circle (it’s sounds lame but was surprisingly effective) all that was left was to close out one of our final experiences as a group with the Doxology. This hymn has traveled with me this whole semester and is the consistent string that in retrospect seems to have been the single connector piece throughout all my experiences. That night I looked around at the faces of those who had lived so much life by my side illuminated as they were with candle light as we stood in a circle, in a warm adobe hut, clasping hands and singing out with full hearts a crescendo of praise to God. It is hard to put into words a moment that was so worthy of all that I am all that I could every hope to be…


We returned to Agouza in order to pack and close out this significant chapter of our lives. The night before we left for DC we came together for one last meal and time of sharing from our fearless leader David Holt and in order to laugh and remember with a slideshow put together by one of the students.


Before long, though it felt achingly long at the time, I was home in California and ready to share in the love of Family, Friends, and Christmas.


To all of you who have shared in this journey with me by following this blog and being engages and interested I thank you. Truly it is an honor to me that you take the time to be present in my life in this way I am truly blessed whenever I find out that one of you has been reading and following my adventures! I look forward to the future conversations it may prompt. Until then, Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Salaam!

(ps – I plan to resume once I return to Jerusalem at the end of January. Until then I would appreciate your prayers that the Lord may prepare me for this next season in the journey…)

Egypt Adventure – 15: Syria, Jordan…

(Written: 11-9-08)
Soooo. Now we’re in Syria! The male intern for our group wasn’t allowed into the country because of an Israeli stamp in his passport; he couldn’t get a new one before we left so there was always the possibility it’d end up that way but it still started our stay on a bit of a grumpy note :o(


The first day we went to the Krak de Chevaliers a crusader fortress! It was basically amazing and I want to live there :o) Seriously though, you would never believe how beautiful some of the Syrian countryside is – easy to see why it was fought over. After exploring the castle (featured in the movie Kingdom of Heaven) we went to dinner near the fortress and I would venture to say it was the best meal I’ve had all semester! It was AMAZING! Dad – the chicken….there are not words, only lip-smacking, finger-licking goodness!


Ok, moving right along…

After the castle we drove on to Damascus where we stayed near the Old City. It has been so cool to be in a place that really hasn’t changed much since Biblical times since it’s never been put to siege, etc… The main reference point we used for the city was Straight Street (see Acts 9:11) off of which we also visited what is traditionally held to be the Apostle Paul’s house. The old city has such a great feel to it and has thus far been incredibly restful as we all begin to gear up for our time in Israel.


One of our favorite pastimes has been buying movies in Syria because they are so cheap….yeah – more on that later ;o)


Yesterday we went to a “Hamam” - bathhouse (like a Turkish bath), which was definitely a bonding experience. Other than that it was such a neat experience to undergo bathing/massage/etc as they did most often in ancient times. There was a cold room, warm room, sauna, exfoliation, massage, and lots of laughter and relaxation :o)


(Written: 11-12-08)
Our time spent in Jordan was a random little blurb of about a day and a half most of which we spent at a resort on the dead sea! Craziest sensation I’ve had in a long time – floating with such ease…Basically I was transformed into a superhero :o)
It was gorgeous…



PS – sorry for the rushed feeling of all these blogs!

Egypt Adventure - 15: Istanbul, Turkey...

(Written: 11-11-08)
Well, I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Amman, Jordan but that is not where this story begins. For that, I must jump back 12 days to the day we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey.

What a change in pace! Stepping out of the airport you would think you were in a full-fledged European country and oh how beautiful is the color green!!! As we drove towards the Bosphorus waterfront (our first course of action before heading to the hotel) I felt as if I had entered a state of suspended reality. Gone were the honking cars, trash littered streets, pollution, and barren landscape. Rather, what greeted my starved eyes were cars driving in their own lanes and a beautifully landscaped city rich with a depth that only history can lend! The people also commanded attention, as they all seemed to have newly walked from the pages of a high-end fashion magazine.

Before a dinner of steaming baked potatoes filled with delicious tastes of the region we were ushered to a boat cruise on the Bosphorus in time for the sunset. I can’t even put into words the beauty of the city especially when viewed from the water – it felt like I was in a movie. The numerous mosques in the city with all their minarets and domes seem to have been made with sunset in mind – gorgeous! I’ve never liked a city so much so quickly and believe me, considering my ethnic background I wasn’t totally sure I’d feel comfortable in Turkey at all.
In that first day, I touched down on the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia!(Istanbul spans both the European and Asian continents) You certainly can’t say that every day!

It wasn’t long though before the Armenian issue came up in force and my reaction to it completely blind-sided me. I mean sitting in lectures given by really intelligent people in a context where there’s so much progressive thinking and action to be respected and to have them bold facedly deny any such events or minimize it and distort facts was pretty shocking. One of the hardest moments for me was in a circle of students discussing issues (there were a couple of Turkish university students in the mix also) and the issue came up. Promptly, one of our Turkish hosts denied the events and looking me in the face (probably unintentionally) said “I mean, it didn’t happen. There was no genocide.” That was all I could take and I promptly left the circle and rushed to the bathroom on the verge of tears, totally caught off guard by the strength and emotion of my response. As I’ve thought about it more and as our group has faced these discussions more it has become much easier for me to engage with and I’ve realized that it’s not really an issue of political recognition to me; in fact, in my understanding it would be unwise for the US to continue to press the issue of recognition at this time but what makes me sick is the outright denial of anything ever happening to the point that a Turkish citizen can look me in the face and presume to tell me what did or did not happen to my family. The psychological effect on society of not being able to face your past is no light matter.

There were many fun adventures along the way. One of my favorites was of an afternoon of creating “sensory memories” by walking through the grand Bazzar to get to the Spice market where the sights, smells, and tastes were delightfully overwhelming! After buying legitimate Turkish coffee and being surrounded by the enveloping smell of it I bought and ate (with a friend ;o) Turkish delight – delicious!

Getting out of Cairo and experiencing a different part of the region has been such a breath of fresh air! Particularly in the way a woman is able to engage in the society. It was so nice to feel that I could once again really thrive in my independence, getting around on my own and all that… Also, the differences in leadership, policy, history, etc between Egypt and Turkey are interesting to really get into and probe. The education system in particular intrigues me.

Anyway, obviously this blog can only begin to touch the surface and hardly that at all but I look forward to your questions and more conversations on the issues when I get back since Turkey in particular is such a fascinating country!

Egypt Adventure - 14: getting ready to travel the ME...

(Written: 10-27-08)
The first phase of my semester wrapped up this week which included Arabic final, finals in two of my other classes (Islamic Thought and Practice and Peoples and Cultures), and a Tabla concert for the rest of the students! It was a successful completion of stage 1 and even Tabla wasn’t terrible although the whole idea of performing does NOT thrill me :oP

We are now getting ready to head out on the “travel component” of our semester. We will spend 9 days in Turkey (7 in Istanbul and 2 in Ankara – the capitol), 3 days in Syria (Aleppo and Damascus), 1ish in Jordan (Amman), and 2 weeks in Israel (Jerusalem mainly)… I’m definitely looking forward to it but at this point of exhaustion staring a month of travel in the face with 29 other students, logistics, living out of a suitcase, etc. feels like a drain. We’ll see how things play out - as my mom says I seem to have quite a wanderlust in me and I am sure that once I begin the journey I’ll be thrilled :o) My plan is to do a blog after each country (maybe one for Syria/Jordan), until then – sayiida ma’a salaama!