It was a sweltering afternoon in Ankaase Village and the temperature in the schoolroom was even hotter, but at least we were shaded. The sun in Africa is like a different star than it is here: closer, brighter, with the kind of heat that reminds you how small and vulnerable you really are. I grabbed a bottle of Coke (not Diet Coke, not Coke Zero, but sugar-ladden Coke) and drank it like water. It was a gift, brought to us as part of a goodbye ceremony. We were spending our la

So when the time came to think about 2012 and what this year might bring, I reminded myself of last year’s project. I resolved to make no more self-salvation, self-improvement resolutions. Instead, Kyle and I decided to simplify and each choose one word that describes our focus for 2012. I knew immediately what my word would be. Descend. It’s the 180-degree turn from last year’s self-obsessed focus. I didn’t choose this word because I know how this works. I chose this word be