#LiveNLifeWell

Don't give up before you have had a chance to witness your best self at work.

Refuse the urge to turn away when required to stride those last steps to reach your mark.

You only need one courageous movement & one moment to propel you forward - if only 1 inch or 5 miles.

Maybe Monday ... its known to be the best day to do something new, something daring, and worthwhile.

All these things you have heard before, yet still there's more for you to prove.

Fill your moments with well thought out plans by taking stock in everything you do.

LIVE:
Long Lasting
Invitation to
Value
Everyday... It's for you

N 
Now, iN - the moment, Not giving up = like Nope Not today = Nada ...

LIFE
Let your
Intention be the vibe to
Forgive, Forget, or move past what you Failed to do
Everyone & Everywhere


Make your moments count
#LiveNLifeWell

Mrs Nez

Kenya Missions Trip Recap

Traveling to Kenya was an awesome experience for each of us.

 (Shown in the Picture L to R: Pastor C. Danny Johnson, Me, Georgita, and Lakeysha)

I realize this blog post is long overdue and you have been waiting patiently for me to inform you how my trip turned out. My plan was to send a video out as soon as I arrived back home. However, as soon as I landed I hit the ground running full speed then jet lag kicked in. I didn't know what hit me, I was sort of delirious. Despite all of that, I must have thought about sending this video out a thousand times since then.

 'Thanksgiving' is now upon us, but I must say the timing could not be better. Why? Because it is you that I am most THANKFUL for this holiday season.Your kindness and generosity have changed many lives. It was your support that made this trip possible to serve poverty stricken communities with food, medicine, and exercise tools. I am so thankful you decided to take this journey to Kenya with me. It was your prayers and donations that made each of the moments captured in the video and in my heart special.

I recently had an opportunity to share pictures and stories with nearby friends over Kenyan tea 'Chai time' and desserts. I later put together this short video for our church as we celebrated Mission Sunday. The hope was to capture the moments that had the greatest impact as well as introduce you to the Pastors, clinic staff, the Massai, and Mkamba people. AND now it's your turn to experience Kenya ... through my eyes.

I am so thankful for You!

Blessed (favored; happy) are those (YOU) who consider the poor. -Psalm 41:1

Enjoy

Mrs. Nez

Road Trip

We were scheduled to take a road trip to Eldoret on Wednesday then return to Noarobi on Thursday evening. Eldoret is very different than Salama in many ways. It's obvious there are different tribes or groups of people there, but we experienced a change in climate which turned out to be a great break from the safari dust.

On the way to Eldoret we made a stop at Rift Valley. The valley is a place similar to our grand canyon with one exception,the lower elevation is inhabited by the Maasai people.

 Eldoret AKA Obama Land named for our President Baraka Obama is mostly a farming community. The ground is fertile, wet soil, very green grass, and many many shade trees.  

Let me introduce you to someone we met while in Eldoret ...  Meet Mr. Limo.

We lodged on his property while there. Mr Limo owns hundreds of acres of land that include a church, school for boys, dormitories, guest houses, etc.This week he hosted pastors from all over Kenya for  leadership training. Mr. Limo is 87 years old and has made many visits to the USA.  He was really excited we came to serve at the two clinics here in Kenya.  He thanked us for greeting the people at Rombo saying 'sometimes sad people can be forgotten'. He has been working in the community to make Kenya a better people and a better country. 

I gave him a walking pedometer as a gift during our visit as all the other hosts. He initially thought it was a speedometer. I explained to him it should be used to measure his walking steps. He laughed from his belly and said 'You Americans are always coming up with something'. He said he would use it to increase his walking, but he also wanted to hang it on his mantle because he thought he might not get to access another.

Smile :)

Our time spent with the orphans of Salama and Rombo was always fun. We were able to give them jump ropes, soccer balls, and letters from children from home. We also played hand games, ate candy, and took lots of pictures. I attached a few... ENJOY!

Transformed Thinking

We are traveling to spend our second day among the Maasai people at the campsite. On the way we made a quick detour into the marketplace to purchase maze and beans to distribute to the widows and orphans. We also bought a bag of soccer balls for the orphaned children in the area.  We hoped they would enjoy playing a game after lunch.

The market is an interesting place. You could buy almost anything there such as food, clothes, shoes etc. I was more impressed that there were so many beauty salons and everyone and I mean everyone had a cell phone. I tried to take a few snap shots of it all. People in Maasai land used phones while on motor bikes, walking on the side of the road from village to village, with water containers on head … on a cell phone y'all. 

While discussing some of the issues of the day, one of the Pastors mentioned in  conversation that we may be the first African Americans to travel to Maasai land and spend time with the Maasai people. I pray we are not the last. Theses are a strong people with an impressive legacy and a need that's unparalleled to say the least.

At dinner last night, Pastor Grace asked what I would tell others about the things I experienced earlier in the day. I began to rationalize some mambo jumbo about there being people in need everywhere and how surprised she would be to witness the conditions of poor people in the U.S. But today after having an opportunity to process everything I took in on yesterday, "I relent those words".  In all honesty I have never witnessed poverty to this magnitude  before. I am at the point where I feel like the words poverty and poor could not adequately describe what I am seeing. The Maasai people are in need of basic things for living in the 21 century such as an accessible clean water source, trash irrigation, plumbing, and health care. 

 I am one who could adapt easily to most things but I'm telling you as hot as it was in the bush that day I did not drink much water because I did not want to have to visit the bathroom. Plumbing at the campsite consisted of a metal box, a nail, and a hole in the ground and this was luxury in comparison to the living conditions the Maasai people would return to. The Maasai have lived this way for hundreds of years, while the whole world is advancing all around them. We were immediately able to identify multiple needs when we arrived to the camp because we had experienced far better, but they came because they had abnormal symptoms, pain, infections and headaches. The Maasai people didn't recognize what we perceived as a need. How would they? How could they possibly know? The Maasai live in their own isolated piece of the world enjoying life as they know it and everyday you can find them doing just that... living life.

I asked Grace what message I could share with others about the Massai people and she requested I make this simple statement, 'These people are poor and they need our help'.   

Fan Ya Mazoezi

"Fan ya mazoezi heelie ooh way na uzima wa afya" is translated as "Do exercise that you may have good health/well-being". I hesitantly spoke this phrase to the people at the clinic after reviewing prescription medication instruction. Some had no idea what I was saying because of the unfamiliar syllable pronunciations within the words. Others smiled and nodded because they knew this "A" American was trying to make connections by speaking their language. However, none had really given much attention to the statement being made.. 

The Maasai are a physically active people. Their daily tasks place them in a very high category for Phyical Activity (PA) in comparison to the numbers in the U.S. They far exceed the recommended amounts of PA set by the  American College of Sports Medicine or American Heart Association. These people walk more than 30+ minutes a day and perform muscular endurance activities for hours by carrying water, food, etc on their heads. We frequently do PA to improve our capacity to carry out basic activities with ease, for example, you walk on the treadmill to improve your ability to walk to work or up the stairs. What we consider activities of daily living they would consider everyday living. Can I make it real for you? To get to the clinic, people had to walk 6-7 miles one way and this did not include the miles they tread earlier that day to get water or go to the market. 

These people are already very active and I knew that prior to coming. Yet, I was determined to find a way to connect and as much as I tried on the first day I only captured the attention of a few Maasai. Most of the interest in exercise for improving health came from the other members of the medical staff and our driver. I found this to be exciting because they would become essential in recommending exercise for others. I gave them jump ropes and exercise bands to sample and eventually keep for their own personal use. Each of them found the tools promising in the fact that they could assist them in improving their activity level.  In our down time, I taught them how to properly use the exercise bands. Competition soon arrived as they challenged each other to see who could jump the longest or highest. The use of jump ropes became a reminder for them to do activities they enjoy. I told them they didn't really recognize they were exercising because they were too busy having fun.  However, I was determined to introduce the concept of using exercise as a form of medicine to prevent and treat illness and disease in the Maasai … that's the reason I made the trip - Right? 

We were a little late arriving to the campsite on day 2 but at least two dozen Maasai were there awaiting our arrival. This day created some special moments for me. The first began with a woman who appeared to be in her 70's maybe early 80's who suffered from lower back pain. She walked holding a large staff in hand. She was not your typical 70 year old, this woman and her friends walked 6 miles to the site and would take the return 6 mile journey back to their village.  

The woman's consultation papers recommended she receive exercise instruction to minimize her back pain. I taught her basic stretches to improve flexibility and upper and lower body exercise to improve muscular strength. With each progressing exercise she laughed out loud making these loud jubilant sounds. She particularly enjoyed the hip rocking movements I used to help decrease back stiffness. She was excited to learn and she was just what I needed that day to draw attention to exercise. Everyone that watched smiled and laughed with her. Little to say she was the beginning of the Maasai Exercise Movement.

On this day I was able to introduce physical activity and exercise as a way to improve health. I assume the other women inquired how she was able to Fan Ya Mazoezi (do exercise) because the next 25-30 women that came through our tent had back pain and needed exercise.

Adventure is out there!!!

"Adventure is out there" and it found me only a few hours after boarding my flight to Kenya. I began this journey with flight delays, re-routes, and communication difficulties. I touched down in several countries including Switzerland, Turkey, and lastly Kenya. My flight from New Jersey to Switzerland was delayed causing me to miss my connecting flight to Nairobi. I was immediately re-booked on a later flight leaving me to spend four hours in the Swiss airport. It would not have been so bad had my technology made the proper connections to their operating systems. When it came to the conclusion that I could not bury my attentions on social media outlets, I tried making conversation with those around me. To my surprise no one around me seemed to speak English, so I settled for my music and thoughts.

I was originally scheduled to meet the rest of my team in Nairobi at 6pm, but I arrived at 2am to a tent constructed in place of the Nairobi international Airport terminal which had caught on fire about a month before my arrival. I had a few hours of sleep before attending preparation meetings for the work we would do at the clinic. While touring our host churches' facilities, we stumbled upon a group of students enjoying their study break.

We gained valuable insights about the community we would work with during our training session.  We were first informed about what's most important, "how to communicate with the natives". This was very important, considering I had just sat four hours in Switzerland with little communication exchange. English is well known by many; yet very generational.  Older adults spoke little to no English, but the youth did. However, the language of the land is Swahili along with 42 other languages specific to the various tribes/people.  It was sad to admit most of my exposure to Swahili came from watching the Disney animated movie Lion King.  "Asante San a squashed banana nananana".  Asante San  means Thank you very much or "Hakuana Matata" means no worries. I hated to admit that just now but it is what it is.  I did take the time to study and commit to memory proper greetings, numbers, time of day, exercise, and health related Swahili terms.

Going Going Gone

Its almost time for me to board my flight for Kenya. Are you ready to go? You agreed to take this journey with me...Remember?

I will go with both hands filled with the gifts you donated. I believe The communities we visit will be

excited to receive them. The gifts are non-traditional. They are fun for improving endurance and strength, and in creating an environment  and active. It has been amazing witnessing the out pouring support by each of you. I invited you to take this journey and you joyfully accepted. 

I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the donations before I pack them away. My friends from YoBCC (Youth of branch of the Body of Christ Church) with the help of their parents graceously wrote letters hoping to make pen pals. Other friends donated jump ropes and exercise bands for fitness promotion.

Active people = an active community.

When my youngest daughter found out I was going to take jump ropes, she wanted to teach me games and songs to teach teach the girls i Kenya. It was so much fun watching her in action. Her face was beaming with excitement as she demonstrated each game. I grabbed a few snapshot of her as she jumped high into the air with her big hair catching the wind.
Come back here for more updates during this Journey.
Mrs. Nez

SWeeT PoTAtO piEs

Southern hospitality at its SWEET-est is what I’d like to call our latest visit to Montgomery Alabama. Momma Jones or ‘Nana’ as my children like to call her decided to host a pie fundraiser and donate the proceeds to my Kenya Journey.

People in the community love Nana’s SWeeT PoTAtO piEs, so when she announced that she would sale pies on Sunday people were excited. I didn’t really understand how big of a deal these pies were, but I would soon learn.

We went to the grocery store to buy pie ingredients. While unloading the ingredients from the shopping cart the customers in front of us noticed the supplies and asked if we were making sweet potato pie? “Yes”, I replied, “they will be sold at Freewill on tomorrow in support of a Missions trip to Kenya”.  One of the women began to debate for a good minute or two (out loud) rather she should stick with or dismiss her nutritious eating habits to pre-purchase pies. She finally concluded that she was doing good and should not mess things up. I thought this was hilarious considering there were no pies in sight – we were only purchasing the ingredients.

On Sunday, 100 + pies were sold in less than 5 minutes. For the next 15 minutes I watched people enter the hall and shake their heads in disappointment as they witnessed the empty box on the table. Nana promised them that she would sale 150+ more pies on Next Sunday. I too was shocked at how quickly the pies sold. It was my intention to buy a pie following the sale - how foolish of me. My husband grew up with those pies so he made a wise choice. He purchased his right as they were coming out of the oven.

I didn’t really get to see all the 'secret' ingredients Nana added to her pies, because the pie filling was created while I was sleeping.  Not that it matters anyway! Right?  All that really matters is I am convinced ... Nana makes a good pie and I NEED to get that recipe.

Thank you Nana and Thank you Freewill Baptist for your support.

Mrs Nez

Going International

I’M HEADING TO KENYA AND SOME OF THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES THIS FALL. WILL YOU CONSIDER TAKING THIS JOURNEY WITH ME?

WHO:

I will be traveling with Community Life International Mission Association (CLIMA) and four other women that serve as medical professionals from various regions around the U.S.  The team of women is composed of 1 doctor, 2 nurses, and 1 exercise physiologist (ME).  We daily serve with our communities and churches and now have been given the opportunity to serve with international communities.

WHAT:

The main objective of this visit will be to assist CLIMA in providing preventative healthcare education and resources to women and young girls. These areas were chosen because female genocide is a continued practice and the death rate of children is high due to Malaria. The hope is to introduce non-traditional health care practices for healthy living that include; exercise & fitness, acupuncture, medication, as well as provide clean water resources. The team is also prepared to function as missionaries in other capacities as needed. I’m praying in advance for the work we will perform in these communities.

WHEN:

We will depart the U.S. on September 3, 2013 and return September 13, 2013. We will spend 2-3 days in Salama, Eldoret, and Kenya serving in their medical clinics.

The team and I are involved in fundraising efforts to earn money. However, I am seeking sponsors to support some of the expenses as well as medical/ministry supplies. Any amount that you might be able to give would be greatly appreciated. If you cannot help in a financial way, please support me with your prayers. I will make frequent updates of our activities via this blog site, Facebook, and Twitter.

I ask that you take a week to consider and pray about my request. If you are willing to become a sponsor just simply email me with a reply of YES. I will send further instructions on how and where to send your support payment.

Take this journey with me

Mrs Nez

Bored? SearCHing 4 nEwNess

MARCH is that time when all the new workout ventures taken on at the start of the year are dwindling to NOT.  Most people quit their exercise training programs after only a few months of participation as a result of boredom or delay in expected results.  I’m convinced, if you have pushed yourself to be active this far (3 months) you are serious about your level of fitness and serious about causing change. MaRch is a month in the year, but also an active state to proceed or advance BY a rhythmic stride to a specific place. Sooooo before you LET BOREDOM KEEP YOU FROM ACHIEVING YOUR FITNESS GOALS … try something different. Look to add an exercise training program that will stir excitement, and bring the fun back into your workouts. 

Beach Body offers a variety of home fitness programs that could meet all of your fitness needs. There’s a program for you if you are looking to target and tone specific muscle groups or seeking to be challenged and pushed to higher fitness levels. These programs allow you the option to workout alone (just you and your DVD/Blueray player) or bring your spouse, friends, and older children along.  I admit I enjoy my solo workouts, but it’s just something about exercising with my husband that causes me to jump higher, push harder, and run faster.  This fitness thing is a lifetime journey and from time to time you need someone to travel with you.

Below are links to some of beach-body’s home fitness based workouts. Keep in mind that many of the workouts are advanced (NOT recommended for beginners) and designed to improve fitness in specific areas of fitness. Therefore, take care to choose fitness programs that will bring you closer to achieving your fitness goals, while minimizing the frustrations that arise from not witnessing an expected outcome.

Home Exercise Training Programs by www.beachbody.com

Insanity Asylum volume 2: Improves skill related components of fitness including agility, speed, and, power. http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/insanity-the-asylum-volume-2-elite-training-workout.do

Les Mills PUMP cross training deluxe: Cardiovascular workouts that include interval training, sport drills, and combat training. http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/les-mills-pump-cross-training-workout-deluxe-package.do

Brazil Butt Lift Master Series: Use advanced workouts to train specific muscle groups to sculpt the perfect butt. http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/brazil-butt-lift-master-series-advanced-workout.do

Each of these home based workouts can be accessed on the www.beachbody.com website.  These programs are good for giving your workouts a new and exciting face. I completed their P90X home based video series a few winters ago. Home based programs like these provides a spark to those workouts that have become boring. These programs can also remind us how effective older exercises that you may have eliminated from your workout can be. If you are bored with your workout and want a challenge, change, or an added push go to www.beachbody.com they just may have what your looking for to move you forward.

Live Well

Mrs. Nez

ChAnginG UR CuLture

We all set out to make a difference in the world, but the first step is to achieve the less lofty goal of changing your own world. - T.D. Jakes

The past year brought some great innovative ideas for living well.

• The white house initiated healthier food choices for school lunch programs. 
• The First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on children's television promoting her Lets Move campaign. 
• The state of Iowa and others promoted  state wide initiatives targeting obesity. 
• The NBA and NFL promoted their FIT and 60 programs in cities across the country. 

Have you heard about any of these programs? Are you and your family participating in any of them? These programs have been effective in getting some communities to recognize the rising obesity rates and need for physical activity, but rarely do programs like these reach us on a personal level. If we truly want to witness change in our communities or be apart of the change happening in those around us, the issues have to become personal to us. We must be willing to identify the need in our families, our children, and our home. We have to be unafraid to challenge and change the unhealthy culture WE HELPED CREATE in our homes. 

As parents we are responsible for setting the tone in our homes and for the most part we have created a monstrous sound.  Melodies would be more harmonious if we had given them an apple instead of cookies or assisting them in a game of jump rope instead of watching cartoons. Initiating healthy habits are easier to implement when children are younger. They become a little more challenging when you are trying to figure them out for yourself and others.  Some of us on the other hand started off heading in the right direction, but somewhere along the lines things got off track. Chips became the favorite after school snack while fruit is rarely consumed. There is only thing you can do if this is the case and that's change the culture of your home.  

Initiating a healthy change is not easy because it requires more of that thing we have so little of  - TIME.  It takes time to alter or redirect behaviors especially your own, but think of it this way 'this change is necessary for the health of my family and the well-being of our home'. Be sure to use your time wisely by preparing a plan of action that includes a time to create, prepare, gather, and implement. I have listed some tips below that can start you thinking about small simple changes.

Create – make a creative plan or competition for the family. Something inviting, helpful, and fun that will promote exercise, fitness, and nutritious eating.  For example you could try keeping a diagram of who consumes the most fruit and vegetable servings per week.  Hang the diagram on the refrigerator. It is sure to serve as a reminder when reaching for snacks.  Taking time to be creative may take a little time but the benefits are amazing.
For all healthy eating information go to www.myplate.gov be sure to print off a plate to hang on your refrigerator – visual reminders are the best.

Prepare – Know in advance what you want the outcome to be. You don’t want to take the time being creative only to have the healthy activity end in frustration because is not producing the results you want.  Your activity should lead up to your end goal. If my goal is to become more physically active throughout the day then I should consider standing while performing my work instead of sitting at my desk all day. Maybe I could exercise between the commercial breaks of my favorite TV program (definitely might eliminate the sudden refrigerator raid).  If you need some exercise ideas take a look at these previous posts:

http://www.bwela.blogspot.com/2012_02_13_archive.html

http://www.bwela.blogspot.com/2012_02_19_archive.html

http://www.bwela.blogspot.com/2012_02_27_archive.html

http://www.bwela.blogspot.com/2012_03_04_archive.html

http://www.bwela.blogspot.com/2012_03_11_archive.html

Gather – Gather everyone you need and make sure they are on board. Getting others involved on most occasions will be easy especially if they are your children. Our children are motivated to do almost anything with us. My children enjoy the moments I turn the music up loud and dance. It only takes them a few seconds to join in. However, I do have one child at that pre-teen age that sometimes (well most of the time) needs just a little bit of prompting, prodding, and even some pushing to join in.  It’s good to transfer the concept of 'togetherness' or 'living healthy together' to our children. I believe it makes it easier to invite others on their wellness journey as adults.  However, if you decide on going solo let someone know your plans. It’s good to have support and accountability.

Implement – “Just Do It”- NIKE.  Do it today and tomorrow and the day after that.  If you miss a day do it the following day. If you miss a few days you have not failed.  If you decide to take a break or cut it short just go longer the next day. If you made the least healthful choices yesterday, just know you get a re-do today to perfect your culture. Keep at it! 

“You’ve never failed until you’ve tried for the last time, and you’ve never lost until you quit”  

-S. Massie.

Let 2013 become the year you take on a new innovative idea that will change the culture of your home.

Mrs Nez

Celebrations and Feasts

Has anyone read ‘The Blue Zones’ by Dan Buettner? It provides a glimpse into the lives of people, cultures, and communities that live the longest. One of the chapters reviewed a culture from the Japanese Island of Okinawa where its people lived long healthy lives and experienced little disease. The Okinawa people contributed their health and longevity to the phrase – “I Kigai and Moai”.  Kigai means that which make one’s life worth living and Moai means one has a special support network.

Have you ever experienced 'life worth living' moments? Like the Okinawa people I find I experience them most when surrounded by family and friends celebrating, feasting, and enjoying the blessings of life together. I was reminded just how much I enjoy these types of gatherings this summer as I celebrated the July 4th Holiday with my extended family. Each moment allowed me to reunite with loved ones, meet new additions (cousins), and share laughs about situations that were once worth crying about.  For me these are the moments that make living exciting.

I come from a very large family, and as a young girl I enjoyed more than anything our holiday gatherings. They were an escape from the norms of everyday living. Try to hear me out on this one - normal was good, but more was better. More people, more laughs, more hugs, more encouragement, and oh my goodness more food (take a look at    pics). Not just any ole food either. These feast provided the best of both worlds - the best recipes from everyone’s kitchen, plus the love, support, and brute honesty that only come from family. Large family celebrations only came around a few times a year, but they were and are the moments that makes life worth living.

Celebrations provide an excuse to over-indulge - eat so much you have to unbuckle your belt or put on stretchy pants :) hahaha. We all know how easy it is to overeat and many of us do it while hoping our bodies do not respond (weight gain) to what we have done.  A celebration/feast is a special occasion and it demands we APPROACH EATING FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. What do I mean? During celebrations we may eat foods that don't necessarily provide the body with essential nutrients, but taste good.  The occasion should allow us a certain freedom apart from that of normal eating. In the “Proper Eating” post (www.bwela.blogspot.com/2012/06/normal-eating.html)
I discuss the importance of recognizing the various times and occasions for eating.  We only need to be careful to not allow celebration habits turn into everyday behaviors. 

Do you ever find yourself abusing the freedom to indulge by doing it everyday?
What about using any and every occasion as an opportunity to over eat? 

It is estimated that over the course of 6 years the average person will consume about 70,000 meals. That's a lot of eating!  Now imagine you decide 68,000 of those meals would be normal and 2000 of those meals are reserved for feast and celebrations. A decision like this would eliminate much of the worry we place on ourselves about the food we eat and the amount of weight gain associated with over eating. 

As I celebrate my Thanksgiving Holiday I will enjoy the moments spent with family and friends over a big festive meal. I will take pleasure in what I eat, but more than that I will give thanks and show my appreciation for those I share my holiday meal. Enjoy your moments of  "I Kigai and Moai" - moments that make life worth living. 

Giving Thanks for you (your LIFE, your health, and your Well-Being)
Happy Thanksgiving

Living Moment Well

Mrs Nez