Columns – Page 30 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

In need of a miracle, and of people who care

This column was first published in the Chanhassen Villager on 11/17/11, shortly after I returned from my first trip to Uganda. The young women I wrote about have become the focus of most of our work in Uganda; our goal is to help them build a better life for themselves and their children. You'll hear more about them after I return from this trip. They are beautiful young women. Girls, actually, with many of them between the ages of 18 and 25, and some even younger. They [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 4th, 2018|Columns, Faith, Making a Difference, Respect, Travel, Uganda, Values|Comments Off

Almost ready for Uganda

As you read this week's blog post (unless you had set it aside for later), I am on my way to Uganda. While I'm gone, I'll be posting some of my favorite columns about previous trips to Uganda. I wrote the following column as I was preparing for my first trip there in 2011. The column was first published in the Chanhassen Villager on 9/29/11. “If anybody offers you sambusa, take it.” That’s one piece of advice that was given to me recently regarding my upcoming trip [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 27th, 2018|Columns, Travel, Uganda, Values|Comments Off

Signing off for a bit

This will be my last “live” blog post for a while. Next week at this time I’ll be on a plane, somewhere between Amsterdam and Entebbe, preparing for almost a month in Uganda. We work pretty much sunup to sundown when in Uganda, and email and internet service can be spotty at best, so I know better than to even try to post anything while I’m gone. Instead, if I have my act together and get everything done that I need to do before I [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 20th, 2018|Columns, Making a Difference, Travel, Uganda, Values|Comments Off

It’s planting time in Georgia

I know it isn’t like this yet in all parts of the country, but here in Georgia everything’s turning lush and green. The weather isn’t as warm as it should be by now, but it’s been warm enough for me to get outside, start cleaning out the herb garden, and filling planters with potting soil and baby plants that will decorate the deck and – hopefully – give me a bounty of produce later in the season. I don’t have a green thumb, and am [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 13th, 2018|Columns, Family|Comments Off

A road trip brings a new train of thought

106. That’s the number of railway cars there were in the freight train we got stopped by during a recent two-day drive to Chicago. We arrived too early to check into the hotel where we were spending the first night, so we drove around for a bit. It was a small town, much like the one I grew up in, and it took us only a few minutes driving down Main Street to get to the edge of town. We enjoyed noting the various types [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 6th, 2018|Columns, Family, Travel, Values|2 Comments

A day lost in meaning

The car radio was on as we drove to the health club yesterday morning. I wasn’t paying much attention to the commercial promoting a big sale, and couldn’t even tell you who the advertiser was. But the closing line caught my attention, telling listeners to “stop in today, and make it a great Good Friday.” That made me cringe. I immediately thought of the Bible verse about Jesus overturning tables and chasing the moneychangers out of the temple, saying, “My house shall be called a [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 31st, 2018|Columns, Faith, Holidays, Values|Comments Off

An act of kindness cuts both ways

I saw a story in the news last week about a waitress at a Waffle House restaurant in Texas who went above and beyond to assist a customer who needed a helping hand – literally. The elderly man was having trouble cutting up his food, and told the waitress that his hands were “not functioning too well.” She immediately picked up a knife and fork and cut up his food for him. Another customer saw this act of kindness, took a picture of it, and [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 23rd, 2018|Columns, Respect, Values|2 Comments

It’s Not Always As It Seems

During my first trip to Uganda in 2011, I went to Mass on Sunday morning with the only other Catholic in our group. We arrived early for the English Mass, and waited outside the church, along with the overflow of people who were there for the earlier Mass in the native language. We were a little confused when a collection basket was passed after Communion. Usually this is done during the Offertory, earlier in the Mass. “Maybe they’re taking up an extra collection for the [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 16th, 2018|Columns, Making a Difference, Uganda, Values|Comments Off

One-Year Reflections

My husband’s last day of work was Friday, March 3, of last year. Two days later, we were in our packed-up car, driving south to Georgia. Which means we have just passed the one-year anniversary of his retirement and our move to our new home. In some ways, I can’t believe it’s been a year already. In other ways, I can’t believe it’s only been a year. That’s often the way it is when we view things in hindsight. We go through life day by [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 9th, 2018|Columns, Toastmasters, Writing|Comments Off

A tribute to Sheri

I didn’t know Sheri very long or very well. But it was long and well enough to know she was a very special lady. We first met when I joined our neighborhood book club. At the first meeting I attended, we chatted quite a bit before the book discussion got going, and talked as much about writing as we did about reading. Sheri was an active member of the Georgia Writers Museum, which I was interested in but hadn’t been to yet. Our book club [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 3rd, 2018|Columns, Gifts and Talents, Holidays, Making a Difference, Uganda, Writing|6 Comments

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