Highs, Lows, Funnies, and Growth.

Name: Benjamin David Thornley
Best Trip Memory: Our time in the car with W________ as the guys headed to the Grill By. So much fun and laughter!
Most Fun Trip Memory: Playing with the kids at Barek Aub. Exhausting, but a blast. Those kids are so awesome!
Funniest Moment: When the team kept asking about the “Waxinations” at the clinic in Barek Aub just to hear them keep saying “Waxinations.” (they can't pronounce V's)
Low Moment: Staying up all night throwing up and going to the hospital for Food Poisoning, and watching, on the verge of vomiting, the nurse dig around my arm for a vein…not on anyone’s fun list!
Wow Moment: Seeing the children’s burn clinic. Tore my heart out…I had to take a little walk after that.
How I was challenged/what I learned: More than anything I am encouraged by the work being done here in Afghanistan and I learned that we can make a difference, maybe we can’t change everything, but those communities that are being helped through SOZO’s projects have hope because of what SOZO is doing here. I love these people!



Name: Katie Kohrs
Best Trip Memory: Meeting a lady that my friends on previous trips to other countries knows. And talking with the Women of Hope ladies and brainstorming how I could get involved.
Most Fun Trip Memory: Taking pictures of Barek-Aub kids and then being mauled so they could all see what they look like.
Funniest Moment: Julie nonchalantly walking into the room and just plopping herself on top of me. Much laughter, and possibly some snorting resulted from that.
Low Moment: Dry nose, and stressing about if I was going to have to work the night that I came home.
Wow Moment: Also meeting the lady that my friends know, and being invited to come back to see her in Herrat.
How I was challenged/what I learned: I learned a lot more about how I am supposed to use my gifts, and where to channel those.

Name: Lee Lagomarcino
Best Trip Memory: Guys night with W___ rolling in the Toyota Prada to Grill by. W___ was on a roll cracking jokes and telling stories in typical W___ fashion.
Most Fun Trip Memory: The meat distribution and picnic at Barek Aub. Kids are kids regardless of where you go, and it was a blast playing with the little ones.
Funniest Moment: Gotta copy Ben on this one, I laughed like a little kid during this episode… When the team kept asking about the “Waxinations” at the clinic in Barek Aub just to hear them keep saying “Waxinations.”
Low Moment: Getting stuck in traffic on Wednesday was probably the only time when I had a little concern about things. God is good and we were just fine.
Wow Moment: Taking in everything in Barek-aub and then the children’s burn ward later in the week. I’m still processing the day at the burn ward.
How I was challenged/what I learned: It’s been a long process (to me anyway), but God has continued to show me what gifts he has given my and how they might be used.



Name: Ed Downing
Best Trip Memory: A ton of little kids tackling me at Barek Aub as they tried to demonstrate their strength to the American guys.
Most Fun Trip Memory: Despite my severe lack of dance skills, I think my most fun moment was doing Afghan dancing with the Sozo staff. It was amazing! I think we even managed to teach the staff a thing or two by the end.
Funniest Moment: Umm…sort of a no brainer for me. Falling off the camel, hands down. I’ve learned that humps are on a camel for a reason and you should always ride on the back of the hump to maximize safety.
Low Moment: The low point of the trip would have to be getting food poisoning. After throwing up all night, spending the night on the bathroom floor and going to the Kabul hospital, I would have to say it was a pretty clear winner of the trip “low moment.”
Wow Moment: All of the experiences with the kids at Barek Aub take a close second, but I think my “wow” moment came when we were in Istalif and had a chance to take in the countryside. It is such a beautiful country, and the view alone is something that will be in my memories for years to come.
How I was challenged/what I learned: Pardon the trite expression, but I think I’ve learned just how fortunate we are in the U.S. To watch a country rebuilding after years of oppression is just plain heart breaking, and makes me thankful for the little things.

Name: Julie Teresia Smale
Best Trip Memory: Simply going to Barek Aub and playing with the kids and just loving on them!
Most Fun Trip Memory: Getting to ride the camel, although it should have been ‘getting to sit on a camel’, but ‘getting to ride’ because she just kinda took off.
Funniest Moment: We all sat around one afternoon and made new words to popular songs. Like ‘Back that Burka up’, ‘Pretty tan for an Afghan’ and ‘He thinks my Burka’s sexy’
Low Moment: It was on the way back from Istalef and we were just driving through the mountains and looking at the beautiful scenery, when we saw another group of green flags. We had seen them flying around Kabul, but this time it was just so real. There was one area of land just COVERED with the flags and it just broke my heart.
Wow Moment: Going to all of the hospitals and visiting the ladies learning about burn safety and then seeing the kids who had already been affected by burning. The Wow would be just the awe of how real it was… not just pictures, but real children.
How I was challenged/what I learned: It was so hard for me to hold my tongue. He has revealed so much to me! He has shown me my extensive heart for children all over the world.

Name: Mark David Lorence
Best Trip Memory: It was definitely getting to see all of the staff members show their true selves at the Staff Party. I had a ton of fun getting to learn how to dance from the staff and seeing them bust a move. It was amazing to see the other side of the people who had previously just been business. It definitely helped me to build tons of relationships with the staff.
Most Fun Trip Memory: It’s a tie between getting to play with the kids at Barek Aub and seeing Ed fall of a camel. It was great just getting to play volleyball with some of the kids, even though they tried to spike the ball on me and only me most of the time. But it was equally as great to see Ed riding the neck of the camel as he fell off.
Funniest Moment: Definitely Facebook stalking certain individuals to read their outlandish notes and 1,000 applications such as “What is your intelligence?” → ‘You have slight mental retardation’ , “Are you smarter then a 5th grader” → ‘You about as bright as a box of crayons’, and “What underwear are you” → ‘A thong’
Low Moment: Hearing “Naan for you!” 20,000,000 times at breakfast that and leaving
Wow Moment: Seeing the well and all the construction in Barek Aub was pretty amazing. The last time we were there, there really wasn’t anything other then tents. And now there is a school and a clinic being build, as well as a well that is bringing life to the village. The water from the well is bringing clean water to these people, and it doesn’t taste to bad either!
How I was challenged/what I learned: Probably just having to look at the ideas and media that our culture exports and what it makes us look like. I had never realized just how far reaching our media was until I heard American rap on Afghan radio and learned that one of the top shows with kids here is WWE: Smackdown. We are instantly assumed to share the morals of the things we export and we lose integrity with those we are building relationships with.

Name: Nichole Marie Hutchins
Best Trip Memory: Getting off of the plane and seeing old friends. I was amazed that many of them remembered me. It’d been a year so I was very surprised.
Most Fun Trip Memory: I think the most fun part of the trip was building relationships with people. Whether it was Barek Aub, the Flatiron team, the SOZO staff or the people at the school, it was so neat to interact with them and just love on them. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, you can always spread love with a smile or a hug.
Funniest Moment: While at the party, the women were not able to dance with the men so we sat in the back and ‘translated’ the Dari into how it sounded in English. Fun phrases like “The elephaaaant had an orannnnnggggeee.” and “I came here. I came here. I’ll be over there soooooonnnn.”
Low Moment: I would have to say that today is my low moment. I am so sad to leave these people I love. It may sound cliché but I feel so comfortable here that it is like a second home for me. I can’t wait to return.
Wow Moment: I would have to say I have two wow moments. The first being when we rounded the mountain and saw Barek Aub, I almost cried. I could not believe that it was the same place and was so amazing to see how much progress had been made in the last year. There were actual homes and pumps for water. The school is well on its way and the foundation for the clinic is being worked on as well. The second wow moment was visiting the burn clinic and seeing the two children burned by the landmines. It was so heart breaking.
How I was challenged/what I learned: I have been challenged to be even more active in the restoration of this amazing country. So many good things are going on that people are not aware of. There are so many little ways that people can make a huge impact.

Name: Marcus Jon Baney
Best Trip Memory: The last day at Barek Aub, hanging out with kids, playing soccer, and just getting to hang out and love on them.
Most Fun Trip Memory: Several outlandish dance parties set to sweet Afghan music.
Funniest Moment: A UN representative lady asking us what we were doing at Barek Aub very condescendingly, and Jordan informing her that we just passed out a bunch of raw meat and we were going to sing songs. She was quite dumbfounded.
Low Moment: The burn unit at the children’s hospital.
Wow Moment: W____ opening up and telling us about his life and struggles and really diving into the idea of community with us.
How I was challenged/what I learned: This trip just reaffirmed my absolute love and heart for this country. This place will always run thick in my blood, and I love the people with everything that I am. The biggest challenge will be bringing the need for more funding for the children’s hospital back to America.

Name: Jordan Carter Burgen
Best Trip Memory: playing with all the kids at Barek Aub all three days we were there. Especially Alligator Hands. I don’t know if you’re supposed to have favorites, but he was my favorite. Sue me.
Most Fun Trip Memory: Brutal butchering of 2 bulls followed by dismantling them into a thousand pieces.
Funniest Moment: the incredibly old camel guy peeking out from beneath his camel
Low Moment: seeing the kids at the burn clinic and their families
Wow Moment: seeing the kids at the burn clinic and their families and hearing the president of the hospital saying he needs more support for them and knowing that I have the power to go back to the USA and raise it
How I was challenged/what I learned: Afghanistan is without a doubt my second home and I will do anything for the people here. Also just getting to know W____ much better and hearing his story and troubles.

Name: Jonathan Ronald Albertsen
Best Trip Memory: I would say that it is a four-way tie for best trip memory. (1) M___ and the guys from the staff calling me over to eat some berries, it was at this moment I realized M____ knew my name, (2) cheering W____ up and taking a guys night to “grill by”, (3) having W____ share his story in the guesthouse and his struggles in the car, and (4) any time we went to Barek Aub, specifically when we played with the kids. I already miss Alligator Hands and M____.
Most Fun Trip Memory: Riding on Camels! And the really young guy who was herding them. He was old enough to have glasses.
Funniest Moment: Listening to W____’s blatant lies, like when he told us that wearing glasses is a bad habit and when he told us that you can identify that a man is wearing a berka by which foot they start with (men always start with their right, women always start with their left)
Low Moment: Seeing the some of the kids at Barek Aub, it reminds me of how good we have it in the states. Also, seeing the kids in the burn clinic that were burned from a land mine.
Wow Moment: Having W____ share his burdens with us on the way back from Barek Aub, it made me realize how fortunate we are for the community and support that we have at home.
How I was challenged/what I learned: I was challenged in a lot of ways. My heart was broken for the kids at Barek Aub, but it was refreshing to see all the things that are being done out there at that camp. Each time I come to Afghanistan, more is being rebuilt and changing. People are being changed on this staff and are being brought to Him. It is a praise and a blessing to see the things He is doing in these people. I also learned the value of community. I saw how lucky we are to have the people around us to love and support us. How lucky we are to have people around us to share our burdens and frustrations with. The last thing I’ve been challenged with, is to again completely surrender what He wants for my life. I was reminded again that I must look to Him for direction and seek His will for what He wants for my life at all points in my life. I love this country and cannot wait to be back again.