I write from a desk. In an office. My desk, in my new employer’s office. Crazy. It’s 5:12pm and I’m the last one to leave, taking a bit of time to write this before I head off for basketball practice. It’s again been too long since I’ve written — I just looked up […]
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Europe 2019: God and Haircuts (An Anecdote about How God Provides)
Hello all, It’s been way too long since I wrote last. Much too long. My apologies as usual. I’ll write a more comprehensive life update at some point but I have a great story from today I want to share. This morning, we arrived at the gym for an early practice […]
Continue readingEurope 2018: A Spell in the Ukrainian Woods
I write from a quiet cafe lounge sequestered in a back corner of the Istanbul international airport (a rare find here). It’s past midnight, and I have six hours to go before my connecting flight boards. It’s hard to imagine that in one day my environment shifted from living a simple, carefree existence in rural […]
Continue readingClosing the Omaha Chapter (And Craziest Road Trip Ever)
I write from my sister’s coffee shop on the north side of Chicago. Sometimes I wait far too long to post and then realize with chagrin how much I have to catch everyone up on. My apologies. This particular update will be delivered in three acts. Act One: Omaha Summation I can’t believe I’m already […]
Continue readingIn Which I Get to Visit Mountain Mission School
Hello all, I write from a drafty seat on an overnight Greyhound bus somewhere between Indianapolis and St. Louis. Before I continue on to my next stop, let me extol the events of the past week and share them with you. I have just closed a week-long introduction to a unique educational institution in the Appalachian mountains of […]
Continue readingNew Horizons: In Which I Get to Visit the Global Sports Mentoring Program in Washington, D.C.
I’m sitting at a cozy four-seat kitchen table in the apartment of a fantastic and exceedingly hospitable friend in Fairfax, Virginia (D.C. metropolitan area). Why? Thanks to a random email sent a few weeks ago, I was invited to be a fly on the wall during the culmination of an incredible international sports endeavor happening in […]
Continue readingStepping Stones: D.C. to the Appalachians and Beyond
Today marks two weeks since our Moody season was officially disbanded. The past two weeks have yielded some interesting connections and random opportunities in true life-of-Lauren-Schwaar style. Like stepping stones, just the next few short steps have been revealed so far. Let me fill you in. First step: In which I am invited to […]
Continue readingThe Last of Europe 2017: Oslo to Durham to Chicago
Written Thursday, August 10th. I write from a darkened American Airlines cabin midway through a nine-hour flight. Last time I posted, I was leaving the tropical beach paradise of Dubrovnik, Croatia for a slightly different locale in Oslo, Norway. I spent six days in Norway in the company of two good friends I met earlier […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: Camp Monty
I write from a secret-garden-esque villa in Dubrovnik, Croatia. A storybook lagoon overlooking the Adriatic Sea is a five-minute walk from here. Sights and sounds of tourists on their nearby hotel decks and patios don’t mar the tranquility of the garden in which I sit, boasting fruit trees and patio furniture fit for festivities. I’m […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: Poland Basketball and Montenegrian Coastlines
I write from an airy university dorm lobby in Nikšić, Montenegro. I arrived here with a bus-full of Americans arriving from the Eastern States. We are a team of about 35 American, Serbian, and Montenegrian volunteers, here to facilitate a week of youth activities in a small inland university town. We’ll hold sports clinics for […]
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