When the desperation of poverty grows stronger than the ties between a family, a tragedy has occurred. For Mama Atiya, and many Congolese women like her, two tragedies went hand in hand. Mama Atiya’s husband died just over two years ago, and while she was still mourning the loss, his family came to visit. Instead of bringing comfort, they brought more devastating news. Because of Congolese property laws, without a husband Mama Atiya could be stripped of her land, house, or estate – and her husband’s family had come to claim it all. Though Mama Atiya had worked alongside her husband to support their family, she suddenly had nothing.
Destitute and homeless, Mama Atiya took her six children and returned to her parents’ home. Her parents graciously took them in, but the living quarters were cramped and Mama Atiya knew that the arrangement would have to be short-term. She dreamed of saving enough money to buy a house for herself and her children but feared that her meager wage as a smoked fish saleswoman would never allow it. When she met a HOPE loan officer, she realized that this was just the opportunity she had been praying for.
An initial $55 loan helped Mama Atiya break into the smoked fish business for herself. She buys fish in bulk, enabling her to offer good prices and function as a wholesaler. Just two years and seven loans later, life is no longer a daily struggle. By the grace of God and her own hard work, Mama Atiya is the proud owner of an apartment. She can afford to send all of her school-aged children to classes and has even adopted four children from her community. They are also attending school. Mama Atiya hopes to use her accumulated savings to make repairs to the family’s new apartment and eventually to buy a second apartment for her older children.
Lex Land – Yellow Days on Orange Street - I first heard Lex at the grand re-opening of Obees and the launch of 
Derek Webb – The Stockholm Syndrome – Derek Webb is one of the few Christian artists that I really enjoy. So many others just feel cheesy and insincere but I have always found Derek Webb’s songs to be though provoking and honest. Often controversial (and I love a good controversy to get me thinking), his songs are sometimes shockingly upfront, not your typical Christian artist. This particular CD is varied in it’s style – there are some songs that have more electronic beat to them, one sounds like it should be on an Ocean’s 11/12/13 soundtrack but then some return to the sound that I relate Webb to the most – acoustic and raw.
Regina Specktor – Far – I adore Regina Specktor. I love her talky style of music. She is quirky and fun – her lyrics are thoughtful at times and silly others. Just a pleasure to listen to. And talk about a vocal range – love it! I really enjoyed the rawness her first CD and was excited when I found out she had released another. Far is a bit more polished, which is to be expected, but it doesn’t fail to please. I particularly love the insightful nature of the song ‘Laughing With’. No one laughs at God during hard times but He’s a great butt of a joke during a cocktail party. Very telling of our culture.
Sleeping at Last – Storyboards - Sleeping at Last is 
Imogen Heap – Ellipse – The ethereal quality to Imogen’s voice has always been intriguing to me. The fact that she combines it with such a interesting blend of rock/pop/electronic music has drawn me in. This new CD doesn’t disappoint. It’s a great mix of styles. My favorites so far are Aha – which sounds like it should be in a Tim Burton film and Canvas – which has stunning harmonies. The Fire is a gorgeous instrumental piano track – very dramatic. And the song, Earth, showcases only vocals as all instruments, which I have always loved since my show choir days. Love it all!
Aqualung - Words and Music – I think I started listening to Aqualung when I first started work right out of college. The office I worked for had networked all of out iTunes together so that we could listen to each other’s music collections. This was great because I was exposed to so much music I would have otherwise never experienced! Back to this CD – it’s great background music. I enjoy listening to it but no one song particularly sticks out to me. It’s great chill music as it’s slower and a bit more internally focused. (with the exception of Mr. Universe, which is reminiscent of the Beatles). Worth a listen but maybe not my favorite of the bunch.
