10.29.2005
lack of power
I came home last night to a dark house. The power to the light switches and electrical outlets in our house is out. We have heat and a running fridge and stove and a phone, but if you want to read anything you have to sit by the window or light a candle. It was cozy in my room with candles flickering last night. But lack of power also means the computer doesn't work which means I had to wait a few hours...to post my next post...........
10.27.2005
Puppets and miracles
Mom, I hope you’re reading this post because I want you to know that you played a part in what I call a small miracle.
Oddly enough this miracle was birthed many years ago in a story my mother found in Highlights for Children magazine. The story was called "Why Crow Crows" and although it revolved around farm animals and a noisy crow, the central theme was accepting those who are sometimes hard to accept. My creative mother took this story, wrote it into a puppet show script, created stick puppets and recruited my father and myself to perform this puppet show for her Sunday school class and for our church. They loved it. So mom decided to create another puppet script using the same puppets. This puppet show was based on the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. Since we were re-using the stick puppets, she titled it "The Prodigal Crow" (the prodigal son was a crow, the father an owl, and the obedient son a chick…our other farm animal stick puppets had either retired from their acting careers or signed lucrative contracts with Walt Disney).
Fast forward to the present….or actually last Friday morning. The members of our house were discussing the program for our final day of Logos for this six-week session. Logos, as I may have mentioned before is a once-weekly after school children’s ministry program….in theory anyway. In reality it’s organized chaos. Combine a bunch of tough little kids from a poor neighborhood with a bunch of kind and loving adult volunteers who desperately want to minister to these kids and change their lives, but have all we can do to get the kids to just sit down and listen to us, and pour all these people into the sanctuary of a little church in Spokane’s West Central Neighborhood and you get Logos!!
We’d been planning to tell the kids either the story of the lost coin or the lost sheep through puppets, but someone decided that would be too hard and suggested we tell the story of the Prodigal Son instead. I thought of the puppet script my mother had written long ago and said "I think my mom wrote a puppet script about the Prodigal Son. I’ll e-mail her and ask for it." Mom e-mailed the script. I edited it so that "crow, chick and owl" read "Bob, Joe, and Father." The narrator became Jesus, because we have a Jesus puppet. We substituted "You Ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog" for the song "La Bamba" as dance music in the part where the prodigal squanders his money on wild living (although CCR’s "Fortunate Son" would’ve been the best fit there). We rehearsed twice before Logos started. I played the narrator/Jesus puppet part. Vergy, the girlfriend of one of my housemates, and an incredibly good puppeteer, played Bob, the prodigal son. Brandon, and Jessica (Westminster House missioners, like me) played the parts of the Father and Joe, the obedient son.
The kids arrived at Logos and tumbled off the bus full of the usual energy and insanity. One small group refused to play the games at game time and insisted that they like to eat people. Two other boys kept running behind the shed no matter how many times I told them "please don’t go back there. It’s Game Time, go play games!!" I led Music Time and it was much the same. There was some singing going on, but a lot of kids ran around. A row of fifth and sixth grade boys in the front pew hurled insults at me as I played my guitar and sang. I felt a pang of disappointment as I thought of our cool puppet show and that half the kids probably wouldn’t even hear it because they’d be talking and goofing around. Music Time ended. Jason (another Westminster House missioner) read the story of the Prodigal Son from the Children’s Bible. We puppeteers silently arranged ourselves behind the puppet stage and Jason announced "And now it’s time…for.. a…. PUPPET SHOWW!!"
I raised my narrator/Jesus puppet above the stage and twisted my wrist to make him look around for a moment. I couldn’t see any of the kids from behind the puppet stage, but I realized that for the first time that entire evening this group of kids was silent. They were so silent you could hear a pin drop. We did the entire puppet show and all I heard was laughter at the funny parts and an occasional whisper. When we finished and said "THE END!" I heard thunderous, ecstatic applause! This noisy, raucous, belligerent group of children was not only captivated by our puppet show, but they applauded at the end! I didn’t know these children could be that quiet! I am awed, and stunned and totally amazed. And I am thankful to my mother for sharing with us the puppet script she wrote for my Sunday School class many years ago.
Oddly enough this miracle was birthed many years ago in a story my mother found in Highlights for Children magazine. The story was called "Why Crow Crows" and although it revolved around farm animals and a noisy crow, the central theme was accepting those who are sometimes hard to accept. My creative mother took this story, wrote it into a puppet show script, created stick puppets and recruited my father and myself to perform this puppet show for her Sunday school class and for our church. They loved it. So mom decided to create another puppet script using the same puppets. This puppet show was based on the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. Since we were re-using the stick puppets, she titled it "The Prodigal Crow" (the prodigal son was a crow, the father an owl, and the obedient son a chick…our other farm animal stick puppets had either retired from their acting careers or signed lucrative contracts with Walt Disney).
Fast forward to the present….or actually last Friday morning. The members of our house were discussing the program for our final day of Logos for this six-week session. Logos, as I may have mentioned before is a once-weekly after school children’s ministry program….in theory anyway. In reality it’s organized chaos. Combine a bunch of tough little kids from a poor neighborhood with a bunch of kind and loving adult volunteers who desperately want to minister to these kids and change their lives, but have all we can do to get the kids to just sit down and listen to us, and pour all these people into the sanctuary of a little church in Spokane’s West Central Neighborhood and you get Logos!!
We’d been planning to tell the kids either the story of the lost coin or the lost sheep through puppets, but someone decided that would be too hard and suggested we tell the story of the Prodigal Son instead. I thought of the puppet script my mother had written long ago and said "I think my mom wrote a puppet script about the Prodigal Son. I’ll e-mail her and ask for it." Mom e-mailed the script. I edited it so that "crow, chick and owl" read "Bob, Joe, and Father." The narrator became Jesus, because we have a Jesus puppet. We substituted "You Ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog" for the song "La Bamba" as dance music in the part where the prodigal squanders his money on wild living (although CCR’s "Fortunate Son" would’ve been the best fit there). We rehearsed twice before Logos started. I played the narrator/Jesus puppet part. Vergy, the girlfriend of one of my housemates, and an incredibly good puppeteer, played Bob, the prodigal son. Brandon, and Jessica (Westminster House missioners, like me) played the parts of the Father and Joe, the obedient son.
The kids arrived at Logos and tumbled off the bus full of the usual energy and insanity. One small group refused to play the games at game time and insisted that they like to eat people. Two other boys kept running behind the shed no matter how many times I told them "please don’t go back there. It’s Game Time, go play games!!" I led Music Time and it was much the same. There was some singing going on, but a lot of kids ran around. A row of fifth and sixth grade boys in the front pew hurled insults at me as I played my guitar and sang. I felt a pang of disappointment as I thought of our cool puppet show and that half the kids probably wouldn’t even hear it because they’d be talking and goofing around. Music Time ended. Jason (another Westminster House missioner) read the story of the Prodigal Son from the Children’s Bible. We puppeteers silently arranged ourselves behind the puppet stage and Jason announced "And now it’s time…for.. a…. PUPPET SHOWW!!"
I raised my narrator/Jesus puppet above the stage and twisted my wrist to make him look around for a moment. I couldn’t see any of the kids from behind the puppet stage, but I realized that for the first time that entire evening this group of kids was silent. They were so silent you could hear a pin drop. We did the entire puppet show and all I heard was laughter at the funny parts and an occasional whisper. When we finished and said "THE END!" I heard thunderous, ecstatic applause! This noisy, raucous, belligerent group of children was not only captivated by our puppet show, but they applauded at the end! I didn’t know these children could be that quiet! I am awed, and stunned and totally amazed. And I am thankful to my mother for sharing with us the puppet script she wrote for my Sunday School class many years ago.
10.26.2005
10.19.2005
Beer and Theology
Last night I was part of what may have been the coolest Bible study I've ever attended. For old times sake and to see some old friends I attended the Tuesday night gathering and worship of Lutheran Campus Ministries at Minot State University.
In many ways LCM was like family to me while I was at MSU. It was there that I could find the few other "Christian rebels" on campus, the people who, like me, professed faith in Christ, but also harbored the blasphemous notion that gay and lesbian people are not going to burn in hell for all eternity, but rather should be accepted as they are, accepted into the body of Christ and perhaps even *gasp* ...be allowed to be ministers!!! Or the equally blasphemous and perplexing idea that being a Christian is not really about prosyletizing to the "sinners" and "unsaved " on campus, or about raising your hands in worship and looking holy (Although if that's truly how you experience your Creator, more power to you.) but rather it's about serving one another, fighting for justice, working for peace and living the Gospel daily. Imagine that!
So I got together with some of these really cool people last night. We worshiped together and ate supper and conversation and laughter ensued. Then I turned to Pastor Tim and politely suggested that we head over to the The Blue Rider* and continue the evening there with the weekly Bible study. Hearty approval from all sides! Afterall, what could be more fun than beer and theology? Martin Luther would be proud.
There at the Blue Rider, our thoughts lubricated with Moose Drool, Guinness and Heffeweisse, we read Job 29-31 which launched us into a lively discussion on social justice, treating the poor with dignity, the wrongness of the right wing fundamentalist theology that claims that natural disasters and disease epidemics are really just God's judgement and a little bit about Job himself. It was truly a good time. To those of you who were there, "you rock!," it was great to hang out again and here's to Beer and Theology (let's see what Campus Crusade and Pacesetters think of us now!!!)
*For those reading this who've never been to Minot, The Blue Rider is an art/cowboy bar tucked away in a dark corner of downtown. It's owned by Walter Piehl, an art professor at Minot Sate University, who is also a bit of a cowboy. It's quiet, smoke-free and frequented by an interesting mix of college professors, well-dressed professional types and cowboy and farmer types. The bar's name comes from the title of a painting "The Blue Rider" or "Der Blaue Reiter" by the German Expressionist painter Wassily Kandinsky, Walter Piehl's favorite artist. (or so I'm told.) The walls are covered with prints and originals by various artists. It's the only bar I know of, anywhere, that has German Expressionist Art (Franz Marc anc Paul Klee) hung in the women's bathroom!!
In many ways LCM was like family to me while I was at MSU. It was there that I could find the few other "Christian rebels" on campus, the people who, like me, professed faith in Christ, but also harbored the blasphemous notion that gay and lesbian people are not going to burn in hell for all eternity, but rather should be accepted as they are, accepted into the body of Christ and perhaps even *gasp* ...be allowed to be ministers!!! Or the equally blasphemous and perplexing idea that being a Christian is not really about prosyletizing to the "sinners" and "unsaved " on campus, or about raising your hands in worship and looking holy (Although if that's truly how you experience your Creator, more power to you.) but rather it's about serving one another, fighting for justice, working for peace and living the Gospel daily. Imagine that!
So I got together with some of these really cool people last night. We worshiped together and ate supper and conversation and laughter ensued. Then I turned to Pastor Tim and politely suggested that we head over to the The Blue Rider* and continue the evening there with the weekly Bible study. Hearty approval from all sides! Afterall, what could be more fun than beer and theology? Martin Luther would be proud.
There at the Blue Rider, our thoughts lubricated with Moose Drool, Guinness and Heffeweisse, we read Job 29-31 which launched us into a lively discussion on social justice, treating the poor with dignity, the wrongness of the right wing fundamentalist theology that claims that natural disasters and disease epidemics are really just God's judgement and a little bit about Job himself. It was truly a good time. To those of you who were there, "you rock!," it was great to hang out again and here's to Beer and Theology (let's see what Campus Crusade and Pacesetters think of us now!!!)
*For those reading this who've never been to Minot, The Blue Rider is an art/cowboy bar tucked away in a dark corner of downtown. It's owned by Walter Piehl, an art professor at Minot Sate University, who is also a bit of a cowboy. It's quiet, smoke-free and frequented by an interesting mix of college professors, well-dressed professional types and cowboy and farmer types. The bar's name comes from the title of a painting "The Blue Rider" or "Der Blaue Reiter" by the German Expressionist painter Wassily Kandinsky, Walter Piehl's favorite artist. (or so I'm told.) The walls are covered with prints and originals by various artists. It's the only bar I know of, anywhere, that has German Expressionist Art (Franz Marc anc Paul Klee) hung in the women's bathroom!!
10.17.2005
Musical Vegetables
This is just too cool for words. It's music you can eat!! (click the "English" icon to view the webpage in English)
The Dakota Nation
Original Seven Council Fires of the Great Dakotah Nation (commonly known as the Sioux)
- Tetonwan - "Dwellers on the Plains"
- Yanktonais -"Ihanktonwana" or "Little Dwellers at the End"
- Yankton - "Ihanktonwan or Dwellers at the End"
- Mdewakantonwan - "Spirit Lake People" (but not necessarily the people who live on the Spirit Lake Reservation)
- Wahpekute - "Shooters Among the Leaves"
- Wahpetonwan - "Dwellers Among the Leaves"
- Sisssetonwan - "People of the Fish Ground"
These seven council fires are known collectively as the Great Dakota Nation. There are three different languages spoken by the Dakota people: Lakota, Nakota and Dakota.
Lakota is the language spoken by the Tetonwan. Those speaking Lakota are also divided into seven subnations.
- Oglala (The people on Pine Ridge...I think)
- Hunkpapa
- Minicoujou
- Brule (the people of the Burnt Thigh)
- Sansarc (French word meaning "Without bows")
- Blackfoot (NOT the same as the "Blackfeet" which live in Montana)
- Two-kettle
Those speaking Nakota are the Yanktonais and the Yankton.
The Mdewakantonwan, Wahpekute, Wahpetonwan, and Sissetonwan all speak Dakota
The people on the Spirit Lake Reservation are mainly Sissetons and Wahpetons (Sissetonwan and Wahpetonwan)
Patelson's music address
Joseph Patelson Music House Ltd.
160 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
telephone 212-582-5840
fax: 212-246-5633
Dealers in new and used music
(good place to find obscure musical scores)
There! Now I can throw away that scrap of paper that I've been carrying forever.
160 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
telephone 212-582-5840
fax: 212-246-5633
Dealers in new and used music
(good place to find obscure musical scores)
There! Now I can throw away that scrap of paper that I've been carrying forever.
10.16.2005
"My Best Friend's Wedding" or "Take my advice, just elope!"
It's hard to put into words the joy and stress of the past two days. Let me first set the stage.
Alycia and I have been best friends since freshman orientation at college. We've shared two apartments (one the size of most peoples's living room) and a dorm room. We're like sisters, so much so that we refer to each other as "my sister." We've laughed a lot together, shared secrets and cried together. We've prayed together and comiserated together over men. It was Alycia's shoulder that I sobbed into after I broke off my engagement. Together we've daydreamed about who we might marry someday and we'd both agreed to have the other as bridesmaid in our respective weddings whenever that day might come.
Brian, Alycia's fiance, officially proposed this past July. She asked me to be maid of honor. I knew I'd be living in Washington, but of course I accepted. Never mind the 20 hour train ride from Spokane to North Dakota, how could I possibly NOT come back for my "sister's" wedding. I wanted to be here to share in the joy and beauty of her special day.
The wedding was held at FaHoCha Bible camp where Alycia and Brian met while working as summer camp counselors. It was a beautiful fall day today, sunny and breezy, and the ceremony was beside the lake. Alycia looked absolutely radiant and elegant and beautiful and two tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked down the aisle on her father's arm. I don't know what expression my face conveyed but I felt a tangled flurry of emotion: wonder at the beauty of love, overwhelming joy that this beautiful day had finally come for Alycia and I could be there to share in it, terror that I might drop the ring in the grass, or trip walking down the aisle or do anything that might make the ceremony less than absolutely perfect. (Plus I was shivering in my sleeveless dress. Despite the sun the breeze was chilly.) The ceremony was perfect. It was beautiful and eveything I'd hoped for Alycia and I hope it was everything she'd hoped for as well.
However in the grand scheme of things, the ceremony was a small part of the event that was Alycia's wedding. There was decorating and ironing table cloths and cleaning and setting up tables and steaming the dress and a rehearsal followed by a dinner and so many pictures before the wedding. Planning a wedding involoves a myriad of little details that I would normally deem inconsequential. I tend to absorb the emotions of those close to me and I 've absorbed lots of Alycia's stress this weekend. As far as I could tell the best man was absorbing equal amounts of Brian's stress. (He, however was self-medicateding with the help of a hip flask filled with something potent and frequent nicotine breaks...maybe I should try that if I'm ever asked to be maid of honor again. ....nah, bridessmaid dresses don't come with pockets. I'd have to hide the flask in my bra.)
All in all the wedding was beautiful. I got to see some friends I haven't seen in a long time, and I met some new friends. I even survived giving my toast at the reception. Although I'm strongly considering taking Alycia's advice and just eloping (in the event that I do meet that special person I want to spend the rest of my life with.)
Alycia and I have been best friends since freshman orientation at college. We've shared two apartments (one the size of most peoples's living room) and a dorm room. We're like sisters, so much so that we refer to each other as "my sister." We've laughed a lot together, shared secrets and cried together. We've prayed together and comiserated together over men. It was Alycia's shoulder that I sobbed into after I broke off my engagement. Together we've daydreamed about who we might marry someday and we'd both agreed to have the other as bridesmaid in our respective weddings whenever that day might come.
Brian, Alycia's fiance, officially proposed this past July. She asked me to be maid of honor. I knew I'd be living in Washington, but of course I accepted. Never mind the 20 hour train ride from Spokane to North Dakota, how could I possibly NOT come back for my "sister's" wedding. I wanted to be here to share in the joy and beauty of her special day.
The wedding was held at FaHoCha Bible camp where Alycia and Brian met while working as summer camp counselors. It was a beautiful fall day today, sunny and breezy, and the ceremony was beside the lake. Alycia looked absolutely radiant and elegant and beautiful and two tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked down the aisle on her father's arm. I don't know what expression my face conveyed but I felt a tangled flurry of emotion: wonder at the beauty of love, overwhelming joy that this beautiful day had finally come for Alycia and I could be there to share in it, terror that I might drop the ring in the grass, or trip walking down the aisle or do anything that might make the ceremony less than absolutely perfect. (Plus I was shivering in my sleeveless dress. Despite the sun the breeze was chilly.) The ceremony was perfect. It was beautiful and eveything I'd hoped for Alycia and I hope it was everything she'd hoped for as well.
However in the grand scheme of things, the ceremony was a small part of the event that was Alycia's wedding. There was decorating and ironing table cloths and cleaning and setting up tables and steaming the dress and a rehearsal followed by a dinner and so many pictures before the wedding. Planning a wedding involoves a myriad of little details that I would normally deem inconsequential. I tend to absorb the emotions of those close to me and I 've absorbed lots of Alycia's stress this weekend. As far as I could tell the best man was absorbing equal amounts of Brian's stress. (He, however was self-medicateding with the help of a hip flask filled with something potent and frequent nicotine breaks...maybe I should try that if I'm ever asked to be maid of honor again. ....nah, bridessmaid dresses don't come with pockets. I'd have to hide the flask in my bra.)
All in all the wedding was beautiful. I got to see some friends I haven't seen in a long time, and I met some new friends. I even survived giving my toast at the reception. Although I'm strongly considering taking Alycia's advice and just eloping (in the event that I do meet that special person I want to spend the rest of my life with.)
10.13.2005
2000 dead
2000 Americans have now died in Iraq. There was a silent vigil here in Spokane today to commemorate those deaths. War is wrong. War is sin.
In other news, I finished and sent the resume and cover letter with half an hour to spare. I'm applying for a position as "Living Wage Project Coordinator" for the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane.
Now, I go off to North Dakota, where treeless spaces, a wedding, and family and friends await me.
In other news, I finished and sent the resume and cover letter with half an hour to spare. I'm applying for a position as "Living Wage Project Coordinator" for the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane.
Now, I go off to North Dakota, where treeless spaces, a wedding, and family and friends await me.
Tired
I leave on a train for North Dakota in aproximately 2 hours. I am currently rewriting my resume and writing a cover letter to apply for a job. The deadline to apply for this job is tomorrow. It seems like there should have been a more ideal time to write a resume and cover letter. Why am I doing it NOW??? Procrastination is a horrible horrible thing.
Man I'm tired.
Logos was today. The kids were absolutely insane. INSANE!!! Some of them are great kids. But there are a few who don't listen to a word anyone says, who fight, swear, are disruptive and actually are dangerous to the safety of the other kids. I've actually worked with children for quite awhile now and I've NEVER had an experience quite like tonight.
I want to go somewhere quiet and sleep for a long time.
Tomorrow's adventure is 20 hours on a train. Yay.
Man I'm tired.
Logos was today. The kids were absolutely insane. INSANE!!! Some of them are great kids. But there are a few who don't listen to a word anyone says, who fight, swear, are disruptive and actually are dangerous to the safety of the other kids. I've actually worked with children for quite awhile now and I've NEVER had an experience quite like tonight.
I want to go somewhere quiet and sleep for a long time.
Tomorrow's adventure is 20 hours on a train. Yay.
10.07.2005
Minimum wage
Washington state has the highest minimum wage in the nation: $7.35 /hour
That's a good thing, I think, at least for those who live here.
Most states, including North Dakota, go by the federal standard wage of $5.15 /hour
Some states, such as Tennessee have no minimum wage laws!!! That's preposterous!!! It's just another chance for rich coroporate executives to line their pockets while exploiting the people at the bottom of the ladder.
One alternative is a living wage. Read more about the living wage here.
That's a good thing, I think, at least for those who live here.
Most states, including North Dakota, go by the federal standard wage of $5.15 /hour
Some states, such as Tennessee have no minimum wage laws!!! That's preposterous!!! It's just another chance for rich coroporate executives to line their pockets while exploiting the people at the bottom of the ladder.
One alternative is a living wage. Read more about the living wage here.
Commitments
I'm starting to wonder if I've waded a little too far into the waters of busy-ness again. There are so many things I'm interested in and I like being involved and meeting new people and there is so much here to get involved in. The ministry of Westminster House requires a good deal of time by itself. We run a once-weekly after-school program called Logos, a twice weekly tutoring program called "Homework Helpers" and then there are meetings and just hanging out with kids. Besides this, I'm looking for a job, and finding lots of volunteer opportunities. I'm often asking myself "What day is it, and what have I committed myself to today? (And am I where I'm supposed to be and what have I forgotten to do?)" New adventures and projects are good, but I forget that I'm only one person and I can only do so much in the 24 hours that each day has. So, what have I committed myself to? And is this possible or am I completely out of my mind?
- Logos: My housemates and I plan this program together. We create a short puppet show based on a Bible story, and perform it for the kids. I'm also in charge of leading about 10 minutes of music. There is a game time at the beginning, small group time after the puppet show where we discuss the Bible story in small groups (I spend most of my small group time trying to coerce them to just sit still for pete's sake. "Don't eat the offering envelope!! The church needs that....please don't sit on the back of the pew...wait! Where are you going? No, don't hit him! Aghghghg!!" ) Altogether I'm at the church from 3:00 until 6:30 on Wednesdays. (3 1/2 hrs/week, plus planning and prep)
- Homework Helpers (helping kids with homework and journalling with them. We also have snack and game time. I'm in charge of preparing snacks. (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:00 - 4:30, that's 3 hrs/week
- Pianist for Westminster church "praise choir" "Practice" is Wednesdays after Logos for an hour, plus 1/2 hour "practice" on Sunday mornings. I'd like to do more with the praise choir because I know we could be better. (1 1/2 hrs/week)
- volunteering at Global Folk Art (Spokane's only not-for-profit, fair trade store) once or twice a week. I've never really worked retail before, but I really like it. I ring people up at the till, answer the phone, arrange displays, chat with customers, whatever needs to be done. (4-7 hrs/week)
- looking for a job (mighty discouraging and that's all I'm saying)
- teaching piano lessons. I've got two students right now. (2 hrs/week, plus prep time)
- Shalom book club (reading a book and meeting once a month to discuss it
- a church musicians reading group (much like the Shalom book club)
- twice weekly Biblestudy with my housemates
- Westminster house family time
- once a week mentoring time with Paige, one of the board members
- Board meeting once a month, morning meetings with Don and Sandy twice a month, session meeting once a month
- writing for the Anuak Justice website
- teaching a group piano class at the West Central Community center
The last two projects are still getting going. And I'm sure they'll take plenty of time. Plus there's fun stuff to do, like movies and playing Ultimate Frisbee on Sunday nights.
10.05.2005
Anuak Justice
In December of 2003, over 400 innocent people were massacred. These people were Anuak, a tribe of peaceful people living in the Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia, near the border of Ethiopia and Sudan. Who were the perpetrators of this massacre? The Ethiopian military. The Anuak people have been and still are victims of genocide and horrific crimes against humanity and although the Ethiopian government won't admit this outright, the reasoning behind these atrocities boils down to the simple fact that there is oil beneath the land where the Anuak lived. You've most likely not heard a word about any of this because the mainstream media doesn't print stuff like that. (If you want to know more, take some time to read www.anuakjustice.org)
Many of the Anuak people have fled from their homeland and some have come to the US. There is a large Anuak population in Minnesota and also many Anuak here in Spokane. It was through the Anuak here in Spokane that some folks, including my aunt and uncle, from First Presbyterian church became aware of the massacre in 2003 literally as the massacre was occurring. Desperate Anuak people in Gambella called their relatives in Spokane and Minnesota as their families were being dragged out of their houses, beaten, and shot. I can only imagine how horrifying and helpless it must have felt to hear the gunshots and tears coming through the telephone. The Anuak in Spokane turned to their friends at First Presbyterian for help. Through the efforts of these people and others the Anuak Justice Council was developed. It exists to unite the Anuak in the US, to inform the world about the situation in Gambella and to advocate for the rights of these people before world governments. Please, please check out the website as you will learn more there than I can possibly explain in this entry. And pray for the Anuak people.
Many of the Anuak people have fled from their homeland and some have come to the US. There is a large Anuak population in Minnesota and also many Anuak here in Spokane. It was through the Anuak here in Spokane that some folks, including my aunt and uncle, from First Presbyterian church became aware of the massacre in 2003 literally as the massacre was occurring. Desperate Anuak people in Gambella called their relatives in Spokane and Minnesota as their families were being dragged out of their houses, beaten, and shot. I can only imagine how horrifying and helpless it must have felt to hear the gunshots and tears coming through the telephone. The Anuak in Spokane turned to their friends at First Presbyterian for help. Through the efforts of these people and others the Anuak Justice Council was developed. It exists to unite the Anuak in the US, to inform the world about the situation in Gambella and to advocate for the rights of these people before world governments. Please, please check out the website as you will learn more there than I can possibly explain in this entry. And pray for the Anuak people.
10.04.2005
The McGill Report
In case you may have forgotten, this article is yet another reminder that we do live in an unjust world. Pray for the Anuak, please. I'm interviewing Obang Metho today (mentioned in the article). more later.
Ninja on my doorstep
Today I answered my doorbell and found a five foot ninja complete with black plastic sword standing on the front step. (Man, that's just what I was hoping for today, too! I mean really, how many of YOU have been visited by a ninja?)
It was Daniel, the kid who lives across the street. He was going around "trying to scare people" (his words) I think he's supposed to be in school. Oh well, I don't ask questions, I just live here, right?
Other than greeting ninjas my day has been quiet and has included:
It was Daniel, the kid who lives across the street. He was going around "trying to scare people" (his words) I think he's supposed to be in school. Oh well, I don't ask questions, I just live here, right?
Other than greeting ninjas my day has been quiet and has included:
- a two-hour house meeting with Pastor Sandy and Don,
- creating a piano studio policy
- trying (and failling) to get the printers to work in our house office,
- a trip to Costco to buy house groceries (in massive quantites) with my housemate Jessica
- unloading groceries in the rain
- walking to the community center to print my piano studio policy because the printers here don't work
10.01.2005
Fall drifts in like leaves from the trees
Fall is settling gently around us like a quilt, or like the crimson and gold leaves drifting from the trees. There is a maple on the corner that looks as if it's on fire. I took the old bike in the garage out for a ride this morning. The air felt thick and almost warm and the sky hung heavy with clouds.
It's just a few blocks from Westminster House to the Spokane river. I rode down to the water and I stopped and stood awhile staring at the water and listening to the ripples lapping the shore. Someone had built a bonfire there by the water's edge and the ring of rocks sat, cold and abandoned, cradling the charred remains of love letters. I wonder who wrote those letters and why they burned them.
My life here is slowly arranging itself. I'm learning my way around Spokane. I'm getting to know my housemates. I'm finding a few piano students. I'm beginning to feel a part of this community.
My housemates and I have Bible study together two mornings a week. We've begun reading the book of Nehemiah. This book recounts how the prophet Nehemiah organized and led the people in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, years after they'd been torn down by invaders. We discuss how we can apply what we're reading to what we're doing here in West Central Spokane. We're not literally rebuilding a wall. We're working to build community in this place.
It's just a few blocks from Westminster House to the Spokane river. I rode down to the water and I stopped and stood awhile staring at the water and listening to the ripples lapping the shore. Someone had built a bonfire there by the water's edge and the ring of rocks sat, cold and abandoned, cradling the charred remains of love letters. I wonder who wrote those letters and why they burned them.
My life here is slowly arranging itself. I'm learning my way around Spokane. I'm getting to know my housemates. I'm finding a few piano students. I'm beginning to feel a part of this community.
My housemates and I have Bible study together two mornings a week. We've begun reading the book of Nehemiah. This book recounts how the prophet Nehemiah organized and led the people in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, years after they'd been torn down by invaders. We discuss how we can apply what we're reading to what we're doing here in West Central Spokane. We're not literally rebuilding a wall. We're working to build community in this place.
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