Derek Lamson (WestHillsFriendsChurch, Portland), is a songwriter. This last summer Derek travelled to 30 states, two Canadian provinces, and three yearly meetings, carrying a concern for the CPT.
It turns out they were there at the beginning; Bill and Genie Durland. “I was in a graduate studies program with Ron (Sider),” she said, “He was leading a seminar.” Bill interrupted, “It was Genie gave him the idea,” he said. She looked at him affectionately. “Of course, the idea of an ‘un-armed army’ goes back to Gandhi,” she said.
This handsome older couple and I sat over coffee on a sunny deck. It was last June, summer ’09, and the occasion was Intermountain Yearly Meeting, un-programmed Friends from Rocky Mountain states gathered for a week at Ghost Ranch, northwest of Sante Fe. The glories of Georgia O’Keefe country rose around us in the dry mild morning as we talked about the Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Bill went on, “And Gandhi was, as we know, profoundly influenced by his reading of the New Testament and Jesus.” I looked down at my boots and felt around in my mind for questions taking shape. I felt it was so important to ask good questions. Continue reading …
“We had a very eventful day. We delivered filters out to villages, and schools. When I say villages, that is out under a tree. This is usually a gathering point for the area. At these places the villages will build one of their traditional reed and stick houses around the filter, to protect it and make it available to all who pass by.
While we were leaving the last place for the day a girl, with what appeared to be cholera, was loaded into one of our vehicles and delivered to the nearest med aid station.
The people are eager to use these filters, they know they have a problem and there has been no reasonable way to help them…” Del Livingston, from Kenya
Living Water Ministries, a ministry point of NWYM, serves the people of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation in Plummer, Idaho. They recently held a “Spirit Jam” dance and music outreach.
An update today from Del Livingston, delivering water filters in Kenya. This is the sort of thing we’ll help make possible with our Thanksgiving Offering. (Read about it on Facebook or see a slide show of the process on our website.)
Del says:
Hi, Everyone. The work must go on. I am in Kenya, had a good flight.
The need for biosand filters does not slow a bit. On this trip, several of our Kenya team will be traveling to Turkana, in northwest Kenya. This is a high desert region that is enduring a very difficult drought. Water is in such short supply that the livestock and the people are sharing the same water holes. This results in a high incidence of cholera. We are delivering filters to Friends aid stations, so they might be able to filter drinking water.
I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever be involved in helping so many people. During the time after the election difficulties, and so many people became displaced we started installing filters in the smaller IDP camps. We have requests for more.
I wish to thank all of you that have been able to donate to the Thanksgiving Cause. We will be able to train 60 to 100 people to go about thier regions supplying filters. This many trained will translate to thousands that is be free of diahorea, thyphoid and cholera, plus parasites. I can go on with a lot of stats, but let me say it helps.
Thanks again, Happy Thanksgiving
Del
What is Midwinter? It’s a camp for Northwest Yearly Meeting youth and their friends in the middle of winter! And… it’s awesome! It’s a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones, worship, serve others, play games, and have a whole lot of fun
To be held at Quaker Hill (Come celebrate the New Year with Friends!)
For costs, registration forms, and a cool video, check out the WINTER CAMPS page.
UPDATE FROM THE FIELD:
