Hurtin' 4 Haiti

Sunday, July 25/10. Five runners arrive in Calgary, after 9 days of running from Winnipeg to Calgary. The group, Bill, James, Donovan, Chantal, Wade, Neil and Flavio (massage therapist extraordinaire), ran for Haiti. What began as a small idea soon grew to inspiration and then one idea fed another, and within a very short period of time, a concrete plan was born! Five runners would make the trek from Winnipeg to Calgary, averaging 25 to 30 kms/day each, running, in relay form. And today they arrived in Calgary. What an accomplishment! Me, Abe Janzen and Adam Beriault met them at Foothills Mennonite Church where some of them will stay for the night. They will head back to Winnipeg tomorrow morning. We are so grateful for their determination and commitment to help the people of Haiti. Although this is not specifically about AIDS, it is about a country in desperate need of help, with multiple layers...economic, housing, water, food, medical. It is all related, and MCC is so grateful for their effort!

Albany Mennonite Church

Folks dancing their way to the offering basket

Singing "Together Tomorrow" with the crowd

A great three days in Seattle and Portland

What a great weekend! Friday night at Seattle Mennonite, Saturday evening at the Hess Yoder place, Sunday morning at Lebanon Mennonite, and Sunday evening at Albany Mennonite. We had the privilege of singing to more than 400 people, meeting really amazing folks, listening to Abe Janzen (MCCA Executive Director) inspire and challenge the crowds (and us) to respond to the crisis of AIDS.

Each concert had a group of volunteers who organized and advertised the events. Bob and Barb Buxman (MCC West Coast) worked for months prior, both with the committee's and with raising funds, and attended each of the events, representing MCC, giving greetings, selling cds, doing so much in front and behind the scenes. By the end of the weekend, more than $53,000 was raised for the Generations program!

One of my favourite moments at each of the concerts was the offering time. Just in front of the stage were large baskets, and people were invited to come forward (some people even danced forward!) and give their offerings as Darryl and I sang a song. This is a common practice in many churches around the world, but not so common in Mennonite churches. We experienced this in Kenya, and were inspired by the public show of commitment and accountability of giving. In North America, we tend to view our giving as private and personal. In Kenya, what we saw was a public commitment to sharing what was available with the church community. Everyone gave something. The amount didn't matter. Giving mattered. This is what we saw this weekend, and it was overwhelming to watch.

Thanks, Bob and Barb, the committee's, our hosts, and all the good people who came to listen and give!

Taking our place at the table, waiting to sing
at the Hess Yoder event

Singing...

Abe speaking at the HY event

Singing at Albany Mennonite Church

The Bades

Pictures from Seattle

Seattle Mennonite Church

Hi everyone! Day two of our West Coast tour is over. Last night we were hosted by Seattle Mennonite Church, and enjoyed time with folks there. Darryl and I sang for about 45 minutes, we showed some video footage of recording music in Najile, as well as video footage of the work that Joseph does with the Generations Program (included in the cd package). Abe Janzen (MCCA Executive Director), shared compelling stats about HIV/AIDS, and shared stories from his travels to visit MCC partners working with HIV/AIDS in Congo, Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya.

Seattle Mennonite runs a Community Ministries Program that reaches out to the homeless in Seattle, welcoming them into their church community, and offering supports and connecting people to various programs and services. We had some good visits with really wonderful people that we normally would not see at our concerts. We were blessed to be there.

We travelled from Seattle, WA, to Portland, OR, today. About a 3 hour drive. And this evening we were hosted at the Hess Yoder home, about 40 minutes outside of Portland, on a beautiful piece of land over looking the valley, with an astounding view of Mt. Hood. There were just over 100 people in attendance, and we all enjoyed a great meal, lots of visiting, some music and stories, all outside. A very warm reception! Thank you to the folks from Portland Mennonite Church for your planning and work!

Tomorrow morning we are on the road by 8 am to travel to Lebanon Mennonite Church. Abe will bring the sermon and Darryl and I will sing a few songs. We hope to do some touring a bit in the afternoon, and then tomorrow evening we are in Albany for our final performance.

Off to Pacific Region

Well, our next concerts are in Seattle, Portland area, and Albany area. We're really looking forward to our time there. For specific event locations and times, please visit our "official" Take Your Place site linked there on the left.

In Kenyan news, our good friend Joseph had another transportation incident. He was thrown from the back of a truck and sustained a few minor fractures. Apparently he is now recovering and in good spirits.