The fateful farewell pic

Making Darryl proud...

Ok, some news about my latest solo performance. I have been sitting with this for the past week. Time to come clean, and to tell Darryl that he is absolutely critical to this whole singing/performing thing. My goodness. So true.

I was asked to sing at the farewell celebration for Jim Shantz (Mennonite Church Alberta Conference Pastor). It was a wonderful afternoon, and I'm so glad that Jim was honoured and appreciated for his years of service in Alberta. I was asked to sing a few songs during the program, and to highlight MCC's work with AIDS. Abe was also invited to speak about the work of MCC, and to invite donations. The day before the farewell, I picked up my relatively new guitar, intending to go through the songs I was planning to sing. A string broke. No big deal, right? I'll just put on new strings, except I had none. It was almost 5:30 pm. I rushed out to Guitarworks, close to our house, knowing that it closed at 6, only to find it had moved to a new location. So, I drove as fast as I safely could to the next nearest store and fortunately was able to buy a pack of strings. Came home, de-stringed, and as I was about to put on new strings, realized the part by the hole of the guitar that keeps the strings in place, had fallen off (my ignorance is glaring in terms of the correct names for guitar parts). I was a bit panicked at this point. I would not be able to use my new guitar. Instead I ended up having to use a guitar that was a bit "iffy" to say the least, and the strap kept spontaneously coming undone. Anyway, at noon the next day I left for the farewell.

Once I got there I realized that I had forgotten all of the cds at home, as well as brochures, and the flashdrive that I needed to show some images from Cycle for Life. I called my daughter Jess, who agreed to bike to the church and bring over the stuff. Her bike broke down half way there. I called my dad. He came to the rescue and brought the cds and brochures. I forgot to tell him about the flashdrive. Jess managed to fix her bike and bring the flashdrive. Still feeling a bit panicked and completely unprepared, I approached the mic, guitar firmly in hand, hoping the strap would stay in place. When I got to the front, I saw that the mic was too low, the music stand too high, and I needed to do something. So, I leaned over to raise the mic. The guitar strings on the end of the guitar, which were wrapped neatly in a little circle, got caught on a nob on the mic stand. I did not notice this and I stood up. The mic stand wobbled and made way too much noise. I panicked. The other end of the guitar hit the music stand. It too began to wobble. Doug Klassen shot up to help untangle the guitar string from the mic stand. We got everything settled, and so I played the first chord to the first song, only to realize that my guitar was now out of tune. I took the capo off to tune the guitar, and dropped the capo on the floor. Once again, Doug shot up to help. Things were not going well. Still needing to adjust the music stand I leaned over one more time, guitar knocking the stand....and on it went.

In the end, I managed to tune the guitar, sing a few songs, and hopefully honour Jim. Humbling to say the least. Darryl, I don't really enjoy the solo stuff. Just for the record.

It's been a long, long while

Hi everyone. Sorry for the silence this past while. We have had a busy few weeks. Lots of presentations on the Cycle for Life part one Kenya trip, and getting ready for part two of Cycle for Life. This Friday, June 24th, me, Adam, John, Abe and 40 Menno Simons Christian School junior high students and staff will kick off the Alberta portion of Cycle for Life by riding from the school to Fish Creek Park, about 40 kms, have a hot dog roast, and after that head north to LaCrete! 1450 kms here we come!

Updates and photos can be read/seen on the Cycle for Life blog, but we might put some info up on this blog too. In any case, we hope you read, follow, enjoy and pray for the safety of the riders and support team, and that the trip will raise awareness and funds for MCC's work with AIDS.

The Kiranto family; Elizabeth, me and Saleina; Byron holding Karen.

Video message from Jeremiah to Henry; Joseph, Elizabeth and Joel; Joseph and Elizabeth's kitchen; GAR sponsored girls at the Secondary School

The POMC AIDS clinic, the rock quarry, milking cows, and fixing a tire

Leon, Joseph and the landrover

A few years ago, Abe travelled to Najile and met Joseph, along with other staff from the Presbyterian Outreach Mission Church. When he was there, he asked Joseph what was one need that the POMC would like to have met. Joseph said they needed a landrover, with a covered back, so that clients who were ill could be taken to the hospital in Nairobi to receive treatment, but would not be exposed to the wind, dust, rain and cold. Abe came back to Calgary and told the story, represented the need, and in the end was able to find a donor who covered the cost of buying a landrover. Amazing. Joseph told us when we were in Najile last week that since they received the truck no clients have died from exposure to the elements. Amazing. One of the donors was Leon Janzen's grandfather, Werner Zacharias. Here is a pic of Leon, Joseph and the truck.

Najile 2011!!

Hi everyone! We have been a bit quiet on the Take Your Place blog, but we have been busy! Abe, me, Byron, Adam and John Beriault, Leon Janzen, and Cindy Klassen spent some time in Kenya with Cycle for Life. And then we went to Najile for a week. What a gift to be there again! Byron and I had hoped to visit Najile again, and to spend time with Joseph's family, but we did not think it would be this soon! Check out the Cycle for Life blog to see how the cycling event went: cycleforlife-buildpeace-stopaids@blogspot.com

Here are a few pics of our time in Najile.

Foothills Alliance Seniors Group Calgary

It's been three weeks since Kim, Daryl and I returned from the East Coast ... Concert for AIDS Tour. Good, good memories. Kim and I did an event with a group of 50 older people at Foothills Alliance in Calgary, yesterday, April 27. They all thought Kim sounds just like Anne Murray, only better. Very warm response. Very warm welcome. Sold 15 CDs. The truth... Anne Murray, in her best years, sounded a bit like Kim. I talked about AIDS in Nepal, and about "showing up", as God did in John 1:14 ... "he came and dwelt among us".

Good Friday Inter-Mennonite service

This past Friday, we attended the Inter-Mennonite Good Friday service at Bethany Chapel. More than 600 people were in attendance. It was a moving service, that focused on the suffering of Christ, betrayal, grief and mourning. Abe Janzen (MCCA Executive Director) was given a few moments to talk about the HIV work of MCC, show a few slides from a recent trip to Nepal, tell a story, and say a prayer. As always, his stories and message were inspiring and moving. Abe told the story of a woman from Nepal, who is HIV+ and a leader of a support group with the MCC partner Sakriya, who looked at Abe and said, "You are the reason we are alive here." She was saying that to everyone who has contributed to MCC's HIV work. All of you are the reason. Each time a dollar is contributed to the program, a positive impact is felt around the world.

It was announced during the service that $41,000 was raised for the HIV work of MCC. Amazing. Humbling. Thank you. I have had the blessing of meeting folks who are living with HIV/AIDS, and who have benefited from your contributions. I saw the difference that those contributions make in the daily lives of folks who face despair, disease, poverty, hunger and lack of access to basic care.

None of the work that MCC is involved in can happen without the faithful, generous and kind donations of prayer, time, work and dollars from all of you. Thank you.

Home from the MCC East Coast Tour

Hi everyone! We are home. Well, we've been home for just over a week. I had hoped to write earlier, but life, work, home...all that great stuff kind of distracts a person from getting things done. We had a very good week with MCC East Coast. Met so many kind folks, and were hosted so well. 19 events in 8 days. Fun times!

Abe and I are now getting ready for our trip to Kenya next Saturday (April 30th). It's coming fast, and we have a ton to do! This is the cycling trip with 5 Canadians, including Cindy Klassen, and 10 Kenyans. The goal is to raise awareness in Kenya about the fabulous peace and HIV work happening there with MCC partners. If you would like to follow us on the trip you can check out the blog: cycleforlife-buildpeace-stopaids.blogspot.com Or you can find us at: alberta.mcc.org/cycle-peace-aids

We hope to post daily updates, photos, video footage during the trip.

While the next few months will be crazy busy for Darryl, Abe and me, with travel, work and family, they will be quiet in terms of singing/awareness raising events. But the pace will pick up in fall again. We'll keep you posted on dates and events!

They listened; they affirmed; they engaged!!!!

Milo and Viola Stahl attended the MCC AIDS Concert at the Harrisonburg Mennonite Retirement Center early in April. They strongly affirmed the message of hope/AIDS amidst the messy world in which we live.

How MCC Alberta was motivated into AIDS work

Abe Janzen tells the story of Jan Emswiler which motivated MCC Alberta to get serious about AIDs awareness work.
Abe is the Executive Director of MCC Alberta.

Jan Emswiler Story from darryl on Vimeo.

Five AIDS Awareness Events in Virginia yesterday

Kim, Darryl, Grant and I did 5 events yesterday. Eastern Mennonite School chapel (300 students) Eastern Mennonite University Chapel (70) Brownbag lunch hour at Gift and Thrift Shop with volunteers and staff (20) Seniors at Virginia Menn Retirement Community ( 25), and finally, an evening concert at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church (120 people). Wonderful people everywhere.
A woman at the Retirement Center approached Kim and said ... she so appreciated the fact that our work and our faith in Christ were very clearly connected, and the song Be Thou My Vision, for her, was the theme of how and why we do what do.
Kim and Darryl's music, at the Harrisonburg Menn Church, as at all the concerts, was warm, engaging ... people respond with joy and appreciation ... at every place.

Today we did an hour's program at Mennohaven Seniors Home (Penn Hall), where a woman who is 91, came to Kim and Darryl after the program and told them she LOVES Kim's voice and the supporting guitar and harmony of Darryl. They make a great "combination" she said.
This evening was a concert at a BIC Church in Chambersburg. Not a big crowd, but they were very supportive and very interested. Maybe one of the more enthusiastic responses we have had. May be invited back to this area, in November for a weekend plus. Will see. A local group that supports Meat Canning and other MCC work, hosts an Annual Fundraiser in November. We would love to come. They want stories and a concert.

The past two nights we have stayed with Ruth and David Emswiler. The parents of Jan Emswiler, who introduced MCC Alberta to the world of AIDS, via Dave Worth. Jan went to Tanzania 12 years ago with MCC. She is a nurse and saw children in a hospital ward for Malaria patients, being given blood that was not tested for HIV before being given to the children. Her church in Harrisonburg provided funding for equipment and when the blood in the blood bank was tested, they showed that 10% was HIV Positive. Dave Worth brought that story to Alberta at an AGM. The first CD, (for "children of the World") was being born, and we made an AIDs trip with Sarah Adams to Nigeria and Congo. And in that context, MCC Alberta became more and more invested in raising funds and building awareness about AIDS.

We did some math today, and we estimate that the CDs, along with various events, annual fundraising campaigns, and the gathering of AIDS Care Kits in Alberta, have raised just over 3,200,000 for MCC's work with AIDS, since about 2003. The CDs and Concerts have given a voice and presence to the entire project, and, I think, in a way, have also given a voice to people with AIDS, who, in so many places, are marginalized and delegitimized as people who should, but no longer have a voice in the world.

A Day in the Metropolis of Akron. PA

Kim, Darryl, and I, together with Grant from MCC East Coast, did two events this morning. The first with about 100 senior citizens, all volunteering at the amazingly creative Material Resources Center, recycling shoes, clothes ... well, nearly everything they seem to get. I told some stories about MCC's work in Nepal, Uganda, Akron, w the theme that "showing up" is what we all need from each other, and people living with AIDs, in every country of the world, are begging us to show up with them ... and there are many ways we can do that. Prayer. Funding for Income Generation and Support Groups, Medical supplies, advocacy work ... and giving them a voice that often they don't have. Yesterday, by the way, we did a coffee house at Eastern Mennonite with a small group of students organized by SPEAK. The purpose of SPEAK is based on Proverbs 31 ... to give a voice to people who have no voice. And that is what MCC is doing for people who have AIDS. Kim and Darryl, contributing to the broader work of MCC with AIDS, with more than 8 years of singing/touring, are giving a voice to many who are not heard, anywhere. Not even, perhaps, by their own friends and families.

The second event was with MCC staff at the Meeting Place. Similar format .. the rich music of Kim and Darryl and some stories about the work of MCC ... "showing up". In this case I included Colombia and the SEED Program, where partners/churches have been so grateful to MCC Volunteers for "living among them".

One of Kim's fans, a 5-year old boy, was there this morning ... and with his mother, approached Kim, asking her and Darryl to sing "When the rain comes down. Very cool.

Philadelphia Mennonite High School

Rev. Mary Duff and me. An inspiring woman and a mentor to both staff and students.

Day 3 - Philadelphia Mennonite High School pics

Principal Barbara Moses has been at Philapdelphia Mennonite High School since the school began 13 years ago. An amazing woman with vision, love and passion for the students and the school.

Day 2 Video

While stopping for a break on our way to Germantown Mennonite, Abe had his shoes shined by a gentleman who shared a few thoughts on politics and other things. He also shared a song which he wrote for President Obama.

TYP East Coast Tour Day 2 from darryl on Vimeo.

Day 3 East Coast Tour

This morning we participated in the chapel time at Philadelphia Mennonite High School. Principal Barbara Moses welcomed us and led us on a tour of the school. There are about 100 students...capacity is 120. The school opened 13 years ago. A remarkable thing about the school is that 100 % of the graduates of the school attend community college or university after graduation, and many of the grads return to the school to volunteer and mentor younger students. They are a zero tolerance school in terms of violence. They have not had a physical fight at the school since 2003. All of their students receive training throughout their three years at the school in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Tuition at the school is just over $10,000/year US. The majority of the student's families cannot afford even half of the tuition, so the administrative staff are very busy raising funds for the school and finding sponsors for individual students.

Mrs. Mary Duff, 86 years old, holds 3 Masters degrees, is an ordained minister, a retired teacher of 42 years in the Philadelphia public school system, and a mentor to the staff and students at the school. She is in the process of writing two books. One of them has to do with what she has learned from her students over her 42 years in the classroom. She told me a story of a horrific car crash that she survived more than 30 years ago. Driving through West Virginia, her car went out of control, hit the ditch, and the next thing she knew she was in a hospital in Washington, DC. The doctor told her that there was good news and bad news. The good news was that she was alive. The bad news was that she would never speak above a whisper again, and she would never walk again. After a lengthy time in the hospital, she returned home to Philadelphia. Her students missed her terribly and demanded that she come back to the school. They told her that they promised that they would teach her how to speak again and how to walk again. She had a face cast on, and much of her body in a cast. The students met her at the car, carried her in, and over many months, through diligent work and love, taught her how to speak and walk. Her favourite hymn...Be Not Dismayed. Amazing. A blessing to meet her and listen to a bit of her story.

Germantown Mennonite Church & Chamounix Mansion Hostel

Yesterday evening we sang at Germantown Mennonite Church to a group of about 12 people. The turnout was a bit disappointing to the East Coast folks, but it was a really nice evening with lots of visiting and discussion. We enjoyed ourselves completely! For night we stayed at the Chamounix Mansion Hostel in the heart of Philadelphia. It is a beautiful place surrounded by trees, looking over the Schuylkill River. A lovely place, not much sleep, haven't stayed in a hostel since trekking through Europe in '85!

Day 2 East Coast Tour

I'm one day behind in the blogs. Sorry about that! I'm hoping to catch up this afternoon. Yesterday morning was a very interesting, sad, difficult morning. We arrived at Christopher Dock High School, in Souderton, PA, for the morning chapel. Darryl, Abe and I were given about 20 minutes to speak and sing about the Generations program. When we arrived in the chapel we were met by one of the administrators of the school, who was clearly shaken up. She told us that earlier that morning, as they arrived at school, they came across racist graffiti on the front sidewalk leading up to the school, as well as on the school building. The graffiti was threatening and targeted African Americans, Latino's, and Christians. The reaction of the student body ranged from fear (several students went home), to anger, frustration, and some clearly not knowing how to respond appropriately or helpfully. We offered to pull out of the chapel and allow them to work with the students in whatever way they believed was best. They wanted us to stay, and while it was difficult to know how to speak to students, some of whom were clearly traumatized, we spoke and sang about the marginalization of people with AIDS, about AIDS victims being seen as the lepers of the 21st century. Some feedback was good, positive, one student expressed publically his discomfort with the school going ahead with a presentation about AIDS, when there was an issue right there that needed to be dealt with. It was a healthy and difficult exchange. How do we get to a place in our society where the richness of our differences is embraced, and where the similarity of our humanity is embraced? In the afternoon we spent time with MCC East Coast Philadelphia staff. What an energizing and inspiring group of people to be with and learn from. They are working in the community with anti-poverty initiatives, housing programs, and anti-violence/guns issues, along with Material Resources, Relief Sales, etc. In 2010, Winnipeg, MB, was named murder capitol of the year a few years back...at approximately 30 murders/year. In 2010, Philadelphia dealt with a total of 300 gun related deaths.

East Coast Tour - Day 1, Souderton, PA

We had a full day 1 (yesterday...sorry), in the Souderton area. We sang two songs at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church following a beautiful child dedication service. A family, after a very long 4 year process, have welcomed a little girl into their home who they adopted from China. It was a blessing to be a part of the service. In the afternoon we spent a few hours at the Rockhill Mennonite Retirment Community. Enjoyed lunch with Ron and Sue (Thiessen) Sawatzky. Ron is the director at Rockhill, and was the former moderator of Mennonite Church Canada. We sang for about 40 residents, and Abe told stories from his trip to Nepal. Our evening concert was at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton. It was a fun evening with about 140 people in attendance. Churches in the area had encouraged people to bring an AIDS Care Kit with them, so there were 35 kits collected and placed at the front of the church. Abe moved people with his stories, and talked about showing up, and how important it is that we do just that...show up in each other's lives, invest in each other, take our place and get involved. Enjoyed snacks and visiting after the concert. Even met a man (Harvey Bowman), who was one of the original PAX boys who helped to build the one and only hydro damn in Nepal, which Abe visited on his trip to Nepal last fall. Very cool. Darryl and Grant (Rissler) were hosted by Lyn and Arlen Nyce, and Abe and I were hosted by Abe and Sara Landes. Very lovely people!

Rockhill Mennonite Retirement Community

New blog! Cycle for Life: Build Peace. Stop AIDS.

Hi everyone! Well, we have decided to create a new blog for our Cycle for Life Kenya/Alberta trips. It feels a bit confusing to have the cycle trip on the Take Your Place blog, so if you would like to follow the news about our trip to Kenya in May, as well as the cycle trip in Alberta in June/July, here's where to go: cycleforlife-buildpeace-stopaids.blogspot.com We leave April 30th for Nairobi, spend a day getting supplies, and begin the ride on May 2. 450 kms later, we end in Lari on May 7th, with a big celebration! Abe, Darryl and I leave on Saturday morning for Philadelphia, PA, where we begin a 9 day concert/speaking tour...22 events, 9 days...should be fun!

AIDS Funding Cuts Kill

In 2003, the U.S. government made a commitment to funding the fight against AIDS, and as a result, millions of people's lives have been saved: 4 million people were able to access HIV treatment through the Global Fund; 114,000 babies were born HIV free; 3.8 million orphans received care; millions of HIV infections have been averted. But massive cuts to the Global Fund and PEPFAR are being proposed.

The total cuts proposed are $813 million for all global AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria programs. As a result:
-483,000 people will die because they will not receive AIDS treatment
-68,000 babies will be born HIV+ because their mothers did not receive prevention drugs
-700,000 people will die because their AIDS treatment will end
-12 million families without bed nets to prevent malaria will be at risk
-434,000 people are at risk of death without necessary tuberculosis treatment

It is estimated that the cuts will result in the unnecessary deaths of one million people.

MCC works with 70 partners worldwide, providing orphan care, homebased care, prevention education, and medical supplies. And the partners that MCC works with have been the recipients of PEPFAR funding, and have been hit hard by the cuts. People who have been receiving desperately needed ARVs have now stopped receiving them. This is a death sentence. The cuts impact children, teens, all the way to seniors. Joanna Hiebert Bergen, MCC's Binational HIV/AIDS Program Coordinator, has seen the impact of these cuts firsthand, as she travels and visits MCCs AIDS partners. It has been devastating for her to see, and difficult for her to know how to support the partners in their work, knowing that funding is being cut from so many sources, including MCC. Ten years ago MCCs budget for HIV/AIDS work was 2 million. A few years later it was reduced to 1.8 million, and may be even further reduced. This money is shared among the 70 partners.

Darryl and I enjoy the concerts that we perform at, and are glad for the opportunity to make music and sing together. But we often say to each other that we don't do this for the music. The money raised from the four cds is amazing. But this is about AIDS. We will keep performing to raise awareness and funds for MCCs AIDS work. And we sing because of AIDS and the critical need that is present. Now more than ever.

MCCBC's Single Parent Support Project

A few pics from our time at the MCC Thrift Shop in Surrey, BC, singing at a fundraiser for MCCBC's Single Parent Support Project. Very cool program.

MCC BC

MCC BC Fundraising Banquet from darryl on Vimeo.

Home from BC

Hi everyone,


We are just back home from a great weekend in BC!  We were invited to sing/speak at MCCBC's annual celebrations, to raise awareness and funds for the work of MCC worldwide.  Abe Janzen, Executive Director of MCC Alberta, and me and Darryl spent the last three days singing/speaking/ and learning about the great work of MCCBC, and meeting really wonderful people and supporters.  On Friday evening we were in Abbotsford at Bakerview MB Church, where 340 people gathered to support MCC.  Saturday evening we traveled to Richmond, BC, and were welcomed by 130 good folks.  Sunday morning, we "crashed" the service at Highland MB in Abbotsford, where Abe preached an inspiring sermon, and Darryl and I sang some songs.  And Sunday afternoon we were in Surrey, singing to clients, staff and donors of an amazing new program of MCCBC called the Single Parents Support Project, which works with single parents, some of whom are HIV+, many of them newcomers to Canada, and all of them experiencing economic difficulties and barriers.  It was a highlight of our time in BC.  Four women shared their stories and struggles of raising children on their own, finding affordable housing, work, and dealing with significant trauma.  It was an honour to be in the room with them and to hear their stories.  A humbling afternoon. 

Darryl has added a video from this weekend of Abe telling a story about a woman that he met in Nepal a few months ago, as well as a clip of the two of us singing "Be Thou My Vision".  My favourite hymn.

It has been a while since we have blogged.  Sorry about that.  We will try to be more consistent and diligent.  The cause is so important, both here in Canada, and worldwide. 

Thank you for reading.