We have had an eventful past two months. Amy had a case of dengue fever at the end of January, and was in the hospital for a few days for monitoring, as her platelets dropped significantly. Thankfully, all went well and there were no complications. Thank you to those of you who prayed for her during that time. We were grateful for our community of friends here as well, as they pitched in and watched the kids, stayed at the hospital with Amy and were generally supportive and encouraging during that time.
As for our work, Jeremy has been busy with several different projects. He recently helped facilitate a training on Active Non-violence for a group of mostly Muslim and Indigenous People (tribal) adult students. After the 3 day training was completed, Jeremy was invited by the Muslim students to their Friday prayers at the local mosque. It turned out one of the students was also the imam (the worship leader) there, the largest mosque in the city. As the imam gave his message, he spoke to the congregation about the need for active nonviolence. These students and their communities, deeply impacted by the ongoing conflict, are looking for new ways of moving forward in their quest for peace and justice.
The organization we work with (www.peacebuilderscommunity.org) is in the process of developing its small health care program. Amy and another nurse Mei are starting to put their heads together to conceptualize what the program will look like. In March, Amy will be visiting Mei in the conflict-affected community she works 8 hours from Davao. Using approaches like participatory health appraisal and appreciative inquiry, they will be exploring the existing cultural strengths and community assets, what has been started, and how to best proceed with the growing program. Helping in these different ways reaffirms our calling and vision of being people of peace and healing here on the island of Mindanao.
We are also starting to make plans for coming back to the States in June for at least a 6-month period. As we talk to the kids about it and prepare ourselves, we realize how far we have come in the past two years in adjusting to life here. The kids told us recently that they feel like this is their home, and that they want to come back (after they get a chance to see some snow, of course!)
We plan to be in the eastern Pennsylvania and Denver, Colorado regions and hope to see many of you during our time in the US. We are excited about returning and reconnecting and sharing our experiences here, as well as all that has been happening in your lives.
Peace,
Jeremy, Amy, Linea, Madeline and Isaac
PS – We ask for special prayers and thoughts for the Philippines over the next few months through May 10 when national elections happen. The election season is typically a time of heightened tension and violence. This year in particular, there are a number of pressing social (power and water shortages) and political issues… …(endemic corruption and rising budget deficits), we are seeing a reassertion of the military power-base in recent events (martial law, illegal detention of civilians), continuing effects from environmental crises of the past year (typhoon Ondoy, followed now by a drought) and term limits on the current president. The election also places the peace processes in the 40-year armed struggles in Mindanao on tenuous ground. In relation to this, Peacebuilders Community has been asked to be more closely involved in the formal talks around the issues of truth and reconciliation processes (think truth and reconciliation commission in South Africa). With peace talks virtually stalled yet a fragile ceasefire in place, it is a crucial time to develop this, though it is the one component the peace panels have only just begun to address in their negotiations.
