You asked for it...

Hello young adult friends. Welcome to the May edition of You asked for it…, NCP's monthly email to folks like you.

In this edition of You asked for it…

• Burma -- more trouble in paradise
• Amazon -- good seats still available
• Mother's Day -- share the luv
• Justice Fact -- rich, poor...and ExxonMobil
• Enviro Fact -- going, going....
• Faith Fact -- no excuse

Busy spring here--I'm sure the same for you. But the news this week from Burma (Myanmar) kind of puts these things in perspective. On my Around the World trip in '05 I had the chance to visit a village that looks like it could have been in the path of that cyclone. Very poor but very gracious people. And now this--good grief... If you're wondering what to do about it, here are a couple options:

• Short term: good places to send contributions are Church World Service  or the US Campaign for Burma
• Medium term: join us on our August Learning Tour. We'll be seeing the situation first-hand--both the recovery after the cyclone and the long-term problems facing this impoverished and oppressed country. Will drive by Aung San Suu Kyi's residence--where the Nobel Peace Prize winner is under house arrest for leading the democratic opposition--and for having courage, charisma and a cause.
• Long term: support a stable ecosystem. They say storms like this will be more the norm than the exception in a warmer world. Check out our global warming edu-action page.  Think about how you can do your part to turn down the heat. They also say had the mangrove swamps along the Burmese coast been intact, these would have served as buffers to lessen the storm surge along this vast coastal region. A main reason they're being cut is shrimp production. Think about shrimp consumption. Think about supporting reforestaion efforts around the world.

Amazon--still room! Yes, we are going to the Ecuadorian Amazon in 10 days, would love to have a few more folks, can still get a roundtrip ticket for $600, and could even drum up a little scholarship $ if that would swing you over to "go"! Rainforest complete with monkeys, pink dolphins, piranha, sloths, caiman, native culture, impacts of oil and poverty, and surprises (poison dart frogs? ananconda? jaguar? -- yes, we saw one last year--probably never again--but then again you never know...)   (we also have Guatemala, Honduras, and Alaska later in the summer)

Mother's Day First of all, don't forget your dear mom. Secondly, if you need a very cool gift--and one that she's sure to luv you for--think about making a donation to Give a Girl a Chance fund. $5 keeps a girl in Sudan in school for a month!  OR Get her a reusable fully-recycled shopping bag or a set of note cards OR Go together with your rich brother/sister and spring for a sewing machine for a women's group. Choose a gift, let us know, then NCP will send an email or card, or even give dear mom a call on Mother's Day with the good news! Or you can make up your own cool card and we'll send a letter later.

Justice Fact The richest 2% of the world owns 50% of private wealth; the poorest 50% owns 1% (UN University)   BTW, ExxonMobil first quarter profits? $11 billion (investors were disappointed)  

Enviro FactPercentage of the world's wetlands/mangrove forests destroyed: 50%  An intact mangrove swamp lessens the impact of storm surge/tsunami: 75%

Faith Fact Jeremiah: "But I am only a youth"   God: "So?" Jeremiah 1:1-10