Latest Posting: September '07

Young adult friends, welcome to the August edition of You asked for it... , the monthly email from the New Community Project to folks like you. I know it's barely still August, but somehow I just respond better to deadlines--how about you?

Since we last talked, we had our Denali/Kenai Fjords National Parks Learning Tour. Saw a lynx--yes I did. Up close and personal too--maybe 15 feet. And it was a sign from God. Well, everything's open to interpretation--but how would you interpret 1) seeing elephants and hippos right in front of you in the wilds of Sudan (January) 2) seeing a jaguar swim right across in front of your canoe in the Amazon (May) then 3) seeing a lynx cross the tundra looking right at you in Alaska (August). I think God is trying to say 1) these creatures existence is being threatened by humankind 2) they can't speak for themselves 3) it's up to us to raise a holler in their defense. At least that's how I took it.

I'm featuring reflections by Emily Young of Harrisonburg , VA on her time in Sudan this past summer as part of our Solidarity Workers program. Could be you next summer or sometime before that in Sudan or somewhere else--check it out:

In this edition of You asked for it ...,

• Burma trip coming up fast!!
• Emily's thoughts on Sudan
• Enviro Fact
• Justice Fact
• Faith Fact

Some of you are headed back to school. Let me know if you see a chance for me to get to your campus. Can do classes, clubs, convos on the topic-of-your-choice.

O.k., enough of that--time to get on with it. All the best to you--

David

• Burma    November 30 - December 11 Cost: $750 (plus air fare) Leaders: David Radcliff, Nyan Min Din  NCP has put together a Learning Tour to the southeast Asian nation of Burma . A beautiful land filled with gracious people, it's one of the most poignant places in the world: military government, oppressive poverty, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest (her crime: winning the presidential elections), widespread ecological damage, slave labor--and that's just a start. We'll see cultural sites and visit out-of-the-way villages, while learning about the harsh realities of life. You don't have to take my word for it--listen to what Jim Carrey has to say. Love to have some of you be a part of this trip--and get this: we'll be there on International Human Rights Day--December 10!!!
• Emily Young joined three other young adults (Melanie Blevins, Sophie Beya and Ian Christie) in serving in the Sudanese community of Nimule this summer. Here are a couple excerpts from her reflections on her experience.

July 1  The night they celebrated her birthday by dancing the night away:

Sitting in the moonlight, listening to the sounds of tribal drums, and watching the dances in front of me...I felt African.....I felt like this was my home, and like I had always been here.....what a blessing for them to share their rich culture with almost a complete stranger. Here were a bunch of white kids in the middle of Sudan celebrating something with tribes of people that used to kill one another....pretty incredible. So next year maybe one of you reading this can come along, and become a new born in the Madi community.

For the past week I have been working at a women's workshop organized for all female school teachers in the county. I served as a facilitator to help organize GIRL TALK groups in the schools. So many of the young girls drop out of school when they begin their menstruation cycle, because they are not educated on their bodies and how to take care of them...so I helped orientate the teachers on how to form a sort of female support group for their students. This way the girls can gain basic information about themselves physically and mentally and have a strong group of women who can advise and counsel them when they are struggling. I think it went pretty well...and the JRS program said they would monitor it after I leave.

I still can't help but be amazed every day by the strength of the women here. A baby on their back, bags in their hands, 20 liters of water on their head...and they will stop and talk with you for 30 minutes about sudan politics and the war. I'm getting lots of practice with carrying babies on my back....not such a bad idea...really much more simple than toting a stroller around.

We are only about half way through our time here and I already feel that leaving is going to feel impossible...while I do miss everyone from home, this place even with its tragedy is so rich in culture I know the US is going to feel pretty...pretty american. I am excited however to share my stories, my pictures and videos, and to most importantly get other people excited about coming and sharing this experience next summer. I love you all and thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Early August At the end of her stay:

1. I named a baby!
I went with Jua one of the orphaned girls who lives in our compound to visit her auntie who had just had a beautiful day old little boy. We sat down to visit when the mother called Sophie and I inside to see her baby.she then proceeded to explain to us that we were to name her first born son..whaaat!!! Was our general reaction.this complete stranger whom had just met us wants us to name her first born son?? First born sons are kinda a big deal in this place.and naming a child is something Sudanese take very seriously.they believe a name will follow a person their whole life and can determine how their life unfolds. So this is how Blessing Tamiko came to be named by two random khwaja girls wandering through his village ..I have always wanted to name a little boy Tamiko, but God may never bless me with a son so I figured I should seize the day!

2. I carried 20 liters!!

I have been training since we first arrived here liter by liter.day by day. to be able to pump, lift, and walk back to DOT with 20 liters on my head like the girls who work at our compound.like a real African lady...generally this produces much laughter from everyone I pass on the road and ends in me being soaked from head to toe..but on August 3, 2007 Emily Aliyah Young achieved success by Nimule standards...20 liters.not once but twice. PRAISE GOD!

3. I slept under the African stars.for a few hours

I have said it time and time again.but really and truly the stars are a completely different experience here. they seem lots closer and are as bright and natural as they are probably intended to be in the US if we didn't fill our air with trash. Our team decided to snuggle up on a bamboo mat on the ground last night and take on the night...needless to say we didn't make it entirely.but I tried my best until two tom cats decided to have a death match with one another 5 feet from my face.no thanks.

4. I cried in front of about 2,000 Africans

Our last Sunday in Nimule was this past Sunday and mass was pretty emotionally trying on all of us. At the end of mass I was asked to come up and speak and I think I got out a grand total of two sentences before my voice couldn't be understood. Thankfully I was in good company with the rest of our crying team standing next to me.either way I felt like a complete wimp.but such is life. These people have known so much pain it takes a lot to get a tear running down a Sudanese cheek, so I was truly touched by the strong Sudanese women who joined me in mourning..though happily our goodbye has been made easier because it's not goodbye it truly is a c-ya later.

5. I'm learning to say good-bye

I wish I could say something at this point that could explain what I'm feeling and all that I have learned, loved, and struggled with through this experience, but as you may have guessed it just isn't possible. That's the scariest thing about coming home and taking on the role of story-teller..can I remember? Can I provoke people to feel something and take action through my words? I pray I can.and I hope these e-mails have served as the first baby steps in that process. I hope the stories I have shared with you during my summer in
Nimule have touched, challenged, disturbed, and inspired each of you in some way. I am eager to come home and share even more and to see how God will use me to help these people I have grown to love and was honored to be in the presence of.

Enviro Fact: A UN report noted deforestation as a cause of fighting in Sudan . As the forests go, so goes the rainfall and the topsoil and the arable land--and what's left, people fight over. Meet Paskwale Ben and his NCP-supported reforestation project

Justice Fact : 45% of the Sudanese population is under 15 years of age--and facing an uncertain future, as education is hard to come by and jobs for young adults in very short supply. Help NCP help young Sudanese women get an education

Faith Fact: Christianity reached Sudan in the fourth century--about the same time Patrick was bringing the gospel to Ireland . Islam arrived later, and now the north is predominantly Arab and Muslim, the south African and Christian (along with traditional religions).