Back, Safe, Home Again

As Robin M. wrote, we're back from PacYM. It was a rich, deep week of worship and a lot of hard work for me related to the children's program. Thanks for your prayers. It ended up going pretty well. We got through the rougher spots okay, and the children generally had a good time. They got some Quaker curriculum through meeting for worship, community building, and the presence of loving adults.

» Funny, I was doing this work for my children, and yet I didn't see my family all that much! Actually, they saw me around a lot, and they knew I was helping out, so I think they felt some security about that. In fact, Second Son was much less clingy than he was even at FGC a month ago. It helped that he was one of the oldest kids in the preschool program, and also that the Sunday before PYM started, we hung out in Santa Barbara with our Friend Kate and her two kids. Her two are almost the same ages as our two, and her daughter and Second Son really got to be buddies through the week. Is there anything cuter than 4- and 5-year-olds hugging goodbye?

» Meanwhile, I have hit the wall the last two days at the office. Way too much blog-surfing. I realized my heart is not yet clear after PYM. Tonight, once I publish this post, my task is to sit with my journal and just try to spill my guts onto paper. PYM's extra time for worship and discernment, and the worshipful space that the work with the children frequently entered, was in the Power. As was the gathering of convergent Friends in Los Angeles. So, I'm not going to be very productive at home or at work until I get clear.

» It doesn't help that my office is very quiet this week. Our regular admin assistant is still on medical leave, and the Friend who is temporarily helping out is away for a few days. Our organizer left at the end of July. She's now part of a Fellowship of Reconciliation delegation to Colombia, and next month she'll join the staff to support their Colombia Program.

» What's amazing is my previous connection to that work: Our Friend Chris Moore-Backman spent eight months with FOR doing human rights accompaniment work in the peace village of San Jose de Apartado. I was on his clearness committee and his support committee, and I arranged a meeting with the staff of my U.S. Representative so he could get a letter from a U.S. Congress Member!

» Helpful news for housing advocates: You can now see the number of new affordable homes that could have been built at the National Priorities Project's cost of War calculator: Homes Not Bombs! (You can also pick up the cost of war calculator that I've got in my sidebar. I'm not adept at javascript so I couldn't figure out any way to put the number of new homes in the sidebar, too.)

» Finally, Friends who were at PYM are reminded to pray for Tony Prete, that he may have strength on Wednesday, 8/9/06.

Blessings to you and yours!