Why we are only planting sweet potatoes

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I received this email from my friend and ally Bienvenu Kamwendo 2 days ago. In Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo they have suffered great hardship in the past year. Soldiers have taken over this area on behalf of the “International Mafia” seeking to mine valuable high-tech minerals there, and there has been significant loss of life and freedom, including the loss of a woman’s husband there, a woman Therese, who I met and worked with during my brief time in Congo.

Bienve’s work with Remember Youth for Change has been impacted greatly. Click here to read about this man who I visited in February 2024 and his work with refugees, child soldiers, and disenfranchised youth in Goma.

Dear Friend and Partner, 

At Remember Youth for Change (R.Y.C.) , we aren’t waiting for the perfect moment to start—we are working with what we have. 

Right now, our youth are in the fields of Mudja planting *sweet potatoes*. We chose this “survival crop” because, as *renters*, we cannot risk planting long-term, high-yield seeds on land we don’t own. We are farming for today, but we are dreaming of tomorrow.

*We are participating in the GlobalGiving “Little by Little” Campaign, and we have two small requests for you:

1.  Give $5: In Goma, $10 is a brick in our foundation. It helps us move toward our *$35,000 goal* to buy this land permanently and stop paying $3,800 in annual rent.

2.  *Share the Link:*This is just as important as a donation. Please forward this email or share our link with *3 friends*. A personal recommendation from you carries more weight than any advertisement.

Act now on our GlobalGiving Page:

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/farming-for-community-affected-by-war-in-d-r-c/

By giving $10 and sharing our story, you are helping us transition from “displaced tenants” to sovereign landowners. Let’s reach this goal, little by little, together.

With gratitude,

Bienvenu Kamwendo 

Founder, Remember Youth for Change (R.Y.C.)

Goma, Eastern DRC

Watssap : +243852753375

Website: https://www.rememberyouth.org/

US dollars go a great deal farther in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read my Africa posts from early 2024 or click the link at the top of this page to learn more about Bienve and his sacred work of generosity.

Share this post with compassionate and generous others.

Thank you – Annie

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CHANNELED MESSAGE – Move into Freedom

LEI LEI SPEAKS

UPDATE –>This message is about stepping into freedom of expression and action by facilitating a connection to your soul as well as a connection to your heart.

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Thank you for listening to this message.

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Informative Emotions

A couple of weeks ago, I was told that a family member in his early 20s was going to propose marriage to the woman in his life.

My response was not positive. Nor were the messenger’s feelings about this matter.

He did his best to dissuade the person of his intent …and thought he had succeeded.

A few minutes ago, I received a photo of a proposal and acceptance.

Chills ran through my body and I became teary.

At this moment, I have no doubt that this is a positive choice.

Am I simply succumbing to the romance of the moment? No – not my pattern.

At this moment, I simply trust my emotional response.

I am fully supportive.

I have sent congratulations.

And of course, I have no power in this. I simply get to respond to a choice already made.

This is a very different situation than considering what might be.

What other way is there to be?

Any opinion I might have had no longer has a place within me.

Should I harbor doubts about their future? Absolutely not. How would that be helpful?

They have chosen to commit to a path they are actually already walking.

I get to be supportive and joyful on their behalf.

And I truly FEEL that way.

In this moment, I am grateful to my emotional response for clarity and guidance.

Selfish thought: Perhaps babies will come!

This thought followed right on the heels of my happiness on behalf of the happy couple.

I miss babies, but at least it wasn’t my first thought.

It took a good 2 or 3 minutes to arise within me.

I won’t be voicing this to the couple.

I will however rejoice …if and when I hear it from them.

Life continues on its way …with my support and gratitude.

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CHANNELED MESSAGE – Navigating global disharmony

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This message is about walking through this time of global clashes on Earth.

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CHANNELED MESSAGE – Call Forth Joy!

LEI LEI SPEAKS

This message is about how to bring joy into your life, which will assist you in expanding and enhancing your human experience.

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A Dream of Learning to Expand into Love

I recently had a lovely dream about the steps and lessons along the way of life.

There were lessons at various stations/locations, teachings about how to live, how to communicate, about negotiation, kindness, sexuality, and other aspects of the way we navigate our lives.

There were other individuals along this trail, and some stations were difficult to reach, to navigate, and/or to understand.

One was in an auditorium or theater – with rows of seats – and had something to do with understanding and acceptance of various orientations and ways …of self and others.

One was in a beautiful natural setting that was difficult to find …and even to see or perceive.

I remember talking with another person about the challenges of reaching these locations …as we sat on the auditorium chairs …not realizing that we were IN a teaching place at the time.

The journey could be walking or riding or simply being somewhere.

It involved being open-minded and seeing/understanding.

One could go to a teaching station and completely miss the lesson.

It was a beautiful dream and I felt honored by the message and excited about the levels of understanding and connection that I am learning to choose …through experience, and through the beautiful lessons.

As I thought about the dream, I realized that there has been a shift in my sexual orientation – more focus on alignment with my husband than on our individual pleasure.

Then my mind went to the day before when my husband and I discussed the placement of a used rug he’d bought. I had brought it into the living room and placed where I thought it should obviously go. He came into the room a bit later and joined me on the couch …and within a few minutes he said he had envisioned the rug in a different orientation. I consciously resisted the usual path of overriding his ridiculous idea. This would have been my choice in the past – not saying it was ridiculous but pushing my vision as the right one. Normally he would give way to this tactic.

On this day, however, we discussed it for a while and then decided to try it the way he preferred. We worked on getting it just right, moving the coffee table and getting it just as he wanted it.

This is way out of character for me – or for a prior version of me.

Eventually he decided that it worked better the original way, but I didn’t control the situation …or control him as I would have tried to do in the past. (He is historically more flexible than I regarding that sort of thing.)

He also has been shifting his energy toward me. I am experiencing much more support and appreciation from him, and much less of a critical focus on my cooking and other aspects of our life together.

We are liking each other more and learning harmoniousness!

I suppose life IS a classroom, kind of like in my dream …if one pays attention and is open-minded.


I want to say, in closing, that I had been feeling that my recent focus on not judging others was a final step in becoming a person I feel good about being.

Now I realize there is no end!

There are SO many ways of living our lives that could expand and improve – kindness, generosity, open-mindedness, supportiveness, holding one’s tongue, and on and on.

I feel excited about this, and curious about what’s ahead.

I also want to remind the reader that I have come to believe that dreams are messages from one’s soul.

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CHANNELED MESSAGE – Release your Trauma, Loss, and Pain

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This message offers guidance on releasing your trauma, loss, and pain.

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Snowshoeing!

Snowshoes helped me make friends with the winter up here.

When I lived in the hills, we had 5 acres of woods behind our home, and both neighbors ok’d me hiking in their woods, so I made long snowshoe trails when there was enough snow.

One afternoon I was out a bit late, and the full moon lit up the woods …creating beautiful shadows and enabling me to see the path into the night!

I was out a lot that week.

It’s rare that decent snow and the full moon happen at the same time.

We had it in early February, but …brrr!

My neighbor saw my Facebook post about it and texted that she would love to go snowshoeing with me.

We determined that the temperatures were too low to go out at night – frostbite after 15 minutes!

We bundled ourselves up and did a 30-minute daytime snowshoe along the creek. Loved it.

I went again solo the next day – forgetting the rule about waiting 2 days after beginning new exercises.

My legs hurt and I only lasted 20 minutes that day, then gave it 2 days and went out again for 40 minutes.

After a 3 day cold blast, we went out again the following week.

I love to be in the woods; that trek was an hour at the nearby Arboretum. I’m not sure we’ll be able to do much longer, since we’re not spring chickens …and we have had to break trail each time we go out.

I’m hoping to strengthen and take a longer trek if my neighbor hangs in there. (Being alone on a long snowshoe at 70 doesn’t seem wise.)

It there’s a decent base of snow and the mild temperatures persist when the moon lights up the night, we’ll be out there soon.

I can’t count on it, but I’m grateful for what we’ve been able to do already.

I have to say it truly changes my experience of the winter.

I wake each morning with plans to get outside and tromp about!

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CHANNELED MESSAGE – Seek Beneficial Information

LEI LEI SPEAKS

This message is about avoiding information that is fear-inducing or triggering. Lei Lei advises us to seek beneficial messages and sources of information that bring joy, wisdom, and self-love.

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