I was invited yesterday by Bienve, our host in Congo almost a year ago (in February), to send a message to the children at an upcoming feast (on Christmas), and I know it was a request for funds for this feast, and that is a fair trade. I feel good about providing funds and about sending a blessing.
Click here to read a prior post about Bienve Kamwendo, and here and here to read about my visit to this refugee camp.
I cannot cover the entire meal; if you would like to contribute even a small amount to this meal for hundreds of children in the refugee camp I visited, please see the purple box below. Money goes much farther in Africa, and the meal will be simple – rice, beans, cabbage, and a small amount of meat.
Here’s my Christmas day message to the chidren:
Last year it was a blessing for me to meet you, to sing with you, to watch the games and the dances, to touch your hands and to smile into your beautiful faces.
I will never forget the blessing of visiting you and finding your open hearts.
Don’t forget your sacred ways from your ancestors.
Remember the dance and the songs and the foods and your ancestral lands.
Don’t forget the stories that your parents tell you, and be sure to remember the names of your elders and ancestors.
I hope you will work hard to make this world a better place for all people.
See the good in others if you can. Sometimes it’s hiding, but it’s there most of the time. You will know. You will be able to feel it.
Hold a vision of a good world full of good people. I am praying for this, and simply trying to be good myself.
Let us all love our families and our neighbors and ourselves.
Don’t forget to love yourself.
When you are in a dark time, when you are struggling and sad or angry or hurt, reach out to the light of God, to the light of your ancestors and your loved ones, to Mother Earth, to the Sun and the Sky and the Water, and that which is closest to you. There is always a way to find comfort, whether inside yourself or outside yourself or in others. Quiet your mind and reach inside yourself to find out what you need to know, how to find the comfort, or what steps to take. This is the way to live life – for all of us.
I send you much love.
From the Mzungu, Annie, mother of Jeff who works with Bienve.
To contribute any amount to this meal, contact me at 8hummingbirdway@gmail.com
Would you like to know more about the nonprofit organization created by Bienve Kamwendo in Goma – Remember Youth for Change? https://www.facebook.com/rememberyouthforchange
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