News from MICAH

Friends of MICAH

This section is an attempt to keep you updated on the journeys of particular people and communities who continue to seek to follow the resurrected Christ in their lives.

June 2007

Much has happened since our last letter to y'all, though sometimes it feels as if we've become so accustomed to the daily life here at Jubilee that we are finding it hard to highlight events and happenings for our letter. Undeterred, we aim to make our last entry from this community (for the time being) equally as interesting as our previous ones.

During Holy Week, we had the opportunity to spend a day on the streets in Atlanta. This was courtesy of an urban community called Open Door, whose primary ministry is extending hospitality to people (mostly men) living on the streets of Atlanta. For the week before Easter they lead small groups of people on 12 and 24 hour shifts spending time with the people they minister to and visiting many of the places frequented by these folks. An eye-opening experience indeed.

Our Easter sunrise service was a little more chilly than we had been used to. In fact, we actually had a hard frost that has shattered the hopes for a bumper crop of blueberries, or any crop at all. Despite the weather, we all sang praises to God for the wonderful gift of the transformation of death to life. Afterwards we gathered in the K-House for a humongous brunch, more Ukranian Easter egg decorating, and lots of fun and visiting.

Work Boots had its first performance off Jubilee property on April 28. We played at the Carlton town festival, a few miles east of Jubilee. Decked out in our grungiest work clothes, we wowed the crowd with hit after number one hit. As a special treat, our Liberian friends had a few dance numbers to share. Unfortunately, this marks the beginning of a hiatus for Work Boots, though the members have not ruled out a reunion album/tour in the future.

At the end of April Heather's parents came to Jubilee! It has been great having them here for the month of May. M has been able to practice teaching (she¹s been taking an ESL teaching course for the past year) and G has broadened his handy-man skills ­ painting and installing doors, making repairs on various machines, and assisting in the assembly of a transportable chicken coop. At the end of the month they will be leaving for Washington, DC, the next stop on their year-long sabbatical. We are so happy that they chose to spend part of their time here getting to know the people who have become important to us.

Speaking of chickens, we had a chicken butchering. This was the first "hand's on" experience we have had but it sure was not our Burundi friends first time. K, a 10 year old Burundi boy, wowed us with his deft skill at calming the chickens, and then later, gutting the chickens. E and H, the Liberian sisters, took over the kitchen and prepared the roasted chicken the "African-way" (which we actually think means the "Liberian way"). As a result everyone learned the Swahili word for spicy ­ pilipili!

Shortly after this experience, it was time to part ways with our friends from Liberia, who now live in Atlanta. We enjoyed the times we spent together with them, often listening to loud hip-hop music in their tiny house or in the common area at the school while roasting meat in the woodstove. It was hard to say good bye, but we¹ve had many opportunities to visit them in their new home since then and soon they will have a phone so that we can keep in touch. And there's always email, which Heather had
taught them to do in computer class.

Since then we have welcomed 3 new Burundi families to Jubilee! The excitement of volunteers, partners, and refugees has been almost uncontainable, as the Welcome Center fills with the sights and sounds of a small village. Most memorable will be the sounds of the music that our Burundi friends have shared with us. They have blessed us with their singing almost every Sunday worship that they¹ve been here. Last Sunday, G, B, and Joel went down to have a recording session with what turned out to be 13 Burundis (the last family had not arrived yet). They were expecting only the parents of the families, but were pleasantly surprised by the (mostly) focused enthusiasm of nine children.

With the arrival of all these new people, our teaching responsibilities have been changing almost weekly. By the time we finished our classes for the term last Friday, Heather was teaching four adults with almost no English as well as teaching the art of fridges, freezers, and toilets to the new families (this was in Swahili!), Joel was teaching S (the father of the first Burundi family to arrive), and both were doing childcare, which consisted of three children between two and five years, and one eight year old child with special needs.

It has been most astonishing to see S's progress in class. When he and his family arrived, he knew no English. Now, with just over two months of classes, he has begun reading and even helping others with their English! S and his family have been invited to stay at Jubilee for the summer (most families only stay at Jubilee for 2 months). We are confident that when we leave he will be just as good at translating as Heather has been.

Heather picked up the newest Burundi family last Thursday. This family represents the beginning of what many hope to be a wave of Burundis coming out of Tanzania. Burundi refugees in Tanzania fall into two categories ­ the 1994 refugees and the 1972 refugees. While the families that have already come to Jubilee have been in Tanzania for about 12 years, C, the 53 year old father of our new family, has been in the refugee camp for over 30 years! His wife Y was born in the camps. It is unbelievable to think of people spending their whole lives in a country they don¹t consider their home. The qualities of perseverance and courage are implied in the smiling faces and joyous singing of our friends who have endured so much in the search for peace and life. It is clear that their faith has been immensely important in that journey. As we set off on another leg of our own journey, we are thankful that we have these new friends to remember and who will remember us.

Love,
Joel and Heather

House-keeping Notes: As we are indeed leaving Jubilee (early Tuesday morning), we can no longer be reached at jubileevolunteers@igc.org, but you can reach still reach us at petersandkroeker@yahoo.ca.
Our new mailing address as of June 28 is:
4F Ilwoo Bldg. 817-21 Yeoksam-Dong
Kangnam-Gu, Seoul, South Korea 135-080

Tel.: 82-2-554-9615

Between now and then, you can try to call us at the following numbers:

In Manitoba (first part of June): 1-204-326-1233
In Saskatchewan (last part of June): 1-306-544-2633

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April 2007

Spring has Arrived in Georgia

As the pollen comes down off the trees and covers everything with a green crust we wait in anticipation for rain to water our garden and trees. Spring has arrived in Georgia ­ trees are flowering, seeds that we planted have sprouted, and the Canadians decided that it was warm enough to go swimming in the ponds. March has been an entirely different month here at Jubilee. While we have not had as many opportunities to travel outside this county the world has been coming to us. March has been filled with many visitors and new people here at Jubilee.

Throughout this past month we have had college groups from various schools come do a week of service here during their spring break. For the students it means they work in the garden, help in the classroom, paint, build, and attend sessions on community, refugees, and peace. For us it means lots of food to prepare, getting to know many interesting young people, and having many helping hands around. Now that the season for spring breaks is over the K-house (our main communal building) has quieted down for a week. Soon it will be buzzing again as many visitors come celebrate Easter with us.

We also welcomed two new families this month. A group of 5 siblings from Liberia came at the beginning of March. We had been anticipating this family for a number of weeks before their arrival. We had heard that they had experienced much trauma ­ losing both of their parents, being harassed and put in jail in Guinea, and not being able to attend school for a number of years. We were not sure how they would adjust to life in America or to life at Jubilee. We have learned a lot from these siblings, aged 15-22. While they do experience much pain in their memories, they have also brought such a strong faith with them. They have a great sense of humour, hospitality, and they are always supporting each other. This was especially evident this past week as we brought them swimming, canoeing, and then white-water rafting all for the first times. R, the oldest, who claimed to have a fear of water only a few weeks ago, chose to go over a Class 4 rapid because "he saw Jesus in the water."

We only had a 2 day notice for the next family that arrived at Jubilee. A Burundi family of 4 came a week after the Liberians. While the Liberian family has an excellent grasp of conversational English (their grammar is what needs to be worked on) this Burundi father and his three young children have no English skills. This family has also been through a lot of pain and suffering. Not only has S, the father, been a refugee in Tanzania for the past 15 years, his marriage fell apart shortly before they got their papers to come to America. So he had to leave his youngest child and estranged wife in Tanzania. He has appeared shell-shocked much of the time, realizing that he not only needs to learn a new language and way of life but also how to be a single parent.

The Burundis' arrival put new responsibilities on Heather as she is the only person at Jubilee that has any grasp of Swahili. So for the past month she has been busy brushing up her long-forgotten knowledge of the language (it has been 6 years since she was in Tanzania), taking the family to medical appointments and to the grocery store, teaching S about North American living and eating, and being the person that he can simply talk to about his many concerns. This has been trying and tiring at times. While Heather feels that she is able to communicate to the family with the words she knows it is a lot harder understanding them, because their vocabulary is so much larger. However, at times it really feels like S just needs someone to talk to and it doesn't matter how much is understood (except for the time Heather almost agreed to teach him how to drive).

While we welcomed new faces to Jubilee this month we also said good-bye to our Sudanese family. It was amazing to watch them come out of their shells and become comfortable with their lives here, especially in their last few weeks as they got ready to leave. Joel had the pleasure of helping them move into their apartment in Atlanta. This was the beginning to many more adjustments in the months to come. Joel had the slightly amusing task of teaching K how an electric stove worked (as opposed to the gas ones at Jubilee). She just couldn't understand why there was no fire!

With these shifting dynamics our teaching assignments have also shifted. Joel is now teaching the children's class and the adult beginner class. Heather will soon be teaching the children's class as well and has been trying to teach the Liberians how to use computers. This has been a challenge in a world/library of computers that freeze all the time. Also all they want to do is email.

The farm life here at Jubilee continues. Five new kids were born to the goats, we just got a guard donkey named Sadie, and we incubated 58 eggs in one of our abandoned volunteer rooms in the K-house. Of these 58 eggs only 2 hatched (both after the 21 day deadline all eggs supposedly have). So they are our miracle chicks, named David Franklin and Helmut the Miracle. They are starting to smell bad and will soon be taken outside where the non-cute chickens live.

We have attached a writing of Joel's. It is called "Udderly Inspiring: Milking a Cow as a Metaphor for Spiritual Discipline." Take time to read it. It is insightful.

Thanks, as always, for all your support.

Peace,
Heather and Joel

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Udderly Inspiring:
Milking a Cow as a Metaphor for Spiritual Discipline

As you know, I've been helping milk Rhoda, Jubilee's milk cow. If you've ever milked a cow ­ by hand ­ you will know that it is no quick task; it takes time. During that time you can do one of two things: you can either a) think about nothing, or b) think about the spiritual significance of what you are doing. While I did a lot of the former, I'd like to share with you some insights that I've had while milking as they pertain to spiritual discipline.

First of all, milking must be done at set times. Here, we milk around 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Making a commitment to a routine is important, because if we just milked when we felt like it, Rhoda would eventually get sick and die. At times it is hard to get up in the morning or to pull away from an activity in the evening, but if we want Rhoda to be healthy, she must be milked. I think the same sort of thing happens when we decide we will only pray or read the Bible or any other discipline when we feel like it. Eventually, our relationship with God suffers. To make a commitment to a time in the day which you will set aside for interacting with God in whatever way helps our relationship.

When I first started to milk Rhoda it took a very long time, and it felt very long as well. My hands were not used to the movements of milking, and I fumbled and bumbled in a struggle to complete the task. Russ, my milking mentor, encouraged me to focus more on rhythm rather than speed; to get the movements down and then try to speed up. Now when I milk it does't take quite as long but, most importantly, it doesn't feel as long. I have found a rhythm that works for me, and by the time I am done, it feels like only a few minutes have passed. When one finds a suitable rhythm to prayer time, it can be a long, and enjoyable, activity. Teaching body or soul new routines takes the same two ingredients: time and patience.

Again, if any of you have milked by hand, you know what a test of patience it can be. Here in Georgia, the weather is getting warmer and that means the flies are coming out. This means only one thing in terms of milking: lots of kicking and fidgeting, for which one needs lots of patience. Now granted, God doesn't so much kick and fidget as take longer to answer that we'd sometimes like, but it is similar. All I want is to get the milking finished, but Rhoda insists on moving around and, seemingly purposely, almost kicking over the pail. It is tempting to yell or swear at her in hopes that it will make her stay still, just as it is tempting to try rushing God into giving an answer according to our will rather than the divine. Ultimately I must wait for Rhoda to calm down, speaking patiently to her not harshly, and we must learn to abide by God¹s schedule instead of expecting God to abide by ours.

With milking, as with spiritual discipline, it is easy to get distracted by surface concerns. For example, when I was first starting Russ said that once a good rhythm was established I would be able to get a nice foam on the top of the milk. I became preoccupied with this for a while, becoming discouraged when I would get a little foam, but then lose it because my rhythm was off. I soon came to the realization that this was not something to get bent out of shape about. Just like it doesn't matter whether I was to bring the milk in for processing or give it to the chickens (which is sometimes the case when we have an abundance). The important thing is that Rhoda is being milked and is therefore healthy. It is the same for me with prayer. I find it easy to get caught up in the trappings of the spiritual life ­ looking the part as it were ­ and let the most important aspect, the discipline itself, fall to the wayside.

I hope that these thoughts give you a bit of a glimpse into spiritual discipline, or milking, or both. I know that for me, understanding a concept indirectly is sometimes simpler than facing it head on. I can only assume I am not alone, and that some of you will benefit from this writing.

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February 2007

Life and Death on the Farm

People who have lived or are living in a farm setting know that life and death simply comes with the territory. This month we joyfully experienced the birth of two goat kids to our new goat herd and we are anticipating some more births at any moment. At the same time one of the older goats was injured and needed to be shot, butchered, and distributed among the freezers. While it was hard to listen to the gunshot that killed our dear goat the refugees are rejoicing in the abundance of meat. Joel was also forced to bury up to 6 chickens in one week during a cold spell when they would try to keep each other warm at night but instead ended up smothering each other.

Life and death has also crept into our personal lives this month. Our Ferdinand needed to be put down after it was discovered that he had feline leukemia. For those of you who don't know, although we assume most do, we raised two orphaned farm kittens, Ferdinand and his sister Dot from their infancy - feeding them with an eyedropper, teaching them to use a litter box, training Ferdinand to act like a dog for Joel's benefit. It was hard to say goodbye to them when we moved from Swift Current, even though they were going to a good home. And despite having said goodbye once it now feels like we need to say goodbye again. It has been sad. But we have rejoiced this month as well when we heard the news that we had become an aunt and uncle for the first time! Joel's brother and sister-in-law, D and I, had a son on February 6th. His name is A and he is terribly cute - if the pictures are any indication. We are looking forward to getting to know him better in a few short months.

February has been a full month with varied weather, a couple trips, some added responsibilities, southern firsts, and an album.

We also got that cold front that most of you farther north received. But our Georgia snow storm consisted of mostly rain with some sleet. During one of these cold spells we kept the fire roaring in the large common building, which is also where some of the volunteers sleep. One night Heather noticed quite a lot of smoke billowing from the seams of the chimney. It didn't look right at all. Upon further inspection we noticed there were flames shooting from the top of it. So yes, it was a chimney fire. A partner climbed to the roof (or "ruff") with the fire extinguisher and we soaked a quilt to stop the logs from burning. Everything got under control again quite quickly but it smelled awful. That night we slept under many blankets and open windows. Recently the weather has been warm and balmy and the wild onions are thriving.

We've been inspired by a number of people willing to share their stories. In Athens we listened as S C, a young African-American from Louisiana, told of his wrongful conviction and subsequent sentence to death row. He spent 11 years there before getting acquitted of all charges. His story of racism and injustice within the justice system was a hard one to hear, but his perseverance and hope throughout his experience was moving.

In Atlanta we heard of struggle with and within a broken justice system built on vengeance and the demonization of people. First through the story of a man whose mentally ill brother murdered to get onto death row, and then through an Oklahoma City bombing victim¹s journey from anger to forgiveness through studying Jesus¹ life. On another trip to Atlanta we experienced the two-and-a-half hour worship service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, whose former pastors include Martin Luther King, Jr., and spending an afternoon learning about his work and life.

Rounding out these thought-provoking experiences was a twenty-four hour retreat to at a monastery near Conyers, GA with the rest of the volunteers and a few partners. It was definitely a cultural experience to worship together with the monks ­ especially at four in the morning! It was also a refreshing time, sitting outside enjoying the warm weather, reading, and quieting our souls.

Back on "the farm," we became the dairy king and queen for ten days while our friends R and C were visiting newborn relatives in Canada. Joel did finally get the hang of milking and did the evening milking as well filling in for the morning replacement a few times. Heather learned to make cottage cheese, making a great batch on her first try! With his success "running" a "dairy," combined with beginning to read a collection of agricultural essays by Wendell Berry, Joel has decided to become a farmer. He has already written a song inspired by this choice and said author, so he must be serious.

Another songwriting muse, and also one of our "southern firsts" was making the journey to nearby Royston for all-you-can-eat catfish, at a place called Booty¹s Fish House. For those unfamiliar with the catfish experience it really is beyond words, but, as the song, which shares its name with this fine establishment, states, "everything's deep-fried Ocept the coleslaw." Indeed.

We were blessed to have eight Canadian friends (two couples and a family of four) come for a ten day visit at the end of February. It was a joy to re-connect with these folks, some of whom we had not seen for some time. With our friends P and E we enjoyed another southern first: Barbeque (or BBQ). This genre of food is also mostly beyond words, but if you love pork and white bread, you¹ve struck gold with barbeque.

Surely by now some of you are curious about this previously mentioned album. As part of the "rpm challenge" ( www.rpmchallenge.com) to record an album within the month of February, G, a partner, and Joel, with help from many other community people and a friend in Saskatchewan, wrote and recorded a fourteen song album ­ not to mention formed their band, work boots, as well. A whirlwind experience for sure, but full of fun and excitement ­ and some pressure ­ right up until the end. We are currently awaiting offers from major labels.

It is amazing to think that we have made it through almost this entire letter without mentioning refugees ­ one of the main reasons that Jubilee exists! We have continued to enjoy our new Sudanese friends, who seem to be coming out of their shells, slow as it may seem to us. Joel has begun learning a song in Mabaan, their tribal language, from S (the sixteen-year-old), and Heather continues to enjoy much non-verbal communication with her student K. It was a very proud moment when K confidently introduced herself in front of a group of 50 people the other weekend. Despite K's limited English and Heather's limited Mabaan, they are becoming good friends.

Even though this news should technically be in our March writing, we can't help but share our joy at welcoming a new family to Jubilee just this afternoon! We are excited to get to know this Liberian family of 5 siblings who already have beat Joel at a couple ping-pong matches.

Thank you for you ongoing support and prayers.
Blessings,
Heather and Joel

706.783.5131 ext 109
Box 68, Comer GA, 30629
And remember, if you email put our names in the subject line!

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January 2007

We have now been down south for about 4 weeks. We are settling in nicely to the warmer weather - even though the forecast has called for a chance of snow in the next few days we are looking forward to how the people will react if this does happen. Apparently sometimes school is cancelled when there is only a prediction of snow. This is all the kids here at Jubilee, ages 11 - 17, have been able to talk about for the past number of days. However, until the snow actually does fly we are enjoying daffodils blooming, balmy afternoons in the garden, and being outside only in a sweatshirt. A daily activity for us Canadian volunteers, there is 4 of us, is to try to wrap our heads around the F - C conversion. Most people here do seem to have a grasp of Celsius and we have a general grasp of Fahrenheit so it does all work out in the end. The mornings this past week have been a chilly 0 - 5 C. But different weather is not the only thing we are adjusting to. We have eased our way into this community of about 25 people and are quite enjoying the relationships that are forming here. The partners, or permanent residence, here are an eclectic group of people with varied backgrounds. Part of the experience for volunteers is to share and hear people's spiritual/life journeys. It has been interesting to hear how everyone has come to this community, whether as a volunteer or partner. Everyone has such different paths. Joel and I were inspired by one of our fellow volunteers who shared about his experience claiming CO status during the Vietnam War. At the time he did not know anyone else who had done this, and in fact it was many years before he felt comfortable telling people about it. I have also been struck by the honesty of people when they are telling their stories. They do not shy away from their faults and weaknesses, or the hard times in their life.

Not only has relationship building been an important experience during this first month but training for our new "jobs" has also taken up much time. Joel has been busy learning how to milk Rhoda the cow, who provides milk, butter, cream, and cheese for the community. What a big job! He feels as though he is finally getting the hang of it - it is not as simple as it looks. Joel also has been building things - a deck, a shelf, a goat fence, putting up fascia. Joel's other big job is bike maintenance but so far no one has wrecked any bikes - although I gave it a good try yesterday when I ran into a bridge/Joel. Bike's fine, Heather is OK.

I work in the garden. I spread mulch, I plant peas, I weed, I dig up dirt. And it seems as though every time I am out in the garden I get attacked by fire ants. My hands are covered with bites from the numerous times I have sat/put my hand in/stood on a ant hill. Apparently these hills are quite obvious and apparently the ants move slowly during this time of year. My other job, which is not as hazardous, is correspondence assistant. This means I write letters to people on behalf of other people. It is sort of fun. Lots of people are always writing Jubilee and since there is no explicit fundraising that happens here the idea is that if we respond to these interested people and create relationships with them they will in turn support us, however needed. It seems like a good method because it has worked for 30 years.

Joel and I also recieved ESL training here and we have been fortunate to put this in to use. When we arrived there were no refugees here - quite an unusual event. But now there is a Sudanese family of 7 - mom, dad, dad's brother, and 4 kids. Before coming here the family spent 10 years at a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Joel is teaching the Advanced class ­ B and S. B, the father, has very good conversational English, and his brother S is quiet, but has a good grasp of written English. They are enjoying reading the "Very Easy True Stories" Series. So far they've read about a pet penguin who shops for fish - Joel acted out how a penguin walks and they laughed. Also, there was a story about a couple who had quadruplets - according to B, this has never happened in his tribe. Ever.

I am teaching K, the mother, who has never been in school, has no literacy skills, and knows no English. It has been slow and I have had to remind myself to be patient. Today we made it through the whole alphabet - this was a great achievement. But K has a great smile and is willing to laugh at herself if she makes mistakes and laughs at me when I am being goofy - today I kept running into the wall so I could demonstrate what the word "hurt" meant, too bad she wasn't around when I crashed the bike.

We have also been doing some childcare for the 1 and 4 year old. This has definitely been a challenge for both of us since a lot of tantrums are thrown. Lots.

The one disappointing phenomenon is that our volunteer group is dwindling. In the beginning there were 8 of us - 4 Canadian Mennos, 3 Americans, and 1 German. After one week the German girl said that the community aspect here was a bit too intense and so she left. Then one of the Americans left due to some health issues. Today one of the other Americans, who is part of a couple, fell off a ladder and broke his wrist in two places. We are not sure what this will mean but we really are hoping for the best. Also, M, one of us Canadians, came with a injured knee and may need to return to Canada for surgery. We are also hoping for the best regarding this. Not only are we not able to enjoy as wide a variety of people with such a small volunteer group it also means that the volunteer jobs - teaching, driving, painting, lunch prep, and many other miscellaneous jobs are loaded up on the rest of us.

We hope that this gives you a small glimpse into what we are doing down in Georgia. We are planning/hoping to send an (mass - it really is only for efficiency sake) update once a month on our thoughts, teaching stories, and other bike adventures. If you want to respond, and we would love it if you did, send a reply to this address with our names in the subject box. Or mail us a care package - c/o Jubilee Partners, Box 68, Comer GA, 30629. Or phone us 706.783.5132 (or 5131 or 5133) ext 109.

Peace and Blessings,
Heather and Joel

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