Life in the IDP camps in Kenya

Over the past several months Kenyans have been working hard to bridge the divides of tribalism and class that peaked during the 2007 elections. Our East Africa Coordinator, Edwin Angote, recently took some photos of life in the Kenyan IDP camps.

Lahash Vibrant Trip fundraisers

The Vibrant team is hard at work preparing for our next trip to East Africa. Over the next month we need your help as we journey!

The team is raising funds to travel and partner with the Tanzania brothers and sisters in Dodoma. You can donate online to the trip by visiting the Donation Page - and selecting "Vibrant Lahash Trip 08" as the destination for your gift.

Also you can join us for the following events:

• May 9 - Beach Runner Showing
  The independent film "Beach Runner2" will be showing in Portland at First Covenant Church (107 NE 45th Ave, Portland, OR 97213) at 7 PM. Come out for this fun movie and a chance to hear more about the trip. $5 cover charge. Contact Kam Dill for more information.
  
• May 10 - Urban Photo Scavenger Hunt Extravaganza
  Team up in groups of two to take photos around Portland. Contact Lindsay at 503.250.0538 or by email to take part or for further details.
  
• May 17 - Garage Sale
  Located at Josh and Kameron Dill's home (17812 SE Clay Street, PDX, 97233) during the day of the 17th of May. Contact Kam Dill for more information.

Bernice and Drew travel to Sudan

This week two travelers from Florida will be journeying up to Kajo Keji, Sudan. Bernice Lopez and Drew Reich are partnering with IWASSRU to help the orphans of Sudan. Bernice will be staying 2 weeks, and Drew will be staying 2 months. Please pray for them and the staff as they head up to Sudan.

Amazing Grace Field Day!

Rick and Faye Meyer are friends from Portland and Imago Dei Community. They've joined the exciting partnership that the Theisen family has with the Sudanese. Over the past two months Rick and Faye have been loving and caring for the kids at the Amazing Grace. Each week they spend time in discipleship, games, songs, and conversation with the children.

This past week they held a "Field day" at the orphanage. Faye writes, "We made sure to explain that a field day meant games & fun, not returning to the fields for digging as they had already done for two hours before our arrival."
You can see more photos and read more about their day here: Life In Transition

Vibrant Lahash trip Intro

Vibrant 08 Trip Meeting

We had another great team meeting last night with the Vibrant '08 Tanzania team. There are now 8 of us scheduled to travel during the first two weeks of June.

• Adam McInturf
• Liz Harrison
• Lindsay Ross-Hunt
• Trina Heiderman
• Leisha Adams
• Kam Dill
• Erin Holcomb
• Dan Holcomb

Watch for more updates and events from this team in the upcoming month! And here are some photos so far of our team preparing for travel.

Odds and Ends...

Stephen Alvarez is a photographer who has visited the partnerships in Uganda and Sudan. His beautiful work has appeared in National Geographic and Time. He recently started a blog called Picture Story Blog to give background info on some of his favorite photos. One of the orphans at Amazing Grace, Morris Taban, is in one of his photos this week.

So the United States Government rebate checks are heading into mailboxes soon, and a local Northwest organization is urging people to use the money to donate to organizations assisting vulnerable people around the world. Lahash is partnered with RISE08 to spread the news!