There are a couple of new songs up over at the Lahash website, one of them is the off of the brand new Amazing Grace Children's Choir CD - Thank You Lord For Your Mercies. It's a song built with the traditional instruments of Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan, and sung in the Bari language. The name of the song is Negrot Kokubu which means "The Light Shines." It speaks of the light of Jesus shining in the East, West, North and South.
You can download it, along with another free song from Tanzania. The song from Tanzania is titled Kitu Gani and asks what can compare with our savior Jesus Christ. The song is a common song - but performed by Vita Kissi, the fellow heading up the choir at the church where we will be sponsoring some orphans through the Orphan Sponsorship Program of Dodoma.

On Saturday we inagurated ERM with Emmanuel Sitaki of Rwanda. While we hung around talking after the event, I spoke with a lady named Vicky Trabosh who is heading up a very similar program to Lahash - focusing on the needs of Rwanda. We hope to be able to share some of our ideas in the upcoming year! Pretty cool. And check out the organization's website (www.itafari.org) - both logos use the Acacia tree! Wow.

Updates from around the world.
The photo above is from Nick in Kenya. It gives some perspective on the AIDS crisis in Africa - these are graves. Graves in Eldoret Kenya that have been dug and filled just since this past December. The grass hasn't even grown back yet. Please continue to pray for Nick and the team as they face day after day of the despair of HIV.

I've been working on video of our trip to Sudan and Uganda. If you have Quicktime installed, you can click on this link to visit a segment of the video - our day trip to Magiri Sudan to assist the widows and lepers of the community. Kara Starr will be managing the campaign to assist the people of the leper community there.

For those of you interested in the broad picture in Africa - the World Economic Forum in Davos has some fascinating perspectives, podcasts and webcasts to look into. Although Africa is less in the spotlight this year - you can visit this page to view some video of Bono and other discussing steps forward for Africa. And one of the top issues is moving from aid to empowerment. This is key here - and I believe an immensely important step.

Bono and some others are launching "Project Red" a curious campaign to capitalize on the interest in Africa, and get corporations and consumers to help Africa through... good old fashioned Capitalism.

Speaking of aid, my brother Phil just sent me over to this link:

"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"

I really recommend reading the article. It's an interview with a Kenyan describing the crippling effects of aid in Africa. I have a bunch of comments about the article, and Karin sent me some of her comments as well. But I'd love to hear your thoughts on the article. And how can assistance to Africa be less crippling and more encouraging and empowering?

And finally, one more little plug for my friend Emmanuel Sitaki - who will be officially opening his organization ERM tomorrow, Central Bible Church, Portland Oregon, 7:00 PM. All are welcome!

Video Editing - Portland Oregon

I've been working the past couple of days on editing the video from our journey. The ladies here in Portland - Laura, Erin, and Karin were all quite articulate and emotive during the process - and combining that with some of Mike's comments - the feature will end up being very informative and powerful. I'm really excited about how it's turning out at the moment. Tim Bata from Uganda is midway through the recording, and he's collected several local artists playing traditional music for the soundtrack. I feel my best method of conveying the mission and purpose of this organization is through video, so I'm glad this is turning out so well.

My parents are heading back out to Sudan this next week. My dad will be teaching the Bible to some pastors there, and my mom will be doing some teaching as well - helping with English and maybe some Solar Panel cooking for the bushlands. You can be praying for them for the long trip, the safety there, and that they will be a major encouragement to the friends in Sudan. The security in Sudan isn't the best at the moment.

With my parents heading over, they can also take a couple luggage items, which means that we'll be sending some gifts for the kids and staff in Sudan. There have been some great gifts that have arrived in the office recently - a package of clothing dyes and sewing materials for the widows, and 3 boxes of soap, shampoo, washcloths, and toothbrushes from a lady and her kids in North Carolina! If any of you would like to send some small gifts over - particularly Portland people since this is at a late hour - let me know. They can take letters, some clothes, toys, anything light and small.

Emmanuel Sitaki (ERM) had a great turnout for his seminars this last week speaking on the orphans in Rwanda. He is speaking this Saturday at Central Bible Church (8815 NE Glisan Street, Portland, OR 97220). Some of the video and pictures from our trip will be showing there, and I'll be giving a little spiel on how cool Rwanda is and what the team there is doing.

Nick Kipkorir emailed from Kenya this past week and mentioned a couple of things. One was that another client of theirs died of HIV. Also one of the ladies in the Renew program (Sex Worker Recovery) was trying to get a job in town and the man asked her to sleep with him to seal the deal. She refused and he tried raping her, and she escaped and was able to talk to the police. You can be praying for her and the other 4 ladies as they continue to search for life outside of the sex industry.

And thanks to everyone who has been in contact with me recently regarding involvement! Dan Holcomb (the New York Dan) is most likely going to be a campus rep at Houghton for Lahash. I'm not sure what that looks like yet, but I'm excited - both Dans are excited...
Kara Starr has been thinking and praying about the leprosy ministry in Southern Sudan, and would like to take that on. She'll be a rep for the Lahash and IWASSRU project down in San Antonio Texas. If anyone else wants to get involved - please email or call. You don't have to be a professional or anything. We are all learning in this endeavor together!

We have lots of prayer needs at this time. I've been thinking a lot about prayer and dependency on God. Laura Iatesta, in her video interview, mentions that she was touched by the dependency on God of the friends in East Africa. Because they don't have a security blanket in life, they must depend and trust God. She was inspired by the devotion and faith and trust that she saw. So it is good to pray, and all of us involved appreciate it so much.

* Pray for the video project, and for the direction as 2006 plows ahead with lots of ideas and dreams and needs
* You can also remember the ladies of Renew, and the difficulties they are facing pulling from prostitution and entering into new life
* Pray for Jo French as she and pastor Amos in Tanzania continue to battle AIDS and develop the child sponsorship program
* Pray for monthly support for Lahash for each of the projects - and that people will be able hear of the needs. There is so much interest and compassion, it just seems to be a matter of getting the news out. And you can pray for me (Dan Holcomb NW) for my monthly support cause.
* And you can pray for the people and the peace of the region. Sudan just had a summit of the African Union, and Kenya's been in the news with the collapsed Nairobi building. Pray that the deep peace of the Messiah will break away the tribalism, hatred, corruption, war, and disease that strangles these nations.

It's been a fast paced couple of weeks here at the Lahash office! There's a lot going on...

First of all, there is a slideshow with images up over at Lahash.net. It contains 20 of the some of the best images, plus descriptions of the photos. Some of you have already seen a slideshow or two from the trip, so I tried to pick some images that were new and wouldn't bore people. You can link over to the slideshow by clicking here.


On Thursday the team did a presentation for a community group here in Portland. We had a great time of eating curry and recollecting all of the stories of the trip. If any of you here in the Northwest, or for that matter around the United States, would like a presentation for your community, let me know. I'm still working on the video, which will be really interesting to show. My friend Tim Bata in Uganda is working on some original music for the documentary.

Nick Kemboi, Dr. Oronje, and the others in Kenya have been working out all of these details for the Renew program. Unfortunately some of their time this last week was spent at a funeral. Many of you heard about the AIDS patient Peter from the blog and/or from the slideshows I've show. On January 10th Peter died from complications in his struggle with HIV/AIDS. Dr. Oronje asked for prayer as he has been attending to Peter for over 3 months now. It was a tough blow.

I've decided to go into Lahash full time now, and part of that is raising personal support each month. I've written a little note to the public explaining what I'll be doing and where the money will be going. You can link to that letter here.

Eric Chapman's been updating his website with new content. He has a whole collection of photos and video, and you can read some of his journals now online.

I've been working on the website over at Lahash.net. You are welcome to visit and peruse the latest content. Really the website is in progress - so ignore the ugly design issues please! There is a huge list of ways that you can get involved, and also a page listing all of the current projects and partners.

And thank you to all of you for the great emails and encouraging words recently! We have found email partners for all of the Renew ladies now, and there have been lots of offers for volunteering and sponsorship. Thank you everyone!

Nick Kemboi has been really busy recently. He has five ladies now involved in the Renew program and we are looking for practical ways that they can give up prostitution and find employment in other occupations. One of the ladies has been so excited about her new life that she asked Nick to visit 3 of her friends. Nick spent an afternoon talking with them and they asked him to take pictures so that people in America could see their life in Kenya. So the picture below is of one of the ladies. These girls are eager to join the program as well. We are trying to take it slow though and make sure the process is feasible and sustainable.

Imago Dei, the Theisen's wedding, and some thoughts

Mike and I popped into the wedding of Dirk and Hannah Theisen tonight at the beautiful old Lauralhurst Church in Portland. We had visited Jeff and Michele Theisen in Adjumani just about two months ago, and it was great to see them both back in the United States. And it was wonderful to see all of the Portland/Imago Dei friends once more. Thanks to all of you for your friendship and support!

We are mostly moved into our new house. This is also the new Lahash location. Our address is:

10750 NE 4th Ave
Portland, OR 97211

You can send any correspondence to the new place.

I've been doing a little more thinking and decompressing, and it helps with the talks around town that I'm having. I met with Josh Butler for lunch today and we talked of his recent engagement - and Africa. I mentioned that during the trip I had thought a lot more about missions and my response to the movement. I think after witnessing some terrible mistakes made by missionaries as a child, and then jumping into cultural anthropology in college I was skeptical about westerners in foreign lands dumping culture and religion on others. I guess that skepticism can be helpful at times, but I was pretty judgmental. This trip brought a lot of healing in that department. For one thing, I was called a missionary most of the time (or a pastor or evangelist). And the main reason for the new look at missions was all of the positive things that have been done by missionaries. We rarely met a person that had anything bad to say about the western missionaries. Mostly kids, politicians, churchgoers, and the person on the street were grateful. And you can look at the things lost by missions - culture primarily - and also see the domination, racism, and abuse that went on during the past 150 years. But you can also look at the health improvements, the release from a spirituality of fear of spirits and demons - into the hope and grace of the Messiah, and you can see the roads, technology, and modernization that virtually everyone appreciates. Most of these changes were brought about by the sacrifices of men and women that were called missionaries and immersed themselves into different cultures and sometimes died for the cause. Yes mistakes were made. Yes apologies should be made. Yes things should be done differently. But we are all human and we're all trying and we all have one foot stuck in our grimy past and one foot wandering into the hopeful future. One final point is this. Many church movements at the moment are stressing "holistic" Christianity. Some of my criticisms of past missions was that they were not "holistic". But the fact is that missions has a rich history of holistic truth and love. Thousands of schools and hospitals were built by missionaries. Compassion International and World Vision are everywhere - working with children, the sick, and encouraging mature faith. It is almost as if you have to be holistic to exist in these situations.

I've been asked a lot over the past couple of weeks how the transition into life in the United States has been. Has it been hard? What's standing out to you? Do you feel depressed?

Mostly it feels good. But there is one sub level thought that I ought to share here on the blog. Coming back to Portland is nice. It's great to see friends and family. But I've seen a lot. I've cried with dying people, and I've seen faces that have little hope left. And many of these people have deposited all of their hopes and dreams into my head. And the stories and dreams of hundreds are all tangled up in my heart. And now I wander back into the United States. And to be honest I feel like Schindler from Schindler's List. I'm wandering around clinking champagne glasses with the elite in the land, laughing and joking. And all the while there is a holocaust happening just outside the window. There are people dying. There are people that want to experience peace and truth and hope. There are AIDS patients that are dying because they can't afford a $1 pill each day. There is a community of lepers that just need some antibiotics. There are orphans that are turning into prostitutes because no one will buy them a school uniform and shoes. And I'm struggling to know how to act. I'm wondering how to present this tangled mess. I worry that if I begin talking I'll sound judgmental and maybe a bit crazy. It's a lot of pressure. I know that life and giving and sharing and loving should be done in a cheerful manner - so I'm trying to keep my balance. Pray for me as I walk.

Much love to you all. Please pray for the sex worker program in Kenya that the ladies will experience healing and transformed lives. Please pray for the orphans in Sudan and Uganda as they go back to school and are debating a trip north for some concerts. Please pray for the orphan sponsorship program in Tanzania that we will create a program that is beneficial and loving. And pray for the Lahash team as we move ahead with out plans. Thanks!

Back from California

I'm back from Jason Knott's wedding, we had a great time down near Yosemite, and I'm back in Portland moving into our new home.

I've been working the emails and phone networks trying to move forward on the Lahash plans. A couple of interesting links you may want to check out are Time Magazine's persons of the year (Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates). Bono and his call to care for the poor specifically in Africa has been a big part of my journey, and its wonderful that the Gates family is so serious with the causes they are into.

Matt Hartgrove pointed out a new song by Derek Webb formerly of Caedmon's Call. His song "Rich Young Ruler" from the album Mockingbird has these lyrics:
_______________________________
come on and follow me
but sell your house, sell your suv
sell your stocks, sell your security
and give it to the poor
what is this, hey what'’s the deal
i don'’t sleep around and i don'’t steal
i want the things you just can't give me
_______________________________

It's something I've been thinking about a lot recently. Are we asked to tidy up our lives and make sure everything is secure for our families and our future before helping others, or is Jesus asking us to be unstable and insecure for him and for the love of others. I think that's somewhat of a rhetorical question, but I believe our society and even the American version of Christianity preaches a path to security and contentment before carefully plotted sacrifice.

On top of that Derek Webb is tackling our belief system that says our faith is complete when we can check of a list of "don'ts". I feel safe if I can sit back smugly and let people know I don't sleep around. Maybe even I talk to myself in these terms. But is faith defined in these terms, or is it broader and more dangerous? Does God want the "things [we] just can't give [him]"?

Derek Webb's website is here: Mockingbird and the song can be purchased in iTunes here: Rich Young Ruler.

Here's what's happening in the Lahash world at the moment: The Orphan sponsorship program in Tanzania is mostly complete. We have a proposal now complete, and we are acquiring photos. There have also been a couple people that have asked to help out with the administration side of this project - thank you!

The Prostitute Recovery Program in Kenya is now called "Renew" We've collected basic information, photos, and are creating guidelines for the 5 ladies currently testing the waters. All of the ladies have left prostitution at this point, and they are in a tough spot - out of work, needing rent and food, and desiring change but wondering how their needs will be met. On top of that there are maybe a dozen more ladies who want into the program - and out of prostitution. At this point we just can't handle all of the interest. We need pledges for $150 per month for the program while we together search for better solutions for their lives. We will also be connecting these ladies with "Email friends" - if any of you women would like to encourage and counsel one of these ladies (a couple emails a week) let me know.

Amazing Grace has visitors right now from Canada. A team will be building some new huts for the kids in Sudan, and the choir might head up to Juba for a concert.

Emmanuel Sitaki of Rwanda's ERM program is about to unveil the ministry here in the United States. I'll be working some with him on the presentation.

One more thing, please pray for these projects. And please pray for me. I really need direction during these next few months.

May God be with you in this new year.

- Dan