We arrived in Yangon on Friday evening, Jan 19. On Saturday we spent the day with [Burmese exile] Ko Ko Lay and staff at Karen Theological Seminary. We were received warmly by Ko Ko Lay, staff, and students. We visited the campus, including spending some time talking to the students in their dorms. We then went to a nearby teashop where we sat and began to discuss the current political situation. This was a great experience - I was well aware that people in Myanmar (mostly the men) go to the teashops and spend time discussing current events, politics, etc. So here we were in a similar setting doing the same - however, more openly.
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BPFNA Program Director LeDayne McLeese Polaski will lead a Friendship Tour to Tijuana, Mexico from January 21-29, 2012. The group requests your prayers for safe travels and a successful trip, in which they hope to gain a deeper understanding of the complex issues and to develop new and lasting relationships.
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The BPFNA requests prayers for members going to Burma/Myanmar and Thailand for a Friendship Tour from January 18 to February 3, 2012. Julie Warner leads the tour, and fellow travelers include Kay Cheves, Carol Day and Carine Donze.The purpose of the Friendship Tour is to strengthen existing relationships and create new ones by meeting with Baptist leaders and congregations in these countries. This trip is designed to inform participants about Baptists in Burma and encourage individuals to form lasting relationships, and provide Baptists in Burma with a continuing link to Baptists in North America.
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The Board of Directors of the BPFNA met Oct. 27-29 at University Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Seattle. Volunteer board members come from across North America and serve three-year terms, with focused work on specialized committees that help guide the programmatic and administrative work of the BPFNA. This was the first meeting for the board members elected this past spring.
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After 14-hours on the plane, I landed in Liberia. Along with my co-facilitator Virgil Nelson and his wife, Lynn, I was prepared to lead several 2-day Conflict Transformation (CT) trainings with Baptist pastors and lay leaders. I was not prepared for the heat and the noise that greeted us as we walked out of the airport in Monrovia.
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A new Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America documentary not only highlights unmet needs nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina, but also exposes social problems that existed before the storm that have hampered recovery efforts in New Orleans.
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As the BPFNA Summer Conference continues at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., WHSV-TV aired this report exploring the question, "why peace camp?"
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