Happy Thanksgiving!

 

It's been three months since we wrote last and I find it very hard to sit down and try to write about everything that has happened since then!  It's hard to know where to start.

 

Our Home Leave

 

We arrived in South Dakota on our home leave on August 15, exhausted but happy to be there.  We spent the first weekend in the Platte State River Park in Nebraska with my (Karin's) family celebrating Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary.  We all stayed in a small cabin and had fun going swimming, paddle-boating, talking walks, playing games and making meals together.  I was good to be together for some family bonding time!

 

The following weekend was spent in Kansas City, MO with my brother, Kenton, and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Holly Streff.  We had a great time hanging out with them.

 

From Kansas City we drove on to Newton, KS and spent a little over a week reconnecting with friends and church community there.  We were so happy that we could time our home leave out so we could attend Ryan Loewer and Suzanne Classen's wedding in Newton on September 1st.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding and we enjoyed being apart of that celebration.  Our time in Newton felt a bit hectic as we were literally booked from morning until night with getting together with people we wanted to see.  That kind of attention could almost go to our heads!!  It was so good to spend time with our friends that we've missed so much.  We also had a chance to speak at New Creation Fellowship.  NCF has been a safe place for us to share some of the things that are very close to our hearts.  We appreciate that caring, listening circle of people!

 

For the rest of our home leave (until Oct. 2) we were in South Dakota where we spent more time with family and friends (at a more relaxed pace!).  I enjoyed spending time at the Ten Thousand Villages / MCC Thrift Store in Freeman where I learned to weave rag rugs on the loom -something I've always wanted to learn.  I made eight rugs, four of which I bought to give to friends here in Bosnia.  The volunteers in the store we all so kind to me and I really enjoyed the environment. 

 

My sister, Kris, and I also got to spend a wonderful evening with LaVerne and LaNae Waltner getting our first spinning wheel lessons.  We each have a family spinning wheel and I've been eager to learn how to use it.  I love traditional and handmade crafts and this was a great opportunity to spend some time learning about them. 

 

John spent some time doing farm work -some with my Dad and some with his brother-in-law Gregg Waltner.  He enjoyed working on the farm, helping with the harvest and getting his hands dirty again.  

 

Most of all we enjoyed being with friends and family -doing projects around home, playing with my nephew and nieces, visiting with Grandpa, etc.  Other highlights include big, English bookstores, Taco Bell, customer service, root beer floats and cereal with good milk.

 

We enjoyed this trip home even more than our last trip home.  This time we came more prepared to learn about people's lives back home rather than expecting people to ask about our lives in Bosnia (which is hard for most people to know what to ask).  We are inspired by the many great things that our family and friends are doing back in the U.S.  At the same time we ended up talking a lot more about our lives in Bosnia than we expected...

 

September 11

 

The events of September 11 happened while we were home in South Dakota.  While we were shocked and saddened, we discovered that the events opened up opportunities for us to speak about our work with interreligious dialogue, about living in a war-torn country and about our interaction with Muslims.  After the 11th, we spoke in Salem Mennonite Church, Freeman Academy and Salem-Zion Mennonite Church.  I was also interviewed in the Freeman Courier.  All of these were opportunities to speak about and process our experience that we might not have had otherwise.  We tried to encourage knowing who we are and what we believe so that we are able to actively pursue communication with those that are different from us. 

 

Since returning to Bosnia we have had many conversations with local people who first express their shock at what happened and sympathy for Americans, but at the same time remind us of what they lived through -more than 200,000 people killed and more than 1 million displaced from their homes over 3 1/2 years while the world watched on TV.   They now see the U.S. quickly forming a "coalition" against terrorism and asking the whole world to join them.  It is then hard for them to understand, for example, why the U.S. is one of two countries in the Western hemisphere (the other being Cuba) that has not signed the international anti-personnel mine treaty.  Perhaps if there were mines in the U.S. the U.S. would be leading the coalition.

 

We mourn the fact that U.S. bombs are once again falling and many innocent people are being killed. 

 

Ramadan

 

On November 16th the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began.  During Ramadan Muslims fast from first light until sundown. In between—that is, during the daylight hours—Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sex. The usual practice is to have a pre-dawn meal (suhoor) and a post-fast meal (iftar) after sunset. Fasting is a method of self-purification. By cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person develops sympathy for those who go hungry, as well as gaining growth in one's spiritual life by learning thankfulness and appreciation for all of God's bounties. Ramadan is a time of intensive worship, reading the Qur'an, giving charity, purifying one's behavior, and doing good deeds. Since Ramadan emphasizes community aspects and since everyone eats dinner at the same time, Muslims often invite one another to share in the Ramadan evening meal. Following the meal it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast is resumed the next morning.    

 

This year, in light of world events many Christians and Jews, people of faith and good will are acting in solidarity with Muslims by fasting for Ramadan.  John and I have also decided to join the fast as our personal time of spiritual renewal and to be in solidarity with our Muslim friends and neighbors.  It has been harder than we expected -for me to go without water and for John to go without coffee -but we are finding it to be a rewarding experience.  This year, the same as the past few years, we have already been invited to iftar at the homes of our Muslim friends, but this year we appreciate it so much more!  I have never before valued each and every glass of drinking water that we have.  We are prayerfully mindful of the many people in the world -especially in Afghanistan -that are hungry.  Ramadan ends on December 15 and is followed by a 3-day celebration called Bajram (Idul Fitr).

 

Work at Face to Face Interreligious Service

 

We have entered the busiest time of year for our work!  At the end of October we organized our annual Spirit of Assisi interreligious meeting where all the religious communities are invited to come together and share a reading from one of their holy books, a prayer or meditation, and a song from their tradition.  The goal is to have a time of interaction and communication and come to understand and respect each other. 

 

Pontanima has just finished recording our 3rd CD, which will be available in a couple of weeks.  We think the quality will be much better than the first two. 

 

We're also gearing up for our 5th Anniversary Concert, which will be held on December 15.  We will again invite the chamber orchestra from Banja Luka as well as some soloists to join our 60-member choir.  John and I have been working on everything from writing the proposal, to fundraising from international donor agencies, to preparing materials for a commemorative booklet, to figuring out logistics, to rehearsing the music!!  It's an exciting time, but also a bit stressful.

 

Mozart Requiem

 

On a side note, I (Karin) was asked to sing with the National Opera again this year for the performance of Mozart's Requiem on November 1.  This year it was a huge event with two other choirs joining the National Opera and the Sarajevo Philharmonic.  The concert was billed as a tribute to victims of terrorism -in the U.S., in Bosnia, and the world.  It was performed in a huge concert arena for more than 7000 people!  What an experience!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Finally, we wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.  We are thankful for all of the blessings that we have been given and mindful of all of those who have so much less.  This year we are particularly thankful for family, friends and good health.  Happy Thanksgiving!