For war, nothing

Please enjoy this music video created by the Colegio Internacional, a Christian Church, Disciples of Christ school in Asunción, Paraguay.

It talk about all the gifts a peace but a choice to give nothing to war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5y6zMd92h8

Shalom Center, 2016

I hope you all enjoy this new video by Francisca Avendaño, a motivador at the Shalom Center in Chile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk4GDegf8R8&feature=youtu.be

My vision

I wrote this in my diary in 1994 in Paraguay

My vision is to be an instrument of God in the healing of relationships.  I am called to listen to individuals in their confusion and anger, to mediate and counsel gruops towards growth and maturity, to bring people towards that holy relationship with God´s creation, and present to all the loving companionship of Christ.  This vision motivates my calling.

Telling the story

"I have been in nearly all the women´s jails  in the northern part of Chile," she told me when she caught my arm after the Roots in the Ruins: Hope in Trauma workshop.  A team of trauma healing and resilience development facilitators from the Shalom Center had come to Antofagasta on the coast of northern Chile to accompany the members of the Pentecostal Church of Chile.

"I was a drug dealer," she added. "Today you taught us that in order to be a place of healing, the church needs to be a safe space to share each other's stories.   I know this is true.

For over 20 years I was in and out of jail.  Then one day, my neighbor invited me to this church.  I came, and I discovered God's presence in a way that I had never known before.  Weeping and trembling, I told God my whole story and felt like I did not have to hide anything for the first time in my life.  When God listened to my story, my life began to change.  I no longer dealt in drugs,  I went back to my family and home, and I kept coming to church.

I thought that everything would be alright, but it wasn´t.  I realized that I needed to do something about my behavior in my family.  My children and I fought constantly.  I decided one day to tell them my story.  I shared with them how my childhood had been and confessed that I knew that theirs had been similar.  I told them stories, good and bad, that I had never revealed before.  They listened.  Together we decided to start working on creating happy experiences, a little at a time each day, for all of us to remember.

And I thought that now everything would be alright, but it wasn´t.  I began to notice the violence, not just the shootings and the shouting, but the way of thinking and of being in my "población," my neighborhood.  I could see that I had grown up and that now my children were enveloped by the ramifications of all the lacks that come with poverty.   As a member of the church, I now had a point of comparison.  I told my community story to my pastors and they encouraged me to get involved in healing my neighborhood.  I did.  I visit my  neighbors to listen to their stories and encourage them. 

God listened to me and my spirit was healed.   My children listened to me and our family was healed.  My pastors and church listened to me, I and I am helping to heal my community.

I have discovered that daring to tell and listen to our stories sets us on the path of healing."

Anonymous as told to Elena Huegel

Antofagasta, Chile

October, 2015     

The stone

THE STONE

One who was clumsy tripped on it.

The violent used it as a projectile.

The builder constructed with it.

The farmer, exhausted, used it as a seat.

To children, it was a toy.

David killed Goliath.

Michael Angelo hew it into sculpture.

In all cases

The stone was stone, but the person was different.

There is no stone in your path

you cannot transform for your use.

By Laura Lavalle (Translataed and adapted by Elena Huegel)

Dignity

Here is a video link to watch and listen to a story about Dignity that is part of the Roots in the ruins: hope in trauma program.

https://vimeo.com/168269473

Beyond our square meter

The one who never leaves home, thinks mother is the only cook.  African Proverb

Hammock of Hands

By Elena Huegel

Jan. 16, 2015

We weave a net with all our hands

To catch hope and let fear escape.

A handy net

                To cradle the world.

Bring your hands:

                Your working hands

                With cracked nails.

                Your folded hands

                Praying at the rail.

                Your grubby hands,

                With sand, shovel and pail.

                Your manicured hands

                With sculpted nails.

Together we weave a hammock of hands

To gently rock the world.

Laughter and babbling brook…

Gather in the net!

Hunger, hate and horror…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Humming birds and wild flowers…

Gather in the net!

Word-blows and worries…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Child-play and simple joy…

Gather in the net!

Snake fang and heart pain…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Bear hugs and skipping rope…

Gather in the net!

Gloating, gossip and ignorance…

Shake, shake, shake them out!

Cradle the world in a

Hammock of interwoven hands.