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Turkana Friends Mission recently held a youth conference at the Kakuma Friends Church in the Kakuma 2 Refugee Camp. The Mission gathered young people from across Turkana to explore the theme “Youth and Social Media.” The camp was held from 16–20 April, and between 250 to 350 people attended. Heavy rains received during that period posed some challenges to the program, but overall Turkana Friends Mission assesses the conference to have been a success.
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During our time in the West Bank, we had the opportunity to visit with three pastors: two who spiritually support Christian congregations and one who leads a university in Bethlehem. With ongoing military strikes on Gaza, persistent IDF operations, and settler violence in the West Bank, the faith leaders spoke about the pervasive trauma and grief that engulfed their society. This trauma manifests in various ways. Directly, families face the anguish of lost loved ones in Gaza, witness the destruction of homes, and experience the ever-present threat of violence and displacement in the West Bank. One faith leader said, “We are not suffering from PTSD, but OTSD (Ongoing Traumatic Stress Disorder). ”Our students and staff at Ramallah Friends School are not immune from these stresses. We learned that one of our teachers lost eighteen members of her family in Gaza. Another teacher’s husband and children are stuck in Gaza. Witnessing or hearing about such intense violence and instability, and persistent exposure to news of suffering, leads to a profound sense of helplessness and anxiety.
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At the FUM office in Richmond, Indiana, we recently received this report from our friend Alfred Wasike, former General Secretary of Uganda Friends Church, and currently a pastor in Uganda. He describes a visit he recently made to the Friends Church in the Nakivale Refugee Camp, and the effects that changes in American policies are having on residents of the camp, including those who are members of the Quaker congregation.
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Many caregivers, healers, and pastors have given sacrificially of themselves, their hearts, their energy, their time, and their bodies. These people carry so much of their community with them. Even when given a respite and not responsible for all aspects of the worship, hands are still so full we are often unable to receive the blessing laid out before us.
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God is calling everyone to continually seek him through prayer. Some people pray expecting answers immediately, while others have lost the desire to pray due to unanswered prayer, lack of faith, or failure to understand their relationship with God. But this is not God’s will for us.
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Throughout our history, the people known as Friends (or Quakers) keep rediscovering an essential and enduring truth: There is one who speaks to our most basic needs and most significant hopes—Christ Jesus the Lord. Both individually and communally, we are learning to know and follow the Voice that guides us in the way we should go. Together, we seek to understand and obey that truth which sets us free. As a people, we share in the experience of that powerful life which makes all things new. Maybe you are searching for an authentic and transforming faith and community to call home—if so, come in and join us as we seek to know and follow Christ.
Friends United Meeting commits itself to energize and equip Friends through the power of the Holy Spirit to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved, and obeyed as Teacher and Lord.
