rachelanna.com

Dear Friends and family,

I have enjoyed my Peace Corps experience in Jamaica and guess what? It has
been two years already and it is time to come home! The experience has been

a good one that I will treasure forever. I will be coming home on Tuesday,
June 21! That’s less than a week away! For those of you in the SF Bay
Area, there will be a welcome home party on Sunday, June 26. Venue and time

are yet to be determined and if anyone is interested, please reply so that I

can keep you updated. For those at Principia, I am planning on coming to
give my presentation (to any class or group that invites me) in the fall.
Who knows? If I make it to the 10 year reuinion, I could give it there too.

As for plans, I am still listening. I would be honored to work at Principia

or The Mother Church, or another organization that harmonizes with what I
believe in (honesty, efficiency, compassion, also known as wisdom, economy,
and brotherly love, also known as Life, Truth, and Love).

If I stay in the Bay Area, I am hoping to set up my studio and start
committing time to art (making jewelry) and the Practice.

That is about all the news I can think of right now.

Much love and I would love to hear from everyone and anyone!

Rachel

Today I had a remarkable experience. I was on Duke Street in downtown Kingston around 5:00 pm, I had a warm can of juice and proceeded to the closest establishment (a bar) that could give me a cup with ice. I was standing on the sidewalk drinking my now cool drink when the barman and I saw a very elderly man trying to take a step in the street. He had one shoe on and the foot without a shoe was quite swollen. The barman said that he thought that the man was pretty ill. I asked the barman if he thought that the man would accept the rest of my juice. He said “Its possible. Go try.” I went to where the man was and held out my juice. The look on his face was priceless. He looked genuinely grateful that someone would offer him something but even more, that someone would take the time to recognize him as a human being and friend. I helped him to the sidewalk and we both went our separate ways, but I can say that I am very grateful that I was privledged to have that experience. The whole thing only lasted about two minutes or less, but I hope that I won’t forget that precious smile that he shared with me.

Drugs and homelessness are very challenging here in Jamaica, and every day I pass people that are dealing with those problems on my way to work. Often, the same men, women, and children beg people for money and it is very difficult to know what to do. Giving money supports their drug and begging habits, but not giving leaves a person feeling like they are stingy and lack compassion. Often, walking on the street I have prayed for opportunities to show kindness that will mean something and not just taken advantage of. I pray that my heart will be open to future opportunites where I can continue to bless others through wisdom, kindness and compassion. The key to navigating these waters is to fully understand the depth of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmelss as doves.”

Today I read several articles from the Monitor World, the weekly international version of The Christian Science Monitor. One such article (from the week of January 29- February 4) spoke of the US tactics in Afghanistan to destroy the opium trade. I was upset to learn of the strategies being implemented by the US government—crop spraying. This sounds simple at first, but accomplishes very little and would actually cause much more harm than benefits for all involved, including the Americans who devised the plan. Readers learn that the poppy trade comprises about 60% of the legal trade market and 40% of the market overall.

Now, I understand that the US has interests in the safety, health, and well-being of its citizens, and that drug use is a problem, and of course I am not a supporter of drugs, but I do not believe this gives cause to destroy 60% of another country’s “legal” revenues. An alternative [and I believe much wiser] option, as the article points out, would be to provide cash for farmers that were willing to grow other crops. Yes, this will take a lot of money, work, and creativity, since poppy farming is much more lucrative than other crops, but the end result is worth it. The article succinctly states “Economic shrinkage is one of the surest predictors of instability and conflict”.

And if the plan had gone through, “economic shrinkage” is an understatement. We would have had an instant civil war on our hands, one that the US had caused.

When you consider what the US was planning to do—spend $152 million on a mission to invade a country and destroy the livelihoods of how many countless people, just like that (with no knowledge of the side effects, the article noted) and no concern whatsoever for the well-being of the citizens, bystanders, and children in the area—that sounds like one plan for disaster to me. There has to be better methods and stratagies that consider everyone’s interests, and the US government needs to have the willingness to find creative solutions. Above all, if Bush is a Christian as he claims to be, he should start acting like one and practice the Golden Rule—to do unto others (other countries) as he would have them do unto him (his country).

Side note: The Golden Rule is embedded in most all of the world religions, each with their own version, but with the same idea: be loving/don’t be nasty. Each individual’s job is to focus on his/her own actions, and make sure that they are in line with this simple and universal principle—not to judge other persons and complain about how the other is not living up to the standard.