Help for friends in the Peace Corps in Albania

Hi All,

My friends from church in Colorado, Will and Wendi Bevins, are Peace Corps volunteers in Albania and could really use your donation of a few dollars (goal: raising US$975) in setting up a youth camp for children from difficult backgrounds.  You can see pictures of their work here and here.   They could really use your help, as they explain:

“If you are one of the many kind people who offered to send supplies or money for a project when we first set out on our Peace Corps adventure, this is the way you can help!! The Peace Corps has set up a website for the friends and family of volunteers to donate to our projects. The donations are tax-deductible and all donations go to support the camp that we are helping lead. There’s no overhead because all the staff at this camp are volunteers, including the Albanians who help. This camp is a great chance for kids to learn, play, and do things they don’t normally have a chance to do. For example, in Albania, girls and boys rarely play together. This camp will include both genders equally. It will mix traditional lesson topics (like geography and history) with interactive games and trips so that the kids retain more and have fun in the process. This kind of learning is just now entering Albanian education and this camp may be the first time the kids see that learning can be fun (instead of having a teacher read a book out loud to them for hours on end). Also, we’ll cover topics the children rarely or never hear about, like physical fitness and environmental stewardship. Wendi has already done a few yoga lessons and Will plans to do some self-reflection and journaling activities. If you have any questions about the camp or want more info, please do not hesitate to contact us! Just go to the website below to donate, and any donation would be appreciated by us and especially by the staff and kids at ASTA. 
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=304-013“

Don’t Forget

My first week in Santiago I saw a sign that struck me.

"In my opinion, you're the most beautiful person in the world. Okay, I'm biased." -God

One of my favorite theologians, St. Augustine, put it best when he said, “Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.“  So don’t forget to stop and think while you’re traveling!  It’s a blast to go places, but more important to learn about yourself and the world around you.

On my trip so far I’ve continued to learn about the power of prayer.  I’ve been praying a lot for safety, about housing, for my friends, and for guidance throughout my trip.

During the first Friday of classes at Universidad Alberto Hurtado, we learned about the Chilean saint whom our university is named after.  Father Alberto Hurtado  (1901-1952) was a lawyer, social worker, and Jesuit priest that founded Chile’s largest poverty NGO, Hogar de Cristo.  In the afternoon we visited his shrine, which people around the world come to visit, including the Pope.

Without your help, we'll fall behind

Saint Alberto Hurtado - Help me to help

One of the aspects of attending a Jesuit university that I appreciate is for students to learn about Christianity in an environment of mutual respect.  Attending church is never required, but students definitely know where to go to have their spiritual needs met or just talk with someone that has a bigger perspective on life.  Just on campus at Georgetown alone there are churches for Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions.

One thing that I never liked about attending such a secular university as an undergraduate (University of Colorado at Boulder) was how the university completely ignored any mention of ethics or spirituality.  In fact, any mention of God outside New Age religion was strongly frowned down upon.  Similarly, the Ivy Leagues, which were founded to train pastors, now disavow their religious heritage.  In contrast, Georgetown embraces the fact that the point of education is to make the world a better place and glorify God.  We’re not without our controversies, but the difference in atmosphere is like night and day.