Sunday, July 19, 2020

Final Update from the Smith Derksens


         
Hello Wonderful Friends and Family!

What a strange time to transition back to the US after 4 years in South Africa. With so much else important going on, we still want to connect with you and let you know we miss you. We will have a time of virtual sharing about our time in SA, including a silent auction of some of the beautiful fair-trade artisan items we brought back. Join us July 25, 4pm PST. See below for more details and link to the auction.

First of all… Thank you once again for your generosity in supporting us and the peacework in South Africa. On our return, there was a significant budget shortfall. But so many of you responded to that need we finished in the black! It means very much to us personally and is greatly appreciated by Mennonite Mission Network. We simply can’t thank you enough!

Unless you’ve seen it on Facebook, you may be wondering what we’re doing. We had a full January speaking in Seattle, participating with our communities here and moving into my parents’ townhouse while our house continues to be rented. February was itinerating in Kansas and Iowa, sharing our reflections and sermons. To read one of those, click here. We are so thankful (especially now) that we had a week with Dan’s family in Iowa during Jacob’s break. We met a new niece, helped Dan’s mom with her house, and enjoyed reconnecting. Shortly after returning to Seattle, everything shut down with the pandemic. Jacob was just getting into the new school’s routine and Claire had completed one graphic arts course at community college. They’ve both continued with online classes, and Claire has started working for Seattle Mennonite as a morning outdoor janitor for their homeless ministry. 

We were fortunate to find work. Kathryn’s new job is keeping her connected with Africa! She is the new Community Engagement Manager for Path From Poverty, a women-based organization working in water equity, partnering with women’s groups in Kenya providing water tanks and solar panels. Dan started a part-time Office Manager position with Northminster Presbyterian, helping us stay connected with a beloved community here, and he also just accepted full-time work with Seattle Housing Authority. God is good. 

You may remember Kathryn prepared a large musical project to support SADRA before we left. The concert project, called Yet I Will Rejoice after Kathryn’s composition from the Habakkuk text, was an interesting challenge, and a great success. Nearly 500 people attended the 3 performances, which included a great variety of vocal and instrumental contributors. She used her personal story to explore music as transformation. A good friend professionally recorded it, and we will share more about the project and how to hear it at our presentation, besides the two copies being auctioned off. 

Though our service term officially ended in February, we had planned a larger gathering in Seattle - now shifted to an online event on 25 July, meaning you can join us from wherever you are in the world! We will be telling stories from our time in South Africa, sharing photos, fielding Q&A, and attempting to contextualize what we learned there with the current human rights crisis here in the US.

To add a bit of fun, we’re including a “Christmas in July - Africa Edition”online auction, you can see the items already, and bidding starts July 17, concluding the night of the presentation. It includes over 70 items we hand-picked in Africa; most bought fair-trade and direct from the artisans. There will be good wine, jewelry, art, wood crafts and more - enough to find something for almost everyone - and you get a little Christmas shopping in early while supporting a good cause. All proceeds will be split between SADRA Conflict Transformation and the Social Justice Fund Northwest. This is a new partner for us, but they are supporting some innovative and very needed initiatives. We will find safe ways to deliver items locally; we’ll need you to help pay for shipping if that’s needed for afar. 

We’re greatly looking forward to spending a little virtual time with you. Please register here for the July 25 event. Save the date!

With hope for peace and love to reign,
Dan & Kathryn (and kids)