JULY 15, 2004
Dear Friends,
The other day, I heard a cacophony of squawking sounds coming from the pear tree in my back yard. I was startled and raced to see what drama was taking place. I found my beautiful, big Himalayan cat lying beneath the tree looking slightly bemused while two very large blue jays flapped their wings and took turns dive-bombing him. I laughed to myself, for the cat is blind, and couldn't possibly harm the blue jays; in fact it was he that needed saving.
When I bent over to rescue my bewildered pet I noticed, just a short distance away, a baby blue jay lying on its side, wide-eyed and with its disproportionately large black beak agape. The cause of the excitement was clear, so instead of lifting my cat up to save him from harm I turned, knelt and picked up the struggling baby bird.
I must have been there for several minutes staring at the bird and he back at me with the continued chatter of his saviors overhead in the tree. As I stood, prepared to nurse the bird back to health or to watch it die, I opened my hands. The little creature looked at me, turned, and with the determination of an adolescent flew away into the safety of fir and maple trees with his defenders following closely.
I may appear strong, assertive, a woman of faith, willing, like the demonstrators in the pear tree, to take up a challenge; to walk the talk. Often, I'm more like my cat, blind and confused, as I figure out what God is doing overhead. Other times, I see myself as the baby blue jay, intuitively knowing that I am made to fly. Like him I am sometimes very vulnerable, and sometimes quite capable of taking the leap, of spreading my wings and soaring into the life I'm made for which, right now, means serving God's children through REACH.
Local is global; we live in a wounded worldwide community where children are crying out for help. The pandemic of HIV/AIDS is out of control and the most profound social symptoms in our country are isolation and loneliness. As a follower of Christ the one thing I know is to love God and to extend that love. Today, thankfully, I marvel at the mystery of your continued help.
Blessings my friends,
Susan K. Slonaker
P.S. We are in need of additional funding to purchase nutritional supplies, linens and water for camp. An extra $25 a month would help greatly, while a one-off donation of $700 pays for a child to attend camp.