Midsummernight Dream by Rod Fry

Walking on a time line, between dimensions

Of light and space, a wheel of colors

Spinning around, a mirrored reflection

In a sea of glass and memory.

A bright, dark sky with soft clouds

Floating by, headed who knows where,

Bright stars shout out loud

As night becomes day, or so it seems.

As thoughts so dark and deep and clear

Such that I cannot fully express

Bombard my mind, a mix of fondness and fear,

Impressions, feelings, hopes, dreams.

As the passing years become as days

All strung out like a pattern repeated,

Conceived, designed, fashioned, replayed

Over and over and over again.

I sit myself down in a quiet enough place,

As I've done before, to peer into the night

To examine, refine, reject, and replace

This swirling of faces, ideas, beliefs.

I am alone, and I feel all the pain

Of living with so many questions.

How in the world will I ever regain

A conscience complete, a soul satisfied?

I've traveled far, and I bear the scars

Of too many unanswered pleas.

Is it too early to finish, too late to start...

Experiencing what I say I believe?

The clouds run away, and I hear the wind say

As it rustles and whistles my name,

That I just have to wait, there will come a day,

When all that is dark will be clear.

I will seek, then, to live what I know and believe,

Content not to know the whole plan;

Seeking to love those You've given to me,

Staking my life on the vows You have made.

Run 'cross the sky, clouds fringed with silver

Reflecting the light of the moon.

I will seek the Sun; the light that delivers

My soul from its twilight fears.

Rod with his wife Mayra and their 3 children serve in Mexico City, Mexico

The Power of Three Minutes

The Power of Three Minutes

By Beth Gross

I was floored by the deep issues that surfaced in three minutes . . .

During the third week of April, Jonathan Edwards led a group of Questers in pursuit of better listening skills. He taught the principles of listening skills, demonstrated with a brave volunteer and then set us loose in groups of three to practice them. In every group, each Quester had 3 (or 4) minutes to share while another Quester practiced the listening skills and a third evaluated. I was floored by the deep issues that surfaced in three minutes.

It made me wonder why we don't see more of that kind of sharing in our casual conversations. Maybe some of it can be attributed to the urgency of the time limit or the preparation of the participants.

But, I think some things we learned about active listening are transferable to everyday interactions.

1. Freedom to choose. Our group found if we left the field wide open, others were more likely to share below the surface. Instead of greeting someone with "How's the wife and kids?" we could say "What's on your mind?"

2. Be quiet. Too often in conversations, someone's sharing triggers the memory of an experience or story. When it's our turn to speak, we jump in with our two cents, the conversation takes a turn and the opportunity to hear someone's heart is missed. Instead, we could recap what they have said, ask for more information or ask about the emotions involved.

3. Avoid advice and solutions. Sometimes a person's greatest need is just to be heard. Resisting the urge to "be a fixer" allows another the chance to continue telling his story. Affirming the difficulty of a struggle and the emotions involved can in itself bring healing. At that point, the story-teller might be ready to look for solutions.

A lot can happen in three minutes. Let's listen for it.

After attending the Quest conference in April, Beth Gross who serves in Puebla, MEXICO wrote the above article

Making Tule in Honduras

Thanks to John, Nancy, and Andrew Mckeeth for this fine look at basket weaving. The McKeeths serve in San Pedro, Sula; HONDURAS.