Family Christmas Pictures 2014

Deb writes: Erin and John were able to come to Ghana between the end of her first college semester and his next trip to the Middle East. Their orientation started with Wes’ students teaching them how to eat fufu and soup.

After some time with the new temperatures, new time zone and new foods, we headed to the western coast. The car survived a day’s drive through groves of oil palms and rubber trees, fields of pineapple and mango, clusters of fishermen and village school children, getting us to a rare beach safe for swimming. Freed from gadgets, internet access, and cooking chores we shared quiet times and stories.

The coast of Ghana also gave context to the prayers we share, particularly in a slave fort tour. Though the forts are silent now, they still challenge us to think about how easily we dehumanize others. In the last couple months our family has walked with survivors of terror perpetrated by ISIS, Ebola, refugee/immigrant prisons, urban military occupations, rape culture, “Christian” hate groups and more. We treasure the faith of courageous friends, the smiles of children, and the generosity of grace.

We returned “home” to the Good News campus in time for the kids to help harvest bananas in the back yard. They had brought unforgettably creative gifts (“a rock from Iraq” – say that 10 times quickly! – and other mementos). Christmas day was a chance to experience church in Africa. Later, friends joined us for carols, cookies, and sharing an extremely wide range of youtube videos that reflected our diverse experiences (and remarkably similar sense of humor).

 

 

 

Family walks among the trees are another fun tradition. This is the first time we’ve included a hillside of cocoa trees, bamboo and nutmeg, and a living hollow tree we could crawl into.

Happy 2015 to you all!

Growth, differences and the strong love of God

A year ago we (Wes and Deb) were looking forward to visiting Erin in Peru. Now we’ve got tickets for her to visit Ghana in December to tell us about her first term at Goshen College. Between Peru and college, she worked at Camp Mennoscah in Kansas.  Here is part of her reflection for church.

I got to live at camp for the entire summer working under the title of lifeguard and maintenance, but doing much more.
I visited with campers I met last year when I counseled, and I struggled to put names to hundreds of new faces. I saw kids laugh so hard no sounds come out, and listen so intently that their heads tilted. I was blessed by hearing the stories of these blessed and broken lives, stories of overcoming hardships no one should have to face let alone someone so young. I saw a girl who last year was finally in a stable foster home, and this year was overjoyed to tell me that she was adopted and loved. I got to see two little boys throw their arms around each other during an evening worship and sway dramatically to the music.  I validated the young ladies whose home communities would not believe them.
In this place of children from broken families and abuse, the male pronouns used for God seemed not to do justice for all that is God.
Every night at campfire, the last song we sang was Zephaniah 3:17:
The Lord your God is with you, God is mighty to save.
God will take great joy in you
God will quiet you with God’s love
God will rejoice over you with singing – Alleluia!
Within the song we sang words so powerful speaking to the depth of God.
We shared that message as we took great joy, comforted, rejoiced, and sang, in the love of God that is in all things and bears all things. If you listened closely you could hear the staff singing a truth beneath the words. We use the words He, She, and God. The four-part harmony did not waver during these differences of pronouns but tied us closer. This is what camp does, it pulls people together to rejoice and share God’s strong, unbreakable love.

 

“mighty to save… with singing”

The title “BergenBeats” is a reminder: “These Bergens each march to the beat of a different drum”. Rhythms move us deeper than words, melodies take us up out of ourselves. Erin and John recently used songs to explain the journeys they are on, songs that may also inspire you.

John‘s tattoo is a phrase that has guided him through 4 years’ preparation: tending sheep in the cold, praying day and night with monks through a winter term, assisting some of the most innovative community healers of the decade, cooking for thousands, writing hundreds of pages of reports. Disciplines, useful skills, but just tools for the quest.

Abbot Lot came to Abbot Joseph and said: “Father, to the limit of my ability, I keep my little rule, my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and to the limit of my ability, I work to cleanse my heart of thoughts; what more should I do?” The elder rose up in reply, and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: “Why not be utterly changed into fire?

The phrase is also the title of a parable song reflecting the facets of our calling. You can read the lyrics here, listen to the song while reading the lyrics here, and take the images a step further with Ingmar Bergman’s cinematic reflections here.

Erin  and many others who have been through Camp Mennoscah have rooted their lives in Zephaniah 3:17 (words in the picture above). The melody came to a staff member during a night-time prayer as campers settled under the vast quiet starry sky; it captures the tender, dedicated love of an almighty parent’s lullaby. The song helps bring into post-camp life that awareness of a power that holds all we know, a power that rejoices in who we each are, who in Incarnation reminded us that God knows the life of each bird and even the hairs on our head. And if this Love be for us, what can be against us? What Good News could be more valuable to share? Alleluia!

“Why not be utterly changed?”

Between college and catching a plane to Iraq, a person might get a tattoo.  The story of the tattoo itself waits for the next post. Here the mom (Deb) of this person (John) gives “before” and “after” parts of the story. Click on the links for more in-depth parts.

John graduated from Oberlin College in May (religious studies major, almost major in environmental studies). Recently one of his wonderful friends reflected on “violence and grief everywhere this month” in an article called “What did I learn from Oberlin anyway? Despair and Defiance“. This is what they took away: facing the pervasiveness of evil, and the defiance to hold onto trembling faith, “the work must be done, can be done, will be done. Despite everything.” He mentions John joining Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), among many others of their class claiming a slice of the work.

John has been working towards CPT for at least 5 years, developing skills in analysing the factors perpetuating interpersonal violence. Again, more on that in the next post.

Within a week of completing training for active team members, John went to the CPT team that has been in the Kurdish part of Iraq for several years. This is where the UN and others are airlifting relief for the Yazidi and others fleeing ISIS/ “Islamic State” violence. Local resources have already been stretched by floods of refugees from Syria as well as those fleeing other violence in Iraq. Day temperatures are well over 100 degrees F, and water is sparse even in the city.

Here is John’s description:  “My initial role will be to provide additional capacity and stability (cooking meals, cleaning, leading worship) and media help (managing our Facebook – and writing press releases, which can be seen or subscribed to at http://www.cpt.org/news/cptnet). I will go with team members to refugee camps and meet with our neighbors and local partners to see how we can develop an effective media strategy for supporting [their] work for justice in Kurdistan. [It is not necessary to have a Facebook account to use that link.]

I do not know how long I will be in Kurdistan. I would like to leave by Christmas to see my family. However, if the team in Palestine invites me to join them for a two-year stipended position, I will be leaving sooner. I would appreciate your prayers and support.

CPT has graciously paid for my plane ticket and will cover my expenses there, but this generosity hurts their ability to support others like me. I would be ever grateful for every friend and faith community who joins the work of transforming violence and oppression in Iraqi Kurdistan by donating to Christian Peacemaker Teams, 2649 W 21st St, Chicago, IL 60608. Donations are tax deductible; please designate ‘for John Bergen’.”

 

“It is not wrong to go back and get it”

Adinkra symbols are one of Ghana’s gifts to the world, carrying “African wisdom” on jewelry and clothing. The popular “Sankofa” is a bird gracefully reaching its head around, sometimes to pick up an egg on its back: it can be a good thing to turn/return for something. (This is Deb writing; if you know Wes and me, you’ll recognize that I’m the one advocating for history.)

African-Americans have used Sankofa to support the difficult work of finding their stories, and expanded the associated proverb to “We must go back and reclaim our past in order to move forward, so we can understand why and how we came to be who we are today”.

Today you and I reach back. Many of you have joined our journey since the blog started. More than a year ago I wrote about the life-changing whirlwind of Pentecost, and accepting the task of relocating physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, “to tropical climate… unable to sit with our own family and friends, falling into depths of incompetence in basic activities… indebted to those who will extend their hearts with us.. and those receiving us.” Yup.

In June 2013 I wrote an overview of West Africa and introductions to: AICs, the complexities of histories referred to above, and Mennonites in Ghana. In a Sept. post Wes made predictions about traffic that seemed unbelievably optimistic this morning. And in October I gave some background on the name of Ghana’s team at THE WORLD CUP! this week!, as well as the colors on several African flags there.

Enjoy looking back in our lives, and perhaps in yours. It is not wrong to go back, and sometimes we get just what we need to keep going forward.

We have arrived

big bertha

Oh my, where to start?

Traveling went very well, except for damage to the guitar case (the guitar is fine).  We took an extra day in Germany to visit with our former exchange student, Christoph, who gave us a tour of downtown Frankfurt.

Arrived in Accra and drove to our new home in Oyibi.  The house is the finished part of a larger complex that is still under construction.  This is a common pattern around here (and in many parts of the world).  Building is relatively expensive, so is often done over many years in stages.

house 2

Goin’ to Ghana!!

Well, it’s all official.  We have raised enough funds for Mennonite Mission Network to move forward with our project.  We have signed contracts and bought plane tickets and moved out of our house.

We will be leaving for Ghana on January 10.  We are so excited to begin this new phase of our lives. Thanks to the many people who have supported and guided us in our journey thus far.

The last hurdle to clear is visas.  Please pray with us that our visas arrive on time.

packing up the office (Deb)

Really, it’s only the tissue box and a few books to pack. I might leave the tissues – it’s hard work helping clients honour the changes we’ve been through. The rest of the tools of my specialty I carry in my brain. The technology hasn’t been invented yet that is more reliable than a trained and attuned psychiatrist.

I’ve worked in offices with nicer chairs, with shelves of toys and books, even a talented assistance dog.  Not for the clients seen here, an urban mental health clinic for children who couldn’t be seen anywhere else: families made homeless by the recession or domestic violence, young runaways who’d never found a trustworthy adult to advocate for them, immigrants unable to afford the right paperwork, unusual family units patched together from remains of thoroughly racist “justice”, “child protection” and employment practices.

Here we try to find common language, using every nerve to feel that subtle gap between past and present, outlining hope and grief.  Sometimes I had medications to settle overwhelmed nervous systems, or my certificates got the attention of a helpful authority.  Sometimes all I could do was bear witness, remaining present amidst lives broken by disease or human evil. I brought the softest tissues I could find. I’ll leave them – others are carrying on and they’ll be needed. The memories I’ll carry in the lightness of God’s love, our Creator who knows and will remain in all those stories.

but what will I do?? (Deb)

nurture – Kayra

Knitting networks, helping people see internal resources, steadying someone falling into despair till a foothold is found, celebrating diversity freed from illness’ banality – this work is worship of the Creator, witness to grace, opening to the Holy Spirit.

Institutions that prioritize redundant reports over living contact, expectations to individually heal victims of systemic poverty and diseased environments, sleep deprivation and insufficient access to my support networks – that kind of work opens doors for evil.

How will my work come together in a new culture? I think the best path will require patience to live into relationships and the discipline of listening more than directing. Internet information cannot be the determining factor in discerning fit between me and those I hope to serve.

Mobile Member Care Team provides crisis supports for a wide range of organizations across West Africa; my skills and vision seem to fit with their needs. They are appropriately careful in screening for crucial and demanding work. Many of you have already been involved in supporting my application – thank you. We continue to pray that our witness to grace, praise to the Creator and  opening to the Holy Spirit will be evident in the process.

South America beats out Africa!

No, this is not a (soccer) football prediction. But the winner of “next continent targeted for Bergen invasion” is on alert. August 21 Erin leaves for Trujillo, Peru. For the next year she will be strengthening family ties as she is immersed in Spanish and helping the local church’s outreach.

Although we think of this as going to family, the gracious hosts have not met us in person. We were brought together through their nephew, who we were excited to welcome into our home in February 2012. Caleb Lazaro Moreno is the oldest child in a close-knit family that left Trujillo when he was 6 years old. It was not easy for any of them when he moved last year from their home in Colorado to take on a position in Kansas. As we filled in some of his loneliness for parents and younger sisters, we were pulled into his enthusiasm for hot peppers, hot rhythms, hot topics and very warm fellowship. When his family visited we were also enveloped in their loving care.

We like to think that the work of an additional sister was the last push needed for Caleb to propose to his long-time girlfriend. Alongside other family we helped plan for their special day and new home. By August he had brought this quiet Japanese-born woman from L.A. to live with him in a college campus on the Kansas prairie – close enough to drop by for midnight snacks or a quick hug. When Erin was looking for a Spanish community, the opportunity to close the loop by going “back” to Peru seemed obvious.

Caleb and his gifted family have blessed us with joy, music, pastoral challenges, new tastes and traditions. We pray that Erin will continue to enjoy the journey, that she and those around will have the patience, humor and resilience to work through differences, and that the love of Christ be made more real through their willingness.

(photo: Caleb and Mai’s engagement party, Erin to their left.)