Thanks to a lot of effort from the Never Again crew, we had a wonderful jigsawing session yesterday. Through the miracles of Skype, we were able to carry on a conference call with Marian, Heddy, Albert, Clare, Nick, Will and Poppy and through the miracles of technology, I was able to simultaneously get Sophie's call confirming that we would be able to have Madrigaia perform for Mama Justa. There is definitely no shortage of miracles going on.

As it turns out, Gary and Milly, our ministers are both acting to try and see that the church can contribute to our fundraising for the Kigali trip. Gary is away at conference this week but managed to have a quick talk with Joe about that before he left. We also got the details on the newsletter which we will try and assemble this week to give the congregation an update on what's happening. Rumor has it that our trip to Kigali is going to be mentioned!

Thanks to Albert's inspiration, we started to watch the American President last night. Didn't quite make it to the phrase "I'm going to get the guns!" but I think my body was telling me to get a few hours sleep to be fully awake for church and our next jigsawing conversation in...8 hours and 15 minutes! This time Joseph should also be able to participate. I am really looking forward to it - I can just feel the energy in the "room"!!

Akim dropped by the invitations and tickets for the fundraiser with Roméo Dallaire and hopefully we can get those sent off by tomorrow. Hopefully, if I can't get Evasio into the Child Soldier conference, he will at least be able to attend the African Canadian Heritage fundraiser.

Speaking of sending things off in the mail...this afternoon, Joseph and I are going to put the final revisions on our fundraising letters. I'm also going to see if a conversation with Lloyd Axworthy will prove fruitful in raising funds to support Never Again. With his passion for war-affected children issues and the Global College, I can't see him being able to pass it up. I think he can be a valuable contact in forging a network for Never Again here in Winnipeg and across the country.

Before I forget, Happy Birthday Corey!!!! The big 33? Ga! Where has the time gone? I'll refrain from posting a before and after shot on fear of linching :)

After talking with Jessica yesterday, I discovered that her daughter is actually married to the son of Igbal Riza. It is amazing the way the world connects. Thanks to Nick, I was reminded yesterday of Google Earth and was able to see close up satellite shots of Kigali. It's hard to believe from those pictures that such terror and atrocities could occur there. It looks as though it has the potential for such peace from God's eyes. I was able to see the airport where we will be landing and Amarhoro stadium where Roméo Dallaire was with his soldiers and was "home" to thousands in 1994 during the genocide. I've included a picture of Roméo Dallaire sitting in Amarhoro stadium in Rwanda in April 2004 (taken from the website of the documentary film Shake Hands with the Devil - the Journey of Roméo Dallaire. The film is directed by Peter Raymont and I would recommend it as a must see).

When I have a minute, I will set up Skype on my laptop so that I will have a way to communicate in Rwanda if Albert can find us a way to connect with the internet. As we discussed in our jigsawing conversation, that gap in connectivity is holding us back in our efforts to promote the responsibility to protect.

Now as I hear We Rise Again,sung by Canterbury High School at la service commémoratif en l'honneur des parlementarires decedes, on CPAC, I am moved to rise again and begin my day with the spirit of all God's blessings.