EVERY DAY is a surprise. EVERY DAY is a promise. EVERY DAY is a challenge. YES!  We all believe in these positive and hopeful statements. They are especially meaningful during the Season of Spring that has begun to smile on Minnesota where some of us in the ARK FAMILY live.  Easter, the highpoint of the Christian faith is April 16. An event when faith burst out of despair and darkness. Easter brings us everyday surprise, promise, and challenge that embraces and empower us./And yet, EVERY DAY is also filled with surprises that make us anxious. Promises broken and challenges to remain courageous and faithful. As the Director of ARK, I live these EVERY DAY. One of our ARK FAMILY recently shared: “If I had a young person in my family, I’m not certain I would want them to travel globally today.” A statement full of concern, honesty and compassion given the chaos and uncertainly we are experiencing in the USA and around the globe.

But it is Spring Time and I looked for some wisdom that could give us focus as a FAMILY OF PEACEMAKERS. I found this wisdom in the words of an old and beloved hero, HENRI NOUWEN. Henri grew up in Europe during World War II, a time of grave despair, uncertainty and grief. He became a Priest. His living through these times speak to yesterday, today and tomorrow. Here are some of my favorites:

"When you are interiorly free you call others to freedom. Freedom attracts wherever it appears. A free person creates a space where others feel safe and want to dwell.”

“Often we want to be able to see into the future. When we reach for light and not darkness, we can walk into tomorrow with hope. We can walk among the shadows and have enough light to take the next step.”

"Our hearts and minds desire clarity. We like to have a clear picture of a situation, a clear view of how things fit together and clear insight into our own and the world’s problems. But we are called to live in the borders between love and hate, evil and good, beauty and ugliness, heroism and cowardice, care and neglect, guilt and blamelessness. It is not easy to live faithfully in a world so full of uncertainty. We have to support one another to make wise choices without needing to be entirely sure.”
 

And so, as ARK moves through these borders in our hurting and anxious world, we are called to take the next steps with the trust that we will have LIGHT to take the step that follows.  We can wake up EVERY DAY TO THE SURPRISE, THE PROMISE, THE CHALLENGE in spite of the situations that seek to make our walk uncertain. 

Walk with me and pray for me as I must make some wise decisions as the “EVERYDAY CHALLENGES” meet us. I put my trust in GOD who is SURPISE, PROMISE AND BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGE.

We will keep you all updated as the next steps of ARK become clear.
 

In my role as a principal for a high school in one of the impoverished communities of Malawi, life has been adventurous. Even though, sometimes my job can be tough, I am encouraged to keep on moving when I consider the little fruits that we have already realized in the lives of the youth that we work with.   

"IMPROVISE” would be one big one, that has come out in my life since my return from the US. If it were not for the ability to improvise, our school wouldn’t have lasted this long. I am so grateful for the wonderful opportunity to serve with very brilliant teachers and staff.   

We are so grateful as a school to inspire so many lives through quality lessons and teaching different activities outside the classroom. However, this is only possible because of the help from others. We are grateful for the generous support of our partners, both within and from outside our country.   

For example, this past term, we received a gift of fresh piped-water on our campus, and our students had a chance to take part in the commemoration of the women’s world day of prayer. Again, we did a tour of different agribusiness ventures that are close to us. Our goal in all this is to raise awareness of the students, expose them to people that are making a difference, and challenge them to act in the process of transforming the world around them. We really hope that our students will break up with the wrong belief that they need to become someone else, or leave Malawi to be successful/ have their lives matter. We wanted them to believe that they have the essential ingredients for transformation right within their reach.

Terror Attack: Egypt
ISIS claimed responsibility for suicide bombings at two Coptic churches in Egypt that killed at least 43 people who were worshipping on Palm Sunday. ISIS recently said it plans to escalate violence against Egypt’s small Christian community.

Terror Attack: Sweden

Police arrested a 39-year-old man from Uzbekistan for ramming a truck into a pedestrian shopping street in Stockholm and killing four people and injuring at least a dozen more. The suspect, Rakhmat Akilov, reportedly had been denied permanent residency in Sweden and had expressed sympathy for ISIS. 
Gas Attack: Syria
A suspected chemical attack in northwestern Syria killed scores of civilians, with officials suggesting the incident amounted to a war crime.
Suspicious Deaths
At least 10 critics of Vladimir Putin have died violently or in suspicious ways
Teaching of Children
Children's minds are formed at an early age to love and to hate, to fear and to bully. Some children are horribly misdirected.

LAKE MALAWI is the tenth largest body of freshwater in the world, and the third largest in Africa after Lake Victoria and Lake Tangnyika. 
 
LITHUANIA is a country with rolling hills and more than 750 rivers and 4,000 lakes. The two longest rivers are the Nemumas and the Neris.
 
MINNESOTA has over 10,000 lakes and the mighty Mississippi River runs through it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
 
PAKISTAN has some of the highest mountains in the world. The K2 IS THE second highest mountain in the world.  The Indus River and its tributaries can flood during the rainy season and is central to travel in Pakistan.
 
IRAN is mostly desert land. The area has frequent earthquakes and air pollution is a serious issue in many of its cities, like the capital city of Tehran. Iran borders the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
 
BETHLEHEM is situated west of the Jordan River and the State of Israel. A WALL completely surrounds Bethlehem. The water for Bethlehem is underground and controlled by Israel.
 
SAN LUCAS is located in the highlands of GUATEMALA.  It sits along Lake Attitlan. Spain owns 75% of the land leaving areas on the sides of mountains of 25% for the Mayan people who make San Lucas their home.
 
CHIKONDI, beloved family member of ARK from Malawi is the Principal of a new high school which lacks desks, books, research tools and a place for the students to exercise. What can the ARK Family do for the students of this new school?
 
Just some facts about our ARK Family around the world. What must we do to be more responsible for one another even when we are not together as a group. and YET, WE ARE FAMILY.
 
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. YOUR THOUGHTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE SEND THEM TO ME.  YOUR IDEAS ARE CHERISHED DEAR FAMILY.

Judy Maghakian ~ Director ~ arbanners@aol.com
 

WONGILE MBANO from Malawi graduated.  Congratulations Wongi!