Dear friends in our supporting churches:

Greetings from Honduras, where we've been enjoying several days of living at the margins of hurricanes. For most of us, the constant rain is welcome. It makes our basil grow and the trees happy. Yet for some of the poor, it washes away houses and hope. It helps me understand that Irish blessing that hopes the rain will "fall gentle on your fields."

We often refer you to articles that Paul has written, but sometimes, to keep him humble, we suggest other authors. Currently, the Los Angeles Times is running a series about a Honduran boy who migrates north to the United States in search of his mother. It's a moving story, with dramatic photography, and weaves together a variety of political and social issues in the moving story of one young boy. Today's episode describes the heartening Christian response of poor Mexicans to the plight of Central American migrants passing through one corner of Mexico. You can find the series online at

http://www.latimes.com/news/specials/enrique/

We recommend it highly. The theme is of critical importance to churches here, which are struggling to figure out how to respond to the myriad issues raised by massive migration.

While we're at it, last week the National Catholic Reporter published a long article by Paul about Angola. Some of the material was in the datelines that he filed from Africa for Action by Churches Together (ACT), but this piece also includes new material, and sums up in one place the many facets of his response to what's happening in Angola today. The text is online at:

http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives/092702/092702a.htm

You'll also see articles and photos of Paul's on Angola in the next two issues of Response, the magazine of United Methodist Women.

By the way, because of an article he wrote last year about Afghan refugees, Paul recently won the coveted Eileen Egan Award for reporting from the third world, given every year by Catholic Relief Services. It's a big honor, and the prize, in addition to a glass sculpture that sits in our living room, is a trip to some far corner of the world. Paul's prize is a trip to Indonesia in February. The timing is fascinating, and a good part of his time there will involve looking at Christian-Muslim relationships, which in general have been better in Indonesia than in some other nearby countries. Stay tuned.

That's all for now. May the rain fall gentle on your fields.

Lyda