Seattle Plans

There is still time to register and come to the Off The Map gathering in 3 weeks. I am excited to spend time with my friends Ken and Deborah Lloyd and Todd and Angie Fadel. I am also excited to be there with Kathy Escobar and other friends from The Refuge in Broomfield, CO. The Refuge hosted Jim Henderson, founder of Off the Map, as he started touring with the release of his new book, "Jim and Casper Go To Church." Brian McLaren will be there also, and I'm hoping I will have the new CD in hand, or in my backpack, so I can sell them after I lead my workshop. Finally I am also hoping to do a house concert with my friends from Mustard Seed. I will pass on the details as I get them worked out with Christine. If you've been following me for any time at all, you know Seattle is one of my very favorite cities and this is the perfect open event, good people, kind of gathering, excuse you needed to come!

A Espera Pelo Amizade

I didn't think I would get to come this time. I arrived in Argentina with an expired visa and was told it would take about a week to process another one in the Brazilian consulate in Buenos Aires. That is a whole other story...but miraculously, I got a visa in one day and arrived with my friends in Curitiba just one day late (and that would have happened anyway because of a cancelled flight). The most important happenings by far are our deepening relationships with a small believing community here. It is a joy to learn the stories and each person...some coming out of poverty and drug trafficking parents...others growing up in a nice city in Brazil, concerned for their nation's future...some artists, energized by imagining new ways of using their expression for the kingdom. Here is a Garage Band recording of a collaborative writing exercise we did with some young people here in Southern Brazil. (You have to subscribe to the podcast to hear it).

Friends in Peru Write About the Quake

I am going back to Peru in February, and the friends we are going to serve there are helping people overcome the aftermath of the 8.0 Earthquake that hit Peru last week. Here is an excerpt from an email we received from Lee Williams this week, one of the leaders myself, Doug and Rita Roberts, Ben and Robin Pasley, Aaron Strumpel and Tim Thornton are going to serve in February. If you would like to give directly to these people, you can designate a donation "PERU" and use the "DONATE NOW" link in the left column.

"Blessed be the LORD, For He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city." (Psalm 31:21).

Our team has just returned to Arequipa after a week in Chincha and Pisco , Peru helping with the relief effort of those affected by the earthquake - which is practically everyone! We arrived in Chincha three days after the initial quake that killed over 500 people and destroyed or damaged more than 50 percent of the homes and businesses in the area. On our first evening we were chased from our hotel room by a 6.0 quake. We returned to our candle-lit accommodations accompanied by the distant (and sometimes not-so distant!) crack of gunfire and rested with flashlights in hand.

We were able to contact a food distributor in Chincha and purchased more than a thousand kilos of rice, a thousand kilos of noodles, close to a thousand liters of water, cases of milk, tuna, crackers, and sugar, etc. In addition, we were able to purchase and have sent from Lima, hundreds of meters of plastic and insulation (Chincha is in the dead of winter, and the climate is very wet and cold, and many, many, people are forced to live outside of their homes in tents and make-shift housing). Also, we distributed more than a hundred blankets to four districts in Chincha and Pisco. THANKS BE TO GOD FOR ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE GIVEN IN AN EFFORT TO HELP WITH THE NEED IN CHINCHA PERU ! Your generosity is not in vain! Gratefully,Lee

Tracy Learns to Video Cast!

Just taking advantage of all the do-dads on my computer and the world wide web. I've actually been way jealous of how cool my friend's, Ben and Robin's, blog/website is. You can check it out at 100portraits.com.

Pre-Order the New CD!

You can pre-order the new CD, "Song's for a Revolution of Hop, Vol. 1, Everything Must Change" in the NEW Restoration Village store.

Here's a note from Brian McLaren, the producer:

It’s been a great pleasure to work with Tracy Howe (The Restoration Project), Aaron Strumpel, Nuc and April Vega and Posido Vega (Harp 46), Tim and Laurie Thornton (The Blackthorn Project), and engineer Dave Wilton on this project. Tracy has been our project leader: she’s an amazing producer, writer, artist, organizer, and performer – a joy for all of us to work with. Each musician added his or her own magic and character to the songs, and I hope you’ll be as thrilled with the results as I am. (brianmclaren.net).

Justice For Children International

Here's a brand new song for the podcast (you will only hear it if your subscribed to the podcast). In fact, this was only the second or third time I had ever played it and so I hit record in Garage Band, with my laptop sitting on top of the piano so I wouldn't forget it. The words come out of Psalm 10 which has been particularly meaningful for me these days as I have become an advocate for Justice for Children International. (www.jfci.org)

Summer Projects

I returned from South America and am working on several worship projects at the moment, including one in Portuguese. I am also very excited about the gathering in Minneapolis this summer and hope people are seriously considering joining us! PODCAST: Here is a version of "The Kingdom" recorded with my friend Kalyna from Fortaleza, Brazil in Portuguese.