History of e-mailed Newsletters from Musical Missions |
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| Text of E-mails sent by Cameron and Kristina to Followers of Musical Missions of Peace since November, 2002 Jan 20, 2005 Dear friends of Musical Missions, From Kristina Our time here in the Middle East is drawing to a close We have just two more days. There is a bit of sadness in me as I prepare to leave new-found and old friends here. At the close of my fourth trip to the Middle East and after more than six months total in this part of the world, I feel that I am just beginning to understand these people. There are so many subtleties that we foreigners miss. The people of Egypt and other Arabic-speaking countries, (if you allow them in) will bathe you in loving warm energy. Cameron has spoken of how the people here seem telepathic. This telepathy really exists all around us here, although I would venture to guess that most English-speaking visitors don't catch onto it. When our Egyptian friend Ahmad sits beside the taxi driver I notice how they speak as if they were old friends even though they have never before met. This is not an occasional occurance, this is constant. These people are connected to each other in ways that we have no clue about. In "new age" terminology you might say that they have not separated so far from God or from each other. Their individual egos are not as separate as our Westernized egos are. The traffic and the constant noisy interactions take some getting used to. Many tourists come to Cairo to shop in Khan el Khalili, one of the ancient markets (John Kerry was there last week) and find the tourist hustling to be too much. The other night as I was walking through this market, it took me a while to let go of the annoyance of constantly being asked "come in to my shop" by shopkeeper after shopkeeper. But I could feel the safe and warm and welcoming undercurrent. This warmth keeps the fabric of this society together. You can see this in the families. They all live together. I've not yet met one college student who lives on their own. They all stay with their families and contribute to the welfare of the whole tribe. Only after they marry do they start their own households and then it is often within walking distance to the family homes. Grandmothers are the primary caregivers of the grandchildren if the mother chooses to work. Of course I love my friends in America too. So many wonderful people have invited us into their homes as we travel from state to state. We are incredibly blessed to know so many welcoming people. But please be aware that we Americans have created more walls. I urge you to experiment. If you know a native Arabic speaker begin with them. Open up those channels that have cut us off from on another. That connecting energy is the glue that keeps us together. It is called love. In the last few days we have been interviewed by the biggest newspaper in Egypt, Al Akhbar. The article will appear this next week. We have just done a concert at the South Center for Human Rights. See website: www.southonline.org We have had other articles written about us in smaller publications here also and will be appearing on Egyptian Television Friday morning January 21st. We are doing everything we can to let the people here know that there are Americans who only wish for "the peace" as the people here say. The Message of Peace which followers of Musical Missions have supported will soon be published in the major Arab World press. For the last two weeks we have been travelling south along the Nile through Egypt with my daughter and her friend who are both in their early twenties. It has been a great pleasure to watch them begin to understand the generosity of the Egyptian people. The secret is to refuse all "guide services" until you have escaped from the "tourist trails." Cross the river or go to the other side of town if necessary. Around the corner, after midnight, you will find magic streets with live bands perched on donkey carts. The dancing is infectious and soon you find yourself moving with the dancing villagers. What a treat to watch my daughter and her friend learning new dance moves from the village girls! And again beyond the edges of the tourist trails Egyptian friends by the Red Sea adopted us and kept us busy dancing and singing in their favorite late night restaurants. We had to go back again! It was arranged for us to take our instruments and give a concert the next time. One night with these new friends was not enough. Soon we will be in Spain and then France where Cameron will have a surgery to correct his heart arythmia, which from time to time totally incapacitates him. He is on medication for this but the medication has side effects which are not desirable. This procedure is $15,000 in France and $60,000 in America. So guess why we picked France? We had to let go of his health insurance in the US when it hit $1,000 a month a few years ago.This operation will put us in debt. So of course if you can afford to donate to help with the cost of this procedure you can do so at http://www.musicalmissions.com or send a personal check to Musical Missions, 2090 Grape Avenue, Boulder, Colorado. 80304. Checks made out to "Musical Missions" are tax-deductable for you, of course, as they go through a non-profit corporation. Thank you, thank you to those who have already contributed for the Message of Peace in the Newspapers, to our expenses and to the operation. And If you cannot afford to donate please just keep Cameron in your prayers for a smooth and successful operation. (Febuary 7th). March will find us back in America, where we will again continue to bring the magic of the Arab world and messages of peace to your home towns. Let us know if you would like us to do a presentation in your area. There is so much misunderstanding between our cultures and we seem to be able to help heal this. Salaamu aleykum (Peace be with you) Kristina ---------------- Jan 5, 2005 From Cameron and Kristina: Living in the spirit-body of the world there seems to be no place that we cannot call "home." We have just returned to our Egyptian home from our Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian homes. We play in the uproariously gregarious energy of the Cairo streets. Throngs of teenagers adopt us so that our photos can all be taken together. It's two o'clock in the morning and we are winding our way back from a concert of Nubian music. We cross the Nile. The sky is clear tonight over Cairo thanks to a gentle but persistant breeze. Two young American ladies have joined us to share adventures for the next two weeks. We continue to announce that we are Americans who represent the compassionate wishes toward the Arab-speaking world felt by many of our countrymen/women. Only two nights ago we were looking into the eyes of Iraqi friends in Jordan. Like us, they carry an oud and a violin. Friendship with this family goes back 30 years! Our eyes exchange delight with seeing each other and our smiles contain all our eagerness! The war news is too horrendous to report. War news remains unfathomable unless you were there in the streets with the tanks. Soft Palestinian eyes welcome us into Beirut, Lebanon. Knowing from the internet who we are, we are welcomed by a young Muslim Palestinian woman who is a singer... and a schoolteacher. She hands us a cassette tape of her band... if we want to stay and play, here is the invitation! Organizations are being set up to help bring musical training into the poverty of the camps and we are invited to participate... we feel at home. We cross two snow-covered mountain ranges into Damascus, back in Syria. The sounds of my oud and Kristina's drum and our voices soon permeate the textile market in the ancient souq, or marketplace... We feel at home... The journey to the south to Amman takes us across another strange colonial border into Jordan. We feel immediately at home as we are welcomed by Jordanian and Iraqi friends alike. Jordanian friends are the first to throw a party for us. It is Christmas... Our Muslim friends all kindly wish us Merry Christmas. Islam has included Christianity and Judaism since its inception. We sing late into the night... Plunging into two households of Iraqi friends: their recent attempts to live and work in Baghdad have had to be abandoned. Too impossible... But one son is there now... They worry... Again, the incomprehensible descriptions of loved ones' flesh and blood being torn... Sitting beside us on the plane back to Egypt is a soft-eyed black American man, journeying out of Iraq for the first time in sixteen months of "Department of Defense" duty. He has been trying to train Iraqi police recruits to stand in line. He hasn't yet had an opportunity to taste Iraqi food. But he was given one day of training in Iraqi culture. He was fascinated to hear of our ability to enter Iraq on the wings of a song and enjoy friendship with people on the streets. Something like this seemed unimaginable to him but he understood its value as a way to build friendship. We teach him the first three words of a popular Iraqi song and wish him luck. There are many details which would take too long to try and share in these e-mails. But financial subscribers to Musical Missions of Peace do receive more detailed periodic updates. Financial subscriptions are now being offered for as little as $5 per month. Go to http://www.musicalmissions.com and follow the "Financial Subscriptions and Donations" link to sign up. We have composed the following message in Arabic: "To the People of Iraq and other Native Arabic-speaking Peoples: Our Songs, Hearts, Thoughts and Prayers are with you. We look forward to the day when respect for all people of all the nations shines throughout the world once again! --Your Friends in America" We will publish this in Arab-world newspapers with circulation of more than two million daily readers, including Iraqis, by the end of January. Please send your donations so we can make this ad as large as possible. Do this by going to http://www.musicalmissions.com and clicking on the "financial subscriptions and donations" link. Credit cards can be used (click on the "Make a Contribution to have your Messages of Compassion Delivered Directly through Display Ads in Mainstream Arab-World Newspapers" Button) or checks can be mailed to: Musical Missions, 2090 Grape Ave, Boulder, CO, 80304. Donations can be tax deductable. Here is a list of many of the places we have been welcomed during the last two years and made to feel at home: (please e-mail us and let us know if you would like us to come to your town and do a presentation) Baghdad, Iraq; Cairo, Egypt; Damascus, Syria; Beirut, Lebanon, Amman, Jordan; Aleppo, Syria; Lattakia, Syria, Ramallah, West Bank; Aqaba, Jordan; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Sandia Park, NM; Long Beach, CA; Monterey, CA; Santa Cruz, CA; Ashland, OR; Bolinas, CA; Santa Barbara, CA; Denver, CO; Wolcott, CO; Westminster, CO; Golden, CO; Albuquerque, NM; Grand Junction, CO; Abiquiu, NM; Santa Fe, NM; Fort Worth, TX; Denton, TX; Fayetteville, AR; Lacombe, LA; New Orleans, LA; Slidell, LA; Mobile, AL; Columbus, GA; Durham, NC; Chattanooga, TN; Summertown, TN; Cookeville, TN; Nashville, TN; Estes Park, CO; Lafayette, CO; Dillon, CO; Frisco, CO; Avon, CO; Hillsboro, OR; Klamath Falls, OR; Corvallis, OR; Berkeley, CA; Oakland, CA; Laguna Beach, CA; Costa Mesa, CA; Mission Viejo, CA; Sonora, CA; Eugene, OR; Grants Pass, OR; Milwaukie, OR; Port Angeles, WA; Chelan, WA; Yakima, WA; Pocatello, ID; Idaho Falls, ID; Ft. Collins, CO; Lakewood, CO; Northglenn, CO; Del Norte, CO; Crestone, CO; Basalt, CO; Kansas City, KS; Rolla, MO; Terre Haute, IN; Bean Blossom, IN; Allentown, PA; Jonestown, PA; Flint, MI; Cincinnati, OH; Brattleboro, VT; Pottersville, NJ; Farmingdale, NY; Edinboro, PA; Racine, WI; Peoria, IL; Rockford, IL; West Lafayette, IN; Mankato, MN; Des Moines, IA; and, of course, Boulder, CO. Ignore the fences of fear! Learn another song! Fly like a bird! ----------------- Dec 19, 2004 To the followers of Musical Missions of Peace: On the Streets of Aleppo, in nothern Syria: "Welcome," we hear again and again as we walk down the streets of this ancient city which, like Damascus, has been continuously inhabited for at least 5000 years now. I look at the eyes and the faces and realize that I am in the presence of an indigenous people who have been here since the dawn of recorded history. The eyes are soft and invite friendship. We call Ibrahim on our cell phone. He remembers us from the last time we were here and comes to pick us up in his little pickup truck. The three of us jam into the front seat and drive to the musical instrument factory where fifteen men are busily assembling traditional Arab-world instruments: ouds, qanuns, buzuks. It's cold. It's December. We huddle around a tiny wood-stove and begin to pass an oud around. Ibrahim introduces us to Bashir, "the best oud player in Aleppo!" Our knowledge of each other's languages is similar: limited to pretty basic phrases. But we all speak music! We sing popular Syrian, Iraqi, Lebanese and Egyptian songs together, some familiar to us and others not. The qanun-maker gives us a tour of his part of the 5-room factory and we see the bare bones of the instruments in various states of shaping before assembly into the multi-stringed plucked zither which they they will become. He asks where we are from... "America," we reply... "Why Bush?" he asks. "Why do you pick a man so hated by everyone in the Arab world?" "I don't really understand it," I reply. He shakes his head, obviously dumbfounded that a nation could make such a choice and then resumes showing us the pieces of wood, the kinds of glue and the pieces of fish skin used in the manufacture of the qanuns. After four hours of music it is late and we prepare to go back to the center of town. We have bonded deeply, admiring each of our techniques and songs and, of course, Kristina's voice and improvisations. There is a religion of love. We all belong to it. It doesn't promise salvation for some while leaving others out in the cold. It doesn't say which wise men we must listen to and which ones to ignore. It doesn't invoke God as an excuse to move onto someone else's land. It lives in all of us, has the sensitive ears of an angel and gazes in adoration at all beings present in this moment. I don't know exactly where the "Holy Land" begins and ends. We rode the train down from Aleppo to Lattakia, Syria, on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean shores and we were greeted by our friend, Mohammad. He's been following our Musical Missions and sending us messages such as this when we arrived in Cairo: "Ahlan wa Sahlan ..welcome back Cameron, Kristina.. nice to hear such a good news that the musical mission is now in the Arab world.. you are best people to represent America than any other American ambassadors ..and your tools are better to spread peace and rebuilt the bridges between us and America than your officials' weapons.. so we need you now for 4 more years ..hoping that you will not need to learn singing in Farsi (Iranian language) after then.. ...so Cameron and Kristina..al hamdillah ala alsalameh (thanks God for arriving safely) to Cairo." Mohammad has a great desire to see people assembled around us now that we are actually here in Lattakia and he has good instincts about where we should go to accomplish this. Following his invitation, we began to sing in the lobby of a hotel in which many Iraqis are staying. Lattakia is a seaport and many material goods are shepharded through here bound for Iraq. The tiredness in some of these Iraqi men's eyes was thick and they weren't certain at first whom these two Americans singing popular Arabic music might be. They peered at us from within their red and white checkered keffeya. Gradually, as we moved through seven or eight songs, their eyes began to shine. They allowed the religion of love to begin to shine back at us and our breathing and singing became a flock of shy birds in the room. Mohammad is, in some ways, a shy man himself, but his instincts had guided us to the right place. He then led us with our voices and our oud and drum to a nearby restaurant where he had arranged for us to do a concert. An elegant setting... The owners, managers and musicians welcomed us with impeccable generosity and set up two chairs and three microphones for us. Mohammad introduced us to the hundred or so who were assembled and we began, again, to sing Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi songs to the mixed Christian and Muslim crowd. Amused at our accents and delighted with the songs, they clapped and sang along with us. Kristina, the "Little Fairuz," as they call her here, sang like a bird. Mohammad announced to the crowd the basic messages of peace which we carry and new friends, eager to stay in touch, came up and introduced themselves. The kind, elderly musician who had graciously relinquished his space for us, resumed playing and singing while Kristina and Bashar, a new friend, danced. On our way home in the wee hours, we passed Mohammad's father on the streets. He has an impressive dignity and a warm smile. Something seemed right with the world here in this ancient holy land. The next day we were invited to dine at Mohammad's home. Kristina had spent the afternoon with two young Syrian women recording their conversation about differences between American and Syrian womens' lifestyles. When she returned from this we walked to Mohammad's home. His mother prepared the delicious food and we sang with a dozen or so female members of his family whose names all begin with "R.": Raneem, Rahaf, Rama, Ruba... And a couple of uncles were there: one serious and one "crazy"... We now have, thanks to new Iraqi friends in Syria, knowledge about how to publish our messages of good will and peace in mainstream newspapers available in Baghdad as well as in the rest of the Arab-speaking world. We have announced this project in the last two e-mails. The translated message reads: To the People of Iraq and other Native Arabic-speaking Peoples: Our Songs, Hearts, Thoughts and Prayers are with you. We look forward to the day when your ancient wisdom can shine throughout the world once again! --Your Friends in America As more donations come in from you all, we will be able to purchase advertising space and publish this. Please consider making a donation or better yet, become a financial subscriber by going to our website: http://www.musicalmissions.com and clicking on the "financial subscriptions and donations" link. Credit cards can be used or checks can be mailed to: Musical Missions, 2090 Grape Ave, Boulder, CO, 80304. Donations can be tax deductable. We continue doing this work to build bridges of musical friendship at a grass-roots level between the Arab world and America. We sing and walk in peace and in freedom and try and help others to see that this is a possible path. If you enjoy receiving our updates, please help us stay afloat financially,if you can. Yesterday we met a Lebanese man who offered to give us a ride into Lebanon. Late last night at an internet cafe here in Beirut, I was befriended by some teen-age boys and girls. The girls couldn't stop dancing. "All we want to do in life is to dance," they announced. I told them I was a musician from America. We began singing some Lebanese songs together while the girls danced. They wanted me to bring my oud but the hour was already close to 2:00 am... More soon, Cameron and Kristina Contact us: cameron@rmi.net kristinasophia@yahoo.com We will begin touring America with our presentations about the Arab world again this spring. Please contact us if you are interested in producing us in your area! We bring the music, the slides, the video clips, the stories and, as those of you who have seen one of the 150 presentations we did last year in America know, audiences find it an uplifting and heart and eye-opening experience. ---------------- Dec 12, 2004 Hello from Cameron and Kristina -- Musical Missions of Peace Here in Egypt: Dissoving into the ancient NOW of Egypt. Life here can't really be contained by word-bags: "joys, frustrations, welcomes, poverty, ecstasy, traffic, singing, eyes and smiles..." Ten thousand moments tinged with Arabic ways of being enter our Indo-European English essence. Excited by the intensity: our new journalist friends translate ancient Arabic desert poetry and Modern Messages of Peace all in the same breath. An Egyptian woman is ululating (making high-pitched vocal sounds perhaps in celebration of a wedding) in the distance... Children laugh and play next door... Square pegs fit snugly into round holes. We are left with the sound of the poetic syllables in Arabic. Opening new soul-balloons inside ourselves we drink in the ancient messages and we translate our modern American Heart-Lust for Peace and Brother/Sister-hood. We shape and forge this message endorsed by American Musical Missions for Peace into Arabic until we smile uncontrollably! Ahmad, blessed with the gift of divine laughter carries us into some hilarious place we don't even need to "understand." Trust us: this is good! This is way more than just trying to fight our way through the hawkers who surround the pyramids! Musical Missions: Singing with the waiters...Singing with the pedestrians... Singing with the taxi-drivers... Singing with the musicians... Singing with the instrument-makers... Kristina on drums and vocals... Cameron on flute... Omar on oud... We line the busy city walls with a filligree of Arabic Music... Satisfied with musical missions into the NOW we break out in smiles all around... We will always come back for more. Politics: Funny how war and politics never even come up; those subjects don't really even have a place here (somewhere, left unspoken in our Egyptian and American hearts, we keep wishing the strange forces of colonial occupations would somehow someday just go away...) The more of us there are who choose to live in the music and the love, the fewer there will be who remain in the fear and the greed and the other black/white realities... Message to Arab World: This message we are forging from many American people who have seen us present "Singing in Baghdad"...it is saying what needs to be said... Rate cards are coming in through the journalists: we can reach a quarter of a million Arab-language readers for $84 per column/centimeter/day in Saudi, UAE, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco as well as Arab ex-pats in America and Europe... not sure yet about Iraq or Syria... working on that... We leave for Syria day after tomorrow... Aleppo, Latakkia, Beirut, Damascus, Amman... Contributions are beginning to come in from Americans: individuals and congregations to help us publish this message which now reads: "To the Iraqi People and all other Native Arabic-speaking People from your Friends in America: We are making a prayer that soon the day will come when your light, like the sun, can shine again for all to see! We are a voice of support for you and for your ways of acheiving peace." Travelling with Cameron and Kristina: Several people are coming over to join us in Egypt in January. We have room for more of you if you want to come. So many places we can go: Cairo, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, The Nile, The Oases and The Bedouin, Alexandria, Sharm el Sheik, the Mediterranean, The Red Sea... Pyramids and People and Musical Missions every day... we walk in connection with some divine rhythm which remains un-nameable... Remember just one thing: nothing is ever as it seems... it's always much better... all that is required is the dissolving: mine and yours... We are also inviting you to be with us on the West coast of Mexico during May, 2005. More Presentations in America Coming Soon; Please Book: We will do "Singing in Baghdad and Beyond" presentations in the Colorado area from February 23, 2005 until March 23, 2005. After that we will do our presentations in Texas and Louisiana and other Southern states during April. Please let us know if you are interested in having us come to your group or congregation. Spain and France: We will stop in Spain and France in late January and for the first half of February. I need to have a medical procedure done in France to fix a cardiac arhythmia (atrial fibrillation). It is much cheaper in France than in the US (only 25% of cost in US). (No, don't imagine that musicians like us could ever begin to afford health insurance...) So we have to go into debt about $15,000 for this one. (Donations appreciated...) But if anyone knows of a friend in Madrid with whom we can perhaps leave some stuff while we are in France, that would be great! Making Contributions: Go to our website, http://www.musicalmissions.com and click on the "financial subscriptions and donations" link and use a credit card to help support us. We thank you in advance for doing that. Of course, checks made out to "Musical Missions" can also be mailed at any time to Musical Missions, 2090 Grape Ave, Boulder, CO 80304. Donations of $50 or more are tax-deductable through our non-profit 501c3 corporation. We will be keeping you updated on our progress! You can reach us by simply replying to this message. Contact Cameron by e-mail: cameron@rmi.net Contact Kristina by e-mail: kristinasophia@yahoo.com Thanks, Cameron and Kristina Please encourage your friends who may be interested to go to our website and enter their e-mail addresses at the top of the home web page (see link to musical missions immediately above) and become subscribers so that they, too, will get our updates. -------------- Dec 2. 2004 Cameron and Kristina to Carry Messages from the Compassionate Hearts of American Citizens and Congregations Directly to People in the Arab World Now is the time to make certain that our voices of compassion are not silent. Political shifts are happening rapidly and it is easy to buy into the temptation to think in black and white. We must remember that all people are trying to move forward in the best possible ways from their own points of view. Voices which can be heard in the Arab world from American people during this time will be remembered as history unfolds! And voices from the Arab world which can be heard here in America will be remembered! It may seem like a time of confusion, but there is no confusion about the compassion in our hearts which extends from ordinary people to ordinary people! Cameron and Kristina fly back to the Arab world on December 2nd, 2004. Cameron and Kristina... that's us. We will be moving, God Willing, through Egypt and through three or four other Arab-world countries carrying the Compassionate Heart of America personally by joining with people in song -- popular Arabic music, as you know, is a strong vehicle! "Hey, these two Americans have put out the effort to learn this respectful way to resonate with us! We will listen to them!" People may not trust the politicians. But they trust Us and they can trust You! And.... Now we are suggesting that you help us place Display Ads in Arabic (we can get the translating done) in widely-read Arab-language newspapers in as many Arab-world countries as possible so that your Voices of Compassion can be heard! This is an extremely effective way to reach Millions of Ordinary Arabic-Speaking People! We can do the legwork, as we travel through the Arab world again this winter, to make this happen. As people who have seen our presentation, "Singing in Baghdad," know, the vast majority of Arabic-speaking people hold peace and friendship in their hearts for us! We were able to present "Singing in Baghdad" for more than 10,000 Americans in more than half of the 50 American states. We encourage you to Compose Your Own Messages and Send Them To Us. Contact Cameron by e-mail: cameron@rmi.net Contact Kristina by e-mail: kristinasophia@yahoo.com We will get them out to the folks over there! If you can make donations (see instructions below) sufficient to pay for the publication of these messages and cover our expenses in the Arab world to have them translated and placed in mainstream Arab-language newspapers you can reach the most people! We will, of course, try and send you copies of the ads as they appear. You will be able to hang a copy of your message printed in the Arabic language on the wall in the entrance to your sanctuary or office! As far as I know, we, Cameron and Kristina, are the only ones currently offering this people-to-people service. As you know, supporting our mission to carry your messages to the Arab world simultaneously supports our on-going Musical Mission: to honor indiginous peoples, wherever they are, by taking the time and putting in effort to learn their popular music so that we can go and sing with them! This opens the doors of communication and we all can learn from these peoples' ancient wisdom. We carry the compassion of so many Americans with us. And so many of you have told us, many with tears in your eyes: "Please don't stop doing what you are doing!" Making Contributions: While we are outside of America we depend on you to go to our website, http://www.musicalmissions.com and click on the "financial subscriptions and donations" link and use a credit card to help support us and contribute toward the publication of your messages. We thank you in advance for doing that. (Paypal does not require anyone to "become a member" in order to transfer funds to us, so the process is safe and easy.) Of course, checks made out to "Musical Missions" can also be mailed at any time to Musical Missions, 2090 Grape Ave, Boulder, CO 80304. Our voices, unless we speak out loud and directly through a mainstream channel, are muffled. How much does it cost to send a message with us? We want you to be able to participate at any level! Small donations will go toward the publishing of the following simple message: To the People of Iraq and other Native Arabic-speaking Peoples: Our Songs, Hearts, Thoughts and Prayers are with you. We look forward to the day when your ancient wisdom can shine throughout the world once again! --Your Friends in America We are much more excited about seeing you Compose Your Own Messages, however. Contributions of $400 would help us get those messages published in some newspapers. Contributions of $more would help us get those messages published in more newspapers in larger display ads that would be noticed and read by more people. And remember, your contributions will simultaneously support our carrying your compassionate energy personally and delivering it through our musical interactions! We will, at your request, add the names of individuals or congregations to our website and acknowledge receipt of a message there. We can also display the message itself on our website if you like. We can also, at your request, add the names of individuals or congregations to pamphlets listing our "sponsors" which can be distributed to people as we travel. Some of you may wish to remain anonymous, which is also fine. We are already living in an age of global democracy. We must participate to make it more of a reality. We must make our voices directly heard. We can't rely on the most wealthy 2% to do all the communicating and decision-making for us. We will be keeping you updated on our progress! Please encourage your friends who may be interested to go to our website and enter their e-mail addresses at the top of the home web page http://www.musicalmissions.com and become subscribers (free) so that they, too, will get our updates. We need to reach as many people as possible. --------------- Nov 18, 2004 Dear Friends, Once again it is up to us people to personally carry the message of universal compassion from America to the Arab world. We will be leaving for Egypt and other places in the Arab world on December 2nd and we will carry a message of compassion from all of you! We know the true compassionate nature of the American people, democrats and republicans alike! We are suggesting that individual congregations compose messages of prayer and sympathy and empower us to publish them in mainstream Arab-world newspapers so that your voices can be heard in the Arab world. This is a way that people can talk directly to people! Let us know if you are interested in literally extending your compassion in this way! Again we read escalating body counts of slain US soldiers in Iraq. And again we read escalating body counts of slain Iraqis in Iraq. We believe that before God's eye every being is valued equally. We grieve all of these deaths and maimings with the same passion and with the same compassion. To turn a blind eye toward the current tragedy unfolding in Iraq would be to ignore a not-so-beautiful, but genuine, aspect of being human. These young men and women, whether members of America's armed services or of Iraqi citizenry fighting against a perceived invasion, are all being caught in a giant situation not of their own making. Very few of those doing the dying are in any way responsible for the war. The Iraqi people and the American people do not represent a threat to each other, yet they are being forced to enter a hell on earth. If "the people" were truly in control of the governments on this planet, would this war have been elected? With the latest election behind us, we American people are left feeling very divided. Regardless of who may have "actually won," those of us who feel that "Iraq was the wrong war at the wrong time," are left with no significant voice in our government. Yet we are certainly close to being half the American people! As you know, we, Cameron and Kristina, carried musical messages of peace to Baghdad, Cairo and many other places in the Arab world on three pilgrimages during 2002 and 2003. ( See www.musicalmissions.com ) Our feeling at the time was that the voices of compassion inside America were not being expressed through our government and that it was up to us, personally, to carry this voice. Those of you who have followed us know that we did succeed in fulfilling this mission to a large extent. During 2004, when we finished our recent tour of America, driving 35,000 miles and doing 150 presentations about the Arab world in more than half of the nation's fifty states, many of the more than ten thousand people who attended told us: "Don't stop doing what you are doing! I want Cameron and Kristina to represent me in the Arab world!" We heard this request from Democrats and Republicans alike and we know that most Americans, whether habitually voting for one party or the other, hold hopes for an eventual global "just and lasting peace" close to their hearts! Americans are shakers and movers who walk our talk and who show up when people are in need. I don't think many Americans feel personally responsible for what is unfolding in Iraq. We are left scratching our heads when it comes down to a truly soul-searching answer to why our forces are there. What does seem to still be clear is that the ideals of democracy are not being realized. We hope to "make the whole world safe for democracy" but we certainly don't want to cause Iraqis to sacrifice the beautiful wisdom which is contained in their ancient ways of being! Nor do we want to unfairly steal their resources. We would rather be offered a chance to exchange with and to learn from others while simultaneously honoring their freedom. Arab-world people, we have found, are eager and ready to return a personal "people-to-people" compassion toward ordinary American citizens. As those of you who have seen our presentation, "Singing in Baghdad," know, not once in five months of travel in 5 different Arab-world countries did we have a rude comment directed at us! So we shall heed the pleas we have heard so many times during our travels through the American heartlands and we shall not stop doing what we are doing! Of course, as always, we need your financial assistance to continue our work. The only income we make while we are in the Arab world is from donations. Please help us keep going. Send your contributions to Musical Missions of Peace, 2090 Grape Ave., Boulder, CO 80304. Or go to our website http://www.musicalmissions.com and use a credit card to become a monthly financial subscriber or to make a one-time donation. Accumulated annual amounts over $50 can be channelled through the 501c3 non-profit organization "Musical Missions of Peace" and you can deduct the contributed amount at tax time! Some day, God willing, our dollars will adapt to become better vehicles for the heart energies as well as for the material energies and all this will flow more easily! And reply to this e-mail with your thoughts and your wishes so that we can continue to represent you! I know that many of you have recently received our announcements of upcoming workshops and tours in Egypt, Greece, Morocco and Mexico. Whether you feel yourselves ready to be wandering "musical missionaries" or you just need a little toe-hold in some place outside of America, we will try and meet your needs! Please continue to respond and let us know as your own plans evolve! Anyone wishing to join us in the Arab world during December or January should let us know! ------------- Nov 13, 2004 Workshops and Tours offered by Musical Missions of Peace. Where? In Mexico, Egypt, Morocco and Greece! What? The Wisdom of Ancient Civilizations and You! See more below. You may be associated with one of the dozens of church congregations for whom Cameron and Kristina, of Musical Missions, presented "Singing in Baghdad" during the last year and a half. Or you may be associated with another congregation whose members have been following Cameron and Kristina's peacework through the Arab world and through America. Who are Cameron and Kristina? Cameron spent eight years exploring South America's Andean world and guiding other Americans through remote Inca villages before beginning explorations of Mexican, Greek, Turkish and Arabic countries, music, languages and lifestyles. He and Kristina felt comfortable on the streets of Baghdad in April of 2003 because they were global soul-citizens with 100% respect for all ancient civilizations and for the wisdom carried by the people and their music. ( see www.musicalmissions.com ) Their "Musical Mission of Peace" was to sing popular Iraqi music with ordinary Iraqi citizens in the streets of Baghdad. Iraqis could then see that there are American citizens who love Iraqi culture and who are willing to travel there for no other reason than to say "hi" and sing a song. Cameron has studied and performed Arabic music for twenty-five years. Their presence there carried a simple message: "We do not come in fear; we come in love!" "We need to see more people like you!" they were passionately told. They have been welcomed recently through Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the West Bank. Tens of thousands of Egyptians sang popular Egyptian music along with them in the Cairo Stadium to celebrate common humanity and raise funds for a children's cancer hospital. They delivered the compassionate prayers from tens of thousands of Americans to ordinary citizens in Iraq and the Arab world during the last two years. They drove 35,000 miles through America delivering 150 presentations about the Arab world to Americans who turned out in more than half of the 50 states curious to see images and hear stories and music not available through the mainstream media. They have been covered by dozens of newspapers, TV and radio programs. "Whatever you do, don't stop!" they are continually told by fellow Americans. "I want you to represent me in the Arab world!" They just returned from Puerto Vallarta, on the west coast of Mexico, where they received more positive reviews for their recent presentations in Mexico and where they laid the groundwork for upcoming "Gateways to Humanity" workshops there. Are you or is someone you know possibly interested in traveling with or doing workshops with Cameron and Kristina? Are you interested in getting out of the box? They are currently designing workshops and tours in Egypt, Morocco, Greece and Mexico and need your input. Now, more than ever, it is time for us Americans to connect in healthy ways with the rest of the world. It is up to us as individuals to break down the walls that separate us from the rest of humanity and start living in a world of peace and cooperation. "Maybe some day you will join us and the world will live as one!" (sound familiar?) The time is now. More information will be coming soon! Let us know if this may be of interest to you! Table of Contents from Cameron's soon-to-be-released new book: (International workshops and tours will promote focus on soul-growth potentials in line with these topics.) A) We are all right from our own points of view 1) "Everyone is always right from his or her own point of view" 2) Everyone in the whole world is right, in every language 3) Do we speak language or does language speak us? 4) Exercise: "Seeing People on the Street" B) Dealing with Fear 1) Reflections of Fear 2) Overcoming Fear: You are SAFER over There! 3) Fear or Excitement -- a quick Leap called Courage: 4) Learning Languages: Can We Do It? C) Feeling Good 1) Sensuality and Music -- you have to feel GOOD inside... 2) Sacred Flirtation 3) Musical Enlightenment and Ecstasy. D) Personal Mental Growth 1) Working against our own Arrogance -- sorry, it’s not so easy... 2) 'Civilization' -- Whose? 3) Why even working for Peace is Not Enough -- Whose Peace is it anyway? E) Personal Soul Growth 1) Gain a New Soul by Entering a New Culture. 2) Enlightenment and Inner Peace -- in these times? 3) No Humor at the Expense of Others -- This creates a way of thinking which eventually becomes an obstacle. 4) Becoming the Prayer: No Fear 5) Worshipping the Feminine in the Middle East and elsewhere -- How does it work? aka Being able to see the Garden when you are in it 6) Study of Exotic Music: Middle Eastern Music as an Example 7) Becoming a Musical Ambassador 8) Learning to Become Responsible Global Citizens. 9) Do we really want to waste this Precious Lifetime? Check out www.musicalmissions.com e-mails: cameron@rmi.net or kristinasophia@yahoo.com The meek have already inherited the earth. Let's go and walk with them. ----------------- Nov 8, 2004 Dear MusicalMissions.com Fans, Are you interested in traveling with Cameron and Kristina? Are you interested in getting out of the box? We are currently designing workshops and tours in Egypt, Morocco, Greece and Mexico and we need your input. Now, more than ever, it is time for us Americans to connect in healthy ways with the rest of the world. It is up to us as individuals to break down the walls that separate us from the rest of humanity and start living in a world of peace and cooperation. "Maybe some day you will join us and the world will live as one!" (sound familiar?) The time is now. More information will be coming soon! Let us know if this may be of interest to you! In case you don't remember or know who we are: Cameron spent eight years exploring South America's Andean world and guiding other Americans through remote Inca villages before beginning explorations of Mexican, Greek, Turkish and Arabic countries, music, languages and lifestyles. He and Kristina felt comfortable in Baghdad in April of 2003 because they were global soul-citizens with 100% respect for all ancient civilizations and for the wisdom carried by the people and their music. Their "Musical Mission of Peace" was to sing popular Iraqi music with ordinary Iraqi citizens in the streets of Baghdad. Iraqis could then see that there are American citizens who love Iraqi culture and who are willing to travel there for no other reason than to say "hi" and sing a song. Cameron has studied and performed Arabic music for twenty-five years. Their presence there carried a simple message: "We do not come in fear; we come in love!" "We need to see more people like you!" they were passionately told. They have been welcomed recently through Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the West Bank. Tens of thousands of Egyptians sang popular Egyptian music along with them in the Cairo Stadium to celebrate common humanity and raise funds for a children's cancer hospital. They delivered the compassionate prayers from tens of thousands of Americans to ordinary citizens in Iraq and the Arab world during the last two years. They drove 35,000 miles through America delivering 150 presentations about the Arab world to Americans who turned out in more than half of the 50 states curious to see images and hear stories and music not available through the mainstream media. They have been covered by dozens of newspapers, TV and radio programs. "Whatever you do, don't stop!" they are continually told by fellow Americans. "I want you to represent me in the Arab world!" They just returned from Puerto Vallarta, on the west coast of Mexico, where they received more positive reviews for their recent presentations in Mexico and where they laid the groundwork for upcoming "Gateways to Humanity" workshops. Check out www.musicalmissions.com e-mails: cameron@rmi.net or kristinasophia@yahoo.com The meek have already inherited the earth. Let's go and walk with them. ---------------- Oct 30, 2004 Hello from Cameron and Kristina! Here is a chance for people from the Colorado Front Range area to see "Singing in Baghdad." Tuesday, Nov 9, 2004, 7-9pm "Singing in Baghdad" Presentation University Village Center in Ft. Collins (on the 1600 Block of Plum Street just west of Colorado State University campus) Price: Free Sponsor: Apartment Life at Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO More Info: Julie Rozek 491-3270 or jrozek@lamar.colostate.edu Directions: Heading north on Hwy 287 (college ave.) you will turn LEFT onto Prospect. Take Prospect to Shields St and take a RIGHT. Take a LEFT onto Plum St. Continue for several blocks...go straight at the stop sign at the intersection of City Park. After that intersection turn RIGHT at the THIRD parking lot entrance. This is the University Village parking lot (feel free to park anywhere in the lot) The Univ. Village Center will be on the left hand side after entering the lot. And a chance for people in the region around Salida, Colorado: Thurs, Nov 11, 2004 7-9 pm "Singing in Baghdad" Presentation Salida, CO More Info: clark roberts I've (Cameron) been working to finish my next book. This will give examples of the kinds of "soul growth" which can happen as a result of living the Musical Missionary in Reverse lifestyle. So much glowing human energy! So much ancient wisdom to drink from! We'll be in Colorado for November, so anyone who would like to arrange for us to come and do a presentation or workshop will have that opportunity. Then we will travel back to the Arab world: more adventures to come! Then we will begin more tours of America to share the fruits of our explorations. Sometimes we will be travelling together and sometimes separately. Now is the time to begin booking our presentations and workshops. "Arab-World People: Who are they really and what are they thinking?" "Soul Growth for Americans: becoming reverse missionaries and learning from the wisdom of the ancient civilizations. "What Women in the Western World can learn from our Sisters in the Middle East." Sound Healing work with Kristina: "Breaking the Sound Barrier!" "Waking up your Soul with Music." We will be in the Colorado and New Mexico region for November of 2004 and parts of, April, July and August of 2005. December thru late February: back to the Arab world March and early April, 2005: Tour through the Southern states May thru June, 2005: Tour of West Coast September thru October, 2005: Tour of Midwest and East Coast Now is the time to live in a world that supports cooperation and communication between people of all nations and artistic exchanges between diverse cultural traditions. Now is the time to delve into the ancient wisdom traditions of the world and learn from those who have carried these traditions for centuries. It is now the time to honestly look at our selves and remove the blinders that have seperated us from the rest of the world. The time for being afraid is over, it's up to us, here and now. We, the American people, must regain control of how our government conducts foreign policy. We must overcome our fears and re-establish contact with other ordinary people on the planet. True democracy depends on us. And special thanks again to all of you who have helped produce one of our presentations or workshops! Please stay in touch and please feel free to reply to this message! Check out our website: www.musicalmissions.com A non-profit 501c3 organization has been kindly created to help support Cameron and Kristina's "reverse missionary" work. Now we need help applying for funding. Anyone with expertise in this realm would be welcome. During these months when we are out of the country we must rely on contributions made either with credit cards through our website or by sending checks to: Musical Missions, 2090 Grape Ave, Boulder, CO 80304 Thanks! Cameron and Kristina e-mails: cameron@rmi.net or kristinasophia@yahoo.com -------------- Sept 21, 2004 Here is a chance for people from the Colorado Front Range area to see "Singing in Baghdad." Saturday, October 2, 2004, 7:30 to 9:30 pm "Singing in Baghdad" by Cameron and Kristina, Musical Missions of Peace Multimedia Presentation: Music, Projected Photo Images, Stories Boulder Mennonite Church - 3910 Table Mesa Drive (1 block east of Broadway on Table Mesa Drive) Boulder, CO $12 suggested donation -- but no one turned away for lack of funds For information contact Steve: 303-499-2692 This will be our 150th presentation in America based on our experiences during the last two years in the Arab world. We have sung and represented the compassionate hearts of the American people in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank. We have driven more than 35,000 miles all over America living in our travel trailer and done our presentations and workshops before 10,000 people here in America in more than half of the fifty states for many different church congregations, synagogues, peace groups, schools, and lovers of world music and dance. We have also, as you know, performed for 60,000 Egyptians in the Cairo Stadium. We hope we have inspired Americans to contribute to the construction of the new Children's Cancer Hospital being built in Cairo. Do a search for "hospital 57357 egypt" to find out more about this project. Go to www.musicalmissions.com to find out more about Cameron and Kristina. A non-profit 501c3 organization has been kindly created to help support Cameron and Kristina's "reverse missionary" work. Now we need help applying for funding. Anyone with expertise in this realm would be welcome. Hope to see you on October 2nd! --------------- Aug 31, 2004 New workshop series by Cameron and Kristina: Soul Growth for Americans: becoming reverse missionaries and learning from the wisdom of the ancient civilizations. Our presentation, "Singing in Baghdad," has been on the road here in America for more than a year now. We have driven more than 35,000 miles all over this country living in our travel trailer. We have done our presentations and workshops before 10,000 people here in America in more than 140 different events in more than half of the fifty states. We have also, as you know, performed for 60,000 Egyptians in the Cairo Stadium. We hope we have inspired Americans to contribute to the construction of the new Children's Cancer Hospital being built in Cairo. Upcoming Schedule for Cameron and Kristina: Sept 9th: return to Colorado. We will be in the Colorado and New Mexico region for parts of September, October and November of 2004 and parts of January, April, July and August of 2005. December thru early January: back to the Arab world February thru March, 2005: Tour through the Southern states May thru June, 2005: Tour of West Coast September thru October, 2005: Tour of Midwest and East Coast "Don't stop what you are doing!" is something we hear again and again as we travel across America and across the Arab world. We won't stop and we will diversify our efforts to combine our presentations about the Arab world with a wider range of more-in-depth workshops covering topics such as these: Do we speak language or does language speak us? How is the Arab mind different from the American mind? Overcoming Fear: Discover the amazing truth about how to travel safely! Sensuality and Music -- you have to feel good inside... Musical Enlightenment and Ecstasy Working against our own Arrogance -- sorry, it’s not so easy... 'Civilization' -- whose? Why even working for Peace is not enough -- Whose Peace is it anyway? Gain a New Soul by Entering a New Culture Enlightenment and Inner Peace -- in these times? No Humor at the Expense of Others Becoming the Prayer Worshipping the Feminine in the Middle East and in America -- How does it work? Study of Exotic Music: Middle Eastern Music as an example Ancient musical rythmns and channeling sacred chants Becoming a Musical Ambassador Learning to Become Responsible Global Citizens before it's too late! Do we really want to waste this precious lifetime? We are all "right" from our own points of view Everyone in the whole world is "right", in every language! Thanks, Cameron and Kristina And special thanks again to all of you who have helped produce one of our presentations or workshops! Please stay in touch and please feel free to reply to this message! Check out our website: www.musicalmissions.com ---------------- Aug 1, 2004 "Singing in Baghdad" has been on the road here in America for a year now. We have driven more than 30,000 miles all over this country. We have done our presentations and workshops before more than 120 different audiences, democrats and republicans alike, trying to reach as many Americans as possible. That's an average of one presentation every 3 days for the last year. We are now in Flint, Michigan. We have just finished presentations in Kansas, Missouri, Indiana and Pennsylvania and are headed for Ohio, Vermont, New York, and points beyond. Audience sizes have ranged from 10 to 800. Something like 10,000 people have now seen our images and music and heard our personal accounts of what it's like to be welcomed into of one of the beautiful ancient civilizations on planet earth: the Arab-speaking world. We trust that those who have come to personally witness "Singing in Baghdad," will have a greater perspective when they vote in our upcoming elections this November. Soon, God willing, we will be carrying the positive energy of tens of thousands of Americans back to the ordinary Arabic-speaking citizens who live in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab-world countries where we act in our role as Peoples' Musical Ambassadors. Financially, we are surviving on a break-even path, thanks to those of you who are financial subscribers or who have sent donations. When we are outside of America we have no income from our presentations. If you have been following our work and cheering us on, please consider becoming a financial subscriber. Think of the value you receive from all those other monthly bills you pay and then think of how much it is worth to you to have us out here representing you in the Arab World and working to bring people-to-people education to Americans. It helps us so much when you go to our website and become a financial subscriber. This guarantees us, as long as you choose not to cancel your subscription, a monthly income which can keep us going and pay our expenses. We have just worn out one van and have had to purchase another. And financial subscribers do receive extra information from us in addition to what the non-financial subscribers receive. If you go to our website you can easily use a credit card to become a financial subscriber. No one else is out here doing this work in this way. We encourage others to do it, but since we are out here and we have the musical tools, please send us your support. Thank you! Link to our website: http://www.musicalmissions.com Amazing things can happen and will, no doubt, continue to happen: last October in Egypt we were honored to sing before an audience of 60,000. Not only were we the only Americans selected to help raise money for a children's cancer hospital being built in Cairo, but our mission of bringing the compassion of many many thousands of Americans was understood and promoted not only to the 60,000 in the audience, but to millions of other Egyptians as well through the high-profile TV coverage we received. Viewers could, at last, view the results of our efforts and say to themselves something positive about Americans! And, as you know, it was at the encouragement of ordinary citizens in Jordan that we made our journey to sing popular Iraqi music on the streets of Bagdad with ordinary Iraqi citizens. Again, it was possible for ordinary Iraqi citizens to think and feel and say something positive about Americans. It is our belief that the official channels of communication between America and the Arab-speaking world are clogged with blind spots and unconscious prejudice and are not carrying the true messages of sanity and good will which ordinary people in both worlds desparately want to express and hear. So very many of you have told us "please don't stop what you are doing!" Thank you for your support. Donations made can, at your request, be tax-deductable. Also: all those who become financial subscribers at the minimum $25 per month level will receive all four of our music cd's for free if you request them and provide a mailing address. Thanks, Cameron and Kristina And special thanks again to all of you who have helped produce one of our presentations or workshops! Please feel free to reply to this message. --------------- July 1, 2004 A Suggested Presentation for your Congregation Kristina and I have now driven more than 25,000 miles inside America and done more than 100 presentations of "Singing in Baghdad" across the country as well as dozens of our "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" workshops. We are still on the road and will do many more presentations and workshops in the coming months. To see some of the reviews we have received go to: http://www.musicalmissions.com/reviews.html As most of you know, a year ago we personally represented the compassionate heart of America to Iraqi people on the streets of Baghdad. How did we do this? By showing up 9 days after the entrance of the US Marines into the city. We sang popular Iraqi love songs with crowds of appreciative Iraqi people. They could see that there are Americans who are happy to reach out and honor their music and support their ways of living. "We need to see more people like you!" we were told on the streets. Last October, before an audience of 60,000 Egyptians, who sang popular Arabic music along with us, in the Cairo stadium, we again represented American decency and helped inspire contributions for a new Children's Cancer Hospital. In November and December of 2002, we represented the good neighborly spirit of America in Jordan. Tens of thousands of American citizens cheered our efforts by e-mail. To see some of these comment go to: http://www.musicalmissions.com/jordantripcomments.html Our work is oriented towards a time when all people on earth may be part of an egalitarian global society. There are many unconscious barriers to achieving this state of affairs: many styles of fear, ignorance and arrogance. We work to hold open communication between the Arab-speaking world and America so that we Americans can savour the ancient wisdom so abundant in the peoples of the Fertile Crescent and the Nile and Jordan river valleys and so that Arab-speaking people can know that there is a huge well of compassion in American people ready to flow forth and help mend the terrible destruction of war. And we work to enable people-to-people contact so that fear, ignorance and arrogance can dissapate and we can all learn to breathe as one. You might want to consider inviting us to include a presentation before your congregation in our travels across America. Feel free to contact any of the church-based or peacework-based references listed below. What we present is a very uplifting reminder of the universal radiance of humanity. It is essential in these times to deal in more healthy ways with the fears which have rocked our nation in the wake of 9/11. It is important to be able to distinguish between the miniscule numbers of violently inclined people and the overwhelming majority of humanity, who desparately hope for peace and have no plans to harm anyone. As "Musical Missionaries" we carry the tradition of "good neighborliness" which I learned as a child in rural Missouri into the international arena. As "Musical Missionaries" we become vehicles for basic love, respect and kindness without having to pretend that we are in some way "superior" to those whom we visit. You might say that we are "missionaries in reverse" because we simply offer those whom we visit our hearts and our heart-felt willingness to learn from them. What do we learn? We learn their favorite love songs so that we can share the energy of music with them in their own styles. And we learn about and absorb aspects of their own ancient wisdoms so that we can bring that back to our audiences here in America. I have spent years doing this work in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, the West Bank, Syria, Morocco, Spain, Peru, Bolivia and Mexico. Kristina has been accompanying me during the last few years and adds her nightingale voice and her female insights to our presentations. To see our current schedule go to our website: http://www.musicalmissions.com and click on the "current calendar" link or scroll down to the bottom of this message. We have now been booked across America by Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, United Church of Christ, Unity, Congregational, Unitarian, Religious Science, Lutheran, as well as other church congregations, synogogues and peace organizations. Many churches have generously given us either the entire or a large portion of their Sunday morning service in which to present "Singing in Baghdad." This works well because that is the time when a large percentage of their congregation is already assembled. Cameron and Kristina --------------- June 30, 2004 Hello from Cameron & Kristina, Beginning of Midwestern and East Coast Tour! Now we are setting out to bring "Singing in Baghdad" presentations and our "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" workshops to the American Midwest and East Coast. From July to September we will do our best to cover these areas. We have now done more than 120 of these events through the Southern and Western parts of the country. There are still some dates available for additional presentations in the Northeastern part of the country. Reviews and References are included below in case you would like to consider involving yourself with scheduling and producing one of our presentations. We find that wherever we go there are so many Americans who express deep gratitude that we were personally representing the compassionate heart of America in Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus and many other Arab-world places during the last two years. --------------- May 27, 2004 Hello from Cameron & Kristina! Since our last e-mail to you a month ago we have finished Musical Missions of Peace presentations on the West Coast in Berkeley, Oakland, Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Sonora, Eugene, Grants Pass, Portland... and here we go to Port Angeles, Chelan, Yakima, Missoula, Idaho Falls, Pocatello... then back to Colorado and points East... Yes, the summer months will see us doing dozens more presentations of "Singing in Baghdad" and "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" workshops as well as more concerts of Arabic music... As you know, we completed our tour through the South during January and February... Maybe it's time to re-emphasize the following: We find the American people to be eager to find a way to communicate, personally, with people in the Arabic-speaking world. We offer that opportunity, by being the musical ambassadors that we are. More and more frequently we see eyes brimming with tears of relief and gratitude after people see our presentations and workshops... Hearts are feeling pain from recent revelations about the realities of the American occupation of Iraq and compassion is powerfully flowing. Please go to http://www.musicalmissions.com/reviews.html to see reviews we have been receiving. Some are from democrats, some from republicans, some from peace activists, some from members of the military... Subscribers, donators are highly appreciated (go to www.musicalmissions.com). It looks like we are going to have to upgrade our van which pulls our trailer. Repair bills have been mounting. Check "current calendar" on our website to see when we might be coming through your area. ------------------ April 22, 2004 Hello from Cameron & Kristina Check our website at http://www.musicalmissions.com for more information. We are working our way down the West Coast now, doing 3 or 4 of our "Singing in Baghdad" presentations each week. We love doing our workshops, "From the American Dream to the Global Dream," when invited to do so as a follow-up to the presentation. This Thursday evening, April 22, we will be in Oakland at the Box Theater presenting "Singing in Baghdad"... See below for calendar of upcoming events through September, 2004. It is still possible for us to squeeze a few more events into the West Coast schedule and there are quite a few open dates during the summer Mid-Western and East Coast tour. We are hearing from some of you that you might like to accompany us on part of our next musical mission to the Arab world. Please e-mail us and let us know if that is the case: cameron@rmi.net or kristinasophia@yahoo.com "History" in the Middle East is being painfully written and re-written by out-of-control forces as we proceed. Remembering that societies are composed of individual sacred souls becomes more and more important as the headlines engrave stereotyped battle lines into our collective consciousness. It's more important than ever to be opening our minds and hearts to meet each and every person as a unique individual who in their deepest essence is eager to find ways to express his or her own personal form of compassion. Here are some of the comments we have recently received about the ninty-plus presentations and workshops we have now done across America, and following is a list of references. Reviews of "Singing in Baghdad" presentation and "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" workshop: ------------ I want you to know about two wonderful people with a musical and personal message of peace. Cameron and Kristina applied to provide our service and a follow-up workshop to our UU Fellowship in Klamath Falls; so I took the leap of faith to invite them here - and what a blessing they were to all who attended. Cameron and Kristina have traveled extensively through the middle east, including Cairo, Amman, Baghdad, Morocco, and Syria, playing the Oud and tabla, and singing together with the people on the streets in Arabic, Turkish, Greek (not to mention Mexico, singing in Spanish and South America singing in the language of the Incas!). They refer to themselves as missionaries in reverse, learning the local ways and returning with the universal message of peace. No one told them to go home! They gained access to Baghdad, nine days after the U.S. marines entered the city, with the only credentials they had, the oud and their beautiful voices, and the songs of the people. Their experiences and listening have filled them with a message for all of us to learn better the ways of love and peace, dispelling fear. Please invite them to come and be the program for a service and do a workshop. Love and Peace, Mark London, UU Fellowship in Klamath Falls -------------- Dear Cameron & Kristina, The board met last evening and I want to share the comments of those who attended the "Singing in Baghdad." It was said that this was one of the most wonderful experiences that many of us have ever had--to see what living as love can create. It was said that you greatly undersold yourselves; that you should be marketing yourselves in a much greater way as who you are and how you are interacting in the world is the EXAMPLE we all need. The music and singing were exceptional in quality and uniqueness, as was the information you each shared. The variety of experiences you have given yourselves in your life is magnificent and courageous. Each of you were such dynamic and warm individuals, it was a joy to be in your presence. I know you each and your mission will be richly blessed as you are divinity in action. Let us know when you will be in the area again. A big soft hug to each of you. Love, Nancy & Bill Waldron ---------------- I truly loved meeting Cameron and Kristina on Friday and learning of their adventures. Talk about people who have faith and trust and have their hearts wide open. Peter Farwell, U.S. Marines ------------ Dear Cameron and Kristina, I attended your concert last night at Lord of the Mountains church in Dillon. Thank you so much for an incredible experience and sharing with us your wonderful talent!! I purchased 2 of your CD's which I have listened to and love and one of the beautiful scarves....thank you! Thank you again! And PLEASE come and perform here again!!! Sincerely, Bonnie Norling Wakeman ------------ Cameron and Kristina: People are RAVING about your program. Thank you SO MUCH for coming and bringing such a wonderful perspective on our world.All of our best wises and joys and hopes for the future go with you as you continue your mission and ministry! Sue Robbins, Chair, Sunday Celebrations, High Country UU Fellowship ------------------- Dear Cameron and Kristina, We LOVED you guys!! And I have been telling lots of people about you. My brother told a friend who was feeling depressed about the world problems-- what you said about 99.9% of the world's population is loving, etc, and he said it made them immediately see things differently. In A Course In Miracles we would call this shift in perception a miracle. Thought you would enjoy hearing about this ripple effect from your work! Thanks again for coming to us. Love and an embrace from me, Harrel Lawrence in Avon, Co. Oh, and I am smoothing your eyebrows from afar too!! That was so funny! ----------------- Thank you both for sharing your music and your experiences with the folks at First Presbyterian Church Friday night as well as at the International dinner at Tenn. Tech. Univ. on Sat. night. We really enjoyed meeting you and seeing what miracles can be done if people just open their hearts. Travis Jarrell was right when she said how wonderful you all are! God bless you on your journeys. Marge Rios Cookeville, TN ---------------- Review by Weld County Public Libraries: Cameron and Kristina, Thank you both for the excellent presentations you gave at our two library branches. You both are such wonderful musicians and really brought a touch of the Middle Eastern culture to us. It made us realize that they are people just like us and gave us a clearer understanding of that region of the world. We hope you will continue with your work to bring understanding to both sides. I believe it is your mission to show that all mankind is in this together and you gently brought that message to all of us. Thank you once again for two wonderful programs. those who attended were very impressed. Sincerely, Pat Libera Chair, Adult Programming Committee Weld Library District --------------- My wife Batyah and I enjoyed your music very much and purchased your CD Baghdad and Beyond at the event. I recently found your CDs and booklet on maqams at maqam.com and I am enjoying them very much. I see now that I could have obtained them directly from you at musicalmissions.com but I didn't know that at the time of ordering. Your booklet is very good, I like the way you have classified the maqams and listed the scales for each. Yehoram Weiler --------------------- Hi Cameron and Kristina, Thank you so much for your wonderful voices and mission. I hope you can come back to The Farm some day in the not too distant future. Bless you in your travels and what you are teaching across the country leading to understanding and peace and such beautiful music. love, Eliz The Farm Summertown, Tennesee ---------------- Cameron & Kristina, The gifts of heaven are on you. The art of reaching out and giving your message is a vital part of everyone on this Earth. Every time we open our mouths we have the opportunity to allow God to speak. Every whisper, every shout, has a message. Yet every word not spoken out because of fear are messages too. Cameron, I really miss seeing your smile as you visited us at Unity in Fayetteville, AR. Your voice carries much love and I am thankful for meeting you. Kristina, Your beauty is on the inside as well as the out. I remember your laughter and joy and was greatly touched by your ability to sing songs with such feelings that seem to touch so many lives. It was a blessing and honor to meet both of you and with one last word, Thank you for being you. Unity Church member in Fayetteville, Arkansas --------------- Cameron & Kristina, There is a section of my mind that I've set aside to always send you emotional support, even when I'm asleep. I talk to my friends in the various drum circles I attend about what you are doing and we drum the heartbeat for you, sending you energy from that very special primal place. I believe in and support what you're doing beyond any words that I could possibly say. Having said that, I make sure you're not far enough up in my Ivory Tower to have a bad fall if you fell out... : -) I was really inspired by the workshop I attended in Estes. I've been having some great times learning Spanish from the native speakers here in Denver. It's turned into one of my daily rituals. More often than not it absolutely blows people's minds that I'm learning Spanish this way. To me the eyes tell it all. As they are teaching me my word for the day I get an incredible range of looks. It seems that so many of these folks are so absolutely beaten down by American attitudes toward them that the very idea that an American would honor both their culture and them enough to want to learn some Spanish from them totally blows their minds. They are flattered that I asked them, they are grateful to be able to do it, they are impressed that I'd try, and many of them send me Big Love with their eyes. It really is a beautiful thing. I have yet to have any of them tell me to "stop bothering them...". Not only that, I see some of them on a fairly regular basis and I slowly seem to be accumulating a whole new set of friends. I'm even actually learning Spanish!!! Tony Davis -------------- April 4, 2004 Dear Friends of Musical Missions of Peace and of Cameron & Kristina: We're on the road to the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast! We have new front end parts to re-stabilize our van and are looking forward to meeting more of you! This, like the last tour through the South, will carry us another 7000 miles through America... We are carrying the greetings of tens of thousands of Iraqis, Egyptians, Jordanians, Syrians and Palestinians into America and we are gathering the greetings from tens of thousands of Americans to carry back to the Arab-speaking world. (Add "Bridge-Menders Anonymous" as a subtitle to "Musical Missions of Peace.") We just completed four presentations in the Colorado Rockies in the last three days... pant pant pant... What a joy to have hundreds of Coloradans turn out to attend our "Singing in Baghdad" presentations and our "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" workshops. We have now completed more than 80 of these here in America in the last 9 months... And we have completed 3 journeys to the Arab-speaking world in the last 16 months... Just received this morning: "People are RAVING about your program. Thank you SO MUCH for coming and bringing such a wonderful perspective on our world. All of our best wishes and joys and hopes for the future go with you as you continue your mission and ministry!"--Sue Robbins, Chair, High Country Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Thank you and thanks to so many others for inviting us! As always, Kristina's first-hand information about what it's like to be a female traveller in the Arab-speaking world is a fascinating part of our presentations... Please refer to the calendar below to discover where we can insert a visit to your congregation or group in the next few weeks and months! Basically, April and May will be spent on the West Coast and July and August in the Midwest and on the East Coast. We love doing our presentations for Churches, Synagogues, Libraries, Universities, Speakers' Forums, Music and Dance-oriented Groups, Peace-oriented Groups, Clubs: Any-group-at-all that is interested! We wish to thank the many Newspaper, Television and Radio reporters and producers for such excellent recent coverage! In the last two weeks alone there have been six major features about our work. We will put additional samples of this coverage up on our website, as soon as possible. As we mentioned in the last e-mail, the IRS has given its final approval of the Colorado 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation "Musical Missions of Peace." Anyone with experience in fundraising through foundations who has ideas for how to put this new tool to work, please let us know. We hope to see contributions and funding provide more support so that additional Musical Missionaries can do this work of making personal connections with others across national and cultural boundaries. See our website for more information. To contact us, simply reply to this e-mail or use: Cameron's e-mail address: cameron@rmi.net Kristina's e-mail address: kristinasophia@yahoo.com Phone: 303-898-6125 To add another e-mail address to the 14,000 who have already joined this list, please just go to the top of the home page on our website. --------------- March 17, 2004 Dear Home State Friends, We are here in Boulder for another couple of weeks and will be doing a few presentations of "Singing in Baghdad" and one of our workshops "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" while we are still here. Then we go back on tour to the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast... We just had a marvelous time doing 28 of our presentations through Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee! Wonderful people everywhere! The Schedule is Below. Come if you can! E-mail us for more info. Thanks! Cameron & Kristina --------------- Feb 27, 2004 Dear Friends of Musical Missions of Peace and of Cameron & Kristina: We have been bringing the images, adventure tales and popular music from the Arabic world streets to American consciousness as fast as we can! And the thousands of Americans we have recently met seem to be hungry for our honest reporting from our musicians' angle. This makes us very happy! We have finished our "Singing in Baghdad" tour through the South and are headed back to Colorado and then toward the Pacific Northwest. Then we will proceed down the West coast as far as L.A. Then we retrace our steps back up through the Pacific Northwest to Colorado. A month later we head through the Midwest toward the East Coast and New England. Then we will return through the northern Midwest back to Colorado by September. See the precise list of bookings down below and contact us to arrange a stop in your community. We have had wonderful audiences in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas and have been featured on some local evening TV news programs and have been given good local radio and newspaper coverage. We have given our presentations at Universities in Tennessee and Georgia where students are writing papers based on our information about the Arab world. The Presbyterian and United Church of Christ congregations have been welcoming us along with those of Unitarian and Unity church affiliation. We continue to receive great encouragement for our Musical Missions and we love to watch eyes open and energy rise as we give our presentations in front of each audience. We have given our presentation now to 75 different audiences. We have also given our workshops "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" at many locations as a follow-up to our presentation and this has been absolutely magical for us and for those attending. There seems to be such a crying need for this kind of growth! Kristina and I are having a wonderful time living in this kaleidoscope of new faces and personalities. The people we meet are the prime movers in their communities and we feel honored to get to know them. Plans are already being drawn up for our return, hopefully next year, to some of these Southern communities. We extend our deepest thanks to all of those who have helped produce our presentations across America! People keep asking us when we're going to be on Oprah. If enough people write to her show about us maybe it'll happen! We were, after all, on the equivalent Egyptian program. We love doing our presentations for Churches, Synagogues, Libraries, Speakers' Forums, Music and Dance-oriented Groups, Peace-oriented Groups, Clubs, Any-group-at-all that is interested. We learn something ourselves from each interaction! If you have considered helping support us by becoming a monthly subscriber but still haven't done it, please go to the "make a donation" link on our website, http://www.musicalmissions.com, and become a subscriber. You will then also receive more frequent updates about our adventures from the inside point of view. Yes, we are really out here doing this work 24/7, 365 days/year. The IRS has given its final approval of the Colorado 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation "Musical Missions of Peace." Anyone with experience in fundraising through foundations who has ideas for how to put this new tool to work, please let us know! We hope to see contributions and funding provide enough $$$ to create legions of Musical Missionaries fanning out across the planet making personal connections with others across national and cultural boundaries. See our website for more information. -------------- Jan 16, 2004 Cameron & Kristina: Musical Missions of Peace American presentation tour schedule for the first half of 2004: Cameron & Kristina's Photographic and Musical Presentation, "Singing in Baghdad," forever changes the way Americans see the Arab world. And it uplifts the spirit. It contains everything people need to know to reduce the bubble of fear in which America has been living! Cameron & Kristina are now on the road with their Presentations, Workshops and Concerts through the Southern American states; then the Pacific Northwest, the West Coast, the Midwest and the East Coast! They will be near your location at some point and would be happy to do a presentation for you and your church, club or group. They spent 4 out of the last 12 months in Baghdad, Cairo, Amman, Damascus, Ram Allah and other Arab world cities. They were Singing on the streets of Baghdad with grateful Iraqi citizens. "We need to see more people like you!" they were told after they sang a favorite popular Iraqi song. They were invited by the Egyptians to perform before an audience of 60,000 in Cairo to help raise funds for a new Children's Cancer Hospital. They were the only non-Egyptian performers there. They have just visited one of the large Palestinian refugee camps just south of Damascus, Syria. They were welcomed there to sing popular Arabic music on the streets and in local homes. They are building a people-to-people bridge between America and the Arab-speaking world because they don't see enough people or agencies fostering the kind of mutually respectful relations that need to exist. They are now bringing the projected photographic images, the popular Arabic music and the commentary about what life on the streets of the Arab world is really like to the American people. They have already done more than 50 shows across America and have already scheduled nearly as many more. Here's their presentation tour schedule for the first half of 2004: January & February: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and nearby areas with a return toward Colorado through the same areas; March: Colorado & New Mexico and nearby areas; April & May: Pacific Northwest and then south down the West Coast to Arizona and nearby areas with a return toward Colorado through same areas; June: Colorado & New Mexico and nearby areas; July & August: Central Midwest to East Coast to New England and then back toward Colorado through Northern Midwest and same areas; September or October or November: back to the Arab world! Let them know if a presentation in your region might fit into this schedule. They will make their route as flexible as possible. The presentation, "Singing in Baghdad," is generally 2 hours of commentary and music with images from their travels through the Arab world projected from their laptop through their LCD projector. The audience is continually invited to ask questions or make comments. Audiences respond very favorably as they realize the power of the presentation. It reveals the beautiful reality of a highly civilized and generous and sensitive world of people that has been hidden behind the never-ending fear-driven distortions presented by the mainstream media. Even for audiences who have known for a long time that the true pictures are not getting through, this presentation gives substance to that knowledge. They also teach a workshop called "From the American Dream to the Global Dream" which generally lasts 2 hours (although they have many more hours of material to share in this format.) They can do workshops that last for several days. But a 2-hour workshop is a good beginning for those interested in seriously making personal changes to become active partners in a new emerging global community. Their workshops are not about forms of government. They are about methods of personal growth based on learning from the ancient and wise civilizations which are resources for those who choose to explore them. They would recommend that you consider having them not only do their presentation, but a workshop as well. They love doing their presentations for Churches, Synagogues, Libraries, Speakers' Forums, Music and Dance-oriented Groups, Peace-oriented Groups, Clubs, Any-group-at-all that is interested. They learn something themselves from each interaction! ------------ Jan 3, 2004 Dear Friends of Musical Missions of Peace and of Cameron & Kristina: We've been singing our way through the Arab world during the last year: Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank... We sang Arabic music for 60,000 Egyptians in the Cairo Stadium and tens of thousands of Egyptians sang along with us... We stood on the streets of Baghdad and sang Iraqi songs and many Iraqi citizens sang along with us... We've also done more than 50 presentations here in America about our adventures in the Arab world and we are continuing to tour America. People in this country need to know what the Arab world really looks like! We have encountered Americans who have said things like: "I thought Arabs would slit people's throats that tried to visit!" "I thought Arabs just didn't value human life the way we do!" These kinds of stereotypes abound in our society. "Singing in Baghdad" will change forever the way you see the world and it will uplift your spirits. ------------- Dec 16, 2003 A Suggested Presentation for your Group: April 18th, 2003: Cameron & Kristina were on the streets of Baghdad singing popular Arabic music with ordinary Iraqi people. The city was in flames around them. This was 9 days after the first wave of US Marines had entered the city. Cameron & Kristina were proud to be able to demonstrate that there are Americans who want to come and personally visit Iraqi citizens and open new avenues of communication and friendship with them. Cameron plays an ancient stringed Middle Eastern Lute that provides instrumental backup for their singing. Amazingly, the music provides an instant shelter of peace even as military actions are occurring nearby. An Iraqi man lovingly adjusts Cameron's bushy eyebrows for him as they sing together. "We need to see more people like you!" another Iraqi man exclaims. October 17th, 2003: Cameron and Kristina performed in the Cairo stadium in front of 60,000 Egyptians along with dozens of Egyptian super-stars. They helped support fundraising for the construction of a new Children's Cancer Hospital being built in Cairo. They were singing popular Egyptian and Lebanese music for the enthusiastic crowd who sang along with each song. October 28th, 2003: Cameron and Kristina were singing Lebanese line-dance music on the streets of a huge Palestinian refugee camp just south of Damascus, Syria. This camp has been there since 1948. Dozens of Palestinian school children sang along with them, amazed to realize that these Americans would take the trouble to learn their music and come to visit with them. Cameron and Kristina were invited into the local homes and treated to traditional Arab-world hospitality. Since November of 2002, Cameron and Kristina have spent 4 months in the Arab World: in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank, working to build bridges of understanding between Americans and Arabs. An Israeli Jewish singer has been inspired by them to begin learning Arabic music so that she can sing with Palestinian people. This is something she was able to actually do a few months ago, thanks in part to Cameron & Kristina's inspiration. And, since January of 2003, they have given more than 50 presentations in California, Oregon, New Mexico and Colorado about their adventures in the Arab world. They are now designing tours that will cover the rest of America. They project photographic images showing what actually happens on the streets of these Arab countries when they sing. They tell of their adventures visiting people in their homes and they sing some of the popular Arabic music that they have learned. They have been giving these presentations in churches, theaters, libraries, private homes, universities and coffee shops: wherever groups wish to assemble. They also give powerful workshops about overcoming fear. And they present concerts featuring the music alone. "For years I've been trying to figure out what to do and now I know!" This is what someone ecstatically exclaimed from the back of the room after seeing Cameron & Kristina's presentation "Singing in Baghdad" at the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center convention in southern Colorado a few weeks ago. Cameron and Kristina believe it is essential for Americans to know what ordinary Arab people are saying and thinking and feeling. There is a terrible mis-representation occurring in mainstream media. The presence of so many millions of peace-loving human beings on both sides is being overlooked or ignored. Tony Davis helped promote one of their presentations at the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado. He wrote: "I've seen Cameron and Kristina's magnificent show. I give it a 15 out of a possible 10. Being a musician myself and actively building bridges of understanding, their message really hit home with me. Knowing the power of music, hearing Cameron and Kristina's stories brought tears of joy to my eyes. They are really using music for what it needs to be used for. Not only are they active and articulate musical ambassadors between America and the Middle East, in my mind they are National Heroes!! Tell everyone you know who may not have seen them that this is a must see!!!" Now Cameron & Kristina are designing additional tours throughout America. If your group has an interest in their first-hand accounts of their own hands-on peace building work, let them know so that they can include you in their upcoming national tours. --------------- Dec 14, 2003 To the Churches of America Cameron & Kristina were recently on the streets of Baghdad singing popular Arabic music with ordinary Iraqi people. They were just singing for an audience of 60,000 Egyptians in Cairo to help raise funds for a hospital. They were just singing with Palestinian school-children in a refugee camp in Syria. Cameron & Kristina are the founders of Musical Missions of Peace, a non-profit organization. They have frequently been called "Musical Ambassadors to the Middle East." They represent the America: that believes all people are created equal; that believes in justice for all men and women of all nationalities and races. What is this gift of song that they have been delivering all over the Arab world? What is it worth? Imagine... you were born and raised in a village in Egypt near the city of Cairo. The pyramids have been part of your landscape for thousands of years. Every day the tourist buses zoom past. Eyes peer out of the moving windows. They look at you but they don't see you. You feel like a fish in an aquarium. Who are these people anyway? They have money from somewhere. What do they care about? Do they value friendship? They come and they go. It's hard to tell who they really are... Imagine... suddenly out of the sea of faces in the crowd appear two Americans singing one of your favorite songs... in your language! Unbelievable! Suddenly you know the truth: there are people in America, the wealthiest country in the world, the only surviving superpower, who care enough about you to learn your favorite songs! On a typical day in the Middle East Cameron and Kristina sit down in a city park and take out their instruments and begin to sing popular Arabic music in the Arabic language. The events that follow are sometimes captured on film. (See www.musicalmissions.com) "Please come to my house for dinner! I want you to meet my family!" is the most common response. They accept invitations from Arabs and visit them in their homes. Cameron and Kristina spent several months before, during and after the recent attack on Iraq traveling, not just in Iraq, but also through other areas of the Arab world creating this alternative diplomacy. Thousands in Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and Syria welcomed them. "We need to see more people like you!" they were told with passion on the streets of Baghdad... Cameron and Kristina believe it is essential for Arabs to know what ordinary American people are saying and thinking and feeling. We are not their enemy and we are not the enemy of Islam. Thousands of Americans have empowered Cameron and Kristina to become Cultural Ambassadors during these confusing times. And Cameron and Kristina believe it is essential for Americans to know what ordinary Arab people are saying and thinking and feeling. There is a terrible mis-representation occurring in mainstream media. The presence of so many millions of peace-loving human beings on both sides is being overlooked or ignored. Cameron and Kristina have just finished a tour of the West Coast. They just gave more than 40 presentations in California, Oregon, New Mexico and Colorado. During their presentation they project photographic images showing what happens on the streets of the Arab world when they sing. Cameron and Kristina tell of their adventures and sing the songs that they perform in the Middle East. They have been giving these presentations in churches, theaters, libraries, private homes and universities. Tony Davis helped with promoting their morning service presentation at the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado. He wrote: "I've seen Cameron and Kristina's magnificent show. I give it a 15 out of a possible 10. Being a musician myself and actively building bridges of understanding, their message really hit home with me. Knowing the power of music, hearing Cameron and Kristina's stories brought tears of joy to my eyes. They are really using music for what it needs to be used for. Not only are they active and articulate musical ambassadors between America and the Middle East, in my mind they are National Heroes!! Tell everyone you know who may not have seen them that this is a must see!!!" -------------- Dec 2, 2003 Musical Missions Update Cameron and Kristina will be on public radio tomorrow, Tuesday evening, Dec 2, 2003 to sing Arabic music and tell stories about their recent trips to Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the West Bank. See below for details. Upcoming tours across America will begin this winter in the Southern States and be followed in the early spring by tours through the Pacific Northwest, The West Coast, The Midwest and the East Coast. If you have an idea for helping to produce a "Singing in Baghdad" presentation of Arabic Music together with images and stories from Cameron & Kristina's recent Arab-World travels, please reply to this e-mail. Musical Missions is devoted to discovering paths of the heart. Our minds are magnificent tools for supporting our heart-felt decisions. Turn that around and we have endless recipes for disaster: when our minds rule our hearts, we cannot escape endless categorizations of experience into "good vs evil." This is the dualism that must be transcended for humankind to take the next collective step into an "immediate yes" to all of existence. Sharing a song with new friends creates a path for the heart. Because the mind is quieted by the act of singing... yes, singing... not just listening... an opportunity unfolds for the heart to leap forward into the "big yes..." When you are feeling grief and anger over all the injustice and pain presented by the media, just stop for a moment and reflect: if you wish to feel part of what's "really going on" just go back to Living Your Life. And remember that by doing this you are spiritually bonding with 99.9% of the rest of earth's humanity! There is an emerging Global Consciousness that knows how to distinguish between life based on compassion vs life based on fear. You are part of it. We do not need to be deer frozen in the headlights of the headlines. We can Sing. We can Dance. We can Fall in Love. We can Raise our Children and we can Visit our Neighbors. How can we properly Raise our Children without taking them on Visits to our Neighbors so that they know what kind of world we actually live in? Nowadays the world is close at hand. There is no place on earth that is too distant to be called "neighbor..." You owe it to yourself to make a personal exploration of planet earth and its peoples... Cameron and Kristina, sponsored artists of Musical Missions of Peace, are planning to lead a Musical Mission for other Americans who would like to pay a visit to our neighbors in the Arab-speaking world. No musical qualifications are necessary but many musical moments will be included. Anyone could join them. Please let them know by replying to this e-mail or by giving one of them a call if you think you might be interested. -------------- Nov 23, 2003 The plane lifts off from the Egyptian runway and soon soars over the Mediterranean... the North Atlantic... the Greenland icecap... the far Canadian North... finally touching down in Denver... November 6th.... A day of shuffling and we depart for Albuquerque, New Mexico, our internal clocks still 9 hours accelerated... when the sun rises here, it is already setting in Cairo... We gave our presentations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe on Saturday and Sunday... Monday: back to Boulder, Colorado. We pull our little house on wheels behind our van... home is wherever we happen to be... Three days pass in Boulder and we pull our trailer over to the Western Slope of Colorado: Grand Junction. We conduct TV, Radio and Newspaper Interviews and then, over a period of three days, give our presentation, a workshop and a musical offering through the local Religious Science Spiritual Center... Everywhere we go feels more and more like home... We will feel at home when we come to your neck of the woods too... Our Multi-Media Presentations, Workshops and Concerts each offer a unique window into the Arab-speaking world. Americans now seem hungry for these straightforward, unbiased, people to people communications and we have currently been invited to more than 30 American churches and synagogues as well as to other types of groups and venues. On November 17th and we park beside the Colorado River somewhere in Western Colorado for the night... We took a walk beside the red rock cliffs before sunset... light snow above... light rain on the river... feels like home... Thank you from the depths of our hearts to all of you who helped to produce our events! And to all those of you who attended! We know that many of you have voiced a desire to see our presentations repeated in your communities or in other communities. We will, of course, be glad to hear from you all again... ------------- Oct 30, 2003 Kristina Writes: One thing I have noticed about the Arab world is the respect the teenagers have for the elders. I'm reminded of Margret Mead's observations in "Coming of Age in Samoa". I've yet to see a teenager make an angry or critical remark about his or her parent. It probably happens occasionally but I've yet to witness it. The other day in Lattakia, Syria I was "kidnapped" by two young girls, probably about 16 and 17 years old, and taken up to their apartment. The young sisters Rana and Hessin were eager to introduce me to their mother who obviously was loved dearly. Three aunts were there visiting along with several cousins of all ages and an uncle or two. The house was full of people all smiling and using whatever English they could come up with to communicate with me. They kept asking me to sing to them either the Lebanese "dabke" song "An Nada" or a Fairuz song "Atini Nay" or "Nassam Alaina." When a new person came in I would have to sing another line. They would all smile and giggle. They couldn't believe an American knew their music. Rana and Hessin and their mother would all say from time to time "I love you Kristina!" I felt so welcomed I honestly felt like crying, they were so sweet. At some point Hessin and I laid down on her bed with her English book and I helped her with her pronunciation. And she helped me with some Arabic words. She told me that she wished very much to learn English but that she did not have a good teacher. At this point I was fantasizing about staying here and making a living as an English teacher. I think if I were to stay I would have a network of hundreds of female friends within weeks. I can't help but notice the contrasts in our cultures. I think the Arab ways are usually misunderstood by Americans. The women travel in different circles than those of the men. The men are more on the streets. The women travel more between the houses, but they seem to have a lot of power. In Egypt, our Canadian friend Pat who has lived and worked in Cairo for six years claims the women are the ones who are in control. She tells us, for instance, that most women and their families insist that the husband-to-be buy and completely furnish an apartment before he can marry. A new bride almost always steps into a marriage with a new home, and a few thousand dollars worth of gold jewelery (which is hers to keep if the marriage fails). more later....Kristina Cameron Writes about the latest Musical Adventures: A phone call to Julian led to the reference to Ibrahim... Julian, the resident local French/Swiss qanun (middle-eastern zither-like instrument) player, had been playing music all night with some Greeks so he went back to sleep after my call... "call me later and tell me what happened," he said... Here is what happened: Ibrahim came to pick us up an hour later in his little covered Suzuki mini-truck and carried us, along with a friend of his, into the outskirts of Aleppo... somewhere... we sang improvisations... mawals... along the way to Ibrahim's oud factory. Four young craftsmen were working together in the workshop, manufacturing the instruments. Several of Ibrahim's 6 children scooted about. The oldest is eleven, the youngest is 3 months: four boys and two girls. The second youngest boy climbed over us like a little monkey. Kristina couldn't believe how strong his wiry little arms had become. Ibrahim grinned at him, picked him up and treated him to an acrobatic flight up over and around his head and shoulders. We tuned and played four different types of ouds and I was impressed that we had found a high-quality factory here in Syria. Ibrahim, who is a highly skilled oud player as well as maker, spent an hour trading melodies with me and showing me the fine points of microtonal note pitches deep in the land of maqamat (ancient Arabic musical modes and decorations)... He complimented me by telling me that my playing already sounded Arabic, which he conceded was very difficult, and added that if I were to spend only a week working with a local master teacher, I would put the details together on another level in my own playing. Regardless of where I may be in my progress as an oud player, I found myself hypnotized by his musical energy. I watched his face depart from the business at hand and become the pure expression of very ancient purely Arabic tradition. During these times he seemed to forget that my Arabic is only that of a two-year-old and spontaneously launched into in-depth explanations using the fine points of Arabic musical terminology. I nodded as if I understood, not wishing to interrupt his flow of words and music. Somewhere inside of me a whole new arena for learning was being created. After an hour or two of oud playing, the moment of sunset was appr | ||||