Greetings to Friends Everywhere,

Seventeen children from ages 3-11 met at the 181st annual session of Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana from July 31st to August 4th, 2002, to consider the theme of "Healing the World." The open green campus of a Quaker college was the background for a time of playing, singing, sharing, discussing and learning about ourselves and others.

We learned that some people go to jail so that one day the School of the Americas will close. We learned that the children in Ramallah were surprised that people in America care about them.

We also learned many things about ourselves. We didn't know that we could sit for a long time and make a necklace with tiny beads. We didn't know it would feel good to go seven feet deep in water and touch the bottom. And we didn't know that the green stuff on the pond is called duckweed.

We have several concerns for the future of the world. We are concerned that something bad will happen so things are not the same. We are concerned the Bush is not negotiating but just fighting.

We have many hopes for the future of the world. We hope we get a new president. We haope the School of the Americas closes. We hope Israel and Pakistan work out their differences. We hope we plant more trees and rebuild the rain forests.

Our time at Yearly Meeting was an experience we will never forget. We will take many memories of wonderful times together home with us. We will look forward to next year and dream of the glorious times we can have together.