Dear Friends~

We had been sitting next to the phone for three days now, waiting to hear word from anyone who might know what was going on with Shane and his delegation, even though we had found out this morning that the phone/ communication towers had been bombed a few days ago. We also knew that several peace team members were being ordered to leave Iraq, but we didn't know who those folks were or where they were from. Our emotions were on a roller coaster all day today when we heard news that Shane was leaving Iraq, then we heard differently, then no one knew for sure. This evening, though, when Michelle answered the phone she heard Shane's tired voice announcing that he and 9 others from the Iraq Peace and Christian Peacemakers Teams (including Leah and Jonathan-- for those of you who know them) had made it safely to Amman, Jordan after making a "really scary" trip out of Baghdad. We aren't sure when Shane will be arriving back in Philly-- we know he is planning on going to Chicago first (where the Voices in the Wilderness office is) and then will be coming home. (Whew!) We also know that he plans to meet up with his parents at some point. It's going to be a "recovery week", so if folks could give us some time before bombarding our house with calls we would really appreciate it. =) We will make sure that Shane sees all of the letters we have received from all of you, and chances are he will want to send you out a personal "Hey I'm back" when he returns. Thanks so much to all of you who were praying and encouraging all of us while Shane was away.

All this being said, please remember that despite Shane's safe return, there are still thousands of people, innocents, soldiers, that remain very much in harms way as this war continues to escalate. It seems as though things are only going to get worse. Please don't allow yourself to ignore what's going on just because Shane has come home. There are still peace team members in Baghdad that are writing news/ journals from the front lines and in the midst of bombs (www.electroniciraq.net, vitw.org, iraqpeaceteam.org) that you can keep up with, as well as keeping an eye on the independent media that is available. (commondreams.org, truthout.org, indymedia.org). Don't allow yourself to become uninformed, as tempting as that may be. We know how overwhelming and exhausting it all is, but becoming numb doesn't mean the bombing, the killing, has stopped. It must stop.

Thank you again for all your care. We will keep you posted...
much much love~ the simples

ps- The best part of Michelle's day was being able to call Shane's mom. She will sleep tonight, after celebrating all evening....