Raphael's Village

For an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.  From the Christian Bible, John 5:4.


Raphael’s Village was developed to help our community heal by maximizing our relationships with each other and with you, the reader. Through the years of violence, crime, civil unrest, the wars, pan-demic disease and families being torn apart, many are left traumatized with no where to turn. Sometimes it is unclear if others feel the same way. We hope through this website that we can share some of our experiences, solutions and ideas to help you through some of the rough times. Think of Raphael's Village as a place where you can find a friend. Please feel free to contribute your writings, art, music or photography. Everything that belongs to you or is public domain is acceptable. All you have to do is register and the editors can look at your submission.

Please feel free to use our forums for your general contributions. If you feel like you want to spout off, please go ahead. Try to refrain from naughty language (not always easy, I know - but grab a thesaurus). And please do not contribute porn, spam or other ways of annoying people it will not be accepted and your subscription will be deleted.

Enjoy!

M Campbell
Editor
mcampbell@raphaelsvillage.com

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

—Albert Einstein

I love baseball! My favorite part of baseball is batting. I like batting because I can run first, second, and third base. My dad is plays baseball! My dad is teaching me how to play baseball.

Oswald, We Barely Knew Ye
By Jeanne Cook

I have never been much of a girl for birds. I like furred beasts -- cats, dogs and horses in particular. Birds haven't got fur, they have feathers. And beaks. And claws. And their sanitary habits leave much to be desired. As the years have progressed, I have not cared a whit for birds and they have returned the feeling.

Mr. Winston's writings are from the heart during a time of addiction recovery. He is very candid in his feelings at the times and the activities he is not very proud of. Cold Turkey is a piece written while Mr. Winston was in detox at a hospital on July 22, 1988.

Although the weather is still steamy, school is just a few weeks away. Time for family away from the grind of school is quickly running out. Ever been tubing with the family? The lower Salt River rapids in the Tonto National Forest (outside of Mesa, AZ) is a great way to get together with family and out of the heat of the city.

On Saturday, August 23, 2008, The Irish Cultural Center located at 1106 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004 will be presenting it's 5th Annual Back to School Tea Party.

Hello everyone. Let me introduce myself. My name is Gratia (as in one name only) and I’ve been a Reiko master since August 1994. Gosh, I didn’t realize it had been that long!

REI is the kanji (Chinese and Japanese writing method) character for “{universal essence” and Ki is the kanji character for “life force energy”. Chinese recognize ki because of the similarity to the “chi” of tai chi and chi gong. The Tibetan origin of the term is “raku kei” the words for vertical and horizontal energy flow. There are other similar words from many cultures dating as far back as the ancient Egyptian word “ka” which loosely translates to the soul or spirit housed in the physical body.

The 53nd Annual Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association (VNSA) charitable book sales is scheduled for February 14 and 15, 2009 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds at 17th Avenue and McDowell in Phoenix.

Nows the time to pull out those books, CD's, videos etc and get them donated. Mark your calendars for the Book Sale dates so you can fill back those holes on your book shelf.