Date: May 20th 2008

An Iraqi refugee whom we have met on the Mediterranean coast here in Syria has offered to meet us back in Damascus later in the week to help carry our project to the attention of the Damascus-based Institute for the Study of High Musical Arts.
One of Syria's most prominent Arab music historians and his son have also offered to help publicize our project.
Tomorrow we leave for Aleppo to solicit the help one of Syria's most prolific instrument makers.
Little by little we are putting the pieces of this project together.

Setting up US-funded music schools in both Syria and Jordan to help preserve the most elaborate old music styles of Iraq and help provide employment for displaced Iraqis is the goal.
Thanks to those of you who have begun to make tax-deductable contributions through our 501c3 nonprofit organization www.musicalmissionsofpeace.org.
Especially we thank those of you who are choosing to become ongoing subscribers so that a steady source of funding can materialize.

Tonight we were invited to perform in a local restaurant here in Lattakia which was of course a great pleasure. We offered favorite pieces of music from Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to an appreciative audience who honored us by singing along, especially when we performed the Syrian music.

For those of you who have not studied the mission statement on the home page of our Non-Profit Organization's website, here it is:
Vision:
Musical Missions of Peace champions a non-violent way to peace worldwide through the power of music.
We believe:
1) People who have learned and sung each others' popular love songs together are less likely to war with one another than those who have not.
2) Music fosters sincere, heart-to-heart communication which goes beyond treaties or political agreements.
3) Musicians make ideal international diplomats and ambassadors because they know how to work together in unifying and intuitive ways.
4) International cross-cultural sharing of popular songs easily dissolves fear-based perceptions.
5) Musical sharing promotes a healthy spiritual life, replaces materialistic orientations and is available to all, including children.
6) Musical proficiency opens the door to creating deep and trustworthy friendships across language and cultural boundaries and can heal the wounds of war.

Thanks and More Soon, Cameron
Please reply to this email if you are so inclined. We love to hear from you!

non-profit organization:
www.musicalmissionsofpeace.org

cameron and kristina:
www.musicalmissions.com

publishing:
www.gldesignpub.com