Why I believe in a "Better Way"

Did you know that slavery is still a HUGE deal? That it still happens everywhere around the world, even near our homes? I honestly had no idea, until the last few years, when I have continually been reminded of this evil in the world. Check out this infographic to see just how prevalent and wide-spread modern slavery is.

Awareness started for me a couple of years ago, when a table was set up on campus with information about a local organization that fights sex trafficking in Wisconsin called 5-stones. I could hardly believe that girls are kidnapped into sex slavery and exploited right here in nice little Appleton! More recently, I watched segments of a documentary called “Half the Sky” that tells of individuals in various countries who are fighting such oppression. It also described the realities of that life, where women are sold, tricked or kidnapped as young girls, and then manipulated into staying with prostitution by their threatening pimps and traffickers. I learned about The Exodus Road, which puts together search-and-rescue teams in the countries most heavily affected by trafficking. I attended a Better Way Imports party, which talked about the realities of trafficking such as the cycle of selling children that extremely poor families and those already in the sex trade get sucked into. We guests were then given an opportunity to buy fair trade goods made by women in many countries who have escaped sex trafficking. All of these encounters I had with the facts about modern slavery were depressing, infuriating and… hopeful. 

People are out there fighting! People are working day and night to generate awareness, collaborate with national authorities, risk their safety in raids that rescue young girls and prosecute pimps and traffickers. People are giving economic opportunities to the women who have been set free, both so that these now-grown women don’t have to return to this dangerous occupation and so that they have options for their children other than selling them. People who will stop at nothing to end modern slavery are involved in emergency operations, such as raids of brothels, as well as sustainable operations, such as all of the partnerships created among organizations that teach women and provide them a fair wage for their products.

Better Way Imports is one such organization that supports the livelihood of rescued women, and I am choosing to be part of what they are doing. I believe my heart was prepared for this opportunity by everything I have been learning about sex trafficking. Not only that, but my passion for sustainable impacts from GlobeMed is also reflected in this choice. Better Way Imports partners with locally-based organizations that are not only giving women honorable, safe and fair economic opportunities, but also teaching them general life skills and health lessons, or providing them with various forms of care.

Many of these partners, including Better Way Imports itself, are Christian mission organizations and give them women opportunities to learn about Christ and their value as daughters of God. While they give women honor by providing a way to stay out of this degrading slavery and by teaching skills, they are showing them that they have honor as wonderful creations of God.

My new role with this company is of a Freedom Advocate. My mission is to tell people about the realities of modern slavery, let them know about various ways of helping, as well as give people an opportunity to support rescued women. All of the products that Better Way sells have already been bought from these women, so that they can have a steady income to rely on. These items range from clothing to bags to jewelry to journal… and more! They are beautifully crafted by women in Uganda, India, Cambodia, Thailand, and various other countries that partner organization work within. 

Some examples of the variety of products Better Way Imports sells.

I encourage you to look into some of the organizations I have mentioned, as well as any others you might find, and pray about ways you might be called to join this fight. I realize there are many issues and we are not each called to fight all of them. You might feel that slavery is not your area to get involved in, which is fine! I will just tell you though, that I felt exactly the same way - even well into these recent years while God has been bringing this issue to my attention. There are still plenty of other issues I feel passionate about, but this is one I can start fighting right now, with your help! Feel free to take some time to browse the items Better Way is selling and consider making a purchase to support these women (and this woman!). If you would like to support my work with this organization, please contact me about ordering and I will help you decide as well as place the order for you! Also contact me if you want to get even more involved, such as hosting an awareness event/party (an online event is also possible) or becoming a part of this organization as a Freedom Fighter or Freedom Advocate.

Lent

Growing up as a non-denominational Christian, I had not heard a lot about Lent aside from my friends at school giving up chocolate for a few weeks before Easter. I thought of it as just another one of those things Catholics do that other Christians don't think about. It was not until getting to college and meeting other Protestant believers who actually did practice Lent that I decided to give it a try. I began to see it as a time to either give something up or add something to my life in order to help me focus on my relationship with God and grow in my faith.

With this in mind, I have recently (the last year or so) been interested in learning more about the history and current practice of Christian tradition/ritual. Of course I haven't done anything about that interest yet [insert homework excuse here] but hopefully I will have some time after graduating to start exploring these themes. I took a "Christianity through the 15th century" class last term to start this process, but in the whirlwind of an overloading term I didn't really soak much in.

In the brief encounters with Christian history I've had, I have begun to see traditions and rituals as opportunities to feel connected with a body of believers that spans back roughly 2000 years. I see it also as a way of making my faith part of my daily practices and lifestyle. Through several experiences such as that class I mentioned, attending an Episcopalian church, reading a bit about the Mass and following a few Catholic bloggers, I have just gotten my feet wet with this interesting subject. I don't see ritual as a necessary part of the Christian life by any means, but I see it as a beautiful thing and potentially enriching to my walk with God. So in comes Lent and my attempt to focus on God more in these next 46 days.

This Lenten season I want to work on discipline in starting my day. I keep trying to make a pattern for myself of reading the Bible and journaling/praying in the mornings, but that always gets cut short because I am running late (can't...stop...sleeping...). Now I want to break that cycle - so for Lent I am giving up my snooze button! I will get up and moving when I intended to the night before so that I don't miss out on my daily time with the Lord.

eeeek...

...but worth it! 

Do you observe Lent? If so, how?

We have found the one...

Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

- John 1:45

Hearing this at church this morning, it just hit me how mind-blowing that would have been. Living in a religious tradition that had all these prophecies about a coming Messiah who would bring the Kingdom of God to the earth... and then to actually have Him come in your lifetime. And to see the unfolding of the many, many Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled during His time down here? That would have been the coolest. I love being able to read about this all in the Bible now, but it opens up an entirely new way of reading the Gospels when I think about the surprise that all of this would have been for Jesus' first followers and the awe they must have had that the Messiah was finally here!

Múzquiz

I just came home from my first international missions trip - which may come as a surprise since I've travelled internationally quite a bit recently and I love missions. I have just never combined the two until now. I joined Christ the Rock Church's annual mission trip to Múzquiz, México for a week this December, along with a Lawrence friend, Katie. We got on the bus with the entire team of 39 at 5am the morning after Christmas and started our nearly 30-hour trip south.

The four days we had in Múzquiz were filled with trips out to nearby villages to play with the kids and teach them Bible stories, along with crafts and songs, in the park. We heard that the kids are usually never out there playing, but they know the time of year that we come and hear about it through the church, so the park was filled with them by the time we got there. They were so fun and sweet, and they knew a lot of the games that we played growing up (Red light, green light = Semáforo).

The park at District 28, where we made most of our visits.

Singing the Spanish version of "I've got the joy joy joy joy..." that was taught to us by some of the Múzquiz kids who were with us the whole time. 

Craft time at Infonavit!

The jump-ropes were a bit hit wherever we went.

We were connected with Pastor Juan and his church the whole time, and his brother graciously drove us around in the church's bus (when it was working). We would also have dinner over at his house, since they guys were living there instead of the hotel with families/girls. He and his family and friends were amazing hosts and so great to get to know.

La Gran Comisión - our bus that stalled every time Lalo (our driver) took his foot off the gas. But we packed it full every day anyways! 

Inside the bus. This is just the beginning... by the time we pulled out there were stacks of 2 or 3 people sitting on laps in each seat with the aisles packed.

Pastor Juan's church. I wish I got a better picture! It was great to hear some people's testimonies (given through one of our team member's translation), and the few of us who speak Spanish led worship with some translated songs! 

New Year's Eve bonfire at Pastor Juan's house! 

Our first full day in Múzquiz, I could tell I was starting to get sick. I get sick with mild pneumonia-like symptoms every winter and I realized they were coming for me there. I stayed sick for the entire trip, and had to skip a few of our outings because my lungs/head were hurting too much to go. Having to stay back was really disappointing, but so was being out there and not having the energy to play with the kids or talk to anyone. I felt like I had no purpose on the trip and was just being a downer wherever we went. Further, I was afraid that if I took any time to stay back and rest, I would just get used to it and never push through my conditions and be positive. I saw the energy, excitement and joy all of the other people on my team were experiencing and really doubted that I was where I was supposed to be. I have doubted my ability to do missions before, because I usually don't have a lot of energy, and this made my doubts much stronger.

Despite these feelings of failure, there were things for me to learn on this trip. Most of them had to do with my team and how wonderful they all are. I was very inspired by the faith of those people and the love for others they have because of it. They were all very selfless and caring, whether they were bringing food and medicine to those of us who got sick, or actively encouraging people during our morning time together. I got to meet the Mission House team from this year and talk to them about their experiences (this is the program I hope to do next year) and it made me SO excited! Overall, I gained a lot from going on this trip, though I feel like I did not contribute much. But maybe that is okay. I wasn't going to personally change the world in 4 days anyways. What is important is the long-term partnership we have with the church there and the dedication on both sides to make life a little bit happier for the people of Múzquiz. I'm just a tiny part of that now, and that's fine.

New goals for a new year

As I ring in the New Year from Mexico (currently sick and in bed, but hoping to celebrate with my missions team and new Mexican friends later) I am reflecting back on the resolutions I made a year ago and where I want to go from there. As you can see here, my New Years Resolution for 2014 was a big checklist, and as much as I love checklists and goals, this strategy brought more stress than it was worth. I completed all of those goals (except eating healthier... oops), but they were mostly done in a last-minute, catch-up sort of way. This obviously defeated their purpose of starting new habits.

I'm trying to set my 2015 goals in a new way, a way that might still inspire me to move forward but without the guilt of forgetting to keep track or not meeting certain numbers. These goals are general and I can't measure them, but they are things that I feel will help me grow as a person in ways I know I've been lacking this year.

1. Prioritize people. This goal comes from two realizations I have made over the last year. One is that I tend to take advantage of having really great friends, without consciously investing in them. I have become close to some really fantastic people over the years and am very thankful for those who love me so well and count me a part of their circle. That being said, I also know I have nearly always put my homework or other tasks before being with them. Now that many of them live so far away from me, I am realizing more than ever that I need to invest in the people I care about if I want to keep what we had. The other realization is that there are sometimes seasons where I just need to step out of my comfort zone and work my way into relationships that I'm not used to. Being a 5th year at Lawrence has made me realize that, because my primary group of friends has graduated and moved away. I still have many friends here but I am not used to being within their groups. It will take some work but I am determined to start putting in these new roots with new people.
2. Take time for health. Being healthy is not something I do easily when I am busy and stressed out, so I am intentionally lightening my load so that I can pursue what my body need this year. Some particulars are:
• avoiding sugar. Sugar might be the cause of some of the general fatigue and sickly-ness I feel most days, so I'm hoping that limiting it will give me some new energy.
• physical therapy. I've had a really helpful scoliosis physical therapy routine for years now, but I rarely do it despite how much it relieves my back pain. I want to let it become a regular part of my life this year, so that it doesn't feel like such a burden anymore.
• work on flexibility. I wonder if some of the pain I have just comes from not being able to move the way I once was. This year I want to work on increasing my flexibility so that I can hopefully be more comfortable, more often. (feeling like an old lady as I type this.)
3. Write more. Writing - whether in my journal, in letters to friends, or on this blog - is an outlet for me. I'm not good at verbally expressing myself, and writing allows me to slow down my thoughts and process them as I get them out. Writing more will keep life from running away in my busyness as I stay connected with myself and with God.

Merry Christmas from Simba!

This is Simba's second Christmas, and he would like to show you how he celebrated!

First, he went to see Santa, but it took a while to get him to settle down and sit on Santa's lap like a good little boy:

Then he helped the family decorate our tree!

For a while he kept us entertained with some french horn playing...

Then he got to unwrap his presents!

And got his own, simba-sized tree :)

Merry Christmas!

Serving where I'm not gifted...

Long time, no post! I try to save all my writing for school these days, I sure have enough of it to do there... Anyways, I've gotten out of the groove of blogging but am going to try to start it up again!

It's winter break, and for the week after Christmas I'm going on a mission trip to Múzquiz, México. Somehow I ended up being in charge of the dramas/skits and singing on the worship team. I have only ever acted in one, very minor, play. I also am not a very good singer. Yet, there were holes and I reluctantly agreed to fill them.

I have to admit that I had a bad attitude about it up until a few days ago. I put off planning the dramas until the night before our team meeting, and only did it then because of a last-minute panic. I complained about it to my family and friends, telling them how I had no idea what I was doing and didn't want to put in the effort to figure it out.

Finally, our last trip meeting came and I met the drama team and the worship team. A side conversation with the person leading the worship team revealed that she didn't think she knew what she was doing either, but she had a completely different attitude about it. She had the heart of a willing servant - giving everything she had to the work she had been assigned for the glory of God. She might have been apprehensive about how to proceed, but her dedication showed. Instead of complaining she came with a plan for how to encourage the whole team with a well-planned worship set at the start of each day in México.

I was encouraged immediately by witnessing this and now I hope to do my job the best I can. Sure, I still have no idea what I'm doing, but whatever happens will find me with joy that I get to contribute to the various ways in which we share the hope of Christ with these people. And as far as singing goes: I may not have a beautiful voice, but I realized that I have something to contribute to our worship with the Mexican people - I speak Spanish. So I pray that I'll be able to get across the beautiful messages in the songs I chose and that these people will be filled with hope rather than despair about their circumstances.

I learned this past weekend that regardless of whether we feel equipped or called, sometimes there is just work to be done and God might be challenging us to step outside our comfort zone in our service to Him. I regret the sour attitude I had in accepting this challenge and hope that He will help me to see opportunities like this as chances to thank Him for what He has done for me.