Unbound

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Unbound Conference put on by a group called The Freedom Initiative, who works along with many other great groups in Seattle who are trying to bring an end to modern slavery. It was a great conference, with speakers who talked about every aspect of slavery from lobbying the government and prosecution of offenders to understanding victims and how to care for them. A lot of the information was stuff I already knew from my work with People of Purpose and Seattle Against Slavery. It was good to hear again and be reminded of, but I really resonated with what David Batstone (president of Not for Sale) said in his keynote address: “We focus so much on spreading awareness, which is good, but now is the time for action. The only way to end slavery is to come up with new paradigms and put them into practice.” That’s a paraphrase, I didn’t write down the exact quote, but I think I’m conveying the main idea behind what he was saying. He shared some of the new, creative ideas that Not for Sale is putting into practice and challenged us to figure out what each of us could do personally, then proceeded to give us a list of options for personal action, so we’d have no excuse for not doing something. So I’ve been thinking about this a lot the last few days, trying to figure out what my own personal response should be, and I decided to start by writing this blog to challenge others to respond as well. As one of the other speakers, Kevin Austin, said we shouldn't need more statistics in order to convince us to do something. There are an estimated 27 million slaves around the world right now, surely we don't need more convincing. Heck, even if they find out tomorrow that there's only 50,000 people in bondage or even say a mere 500, that's still too many as far as I'm concerned.

Often I've heard that ignorance is what’s holding back change, which is why I think so many anti-trafficking groups focus on awareness campaigns. I felt really convicted when David Batstone said that he sees selfishness as the greatest hindrance. Wow, that hurts. I mean nobody wants to be ignorant, but to know about the problem and be too selfish to do anything to solve it is even worse. I definitely know about the problem, so I've decided that my next personal step toward ending slavery will be to be aware of which products and companies use slave labor and stop purchasing them. It's not going to be easy, so feel free to hold me accountable! I don't know if I'll ever meet any trafficking victims face to face, but if I do, I don't want to have to tell them that they were forced to work in inhumane conditions under threat of violence because I was too selfish to change my habits as an American consumer.

So what will your response be? Maybe you agree that something needs to be done, but you don’t know how to respond. You can start by using some of the resources made available by Not for Sale, International Justice Mission, and other anti-trafficking NGO’s. Here’s some great websites to check out:

www.slaverymap.org -- Don't believe that slavery happens in your own backyard? Check out this website to see cases of trafficking around the world. Keep in mind these are only the cases where perpetrators were caught, and someone reported it to the makers of the website. This is only a tiny percentage of the total amount of trafficking going on.

www.callandresponse.com/33responses.html -- Check out this list of 33 ways to respond including sending medical supplies to survivors, spreading the word, volunteering time, and donating money.

http://chainstorereaction.com and http://free2work.org -- Be a wise consumer. Refuse to purchase products that were made with slave labor. Check out these websites to see which companies are working to have slave free supply lines.

http://www.ijm.org/justicecampaigns and http://seattleagainstslavery.org/legislation.aspx -- Make your voice heard by writing your senators and representatives or by signing petitions to support better anti-trafficking legislation.

http://freedomsunday.org/church-planning-guide/ -- Get your church to participate in Freedom Sunday.

There many other resources available, but those are the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Hopefully at least one of them is a way you can get involved personally.

Psalm 25

¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; 
² in you I trust, O my God.
       Do not let me be put to shame,
       nor let my enemies triumph over me.
 ³ No one whose hope is in you
       will ever be put to shame,
       but they will be put to shame
       who are treacherous without excuse.
 ⁴ Show me your ways, O LORD,
       teach me your paths;
 ⁵ guide me in your truth and teach me,
       for you are God my Savior,
       and my hope is in you all day long.
 ⁶ Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
       for they are from of old.
 ⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth
       and my rebellious ways;
       according to your love remember me,
       for you are good, O LORD.
 ⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;
       therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
 ⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
       and teaches them his way.
 ¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
       for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
 ¹¹ For the sake of your name, O LORD,
       forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
 ¹² Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
       He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
 ¹³ He will spend his days in prosperity,
       and his descendants will inherit the land.
 ¹⁴ The LORD confides in those who fear him;
       he makes his covenant known to them.
 ¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the LORD,
       for only he will release my feet from the snare.
 ¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
       for I am lonely and afflicted.
 ¹⁷ The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
       free me from my anguish.
 ¹⁸ Look upon my affliction and my distress
       and take away all my sins.
 ¹⁹ See how my enemies have increased
       and how fiercely they hate me!
 ²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me;
       let me not be put to shame,
       for I take refuge in you.
 ²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me,
       because my hope is in you.
 ²² Redeem Israel, O God,
       from all their troubles!

Spring

Do you like my new, pretty spring colors? I added the picture of the Japanese Cherry Blossom tree because I think it's so peaceful and beautiful! I took the picture at Green Lake in Seattle. I definitely have to go back there again, it's such a nice area.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter. I did, except for the part where I came down with a horribly nasty cold. My nose is completely raw from having to blow it every 5 minutes. The more exciting parts of my weekend included a great Easter worship service, hanging out with friends, and driving through the Skagit Valley Tulip Fields. There's always something beautiful to see in Washington!

Anyhow, that's my quick update on life. Now I have to get to bed on time so this cold doesn't do me in.

Broken People

I've had a lot on my mind this past week...I feel like God's been really revealing himself in new ways, and I felt like I had to write it down in order to sort through my thoughts. I've been running into so many people lately who are going through such difficult struggles in their lives, and it's so hard for my human mind to understand how God's hand is at work in all of it, especially in my own situation where I can't see where God is leading me and I often feel like he's been silent when I've been crying out for him to speak. Well, this past week he's been speaking....not necessarily giving me the answers I want, but reassuring me that everything is going to work out in his time, all I need to do is trust him.

First off, I turned 25 last week. That sounds crazy. I can't believe it's been 3 years since college...and 7 years since high school. The thought of marking this milestone while being unemployed and completely unsure of where my life is headed is somewhat depressing, but celebrating such a milestone surrounded by so many great friends was a wonderful blessing. And how can I not be thankful for God's faithfulness for 25 years? Looking back on the first quarter century of my life, he's brought me through a lot, and if he's been faithful in the past, then surely I can trust him to be faithful in the future.

Also, yesterday was the first day of spring. The weather did not disappoint...it actually seemed more like summer. While spring isn't my favorite season, I do love seeing everything coming to life again. Spring just has that amazing feeling of hopefulness. It's a season of new beginnings. It's got me thinking about how people like to use the word 'season' in a spiritual sense when speaking of hardships or periods of waiting, probably because it implies that whatever the situation is, it won't last forever. Seasons always change....eventually. It's hard to remember that though when you've been in a season that's lasted far longer than you ever thought a season should. The thing about seasons in nature is that they come on a regular, predictable basis. Seasons in life don't work that way. Sometimes they last for years with no end in sight.

I guess that's how a broken world works though. Things don't go how you expect them to, or how they "should". Good people still suffer. People who try really hard still fail. We're all broken. At church we've been doing a sermon series on 2 Corinthians called "When Life Hurts", and we've been learning about how God can still use us in our brokenness. In fact God is able to use us even more powerfully through our weakness and our hardships. In chapter one it says, "Blessed be the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are afflicted." It doesn't mean that suffering is going to be fun, but at least for those who are in Christ, suffering is not worthless. Our afflictions allow us to be a blessing to others who are suffering.

Today the sermon was from chapter 4, and we discussed the same passage in Bible Study tonight, especially the part where it says, "We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." It's such a great analogy. We're clay pots...earthen vessels. On our own we're weak and cracked and broken. But we're filled with treasure! God uses broken, cracked, ugly clay pots in order to reveal his glory. The key to being a powerful witness for Christ is to be honest and open about our brokenness and invite others to witness God's power at work in us through our failures and shortcomings as he refines us and makes us more like himself. When we put up a front and try to pretend that we never struggle with sin or doubt because we want others to believe that we have it all together or we think we need to impress people by having everything figured out, that's when we become ineffective witnesses to the power of God. When we're living under a facade, all people can see is hypocrisy. It's such a comfort to me to know that it's okay to be broken, and to know that God can use me in my weaknesses and failures (which are many!). There's a song by the band Mute Math that I've been really drawn to lately because it speaks to this whole idea of wanting to appear like we've got it all together when in actuality nobody does. There's a line in the song that goes, "Sometimes I get tired of pins and needles. Facades are a fire on the skin. But I'm growing fond of broken people as I see that I am one of them." I just love that line because it's so true...everybody's trying to keep their facade together and make sure nobody sees how hurt and broken they are inside, but all the while what we really need is to just let the facade down and see the everyone else is broken too. We are meant to live in community and help each other through hardships, but how is that possible if nobody admits that they're suffering?

It seems like God often speaks to me through music...probably because I like it so much and listen to it all the time. I just love how songs can convey such universal truths. Sometimes they express exactly what I'm feeling or thinking in a much more eloquent, beautiful way than I could ever say it. In church this morning the band played a new song for us, and as I was listening I just thought, "This is exactly what I've been feeling lately!" I wanted to share it so that maybe it will minister to some of you reading this in the same way that it ministered to me. Plus it's just a beautiful song.

Dancing, Dessert, and Other Things

Well, it's been awhile since I last posted, so I thought it was time for another update about what's been going on in my life lately. I'm still unemployed unfortunately, which is getting pretty annoying, but I've been having too much fun keeping busy with other stuff to get too depressed about it. Plus I feel that at least for now I'm right where God wants me to be, so I'm just trying to stay focused on living for His glory and trusting that eventually He'll work out all the details.

One thing I've been keeping busy with lately is swing dancing, which I'm really loving. My friend Kristin and I have been taking lessons, so we're getting pretty good if I do say so myself. I'm excited to test out my new skills at my sister's wedding this summer!

I've also been getting involved with Seattle Against Slavery, which I think I may have mentioned before. This past Tuesday the International Justice Mission held a benefit dinner in Seattle, and a bunch of us who are involved with SAS hosted tables and invited our friends to come hear about the amazing work that IJM does and how SAS is working to support them and other organizations like them. My friend April and I co-hosted a table and got six of our good friends to join us. We all had a great evening and were very inspired by the stories that Gary Haugen (President and CEO of IJM) shared. It really got me fired up about wanting to do more to help the fight against human trafficking, and I've been praying that God would show me new ways to do so. If you haven't heard of IJM before, go check out their website (www.ijm.org) to learn about their work rescuing slaves. It's really amazing!

Well, I'm supposed to be spending this afternoon applying for jobs, so I guess I should get back to that. Though my friend Krista and I are in the preliminary brainstorming stages for opening a non-profit bakery/dessert shop, so if things take off with that, maybe I won't be looking for jobs too much longer. :-) We'd be happy to hear from any of you out there who have experience with starting a small business or who have extra cash lying around that we could use to get started!

Hello again

I don't have too much news to share, but I did want to write about last weekend. I flew to Chicago on Friday the 5th, and Kristin and I drove to GR together, picked up Amanda and George from Calvin, and then drove over to our parents' house to surprise Mom for her 50th and birthday. And boy was she surprised! We had a great time hanging out as a family. We played games, went out for dinner, went to see the ice at Lake Michigan, went shopping, etc. It was a blast! My mom joked that we probably wouldn't be able to come up with anything to top this for her 60th birthday, but we've got 10 years to think about it, so I'm sure we'll come up with something.

I was in GR for 5 days, and in addition to spending time with my family, I got to see many of my amazing Michigan friends. My mom asked me while I was home whether I had more fun with my Michigan friends or my Washington friends, and there's really no way to compare since they're all so awesome, but it did make me think how grateful I am to have such good friends that still get along after so many years and so many miles between us. How many people have friends from junior high, high school, and college who throw parties for them every time they're in town? I'm really blessed.

And now I think I'll go watch the Olympics. I'm not completely addicted yet, but I might be close. Go USA!

It's December!

I can't believe it's December already! It sort of sneaked up on me. It doesn't seem like a year ago that I was anticipating my internship with EMI. I guess a lot has happened since then, but at the same time, it seems like it was just recently that I was planning my move to Colorado. Somebody told me once that time goes twice as fast after you turn 25, which means this coming year will seem even shorter than this one did. Crazy. Anyway, lots has happened this year. I hope you've all enjoyed reading about it!

So, since it's December now, I've been getting psyched for Christmas to come soon. Many of neighbors have put up ridiculous amounts of Christmas lights, and I've done my part by busting out every Christmas CD I own. (Or at least every one I could find that's not packed away in a box in the Teagues' garage!) Two weeks from today I'll be on my way to Michigan to spend the Holidays with my family! I can't wait! Plus I get to see lots of old friends and go to Pete and Amy's wedding, so I'm certain it will be a fun trip.

Speaking of weddings, over the Thanksgiving weekend, my sister Kristin and my former roomie Elizabeth both got engaged! Those two plus my friend Krista who got engaged a couple months ago make three weddings this summer that I will be in. My wedding preparation skills should be honed to perfection by next September!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, (I'm doing a good job with transitions in this post, huh?) I had an excellent long weekend hanging out with friends -- Elizabeth came to visit for a couple days, her engagement actually occured when her boyfriend picked her up at the airport on her return trip to Idaho. I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my place for some of my amazing friends. We made so much food it was ridiculous! Apparently it takes more than 6 people to eat a 17lb turkey with stuffing, 10lbs of potatoes, cornbread, rolls, asparagus, corn, peas, fruit salad, olives, 2 pies, icecream, and a cake. Not that I'm complaining, I love Thanksgiving leftovers! I spent the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving helping my friend Krista with wedding planning stuff. We went wedding dress shopping and reception decoration shopping (at Ikea -- I love that store!). This past Sunday, I shared my pictures of my EMI trip to Africa with some families from my Community Group. The kids were especially interested, asking lots of great questions about the culture and the people, and it was really fun to sort of relive that experience. Did I mention that I can't believe it's been a year since I first found out I was going to get to be a part of that?


ps- I used 10 exclamation points in this post. Miss Herrema would be horrified.



pss- Miss Herrema was my junior high English teacher for those who don't know. She believed that everyone should only be allowed to use 3 exclamation points in their whole life. She claimed she still had one left.