The Real Deal- Did you know?

What did you think?

It's really sad and shocking, and honestly, it made me mad.

I am having a hard time trying to figure out why exactly I am mad, and having a tougher time writing it out. One thing I know for sure is that this video just fuels my desire to be out on the mission field long term. I want to badly to be with unreached people.

This is a great quote from Mother Teresa.

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish"

I truly believe that people in North America, and other developed countries, are much too comfortable. They don't want to get their hands dirty in the worlds issues. They think someone else will do it for them. Based on the video, that's not happening.

I found it surprising that most missionaries work with people that are already Christians. Don't me wrong, I think that new Christians need support and to be lead, but we can't forget about those who don't know God at all. It is easier to support and help when its with fellow Christians, but I don't think that God wants us all to take the 'easy' way out. Jesus didn't. He didn't stay with the new converts, He left and went on to the next town.

There are still 2 Billion people waiting to hear about Jesus.

And, I was disgusted when I heard that less than 1% of tithes is actually going to the unreached. That stat acutally made me the most mad. Its just pure greed.

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 I wish that more people could see the video, and really think about what direction they want their life to go.  Maybe they are being called to work with the unreached, but are  scared or don't know how they can do it. 

God is raising up new nations for the heart for the unreached, and I am asking you to post the video, whether it be on your blog, facebook, or myspace.. Maybe it will spark a flame in someone, who will go and work with the unreached, and change lives, and hearts.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news.

Isaiah 52:7

These are the top 5 favorite moments that happened this week!

1. Laughing with friends until we cried.

2. Seeing the sun for the first time in a LONG time.

3. A very spontaneous 3 hour drive to Tofino, only to stay for 2 hours, turn around and drive home. Yay for a great friend and good tunes!

4. Listening to 2 songs I hadn't heard before. "You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham, and "Love like Fire" Hillsong United.

5. Getting real mail!! The type that comes in an envelope, not online!

My African Trip in Links

This June I am going on a whirlwind trip with my friend Chris-Ann to Uganda and Kenya for a month.

I Have a Name

 Chris-Ann has started a charity called I Have a Name. Although the organization is small they support the Hope Community Center in Kenya, and this will be the second trip to Kenya for IHAN. The goal of IHAN is to be present in areas that are going through social injustice and be there to help and volunteer where ever needed.

We land in Kampala, Uganda and go directly to The Watoto Childs Village for 3 days. We will get to work in the Bullrushes Orphanage with the babies, and just hangout with the children.

Watoto Childrens Village

Then we are heading up to Gulu in Northern Uganda to stay at the Invisible Children headquarters for a few days.

Invisible Children

While we are in Gulu, I would like to visit these awesome companies that are trying to restore their communities. Check them out!

One Mango Tree

Krochet Kids intl.

From Gulu, we then travel back down to Kampala, and visit our sponsor children!

Compassion

 Because Chris-Ann's child lives close to Kampala, its a day trip. My lil guy lives quite far East so we will be spending a night at another non-profit organization which provides training in water supply, health education, environmental conservation, and humanitarian projects. Chris-Ann is friends with the man who started it. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he has created.

ACTS- Africa Community Technical Service

From there, we continue going West until we get to Kenya!!

In Kenya we are going to volunteering at the Hope Community Center for children, which is in North Kinangop. It was started in 1997 by a single woman named Lucy. It now has over 250 orphans, a elementary school and they just built a high school. We are staying for a week and a half, and will be teaching school, bible studies, and playing with the children.

Hope Community Center

After working at the HCC we are heading to Mombasa, which in on the Eastern coast for debrief, and to visit friends that we have there. We will be flying out of Mombasa to London, where we have a 2 night layover.

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It will be a life changing, eye opening trip, and I think that it will just fuel my passion to see injustice ended. Please partner with me in prayer that our trip would go as we plan ( but if it doesn't, that God is behind it), for safety, for health, and that God would work through us so that we can help create positive change in people and the organizations we are going too. Thanks!

Fair Trade

As I have been doing a little research on modern day slavery, I have had come to terms with the fact that I have helped and aided slavery to prosper. Chances are that most North Americans have aided slavery without even knowing it. If you have eaten chocolate, wear cotton clothing, own a cell phone or computer, drank coffee, eaten sugar, or worn gold jewelry then you have also been connected with slavery.

Chocolate, sugar, coffee, and many other fruits and vegetables are all grown on farms and its very common for them to be farmed by slavery. Computers and cell phones all have a rare metal that is only found in Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has to be mined from the earth, along with gold. Most of the miners are children, who have to work in deplorable, dangerous conditions.

These are just some more things that are made by human slaves:

• In Malawi, 78,000 children, some as young as five, work 12-hour days to produce cigarettes.
• That shimmer in your eye shadow? It is a mineral called mica. Much of the world’s mica comes from India, where children as young as six labor long and hard for a single meal of rice.
• A 7-year-old boy works all day, every day, in a balloon factory in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. He works 12-hour days, 7 days a week, for about $2.14 per week.

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 I kept coming across the term 'fair trade'.I had heard the word quite a bit, but didn't really know what it meant.

Wikipedia's definition of fair trade is :

'Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability.'

Online Dictionary:

"The practice of directly benefiting producers in the developing world by buying straight from them at a guaranteed price."

A great example of how to explain fair trade is with chocolate. So, a regular chocolate bar could be anywhere from $.50-$1.00. Fair trade chocolate bars are closer to $3.00. With such a huge price difference, it kind of makes you wonder why the difference in price? What are you paying for when you buy fair trade?

 When you buy a chocolate bar that is not fair trade, chances are, that the cocoa was grown, and farmed by workers that are not paid wages, work in deplorable conditions, work long hours, are beat if they don't produce enough, and can't support their families.

The International Cocoa Organization estimates that there are approximately 14 million people around the world currently directly involved in the annual production of over 6 billion pounds of cocoa. Unless it is a fair trade cocoa farm, the cocoa is made with forced child labour; thousands of children are currently being used as slave labour on cocoa farms in an attempt to keep down production costs.

A fair trade chocolate bar ensures that the workers are paid fair wages, have good working conditions, normal working hours, and are not enslaved. Fair trade companies will also take some of the profit and put it towards the community.

Some companies are making the switch to fair trade items. Cadbury Chocolate is now making a few fair trade chocolate bars. They are sold in Australia, and New Zealand, so far.  Starbucks will sell bags of fair trade coffee, but unfortunately, they don't serve fair trade coffee.. however, in London all the Starbucks' must, by law, serve fair trade coffee.

I wonder what North America is doing about fair trade? It doesn't seem like we are doing much.. I mean, I had no clue what fair trade even meant. Now, I'm going to be on the lookout for fair trade items.

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This is a really great message on trafficking, slavery, ect. It was spoken at the Justice Conference in February.

http://vimeo.com/20894050

There are some great resources available to buy fair trade items from.

Common Threadz- Fair trade clothing

 http://commonthreadz.org/

Earth Lover Shopping

http://www.earthlovershopping.com/

Not For Sale

I have decided that my blog is going to be about things that matter. Things that bother me, break my heart, things that make me happy and joyful, and things that I am passionate about.

This post is not going to be pretty or easy to understand. It, hopefully, will leave you thinking.

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I just purchased a book called 'Not for Sale' by David Batstone

The book broke my heart.

The book is all about the global slave trade, and how to fight it. The book talks about slave labourers, child soldiers, and sex trafficking.

Here are some of the facts

-There are over 27 Million slaves today.

-800 000 are trafficked across international boarders every year. <- that's at  least 2191 people a day, including the USA, and Canada.

-There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world today.

- 1 Million children are exploited by the global commercial sex trade every year

Child soldiers don't join the army for fun. They are kidnapped, forced, brainwashed, drugged, and made to become killers. Children as young as 4 are forced into the army. They are made to do gruesome, horrifying crimes. Girls up to the age of 11 are soldiers, but then they become a soldier's 'wife'.

Children are sold into the sex trade. It happens mainly in Eastern Asia, but also in Romania, Africa, Ukraine and many other countries. They could be sold for as low as $20, or to pay off a debt of their parents. They are forced to sell their bodies, dance, strip and act like they enjoy it. The men using these women? They are mostly rich business men, or Westerners that go to the country just for the reason of using the women.

If the slaves don't comply with what the trafficker, owner, or customer want, they are threatened, beaten and even killed.

How do these things happen right under our noses?

In North America the average trafficked person come into contact with 7 people that have the ability to help them out of their situation. We need to become one of the 7. We need to be aware that slavery is happening in our countries, and get out of our comfort zone, and if we suspect, to ask if someone if they need help.

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God tells us to take care of the orphans and the widows.

His orphans and widows. His sons and daughters.

Its so hard to understand why people are are being treated so unjustly, while I sit at home on the computer, drinking tea, a kitty to my left, and my family to my right.  I have nothing to complain about. I have a happy life. All of my needs are met, and I feel safe.

This is exactly why I want to do something. I need to do something. I have been educated, nourished, cared for, treated with respect, supported, and LOVED.

Without even knowing, I had been in training to help people. I know how to care for people, to educate them, treat people with respect, support them, and to LOVE them. Since I was little, God has been shaping my heart and my soul to have a passion for broken people.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils: freely have you received, freely give.  

Matthew 10:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

   Micah 6:8

God has given us such clear instructions on what our life is supposed to be about. Freely we have been given, so freely we should give.

I hope that this post has opened your mind, dear reader,  a little about the tragedy that is happening in our world. There is so much bad. So much injustice.  Right now, in my life, God is stirring new passions within me. He is making me want to create change, and to open my mind. We need to grasp that we need to learn to love justice. To be justice.

 And hope that the rest of the world will catch on..

Japan

In Wake of the Quake..

Japan has such a beautiful, rich, history. It's full of geisha's, samurais, architecture, battles, food, sports, and culture.

Some Interesting Facts about Japan

Raw horse meat is a popular food in Japan.

Sumo is Japan's national sport, although baseball is also very popular.

Some men in Japan shave their heads to apologize.

Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world.

When moving into an apartment it is often required to give the landlord a "gift" of money equal to two months' rent.

Japan is 70% mountains

There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.

1500

Thats 4 earthquakes a day.

It only took 1 extremely strong, longer than normal, earthquake to change Japan's history forever.

March 11, 2011.

8.9- Magnitude of Earthquake

6 Minutes- The Length of the earthquake

50- Approx. number of aftershocks

 10000 estimated dead/ missing

$180 Billion- Estimated cost of rebuilding

30 feet tall- The hight of the tsunami.
Millions homeless

Heartbreak, grief, hopelessness, brokenness, pain, sorrow, and distress.

Unmeasurable

It's so hard to comprehend the full extent of the damage, loss, and despair that Japan is going through.  I couldn't imagine if it happened here.
But one thing I know, is that God is faithful and will see Japan out of the mess and chaos.

 

I really, really wish the whole world knew.

About Jesus.

It would be a completely different place. There would be a lot more grace, honesty, peace, and hope.

I find it amazing that there are still groups of people that have never heard of the gospel and salvation. They are unreached. Who is going to tell them? They NEED to know. It is life saving information.

Some of the unreached live in our neighbourhoods. They go to our schools, grocery stores, and parks. They could be the person we accidentally bump into at the library.

There have been a few times, when I have felt prompted to share Jesus, but haven't. I have missed an opportunity that could have made a difference for someone. What was I thinking? I was scared to interrupt them, to be a nuisance. I was worried about what they would think of me. After my opportunity passed, I feel guilty.  I feel like I have let my Father down. I pray for more opportunities and for boldness. It is hard to share Jesus. It shouldn't be, but it is.

A lot of times I feel inadequate.. like I won't know what I am talking about. I don't have all the answers. I'm not as wise as I should be.

 But then I remember that Jesus chose me to take on the task of spreading the news about Him. He thinks that I am good enough to share about His most precious gift.
 His Son.

We are all good enough. The Lord trusts us. 
We need to throw fear, and self cautiousness out the window, bite the bullet, and tell people about Jesus. 


These are just some thoughts that have been rambling around my head for a few days. A friend of mine told me that her Pastor was talking to someone who had never heard of Jesus. She was shocked, and I was shocked. To me it just seems second nature to believe in a higher power. Its hard to remember that people may have never heard of the Good News.


So... remember this, the next time you have an opportunity to talk to a stranger..

Until next time,

Starting today, I'm going to be telling you 5 of my favorites.

Its going to be completely random and fun.

Enjoy!

For my first Favorite Things Friday I am going to show you my 5 favorite

Photographs!



                         

The last picture is my ultimate favorite. I think that it is adorable.

So, there you have it. My top 5 favorite pictures.

( None were taken by me)

A question for you!

What category should my Favorite 5 Things be next Friday?



Pretty

Remember the days when girls wore dresses all the time?

Not just dresses, but beautiful, frilly, poofy, dresses.

The 50's were a time for femininity, and a classic style. The clothing was bright and had bold prints. If I could go back to any decade, I would like to be the age I am now, in the 50's. I really wish that women today still more dresses all the time.. that we didn't feel like we had to wait for a special occasion to wear something fancy.

I have been a collector of 50's party dresses for a few years.  I have 6 dresses, and one wedding dress. I have got my dresses at thrift stores, and antique sales. 

Every time I find a dress, I am amazed that someone would get rid of such a pretty article of clothing. I always wonder who wore it, and what occasion was it for.

On Friday, I was at the Salvation Army, and was walking though the woman's department. I glanced towards the prom dresses and saw it. A soft green, with flowers and rhinestones along the sweetheart neckline. It had a ruched top and a full tulle bottom. My heart nearly skipped a beat. I rushed over to it, and looked over it for any tears or stains. It was completely flawless. Then I checked the price and my stomach dropped. $50. That was more then I paid for all my other dress combined, minus the wedding dress. I spent a good five minutes telling myself that I didn't need it, but after seeing someone else eye it up, while it was in my arms, I knew that I could not leave the store without it. I paid, shot one look of defeat to the person eying up my dress, caught them glaring at me, and left.

Once in my car, I was so happy I bought it. So Happy!!

I want to post a picture of it, but that will have to wait until tomorrow, when I can get my camera.

Until then, look at the some other beautiful dresses.

This is part of my collection. In the very back, you can just barely see the wedding dress. I have now added another pink dress, a pink child's tutu, and now my green dress.

One thing that makes me really happy, is that finally, there are more dresses that have tulle, and swooshy skirts. Here are some pictures of modern, but vintage inspired dresses.

Goodbye Winter- Hello Spring!

I love the winter.

I love snow, frost, bundling up, scarves, stomping around to get snow off my shoes, rosy cheeks, and sledding.  I could sit for hours and just watch the snow fall.  

As much as I love winter, I am ready for spring. I'm ready to put away the winter jacket,  see the blossoms, feel a warm breeze,  see all the baby animals, and spend more time outside.

Spring means that summer is around the corner. This year, my summer is going to be the best one ever for 2 reasons. First, I am going to Africa for a month, and secondly, I am going to be a bridesmaid in my best friends wedding... Does it get any better then that?!

Here are some more pictures to help us remember what is just around the bend.

Babies!

Picnics!

Flowers!

Excitement

Last night, at my weekly Bible study, we talked about things that makes us come alive and make us truly happy.  Its amazing to think that God made us all so different, and we all find joy in completely different things.  Some people feel they come alive in adreneline rushes, mountain biking, surfing, French ( learning languages), teaching, meeting new people, traveling, music and so much more. It just blows my mind that we, people in general, are so different.. and yet, deep down, we are so similar. We all have the same feelings, struggles, wants, needs, desires, and hopes. 

For myself, I find that I come alive when there is a camera in front of my face. Taking pictures is my drug. I feel the most inspired, creative, happy- almost giddy, when I am behind my lens. It is an amazing thing to be able to freeze a single moment in time with the click of a button. Being able to look back at a picture and remember all the feelings that were behind the photograph is something I find simply amazing. I feel privileged to be able to preserve these special moments and the feelings that go along with them.

The second thing that makes me feel alive is the complete unknown for my future. I absolutely love that I have no clue where I will be and what I will be doing. When I think about what lies ahead for me I almost get choked up from excitement. Last night someone described me as "Someone who wants to punch through the ceiling of life and go into the unknown attic.  Attics are mysterious and hold all sorts of treasures. You want to go after these things." I laughed when I heard this, but spent some thing thinking about it, and yes, this is exactly what I want to do. I want to break the mold. I feel like I want to blow the top off of my life and do things that are completely out of the ordinary, and out of my comfort zone.

So now, I urge you to seek out what makes you the most happy.  Get excited about something. You learn a lot about yourself when you do something that you love.

Get excited! Jump around!

I'm Elizabeth.

I'm twenty-two years old.

I am very happy and really enjoying life.

I like my life the way it is right now..

But feel like I am on the verge something big.

Something that will change me.

A few days ago a friend asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I spent a few days thinking of my answer. It made me think quite hard about what I actually want to accomplish and do in my lifetime. In the end, this was my answer.

-I want to go to Africa. I want to volunteer in an orphanage.

-I would like to live long term somewhere doing long term missions.. I think that teaching English somewhere would be amazing.

-I would like to do the World Race. It is a 11 month long mission trip that takes you to 11 different countries. It would be the experience of a life time.

-I would like to one day pick up and leave, go live in a hut somewhere and learn to live off the land. I would like to experience life as a nomad for a while.

-I really want to learn how to play the guitar.

-Backpack around Europe. Do the Sound of Music tour in Austria.

-I really want to deliver bibles to a country where it is against the law to own a bible... this has actually been on my hearts since I was about 12.. I was inspired by my favorite book, "God Smuggler" by Brother Andrew.

-I would like to own my own business.. I don't know what I want to do yet.. Maybe interior design, maybe a photography studio..

-I would like to have something published. It doesn't matter what it is, a book, picture, article of writing, I think having a photo spread in some magazine would be top of my list though.

All in all.. I want to be remembered as someone who has lived her life to the fullest, praising and spreading God, through the good and the bad times.

So, that was my answer.

It made me realize how badly I want to travel and see the world. I have such a yearning in my heart to go and do something.. ANYTHING.

I am planning a trip to Africa this summer. I am going with an organization to volunteer at an orphanage. I am so excited about the trip. So excited. I feel like I am starting to "check" things off of my list.

The one thing that I can't explain at all is where the yearning to do missions came from. I haven't been anywhere significant that would give me the "travel bug", or ever been on a missions trip. I know that God has giving me a yearning for it, how else could feel so strongly about going somewhere completely unknown, if I have never experienced it. I feel like I am completely ready to go into unknown territory, ready something different then what I have lived for the last twenty-two years. I don't have any fear or anxiety about things worried me in the past. This really encourages me, knowing that I can concur anything that comes in my path- good or bad.

One thing I'm 100% sure about is that I am so excited about my future. I love that I don't know where I will end up or what I will be doing when I get there, but I am so ready for the journey.