Doing a bit o' good

Ladies and gents, I've tried not to stand on my soap box too much with the blog. I don't think it's the right media to push an agenda. But JourneyMama's post today inspired me to say a few words. There is so very much extreme poverty and injustice in the world. Every 3 seconds a child dies from the effects of extreme poverty - through malnutrition, starvation, unclean water supply, lack of access to medicine - that means that while you've read this sentence 3 children have died preventable deaths. Trafficking in human beings is now the 3rd largest money-making business in the world, behind arms and drug trafficking. That includes children being trafficked into sex slavery as well as women forced into prostitution.

One picture I'll never get out of my head is an elderly man in Kiev bending down to lick melted ice cream of the pavement. That's poverty. Of course, there are plenty of people in the world who would be jealous of a meal like that. If you think you're poor or struggling for resources, think again. Whoops! 5 more children just died from poverty-related causes.

So I ask you, what are you, personally, doing to contribute to the solution? You can be a part of the solution, or your complacency can be a part of the problem. Step up, take a stand. Get involved. My personal favorites are NightLight, Trade As One, International Justice Mission, World Relief, and World Vision. If none of that appeals to you, google Servants Anonymous, CARE, Food for the Hungry, and there are plenty of other organizations out there vying for support. Choose one. Choose more if you want. But don't just sit there sipping coffee behind your 17" DSL empowered screen. Do something. One person can have effect transformative change on the world.

Post a comment. Tell me what cause you've been supporting or plan to support. Let the blogosphere know. Your silence encourages complacency.

All hail the BBC!

Okay, maybe that's an overstatement. But, I'm so excited about this story published by the BBC - it's taking on one of the issues closest to my heart, and takes its example from NightLight, who I've been advocating for since last summer, in partnership with Trade As One. Take a few minutes and read the story. It glosses over it a bit, but a lot of what this article is talking about deals with very young children. It's heartbreaking, but the hope that NightLight provides is uplifting. And, the more jewelry they sell through Trade As One, the more young girls they can rescue.

More on NightLight (and the kids)

Ambata had their very first sale of NightLight jewelry! It wasn't from Perimeter Church, so it must have been one of Ambata's regulars. We're hoping to get a nice launch here at Perimeter, with full color fliers and events and all, but until then we'll just have a gradual trickle of orders I suppose. But still, one order is better than no orders.

Sofia had her first 'performance' today - the 2 year olds at her preschool did a little choir performance. They sang "We wish you a merry Christmas," "Jingle jingle happy bells," and a couple others. Sofia did great - no tears (lots of the kids cried), she sang the songs, did the hand movements, sat still in her seat... She was brilliant! (except for the little nose picking incident...) I was proud. You should have seen the auditorium though - I think there were more cameras there than at a presidential press conference! It was fun. Here she is last night - hamming it up for the camera.

And Liam turns 2 tomorrow - I'll update on Thursday with his new weight and height. I don't think he'll have any idea what's going for his birthday. We'll have cupcakes and candles, and a few presents, but I think it'll be a bigger day for Sofia than for Liam! I'm a bit worried that she won't understand why Liam is getting presents and she's not, especially with the Christmas tree up and a few presents underneath... Maybe we can distract her with cake.

Thailand...

Tickets are bought. I'm headed to Thailand this January, and couldn't be farther from my comfort zone! I'll be there for 10 days, working with NightLight. I'm going with a small team from Perimeter, and there are so many reasons for me to be hesitant! The first, and most important (to me, that is), is that I'll be leaving my kids behind for 10 whole days! I've never left them for a night! Even when I was in labor with Liam, I made sure Eugene stayed home with Sofia until she fell asleep... Then there are the issues about culture shock - I've never been to Asia. In fact, I've never been anywhere except N. America and Europe. It's going to be so very incredibly different. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. And, I'll be visiting the red-light district of Bangkok. That is something I'm definitely not prepared for. I need to find a way to get over my indignation and anger (regardless of how righteous my indignation will be - it won't get anything done) about the way these women are treated and dig deep to focus on compassion for them. As if that isn't enough to consider, I'll also be ministering to women who have been trafficked from Eastern Europe, specifically Russian speakers. My Russian is so rusty, it's almost non-existent. I have a lot of studying to do! Pray that God would bring back my Russian proficiency miraculously fast!

The big news of the day, though, is that you can now (finally) buy NightLight jewelry online (click here)! Use your consumer dollars to rescue women from exploitation!

Ambata

Check out my brand spankin new Ambata clickable image on the right (I did the html code myself - aren't you proud? Look underneath my friendly sheep mascot). Ambata is a super cool website that retails fair trade goods from around the world. This is all grass-roots stuff, environmentally sustainable, and supports the communities that produce the goods. Way better than buying your stuff from places like Pottery Barn and Starbucks. But don't take my word for it - check it out for yourself! I especially like the jewellery and purses!